-1.35
FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for November improved to -1.35 from the previous month’s -6.07, FTR announced on Jan. 19. A “sharp drop in fuel prices” was the primary reason for the increase, but “all key factors contributing to FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index were more favorable” for carriers in November, FTR officials said, adding that the outlook “remains modestly negative” through late 2024.
1.6
The shipments component of the Cass Freight Index® fell 1.6% month over month in December, but increased 2.1% month over month in seasonally adjusted terms (volumes fell less than normal in the holiday shortened month), Cass Information Systems Inc. revealed on Jan. 15. On a year-over-year basis, basis, the index declined 7.2%, after an 8.9% decline in November. After rising 0.6% in 2022, the index declined 5.5% in 2023, Cass officials said.
2.1
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.1% in December after falling 1.4% in November, ATA announced on Jan. 23. For the entire year, tonnage contracted 1.7% from 2022 levels. "This makes 2023 the worst annual reading since 2020 when the index fell 4% from 2019, and the only year since 2020 that tonnage contracted," said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.
2.5
The Port of Los Angeles processed 747,335 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in December, 2.5% more than in the same 2022 period and the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year gains, port officials said on Jan. 16. For 2023, the port handled 8,634,497 TEUs, about 13% less than the prior year, with trade declining in most categories, port officials said.
5
On Jan. 18, the Prince Rupert Port Authority announced that 23.5 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Prince Rupert in 2023, 5% less than volumes in 2022 and the third consecutive year of volume decline. The totals reflect the “challenges of shifting global shipping routes, soft demand for imports and competition with other North American trade gateways for discretionary cargo,” port authority officials said.
11
In December, Port Houston recorded an 11% increase container twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) compared with the same 2022 period, port officials announced on Jan. 17. December 2023 was the port’s biggest December on record for loaded exports, which were also up 11%, totaling 119,970 TEUs. Loaded imports increased 11% for the month compared to the previous December, with the port handling 150,648 TEUs. For the year, cargo volumes handled at Port Houston’s two container terminals were down 4% compared with 2022’s total. “This small decrease is mostly attributed to a large drop in empty repositioning volumes,” port officials said.
17
“December rail volumes LOOK better: The North American total was up 8.6% YOY … Coal (+6%), chemicals, in a reversal of fortune, +8%, and motor vehicles staying strong (+10%) led the "rally.” At some point coal will resume its long-term sad trend — the EIA sees U.S. coal production down 17% in 2024.” — independent transportation analyst Tony Hatch in a Jan. 19 message to his clients
30
During the Midwest Association of Railroad Shippers Annual Winter Meeting, held Jan. 9-11 in Lombard, Illinois, Union Pacific Railroad President Beth Whited “covered UP's big intermodal expansions, and the Falcon service to Eagle Pass (noting that not one immigrant crossed the Pass on a train!) … She [also] noted that 30% of UP employees are shareholders, and over a quarter of the union (craft) force, which is pretty remarkable.” — independent transportation analyst Tony Hatch in a Jan. 19 message to his clients
37
Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) officials recently updated Northeast Georgia county representatives and customers on its Blue Ridge Connector project. Slated to open in 2026, the Blue Ridge Connector “is designed to open access to world markets and create a positive economic impact in the Northeast Georgia region by connecting the Port of Savannah’s 37 weekly global services with Gainesville, Georgia,” Stacy Watson, GPA's Director of Economic & Industrial Development said on Jan. 23. The 104-acre location will link to the Port of Savannah’s Mason Mega Rail, the largest on-dock rail facility in North America. It features daily rail departures on CSX and Norfolk Southern to inland markets. The port currently moves about 20% of cargo via rail to inland destinations and 80% by truck.
200,000
On Jan. 22, marine terminal and logistics company Enstructure and JAXPORT announced a 30-year public-private partnership to lease and develop 79 acres of waterfront property at the port’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal. The agreement calls for Enstructure to develop at least 200,000 square feet of new on-terminal warehousing at Talleyrand. The additional warehousing will increase JAXPORT’s on-terminal covered capacity to handle non-containerized cargo such as forest products by 20%.
2 billion
“It's coming ... Daimler, Cummins and Paccar are planning a $2B battery facility in Mississippi.” — independent transportation analyst Tony Hatch in a Jan. 19 message to his clients about the 21-gigawatt hour factory, which is expected to begin producing battery cells for commercial electric vehicles in 2027
3 billion
BlackRock Inc. plans to acquire infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners for $3 billion. “A number of long-term structural trends support an acceleration in infrastructure investment,” BlackRock officials said in announcing the transaction on Jan. 12. “These include increasing global demand for upgraded digital infrastructure like fiber broadband, cell towers and data centers; renewed investment in logistical hubs such as airports, railroads and shipping ports as supply chains are rewired; and a movement toward decarbonization and energy security in many parts of the world.”
