Economics

Donald Broughton explores the technology economy and its impact on the overall economy.

The Cass Shipments Index came in negative for the fifth month in a row in April, sparking concern about potential economic contraction.

Economic data from the goods side of the economy continued to underperform in April, as both retail sales and industrial production unexpectedly declined during the month

April shipments were down 3.2 percent year-over-year, prompting Boughton to acknowledge “material and growing downside risk to the economic outlook” in the latest Cass Freight Index Report.

FreightWaves market expert Jim Blaze looks at a regulatory spat between Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway over the concept of “open access.” Learn why that is important to all railroads – and shippers!

The countdown for bringing Chinese goods into the U.S. ahead of new import duties is now underway. But it’s unclear whether the sequel will match last year’s container crush due to high inventories and sourcing changes. As FreightWaves reported, last week’s breakdown in trade talks between the two world’s largest economies pushed President Donald Trump […]

While the degradation was seen across most sectors, the transport sectors saw large declines.

Market expert Brian Aoaeh explains why all of us should be rooting for Uber, Lyft and other startups. Read why!

Market expert Brian Aoaeh writes about the impact of market disruption on the freight brokerage sector. Learn how Amazon, artificial intelligence, machine learning and other disruptors will change the business…

Cathy Roberson, an aviation market expert, writes about the effect Amazon is having on U.S. airports.

PPI data showed some firming in overall inflation, though trucking rates fell again in April

When Paul Svindland took over as CEO of Celadon Group (OTCPink: CGIP) in the summer of 2017, he was stepping into an operation that had been riddled with financial concerns following the company’s auditors, BKD LLP, stating that Celadon’s financials “should no longer be relied upon.” Since that time, Svindland and the management team surrounding […]

White House makes sudden u-turn on tariff truce, upsetting calm in financial markets. President Donald Trump ended the spring truce in the U.S.-China trade war this weekend, with  threat to go forward with higher tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports. He also upped the ante with a promise to add tariffs on another $325 […]

In this commentary article, Donald Broughton looks at the second part of the economy – the consumer economy – and where we are now in the economic cycle.

Best-selling author Brad Stone (The Everything Store) will tell more about the history and future of an amazing corporate success story – Amazon – at Transparency19. Get your tickets now for this must-attend event.

The Economic Roundup is designed to synthesize the events of the past month as they relate to freight markets, and provide a guide on trends to keep an eye on in the upcoming month.

Market expert Scott Case has written about the use of dynamic pricing in airfreight. Long-used to sell passenger seats on airplanes, dynamic pricing is new to airfreight – but will likely be used extensively going forward. Read Scott’s take on the why’s and wherefore’s of the move.

“You see a dearth of well-capitalized investment firms in this space,” said Dabo Horsfall, a former investment officer at Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners who launched Tensile Investments in 2018.

Market expert Brian Aoaeh’s article focuses on the current and upcoming maritime industry issues – IMO 2020, global warming, rising sea levels, etc. Read Brian’s take on how the maritime industry is meeting these challenges.