Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm
12/30/2024
9.6 million
The Port of Long Beach is on track to handle 9.6 million cargo containers by year's end, the port announced on Dec. 17. In November, the port logged 884,154 20-foot equivalent units, up 20.9% from the same month last year and surpassing the previous record set in November 2020 by 12.8%, port officials said. “Imports are being driven by strong consumer demand while retailers continue to move cargo here out of concern for labor negotiations at ports on the East and Gulf coasts,” said CEO Mario Cordero.
6 million
Schneider National Inc.'s battery electric vehicle (BEV) fleet has surpassed 6 million zero emission miles, the company announced on Dec. 13. Schneider has had a reduction of 20 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions since the company started using BEVs — the equivalent of "removing over 2,100 gas-powered passenger vehicles from the road for one year," company officials said.
1,473
The Indian Railways loaded 1,473 metric tons of freight in 2024, a 3.86% increase compared with 2023's total, India's Ministry of Railways announced on Dec. 29.
24
Through November, Port Houston handled 3,799.573 twenty-foot equivalent units in 2024, a 9% increase compared with the same 2023 period and a 24% hike year over year, the port announced on Dec. 16. Loaded imports rose 19% in November, driven by consumer goods and machinery; loaded exports were up 16%, boosted by "robust" resin shipments, port officials said. Resins account for 45% of the port's export volumes.
20
"To help manage the potential impact of ongoing challenges at U.S. East Coast and Gulf ports, we are introducing a Work Disruption Surcharge (WDS) and Work Interruption Destination Surcharge (WID), effective January 20, 2025, in the event of a strike. This surcharge covers additional costs from labor disruptions, strikes, slowdowns, unrest, congestion, and other unforeseen events that may delay operations and incur extra handling, storage, and feeder service costs. ... [T]he surcharge will only be applied if disruptions occur and will be waived if no disruptions take place." — a Dec. 24 message posted in the "CustomerNEWS" section of ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd's website
16 & 20
"The freight recession is over, though the start of the recovery is slow and does not feel much different yet. ... Overall, we see 2025 as a long-awaited recovery year. ... We now assume ~16% and ~20% EPS growth in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Cumulative projected EBIT growth for 2025-2026 (~28% on a median basis) is no layup, but looks reasonable relative to operating income growth in prior freight market recoveries." — Baird Equity Research’s Garrett Holland in a Dec. 23 report titled "Baird/Holland/Transports: 2025 Outlook: Boiling a Recovery"
10
At the Port of Oakland, total cargo volume increased 10% from January through November 2024, compared with the same 2023 period, the port announced on Dec. 26. “We are optimistic that strong container volume will continue through the end of the year,” said Port of Oakland Manager of Business Development and International Marketing Carolyn Almquist. “We expect to be on track to return to our pre-pandemic baseline cargo numbers. Our total inbound and outbound volume is up, and agricultural exports are boosting our outbound cargo business.”
2.8
After two consecutive months of declines, the shipments component of the Cass Freight Index® rose 0.5% month over month in November, Cass Information Systems Inc. announced on Dec. 12. In seasonally adjusted terms, the index rose 2.8% month over month from October. "Ongoing economic growth and slowing private fleet capacity additions are helping to narrow the year-over-year declines, but the normal seasonal pattern would have the index down about 3% year over year in December," Cass officials said.
1.3
FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index declined in October to 1.3 from a 4.6 reading in September, FTR announced on Dec. 20. Market conditions for shippers were less favorable due to firmer fuel costs and tighter capacity. Meanwhile, "significant trade policy changes" under President-elect Trump "could yield a more volatile freight market," they said. One example: “Announced tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada and increased tariffs on Chinese goods along with other likely tariffs raise the level of uncertainty over market conditions for shippers in the near term," said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. "We expect any additional pressure on supply chains and freight transportation due to changes in trade policy to be mostly temporary, but a few hiccups seem likely."
0.2
Rate cuts at major central banks, "healthy" balance sheets and global economic growth "slowing only marginally" by 0.2 percentage points "underpins a broadly neutral credit outlook in 2025," Fitch Ratings officials said on Dec. 20. But "continued economic deceleration in the U.S. and China, the fragility of the eurozone recovery, significant uncertainties around U.S. economic policy and geopolitical flashpoints present key credit risks," they added. Among the uncertainties: The incoming Trump administration's call to "materially increase tariffs that risk a global trade war with negative implications for growth," they said. Other potential U.S. policy priorities, such as tightening immigration restrictions and tax cuts, could "add to inflationary pressures," they added.