Tender volumes are taking many by surprise, but not those that understand what is happening with the use of ELD’s by small carriers, especially in the dry van segment.
Concerns over a global trade war have eased this morning, as Canada agreed late Sunday to join a trade deal between the US and Mexico. The deal makes modest revisions to the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and clears up some of the uncertainty surrounding the trade environment.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported slowing growth pointing to weaker exports as the China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) dropped to 50.8 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous month to the second lowest reading in 12 months.
The US trade deficit in goods widened for the third consecutive month in August as another decline exports was paired with a modest increase in imports. The total value of traded volume fell for the month, but remains generally strong relative to last year.
Factory orders for durable goods rose in August, driven by a large increase in commercial aircraft orders. Orders historically are a leading indicator of future shipments, and August’s results suggest that freight demand on the durable side of the economy should remain solid.
The investment bank issued a report this morning calling for one more spot rate peak in the fourth quarter, followed by a softer 2019 that should still be 12% above the 2012-7 cycle. New price targets were also issued.
Both new home sales and home starts showed some improvement in August, ending months of disappointing activity. Existing home sales failed to expand for the fifth straight month however, and housing in general remains a weak area for freight demand.
Iran’s truckers are on strike in 100 cities for the second time this year, causing fuel shortages. Meanwhile, the Iranian rial is rapidly losing its value, and the country’s biggest crude oil customers are cutting it off.
The report on online transportation platforms does not draw any conclusions about why it’s happening, but it has plenty of data to back up that it is occurring.
Brent and WTI prices have reached 4 year highs, and the Brent-WTI spread continues to favor American oil exports on the international market. We explain how longer lateral lengths in Permian Basin horizontal wells are driving truckload demand.
The smartest minds on Wall Street use charting analytics to quickly identify and then track trends in multiple data sets. Why? Because it works. And now freight professionals are learning how to do the same.
FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller, Chief Economist Ibrahiim Bayaan, and Senior Meteorologist Nick Austin discussed Hurricane Florence’s impact on freight, the general macroeconomic situation, and the upcoming IMO 2020 regulations on maritime fuel.
A tanker barge operator, a Jones Act steamship line, and North America’s largest 3PL all posted big gains on the day, leading Dow Transports to a record intraday high against a softening broader equities market.
FreightWaves spoke to GlobalTranz CEO Bob Farrell and AFN Logistics CEO Owen Schnaper about the deal.
A pair of releases this morning show that retail spending and industrial output expanded in August, signaling that some key components of freight demand continue to grow at a healthy pace in the 3rd quarter.
Data from LinkedIn’s monthly workforce report shows that hiring in the transportation and logistics sector has continued at a strong pace throughout the last year. While this reinforces much of what has been reported through government statistics, LinkedIn is able to leverage its unique social media data to discover new trends about labor markets in the economy.
Data on producer prices shows that overall inflation pressure eased further in the 3rd quarter, declining for the first time in 18 months. Trucking prices also calmed during the month, as big declines in long-distance trucking and LTL rates offset rising rates among local carriers.
U.S. job openings rose in July to a new record, adding to signs of labor-market tightness that may push wages higher. Within the transportation and logistics sector, openings continue to outpace hiring as businesses are finding considerable difficulty trying to fill positions.
Probably to no great surprise to attendees in the room, American Trucking Associations’ Chief Economist Bob Costello painted a very positive picture of the current and near-term freight environment during the ATA’s 2nd Annual Economic Summit last week in Washington, DC.
Job growth continued its remarkable pace in August, and data on hourly earnings show that wage growth is advancing at the fastest pace in over nine years. Strength in the overall labor market continues to spill into the trucking industry, which added jobs for the 11th time in 12 months.
