China has increased tariffs by up to 25% on 128 U.S. products, in retaliation for the tariffs added by the U.S. last week. The Chinese tariffs target farm products, with the severely hit being pork exporters.
BNSF hauls more coal than any other railroad, but the future of American coal production and consumption is an open question. Is BNSF heavily exposed to downside risk or will it be the last coal carrier standing?
Data from the ISM index showed that manufacturing activity pulled back slightly in March, and responses from the survey highlight the impact that trucking shortages and tariffs are having on performance.
Wages continue to rise for America’s truckers as the trucking industry contends with driver shortages coupled with an increased demand for shipping services.
A monthly synopsis of events and results in the macroeconomy from the past month and a discussion of implications for freight markets going forward. Results released in March were generally more favorable than the previous month and suggests that freight demand should remain strong going forward.
DHL’s new Global Trade Barometer showed improvement in March, indicating that global trade volumes are likely to gain momentum in the near future
The number of oil rigs and the demand for flatbed trucking are rising in tandem, as WTI prices go up and the Brent-WTI spread widens.
Profit Tools has developed an Optimization Platform which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and intermodal data points to deliver breakthrough performance and visibility.
The trade deficit in goods widened for the sixth consecutive month in February. Total goods trade volume was up however, which bodes well for transportation and freight markets
FreightWaves adds stock tickers for publicly traded stocks in the freight space
What happens with increased turndowns in this context is that carriers don’t want to go inbound into a place—in this case, Philadelphia—as they assess the cost of outbound.
Regional manufacturing data from the Dallas and Richmond Fed suggests that manufacturing activity has cooled in March as the impact of tariffs has affected output
The threat of retaliatory tariffs on American agricultural products could hurt wheat exports, which are already struggling to compete on the international market. Railroad grains volumes in 2018 YTD are down, in many cases by double digits.
This week we are using the Cass Information Systems data to review what is happening in the economy overall.
Factory orders for durable goods bounced back after a large decline in the previous month. Gains during the month were broad based in a sign that freight demand should be solid in upcoming months
New 12 month price targets for FedEx stock range from $260-$310, representing 20% of the company’s value and reflecting uncertainty about how the parcel carrier will improve margins and find synergies with TNT.
The US appears set to impose significant tariffs on China, raising the threat that the economy may find itself in a full-fledged trade war
The ATA’s truck tonnage index fell 2.6% in February, and evidence from rail traffic data suggests that shippers are shifting modes for some freight
Container traffic into the Port of Seattle is down 22.6% YTD, starving the city of freight. Trucking spot rates have cratered, and turndowns have dropped 75% since their peak in October as carriers are forced to accept lower prices.
Zurich-based tech company Nexiot and German firm VTG Aktiengesellshaft hope to improve the way VTG’s 80,000 railcars assets are tracked by applying blockchain technology.
