Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm
10/6/2021
-8.07
FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) for July, as reported in the September Shippers Update, was -8.07 — the best reading for the index since Q4 2020. The current forecast is for the SCI to improve "into low negative territory heading into 2022,” FTR officials said on Sept. 28. “Conditions are still tough for shippers and will likely remain difficult for some time to come,” said Todd Tranausky, vice president of rail and intermodal at FTR. “Strong capacity utilization will support higher rates even as service suffers over the next several months.”
0.5
American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.5% in August after falling 1.1% in July, ATA announced on Sept. 21. “August’s monthly gain, while small, was the first since March,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “I continue to believe that tonnage has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels for two main reasons — broader supply chain issues, like semiconductor shortages, as well as industry specific difficulties, including the driver shortage and lack of equipment. … Despite some supply chain issues, demand remains strong for trucking services generally. Truckload carriers are operating fewer trucks than a year earlier, which makes it difficult to increase freight volumes significantly.”
1.0
“TCI v. CNI: An existential fight is underway in Montreal, and it might be the Last Stand of the 'Cult of the OR' — any pivot AWAY from growth to margins is so PSR 1.0 and not reflective of the new RR focus, nor in broader terms of the shifting supply chain — and govt/regulatory — worlds.” — independent transportation analyst Tony Hatch, in a Sept. 24 email to his clients
2.6 and 2.8
American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and Decisiv Inc. reported on Sept. 12 that costs for parts and labor for repairs rose over the first six months of the year. Labor costs for repair and maintenance increased 2.6% between the first and second quarters in 2021 and overall parts costs increased by 2.8%, according to the Decisiv/TMC North American Service Event Benchmark Report. In that same period, parts costs for tires increased by 10.7% and transmissions part costs rose 9%. “The increases in costs for parts and labor reflect the changes taking place in the North American economy,” said Decisiv President and CEO Dick Hyatt. “Ongoing economic growth has led to a rise in freight volume and demand for carrying capacity. That is also being driven higher by the need to replenish supply chains that have been depleted due to manufacturing and distribution shutdowns during the pandemic.”
4
“CP gets re-approval — why necessary? — on a 4:1 STB vote on CP’s Voting Trust for KSU, under Old Rules, still requiring 'true independence' (via Mr. Starling) & financial viability (CP didn’t increase leverage)/It’s the only CPKC act that somehow flew under the radar…” — Oct. 4 tweet from independent transportation analyst Tony Hatch (@ABHatch18) via @commtrex
7
The equipment finance industry saw new business volume decrease 7% in 2020, according to the 2021 Survey of Equipment Finance Activity (SEFA) released Sept. 14 by the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA). This marked the first time in a decade that businesses decreased their overall spending on capital equipment, according to the survey. However, the 7% decline was less than the double-digit drop expected “as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world and transformed businesses,” ELFA officials said.
10.78
FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) for July declined to 10.78 from 12.61 in June, FTR revealed on Sept. 22. Market conditions are still robust for carriers despite some modest easing over the past three months from the record TCI posted in April. “We have yet to see any softening of market conditions that are basically the strongest trucking companies have ever seen — certainly for such a prolonged period,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. “However, we are finally seeing some movement toward more driver capacity. The recovery in trucking’s payroll employment has accelerated over the past three months even as the number of newly authorized carriers — most of which would not be captured by payroll job data — continues to set records. Meanwhile, the number of pre-employment queries in the drug and alcohol clearinghouse in August was the highest recorded since the clearinghouse began in January last year. These developments have not shown up in any weakening of trucking conditions, but they certainly increase the chances for some stabilization in the coming months.”
12
The shipments component of the Cass Freight Index® grew 12% year over year in August and “should slow to mid-single-digit growth into year-end on tougher comps,” Cass Information Systems Inc. reported on Sept. 13. The recovery after a skid in June and July amid further slowdowns in rail volumes suggests trucking is picking up slack from the railroads, currently snarled by the chassis shortage,” Cass officials said. “But shipment volumes remain limited by the capacity of the freight network, as shown by the backlog of 125 or so containerships at anchor off North American ports. … The extent to which constraints on equipment and driver supply ease in the coming months will largely dictate volumes, with declines likely to continue in intermodal and more pressure on trucking to shoulder the load.”
21
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index showed overall new business volume in August for the equipment finance sector was $8.5 billion, up 21% year-over-year from new business volume in August 2020. Volume was down 14% month-to-month from $9.9 billion in July. “While demand for equipment remains strong, August was the second consecutive month of reduced origination volume for the industry,” said Jeffrey Hilzinger, president and CEO, Marlin Capital Solutions, on Sept. 24. “Supply chain issues continue to be a key driver underlying this trend and seem to have worsened in recent months. On the positive side, approval rates have remained at pre-COVID levels and portfolio delinquencies and charge-offs remain at historically low levels.”
29
Preliminary North American Class 8 net orders for September fell month over month 29% to 28,100 units, FTR announced on Oct. 4. September 2021 activity was down 12% year over year, with Class 8 orders totaling 453,000 units for the previous 12 months. The order decline came as OEMs are “managing their Q1 production slots in a variety of ways,” FTR officials said. Some manufactures continue to enter orders in a measured fashion, filling openings as they become available. Others are rolling unmet 2021 orders into 2022 and delaying new 2022 bookings. Supply chain disruptions are now expected to persist well into 2022, and OEMs are having problems determining how many trucks they will be able to build in first-quarter 2022, FTR officials said.
100,000
UPS expects to hire more than 100,000 “essential seasonal employees” to support the anticipated annual increase in package volume that begins in October 2021 and continues through January 2022, the company announced Sept. 9. Many of the applicants “will have a [job] offer in hand within 20 minutes of applying,” UPS President of U.S. Operations Nando Cesarone said.
255 million
Chicago-based project44, a visibility platform company for shippers and logistics service providers, acquired Austin, Texas-based Convey, a last-mile technology firm, for $255 million, project44 announced on Sept. 21. The acquisition is project44’s third in 2021 and its largest to date. With Convey, project44 now connects more than 880 global shippers and third-party logistics providers with a network of 113,000 carriers, 2.6 million assets and more than 9 billion last-mile shipment events, project44 officials said.
500 million
Blume Global, a provider of supply chain execution and visibility technology, raised new equity from London-based Bridgepoint Group, Blume Global announced on Sept. 15. The investment “will further the company’s effort to bring its truly innovative and transformational supply chain digitization to the industry,” company officials said. The latest funding values Blume Global at $500 million, and Bridgepoint joins funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and EQT as equity investors in the company.