Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm
6/21/2023
0.7
Parts and labor expenses stabilized during first-quarter 2023, according to the Decisiv/TMC North American Service Event Benchmark Report, issued June 14 by American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and Decisiv Inc. “While high prices for parts and higher wages for labor during the past year are unlikely to return to earlier levels, the latest Decisiv/TMC Benchmark Report — organized by Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standard system level codes — shows a marked slowing of cost increases,” ATA/Decisiv officials said.” Compared to the fourth quarter of last year, those costs rose only 0.7 percent, a sizable drop when viewed against the more than 8 percent increase from one year earlier.”
1.9
In May, the shipments component of the Cass Freight Index® rose 1.9% month over month but fell 0.8% m/m in seasonally adjusted terms and fell 5.6% year over year. “While it was a softer-than-normal seasonal increase from April, it was nonetheless an increase,” Cass Information Systems Inc. officials said on June 13. “Declining real retail sales trends and ongoing destocking” continue to be the main headwinds, but “dynamics are shifting as real incomes improve and the worst of the destock is in the rearview,” Cass officials said. “With normal seasonality, this index would rise slightly month over month in June and still decline about 3% year over year.”
8
Consumers may be returning to brick-and-mortar stores, but “e-commerce sales are not slowing down,” according to the 2023 State of Logistics Report, issued June 20 by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. “In 2022, the U.S. e-commerce market grew by 8%, to $1.03 trillion (up from $871 billion the previous year) and now represents “14.5% of the entire U.S. retail market,” according to the report.
9.1
U.S. business logistics costs reached a record $2.3 trillion in 2022, up from $1.85 trillion the previous year — and now represent 9.1% of the national GDP, which is “the highest percentage of GDP ever,” according to the 2023 State of Logistics Report, issued June 20 by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.
21.3
In an update to its "An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking," the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) said on June 21 that total marginal costs in 2022 increased to $2.251 per mile, a 21.3% hike compared with 2021's total. Fuel was the largest driver (53.7% higher than in 2021), but other line-items also rose by double digits, ATRI officials said. For example: Driver wages increased by 15.5%, to $0.724 per mile.
33
In 2022, the transportation sector "suffered more operational technology cyber attacks with physical consequences than any other industry," according to a report issued recently by Waterfall Security Solutions. Out of the 57 total cyber attacks with physical consequences in 2022, 33% occurred in the transportation industry, according to Waterfall's 2023 Threat Report. "Based on current trends, Waterfall anticipates around 140 cyber incidents with physical consequences in 2023, a year-over-year increase of 140%," according to a June 19 email announcing the report's availability.
62
On June 15, San Diego-based TuSimple Holdings Inc. announced it had successfully completed China's first fully autonomous semi-truck run on open public roads “without a human in the vehicle and without human intervention,” company officials said. The Driver Out run was conducted on the designated public roads approved by the Shanghai government. Over a 62-kilometer course, TuSimple China's autonomous truck “demonstrated its capability to navigate complex road and weather conditions in both urban and highway environments within the port area,” including traffic signals, on-ramps, off-ramps, lane changes, emergency lane vehicles, partial lane closures, fog and crosswinds, company officials said.
69
According to Container xChange’s June Forecaster, the “persistent decline” in container prices is accompanying “resurging supply chain disruptions such as the Panama Canal drought, labor strikes on the U.S. West Coast, and a technical recession in the Eurozone.” Issued June 12, the forecasters also predict a further slide in average container prices in the coming weeks, with “no signs of container demand revival” — a sentiment reflected in a survey Container xChange conducted in May 2023 with the global freight forwarding community. About 69% of respondents (406 sample size) hope there will be a container demand bounce back this year, but only 18% are “hopeful of this revival in the short term (1-3 months), and 51% are ‘guestimating’ without a clear outlook” of a bounce-back timeline.
223
“The four-week rolling average of petroleum carloads carried on the six largest North American railroads fell to 25,557 from 25,334, which was a gain of +223 rail cars week-over-week. Canadian volumes rose week over week; CPKC’s shipments increased by +16.7% week over week, and CN’s volumes were higher by +8.0% week-over-week. U.S. shipments were mostly higher. The NS had the largest percentage increase and was up by +28.8% week-over-week. The BN was the sole decliner and was down by -4.9%.” — from the June 19 edition of the “PFL Petroleum Railcar Report”
1.2 billion
Based on “business development to date” and more “concrete prospects” for the remainder of the year, Vossloh AG’s executive board recently raised its 2023 sales guidance, according to a June 15 press release. Vossloh — which offers a range of rail products and services, including fail fastening systems, concrete ties, switch systems and crossings — originally anticipated a range of €1.05 billion to €1.15 billion in sales for the current fiscal year. Now, the company expects sales of between €1.125 billion and €1.2 billion.
