At a time, when, as usual, there are many questions and concerns about the current trajectory of the economy, in terms of will there, or will there not, be a recession, there are also myriad signs, or indications, that the supply chain and logistics sectors are returning to the cadence of pre-pandemic times. One of the easiest ways to think about that is by simply looking at how things changed almost immediately, at the beginning of the pandemic more than three years ago, to now. How things changed has been well-documented, to be sure. The list ranges from initial widespread…
While the pandemic may no longer be front and center, its impact is still felt in the freight railroad and intermodal sectors. Taking a quick look back over recent years, from a rail carload and intermodal volume perspective, things go along these lines: 2020 volumes plunged while the economy was locked down; 2021 saw gains that were, in part, aided by helpful annual comparisons; and 2022 volumes ended the year in what could be viewed as a mixed bag, with total U.S. rail carloads off 0.3% annually, while intermodal containers and trailers were down 4.9%. Fast forward a year later,…
Late last week, Plantation, Fla.-based global express delivery and logistics services provider DHL Express heralded the opening of its new Americas region hub, which is located at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The company said it invested $84.5 million in this new 100,000 square-foot hub, and it added that the hub establishes direct connections between 19 cities in the Southeast and various global markets, which include Europe and major global DHL hubs. And it also noted that it plans to add flight connections to Hong Kong, Mexico, the UK, and Puerto Rico. What’s more, the company said that this new…
许多常见的主题,tr上空盘旋uckload (TL) market a year ago remain intact today, including elements such as lower contract and spot rates and excess capacity—which bodes well for shippers, but not so much for carriers. And while it still appears to be a shippers’ market, that’s not likely to last much longer. Should demand levels head up and inventories continue to trend down, that would present a scenario that truckload carriers would welcome—and could trigger a return to pricing power in tandem with tighter capacity. However, things are not there yet, due to continued economic uncertainty,…
Labor issues remain front and center, when it comes to assessing the state of United States-bound container imports. That was the main thesis of the Port Tracker report, which was issued today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates. The ports surveyed in the report include: Los Angeles/Long Beach; Oakland; Tacoma; Seattle; Houston; New York/New Jersey; Hampton Roads; Charleston, and Savannah; Miami; Jacksonville; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Port Everglades. Authors of the report explained that cargo import numbers do not correlate directly with retail sales or employment because they count only the number of cargo containers…
A research paper recently issued by San Francisco-based Uber Freight, a subsidiary of the ubiquitous, ride-sharing service Uber, whose proprietary app matches trucking companies with loads to haul, and a non-asset-based third-party logistics services provider, takes a long look at empty miles, which the company said is one of the most overlooked and prevalent crises in freight transportation and logistics. The research paper, entitled “Can Empty Miles in Freight Be Eliminated?” looks at ways in which how the trucking industry can build a more sustainable and efficient future?” In addressing how empty miles can be inefficient and problematic in trucking,…
再6月服务经济活动增长,according to the new edition of the ISM Report on Business, which was issued today by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The Services PMI—at 53.9 (a reading of 50 or higher signals growth) increased 3.6%, growing, at a faster rate, for the sixth consecutive month. ISM said that the services sector has seen growth in 36 of the last 37 months, with December 2022 being the one month with a decline. The June Services PMI is 0.1% above the 12-month average of 53.8, with July 2022’s 56.4 and December 2022’s 49.2 marking the…
The national average price per gallon of diesel gasoline was down, for the week of July 3, according to data issued this week by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA reported that the national average fell 3.4 cents, to $3.767 per gallon, marking the 10th consecutive week that the national average fell below the $4.00 per gallon mark. This represents thew lowest weekly average going back to the week of January 17, 2022, when it checked in at $3.725 per gallon. This follows a 1.4-cent decline, to $3.801, for the week of June 26, which was preceded…
The stalemate, of sorts, in the labor negotiations between Atlanta-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) on a new contract continues to remain intact, with time ticking away until the current contract expires on July 31. And the contentious tone of the talks between the parties has become even more tense, with the Teamsters saying earlier this morning that the negotiations have collapsed, with UPS having made what the Teamsters called an “unacceptable offer to the Teamsters that did not address members’ needs,” leading to the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee,…
June manufacturing output saw a very slight decline, while falling for the eighth consecutive month, according to the new edition of the Manufacturing Report on Business, which was issued today by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The report’s key metric, the PMI fell 0.9%, to 46 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth). The past eight months of contraction, through June, were preceded by a stretch of 29 consecutive months of growth. ISM also said that the overall economy contracted, at a faster rate, in May, for the eighth consecutive month, which was preceded by 30 consecutive months…
A new piece of bipartisan legislation focused on railroad service was re-introduced earlier week in the United States Senate by Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Roger Marshall (R-KS). Entitled, the “Reliable Rail Service Act” (S.2071), this legislation addresses the unreliable service and high cost of shipping for American businesses, according to the senators. What’s more, this legislation comes at a time when freight railroad service has received a fair amount of attention in recent years, for various reasons, including: crew shortages, unfilled car orders, delays in transportation for carload and bulk traffic, missed switches, and increased origin dwell time for released…
The ongoing contentious negotiations between Atlanta-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) hit another snag this week, with the Teamsters making it clear that UPS Teamsters employees prepared to go off the clock on July 31 if a new contract is not in place, coupled with the Teamsters saying today they want UPS to exchange “its last, best, and final offer no later than June 30.” This follows a vote earlier this month, with 97% of UPS Teamsters members signing off on authorizing a strike, which IBT said gives the union…