SONAR Freight Market Updates

Volumes are flat year-over-year, and after a brief period of disruption the freight market has stabilized. Container volumes that have fueled the port cities freight, may be due to soften in the coming months.

Air cargo volume in Europe continues to decline. Read market expert Cathy Morrow Roberson’s take on the reasons why this is occurring and if there are options available to improve the volume.

Market volumes remain strong from a year-over-year perspective, driven by the continued strength of the West. What does this imbalance mean for the freight market as the busy season approaches?

L.A. volumes are propping up national freight volume but starting to fade. Are there any signs of another region emerging to take over for the West Coast?

National freight volumes pulled back a bit this week after a strong start to March. Not all areas of the country are having the same experience.

Volumes have jumped to seasonal levels, but capacity has not been significantly impacted yet. Will March volumes change freight market conditions?

Smaller fleets see best growth in driver capacity, but shippers only tap them once in a while, creating more volatility.

Market volumes have increased significantly over the past several days, bringing national levels to those similar to early March of 2018 when the market was thought to be more active. The data tells us one aggregate value cannot tell the whole story.

Delay in tariffs comes after a week of talks in Washington with Chinese officials; but the threat certainly good for volumes coming into Seattle.

The overall market remains relatively stable as volume dip below 2018 levels in two major markets. Spring is around the corner. Will freight volumes return with it?

So far this February has been what we would expect. Does the normally slow month have any surprises up its sleeves?

Volumes and capacity remain flat through the first week of February. Has the freight market weathered the slowest part of the year?

The key benchmark OTRI sounded the alarms about weaker markets, but other indicators were telling a different story.

The macroeconomy is slowing down to trend-line growth, but drivers of freight movement look worse.

Freight volumes recover as January closes. The artic air freezes the Midwest as the Chicago market heats up.

FreightWaves is monitoring a number of trends that will impact the freight market in 2019. Digitization will play a key role in these trends as companies seek to optimize their supply chain processes.

Last week had the largest single day percentage drop in volume since March of 2018. Capacity remained stable as we ride out the winter doldrums.

Capacity is abundant even though volume is relatively strong. Carriers are having little trouble covering the available freight making it a shippers’ paradise in mid-January.

The third week of the partial Federal government shutdown is impacting U.S. agriculture. Without full funding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not providing some real-time information, full financial support, or some critical services for farmers and ranchers.

The New Year has started off with a surprising amount of volume in the freight market. So far, capacity has been available to handle it. The tariff deadline extension may be providing a second wind.

Among news of poor performance in the Chinese economy, one of the most distressing signals for foreign retailers and manufacturers is Apple’s announcement on Wednesday that the company had reduced revenue expectations due to poor iPhone sales in China.

Manufacturing leads first-party logistics growth because of the sector’s long-established supply chains. Retail is the next-largest contributor to first-party logistics growth through the impact of e-commerce.

The Washington state port is retooling to handle bigger ships and heavier cargo. The transformation includes a large-scale mixed-use development featuring housing, hotels and office space.

Volume continues to slide but there was little change in the market over the past seven days.

Capacity is readily available in most regions of the country. Los Angeles has finally cooled off as the tariff deadline gets extended.

Two largest economies agree to halt hostilities through first quarter after a year of trade saber rattling.

Freight activity surged prior to Thanksgiving with help from Los Angeles volume. Drivers returned to the road this week, and carriers have figured out where to position their trucks to alleviate some tightness.

Detroit tops list of places for online retail start-ups; climate change seen having a major impact on U.S. infrastructure.

 Upcoming summit could provide surprise deal, but acrimony and lack of consensus puts deal in doubt.

Good times at U.S. ports not expected to last as world’s largest shipping line warns trade war will rear up at start of next year.

New York and Crystal City the big winners, of course, but Music City will house e-retailer’s operations center for the eastern U.S.

The freight market remains slow in most parts of the country except for one. Will it spill into other regions?

Expeditors navigates around pricing pressure to post solid Q3 results.

The freight market is showing the first signs of turning in over a month. Is this the start of retail season?

The freight market continues to stabilize, but there should be a little fuel left in the tank for one more seasonal push before the holidays.

While the index is still showing significant gains over last year, there clearly is a decline from recent highs.

October of 2018 has been very different from the same month a year ago thus far. We have had 2 major hurricanes make landfall and the economy is still strong. So why does it seem so different?

Truckload volume continues to decline to annual lows after the first week of October. Freight volume is redistributing out west as Michael hits the Southeast U.S.

Volumes still strong in run-up to tariffs, as retailers ramp up imports.

Differences remain in what is best path for drivers to follow, but all agree that port congestion is a problem that needs fixing.

Intermodal has attracted more freight thanks to tight truck markets, but growth rates will moderate.

October is traditionally a slower month than the 4 preceding it in terms of volume. This year it has happened as soon as the calendar turned. This seasonal swing does not mean it will be a quiet fourth quarter for everyone.

There is plenty of evidence for increased capacity in the freight market. Volumes are higher than they were in March when the spot market was considered more volatile.

The full brunt of Florence has yet to be felt in the freight market, but there was plenty of regional impact as carriers and shippers scrambled over the past week to mitigate damages.

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.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) presented a market update at Morgan Stanley’s 6th annual Laguna conference on September 12, where John J. Steele made his predictions for the upcoming peak season and addressed issues and solutions related to the capacity crunch, e-commerce, and the potential impacts of Hurricane Florence on the market.

Hurricane Florence bears down on the Carolinas. Freight markets are reacting before the first rain drops have fallen.

Mode’s relations with asset-based firms will be critical for its survival, says ex-Hub Group principal Brian Bowers.

It looks like the freight market is waking up from the long running summer doldrums, or is it just a byproduct of the pre-holiday shipper procrastination.

HCI Equity Partners says in amended filing it may enter transaction to help Roadrunner’s balance sheet.

Volume falls this week in the freight markets but rejections are flattening indicating there are still some spots where capacity is an issue.

Tender rejection rates for reefer trucks outbound from Houston have oscillated wildly all year. Even compared to other regional markets, shippers and carriers are having a difficult time matching capacity to volume.

The recent slide in spot rates is typical for this time of year, according to FreightWaves’ CEO, and data indicates another peak before Thanksgiving is possible.

World’s largest shipping company says over-capacity and fuel costs, not trade war, are the main issues.

This week’s freight market continues the same patter toward stability, but volume remains steady as we move towards a more volatile time of year.

This week in freight showed more of the same with continued stabilization, but history tells us this may not last for much longer.

Freight markets continued to cool last week, but have stalled for the moment. Isolated markets showed increased activity around the international borders. What we should be looking at moving forward as we move into August?

The freight markets continue to cool, but looking at the bigger picture provides perspective on what to expect moving forward.

The freight markets took a slight break in the last few days, but this is nothing new and is not a sign of a turning market…yet.

With the second quarter of 2018 coming to an end this past Saturday, we saw tender rejections spike to their highest level since January at almost 27%. Major markets like Atlanta and Dallas hit highs for the year topping out around 31% and 26% respectively. Both are southern tier markets that have been increasing since […]

The end of the second quarter was explosive in terms of freight market activity. Rates expanded as carriers refused loads. July typically sees volumes fall a bit in relation to June. There is no reason to think it will be indicative of any long run contractions in rates.