Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm
5/1/2024
-5.31
FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for February fell to -5.31 from January’s reading of -1.41, FTR officials said on April 11, citing a "sharp increase" in diesel prices as the main reason for the decline.
0.2
The shipments component of the Cass Freight Index® fell 0.2% month over month in March "as for-hire demand remains broadly consistent," Cass Information Systems Inc. officials said in an April 15 report titled "Steady as We Go." The index fell 2.3% month over month in seasonally adjusted terms. The 3.6% year-over-year decline was "the smallest in a year, and although freight demand is broadly better than the for-hire market, it’s still hard to see amid ongoing private fleet growth," Cass officials said.
10
United Steel Supply LLC plans to invest up to $10 million at Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville to open a steel processing and painting facility, creating as many as 20 jobs, port officials announced on April 24. United Steel Supply will begin renovations immediately with initial operations scheduled to begin in early Q3, port officials said.
12
U.S. manufacturing companies "have invested heavily in more automation: total installations of industrial robots rose by 12% and reached 44,303 units in 2023," according to preliminary results of an International Federation of Robotics (IFR) study released April 30. Leading the way among the adopters is the car industry followed by the electrical and electronics sector. “The United States has one of the most advanced manufacturing industries worldwide,” said IRF President Marina Bill. “The first IFR outlook on preliminary results shows again strong robotics demand across all major segments of U.S. manufacturing in 2023.”
21
For the first time since September 2023, FTR’s January Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) fell into negative territory in February. "In both months the culprit was the same: Diesel prices. The SCI declined to -1.4 from January’s reading of 3.4," FTR officials said on April 19. Added Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking: “Although February might prove to be a near-term outlier due to the 21-cent spike in diesel prices, the days of favorable market conditions for shippers are numbered. By the first quarter of 2025, we expect a steady but incremental tightening of the truck market to yield a modestly tougher environment for shippers.”
22
"Private investment in box cars will continue to decrease while box cars currently serving the market will retire at a rate of 22% by 2030, a mere six years away. This is in addition to a 38% decline in box-car fleet reported since 2008. Increased market concentration will lead to price increases for shippers, demonstrated by already high rates given limited competition in the space." — Railway Supply Institute President Patty Long in an April 18 post on RSI's website: rsiweb.org
36
"[On April 16, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.] reported earnings that shocked the market (the stock dropped ~8% after the report, which featured a net decline of 36%. There were some questions there = why did JBI underperform both BNSF and the ports of LA/LB (in volumes)? The latter could be loss of share for transloading versus IPI. But in any event, JB Hunt stuck to its guns, investing in capacity (new containers, the WMRT deal, etc) and having a $100mm resilience cost hit. This is the Great Experiment, IM-style." — Independent Transportation Analyst Tony Hatch in an April 23 email message to his clients
38
In March, trailer orders fell 7,659 from February's total, a 38% month-over-month decline, FTR officials said April 17. Orders were down 18% year over year and 25% below the average for the last 12 months, they said.
52.9
According to the April 2024 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry, confidence in the equipment finance market is 52.9 — the second highest index in the last two years after last month’s index of 55.2, foundation officials said on April 18. The index is a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $1 trillion equipment finance sector. “Monetary policy has not been as effective in taming inflation that recently came in at an annual rate of 3.2%," said survey respondent Mark Bonanno, president and chief operating officer of North Mill Equipment Finance. "The U.S. government as well as the consumer (via credit cards) have unsustainable debt levels, and that will eventually cause cracks in the economy.”
140 & 60.7
"Union Pacific — a secret convert to resiliency railroading? Last week UNP reported a big big win, beating consensus by a lot, growing earnings YOY (albeit slightly), and improving their OR by 140bps to 60.7%. ... Reading between the lines, sometimes the lines themselves in the Q&A, one could discern a real focus on resilience. [CEO Jim] Vena spoke about it directly, [EVP-Operations Eric] Gehringer noted that they have 'enough mainline capacity' and that they 'continue to maintain a buffer in our crews' and 'cars … spaced across the system' and 500 stored/ready locos. There was no pushback. Maybe the financial community has reached the conclusion that resiliency isn’t the enemy of PSR, after all?" — Independent transportation analyst Tony Hatch in an April 30 message to his clients
127 million
Americold Realty Trust broke ground on a $127 million cold storage facility in Kansas City, Missouri, Americold officials announced on April 30. The new 335,000-square-foot facility is part of a strategic collaboration with Canadian Pacific Kansas City to co-locate Americold warehouse facilities on the CPKC network. The facility will support CPKC’s Mexico Midwest Express service.
148 million
On April 24, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced $148 million in grants to 11 states and Puerto Rico under the first round of a new $400 million program to improve air quality and reduce pollution for truck drivers, port workers and families that live in communities surrounding ports. Created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port Facilities Grant Program invests in port electrification and efficiency improvements. The aim: to reduce pollution from idling trucks at U.S. ports while modernizing infrastructure and strengthening supply chains.
700 million & 550 million
On April 30, CN announced a public debt offering of C$700 million 4.60% Notes due 2029, and C$550 million 5.10% Notes Due 2054. CN expects to close the offering on May 2, 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.
