Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm
8/29/2023
-6.29
FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for June fell to -6.29 from the previous -3.75, reflecting “modestly weaker market conditions for carriers,” FTR officials reported on Aug. 23, adding that June’s reading was the “most negative” since November 2022. “Based on our assessment, for-hire trucking companies have already faced the longest period of consistently unfavorable market conditions since the Great Recession,” said FTR Vice President of Trucking Avery Vise. “We expect negative TCI readings to continue for nearly a year longer and little, if any, improvement until early 2024.”
0.4
“Manufacturing is a relatively small share of the economy — it’s equivalent to around 11% or 12% of U.S. GDP — but it traditionally has been a good early warning sign regarding the health of the overall economy. … Today, industrial and manufacturing output are consistent with the economy with some misfiring cylinders. Total U.S. industrial output fell a preliminary and seasonally adjusted 0.5% in June 2023 from May 2023, matching the decline in May from April. Total output in June 2023 was down 0.4% from June 2022, the first year-over-year decline for total output since February 2021.” — from the Aug. 4 issue of Rail Time Indicators, issued by the Association of American Railroads
0.8
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.8% in July after falling 0.3% in June. In July, the index equaled 112.9, compared with 113.8 in June. “As has been the case for several months, a multitude of factors have caused a recession in freight, including sluggish spending on goods by households as consumers traveled more and went to concerts this summer,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello on Aug. 22. “Less home construction, falling factory output and shippers consolidating freight into fewer shipments compared with the frenzy during the goods buying spree at the height of the pandemic are also significant drags on tonnage.”
5
In July, container volumes at Port Houston were the highest of any previous July on record, the port announced on Aug. 21. The port handled 344,163 TEUs during the month, a 5% increase from July 2022. Year to date, 2,202,538 TEUs were handled at Port Houston terminals, 1% less than last year's record volumes. Loaded import volumes were 166,151 TEUs, an increase of 4% compared to last July’s total. Loaded export volumes were up 15% at 117,652 TEUs. Year-to-date, loaded export volumes were up 12% compared to last year’s total, “mainly due to the strong demand for resins,” port officials said. “Overall, Port Houston is seeing a balanced flow of containers, with 51% imports and 49% exports so far this year.”
12
South Carolina Ports handled 208,134 TEUs and 115,422 pier containers in July, the port announced on Aug. 21. Imports into the Port of Charleston rose 12% from June’s total and contributed to a 3% increase year over year. Exports were up 9% from last year. Total container volume was down about 4% year over year, driven by lower exports of empty containers. “Although overall volumes continue to reflect the tempered U.S. economy, the Southeast is booming and the U.S. East Coast port market continues to attract new cargo,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said.
14 & 23
With restrictions in place on the number of vessels allowed to traverse the Panama Canal due to low water levels at one of the canal’s locks, the Panama Canal Authority is currently offering 14 locks for Panamax lock entry, down from the usual 23. “This allows us to manage congestion and ensures ships en route or in queue, which haven’t secured reservations, can still transit in competitive time frames,” authority officials said in a post dated Aug. 23 on the canal’s website. “It should be noted that transits through the Neopanamax locks maintain their regular average of 10 transits per day, so these have not been impacted by the measure.”
19
The shipments component of the Cass Freight Index® fell 2.2% month over month in July and 1.2% month over month in seasonally adjusted terms, Cass Information Systems Inc. reported on Aug. 14. Year over year, the index was 8.9% lower in July, following a 4.7% decline in June. “The freight market downcycle is now 19 months old, which compares to a range of 21 to 28 months in the past three downcycles,” Cass officials said. “Declining real retail sales and destocking remain the primary issues, but dynamics are shifting as real incomes improve and the worst of the destock is in the rearview.”
29
“Coal may not be as important to U.S. railroads as it once was, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still important. In the first seven months of 2023, coal accounted for 29% of non-intermodal U.S. rail carloads, more than double second place chemicals (14%).” — from the Aug. 4 issue of Rail Time Indicators, issued by the Association of American Railroads
40
“Ongoing challenges at the Panama Canal are making existing worries for industries even worse. New industry information shows that the U.S. economy’s consumer spending has seen an uptick, which is good. With inventories falling and demand expected to rebound, the Panama Canal, which carries 40% of container traffic from Asia to Europe, is likely to experience increased pressure.” — Christian Roeloffs, cofounder and CEO of Container xChange, on Aug. 21
47
For the six months ended June 30, Hong Kong-based Kerry Logistics Network Ltd. reported revenue of HK$25,315 million, a 47% decline compared with the same 2022 period, the company announced on Aug. 28. Core operating profit decreased by 84% to HK$568 million; core net profit dropped by 85% year over year to HK$368 million. Said Managing Director Vic Cheung: “In 2023 1H, global trade volume and growth remained subdued. Freight rates and volume stayed depressed while supply chain demand remained stagnant.”
9.9 billion
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25) showed overall new business volume for July was $9.9 billion, down 2% year over year from July 2022’s total, the association announced on Aug. 29. Volume was down 9% from $10.9 billion in June. Year to date, cumulative new business volume was up 1.3%. MLFI-25 reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $1 trillion equipment finance sector.