Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm
9/13/2022
-3.36
Trucking conditions “deteriorated further” in June as fuel costs, financing costs and freight rates “were negative factors,” FTR reported on Aug. 22. FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) fell to -3.36 from -0.3 in May. Before May and June, the TCI hadn’t been negative in consecutive months since April and May 2020. “We might still see some positive outliers in the TCI — especially if diesel prices continue to fall sharply — but the truck freight market has hit an inflection point,” said FTR Vice President of Trucking Avery Vise.
1.1
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 1.1% in July after rising 0.5% in June, ATA announced on Aug. 23. In July, the index equaled 116.2 (2015=100) compared with June’s 117.5. “While tonnage is much stronger than a year ago, the monthly gains have moderated as the year has gone on,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The combination of softer consumption of goods, home construction falling and slower manufacturing activity are the main reasons.”
~1.8
“Supply chain pressure easing as demand slows: The New York Fed’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index (GSCPI) has moved steadily lower since April with July’s reading ~1.8 standard deviations above average, down from 2.3 in June and the peak of 4.3 in December 2021. Historically, during recessions the [index] falls to 1 standard deviation below average with transportation & warehousing PPI falling at least 5% Y/Y.” — Baird Equity Research’s Garrett Holland in a Sept. 1 report titled “Baird/Holland/Transports: Q3 Update: Freight Pricing and Demand Still Leaking”
9, 12 ... and 2
As of 12 noon EDT on Sept. 13, the National Carriers' Conference Committee, which represents the U.S. major freight railroads in national collective bargaining, had reached tentative agreements with 9 of the 12 unions representing 140,000 railroad workers. The 2 operating craft unions — Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and SMART-Transportation Division— had yet to accept tentative agreements. Under the Railway Labor Act, the carriers and unions that have not reached agreements remain in a cooling-off period, which ends at 12:01 a.m. EDT Sept. 16. At that time, the 30-day cooling-off period that began when the Presidential Emergency Board issued its contract recommendations will expire. If an agreement isn’t reached, a railroad strike, lockout or slowdown is possible.
13.9
“#8. Has ecommerce peaked? Now I know that sounds as silly as ‘Is intermodal worth it?’ but the retail sector’s share peaked recently at 16.4% of the total in the height of COVID, Q2/20 (who went to a store in the spring of 2020??). In the last quarter, it was 13.9%. Ecommerce is berry, berry good for railroads.” — Independent Transportation Analyst Tony Hatch in a segment of his Sept. 12 message to his clients called “Top Ten Questions I hope to gain insight on at [Intermodal] EXPO,” the Intermodal of Association of North America conference held in Long Beach, California, Sept. 12-14
25
UPS plans to hire more than 100,000 seasonal employees ahead of the holiday rush using a “streamlined, digital-first process” that will take “just 25 minutes for most people — from filling out an online application to receiving a job offer,” company officials said in a Sept. 7 announcement. Nearly 80% of seasonal positions “do not require an interview,” they added.
38
Only 38% of consumers believe retailers are doing a good job of using sustainable delivery practices, according to “Retailers: Sustainability is Not a Challenge, It’s an Opportunity,” a survey conducted by Descartes System Group. Meanwhile, more than 50% of the respondents indicated they were “quite/very interested in environmentally friendly delivery methods,” and 54% would be willing to accept longer lead times for an environmentally friendly delivery, according to Descartes, which issued the survey results on Sept. 12. The study of more than over 8,000 consumers across nine European countries, Canada and the United States “shows that many consumers prefer to buy more from those retailers with superior sustainable delivery practices and to take ecofriendly delivery options that reduce environmental impact and delivery costs at the same time,” said Chris Jones, Descartes’ executive vice president of industry and services.
95
“#1. What is the current state of the supply chain? The San Pedro ports of LA/LB have reduced ship backlog by some 95% even as, with the accelerated shift away from SoCal during the post-pandemic period, backlogs have grown at eastern ports — and inland.” — Independent Transportation Analyst Tony Hatch in a segment of his Sept. 12 message to his clients called “Top Ten Questions I hope to gain insight on at [Intermodal] EXPO,” the Intermodal of Association of North America conference held in Long Beach, California, Sept. 12-14
98
North American Class 8 net orders for August jumped 98% month-over-month to 21,400 units, FTR reported on Sept. 6. “Most OEMs began placing a limited number of orders for the first quarter of 2023,” FTR officials said. “It appears OEMs have returned to the pattern of the first quarter of this year when orders averaged 21,100 units.” Added FTR Vice President of Commercial Sales Don Ake: “The good news is that the traditional summer order slump has ended a month early this year. OEMs felt the need to start filling in their Q1 production schedules for their prime customers. The supply chain is still cogged so they still are unable to book all the commitments they still have.”
650
“… our recrew rate, which had been 11-plus percent in April is down to about 7%, 7.5%, which generates crews all by itself. And we've been graduating — hiring and graduating new conductors. So far this year, we've got somewhere north of 650 graduated. We've got another somewhere 450 to 500 in the pipeline, and our expectation by the end of the year is to higher and ultimately graduate 1,400 new crew.” — Union Pacific Railroad Chairman, President & CEO Lance Fritz during Cowen's 15th Annual Global Transportation & Sustainable Mobility Conference, held Sept. 7.
2,214
Shipping lines and container owners in North America — primarily in the United States — “are finding it difficult to return containers to China,” according to officials at Container xChange, a technology marketplace/operating platform for container logistics firms. The average container prices for cargo-worthy containers of all types in the region rose from $2,116 in July to $2,214 in August, according to Container xChange’s monthly container logistics report titled “Where are all the containers?” Ports on the U.S. east and west coasts are experiencing an increase in average container prices, while average container prices are declining in Asia, Container xChange officials said, adding that per-month U.S. trading prices for cargo-worthy containers were up 7.3%. “This situation of empty containers piling up in the U.S. and in the Europe will lead to tighter depot space, carriers will rush to get rid of their older equipment, and second-hand container prices will continue to slide,” said Christian Roeloffs, the firm’s cofounder and CEO.
90.7 billion
The global freight brokerage market amassed revenue of $48.1 billion in 2021, and is expected to hit $90.7 billion by 2031, according to a report issued Aug. 30 by Allied Market Research. Based on transport mode of transport, the waterways segment held the largest share in 2021, contributing to more than two-fifths of the global freight brokerage market share, Allied Market Research officials said.