inflation

China’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 50.0% in May, at the threshold between expansion and contraction.

The U.S. trucking industry continues to face a harsh economic reality: spot rates have failed to keep pace with inflation, squeezing carrier margins and contributing to significant financial pressure on truckers nationwide. Here’s a clear visual of the disconnect — spot trucking rates (via the SONAR National Truckload Index) overlaid against the Consumer Price Index […]

May’s inflation data was set to be the first real test of how consumer prices would be impacted by historically high tariffs.

May Ling compares logistics to other components of the Producer Price Index.

With so many fingers pointed at so many targets, the Q1 GDP data must have been an absolute disaster, right? Well, no.

Ten-year Treasury yields fell below 4% in a classic flight to safety.

The difficulty in comparing “hard” versus “soft” data is that sentiment influences decisions that will eventually bear out in the hard data.

Plus, an AI-based autonomous trucking software provider, and Tier IV, the world’s first open-source software for autonomous driving, announced a partnership to develop autonomous driving solutions in Japan.

The barrage of policy changes in the early days of the Trump administration is making logistics professionals nervous about the risk of recession and a contraction in air cargo demand.

In the run-up to Tuesday’s promised barrage of tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, the U.S. industrial sector is not looking so hot — a dark omen for domestic freight demand.

If consumers were able to keep pace with the incredible inflation of the early pandemic, they should be able to weather any storm kicked up by tariffs.

New tariffs pose a significant challenge for U.S. refiners, who are already grappling with declining profit margins.

Even cars assembled in the U.S. are not exempt from tariff shocks, as components from Mexico and Canada account for roughly 10% of the value of U.S.-built cars, with an additional 5% to 6% coming from Chinese inputs.

Businesses are heading into 2025 with lean inventories and high demand from consumers.

Consumers’ growing pessimism could trigger a pullback in discretionary purchases, directly weighing on trucking demand.

Despite encouraging signs, the U.S. manufacturing sector remains in the early stages of recovery.

Despite aggressive interest rate hikes by the Fed aimed at curbing inflation, the CPI’s decline in yearly growth has been gradual and uneven.

Companies are still trying to get their margins back to pre-pandemic levels with price increases on finished goods. This will continue to put freight demand at risk in the second half of the year.

Amazon air cargo partner ATSG has its eye on long-term growth, but investors with a shorter horizon are wary of big expenditures for cargo jets as shipping demand wanes.

Volvo posted unexpectedly strong preliminary sales and earnings in Q1, reversing a dour projection made just months ago. (Photo: Volvo Group)