inflation

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)

Consumers are buying food instead of “stuff.”

Supply chain issues are in the rearview mirror for Fed inflation policy, but for importers, there’s still room for improvement.

Good news for shippers is bad news for airlines as cargo demand and rates retreat again in October.

Most politicians are clueless about supply chains, so it’s a shame when industry veteran Mike Erickson runs for Congress and pins inflation on ocean carriers.

The air cargo market is full of contradictions. Shipments and rates are falling and a recession is looming, but business is better than in 2019.

Air cargo professionals figured business would take off after the summer lull. Turbulent economic conditions and pre-buying have prevented that so far.

Measures of supply chain bottlenecks, cargo transit times, bookings and spot rates are all down, yet inflation remains historically high.

The Inflation Reduction Act and supply chains

A severe recession deserves some mindshare among scenarios that could play out in coming months, ACT Research economist Jim Meil says.

When the 2023 orderbooks for trailers finally open, the suppressed booking numbers will flip in a hurry, but that isn’t happening yet.

Daimler Truck posted improved revenue and income in Q2 but expressed full-year concerns because of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

As rising fuel prices and continued supply chain disruptions have pressured retailers and e-commerce brands, many are looking for ways to offset costs.

If you’re an owner-operator, chances are that money-wise 2021 felt pretty good to you. Has 2022 been quite as generous?

Consulting firm FTR Associates says the freight transportation markets will find support amid a still-growing manufacturing sector, despite perceived softness in the U.S. economy.

Even as some consider allowing customers to keep unwanted items, many e-commerce sellers still consider returns a path to customer loyalty.

Layoffs get the attention but plenty of electric transportation startups are still hiring. They are getting creative with fundraising, too.

Money, not COVID is the biggest travel hurdle this summer

As inflation has taken hold, consumers have shifted buying habits, but data suggests those changes are happening in different ways across the country.

The protests stem from the potential impact the AB5 law will have on the over 70,000 owner-operators who operate in California.

Loaded and Rolling: Holiday impact on trucking; CA AB5 law goes into effect; Inflation headwinds batter consumer spending in May

President Biden plans to sign into law the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, the first ocean shipping regulations passed by Congress since 1998.

President Biden made his case for getting ocean carrier reform on the books by accusing ocean carriers of jacking up prices for consumers.

Adjusted for inflation 1978 – 2022

FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller analyzes truckload contract rates and where they may be headed.

Record diesel prices are fuelling fears of a recession More expensive fuel means more inflation pressures.

Craig Fuller explains the impact of higher diesel prices on the U.S. economy and consumers.

“Higher shipping costs hit prices of imported goods at the dock within two months and quickly pass through to producer prices — many of whom rely on imported inputs to manufacture their goods,” IMF researchers wrote.

Volvo reported record Q1 truck sales despite ongoing supply chain interruptions. The company took a $423 million charge for suspending Russia business.

Company to tack on a 5% fee for FBA sellers at end of month

Inflation is putting carriers under extreme pressure. Nussbaum President and CFO Bill Wettstein explains what his company is doing to control costs and maximize profits during the FreightWaves Enterprise Fleet Summit.

Winter storm damage and inflation have some transportation-sector nonprofits scrambling for disaster relief supplies.

With record inventories building and bottlenecks easing is deflation next?

A federal regulator is using a new report to spotlight the importance of ocean containers to the U.S. economy and the threat of China’s market dominance.

RH confirms sharp drop in demand since Russia-Ukraine war and sees no supply chain relief.

Truckload capacity has been extremely difficult to secure over the past 18 months, but the tender data shows things may be changing, rapidly.

Craig Fuller analyzes the state of the U.S. truckload market.

As inflation has taken hold at record levels, e-commerce brands need to offer options to combat rising prices and keep consumer shipping costs low.

The conflict is 8,000 miles away from North America but supply chains are global, which means any disruption around the world is a threat to their well-being. As the impact of COVID diminishes, a new geopolitical threat arises.

Equipment price inflation not only inhibits capacity growth it carries consequences well into the future.

The FTC wants to know if large corporations are engaging in anticompetitive supply chain practices.

While there are other factors in driving up supply chain costs, it cannot be refuted that maritime costs are adding to inflation.

SoCal imports suffering multimonth slide, not because of falling demand, but because of supply chain bottlenecks.

The Biden administration wants consumer protection regulators to examine whether giant retailers are creating supply chain distortions for smaller businesses.

New barometer from NY Federal Reserve highlights how extreme supply chain crunch has become.

After a year and a half of predictive misses, procurement teams and supply chain managers are in need of Lithium to help treat their bipolar ordering behavior.

Trucking companies received an unexpected boost to their income statements in 2020 but inflation clouds loom.

Fleets and individual truckers buying at today’s elevated prices
assume a big risk when the used equipment market normalizes.

Air cargo is typically unaffordable for most shippers. With ocean rates off the charts, air doesn’t look so bad. If you can find a booking, why wouldn’t you fly?

Media coverage increasingly links consumer price inflation to container shipping and supply chain chaos.

From 1987 to 2017, frontal air bags saved 50,457 U.S. lives.

FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller analyzes inflation in the supply chain.

Costco is going boating. Unwilling to wait for space on commercial vessels, it is now renting its own ships to haul exports from Asia.

Commercial tire safety tips

Supply chain bottlenecks are raising red flags for inflation down the road.

On this episode of The Stockout, Mike Baudendistel explores rising prices and the threat of inflation as stocks plummet.

The situation for importers is getting even more dire. Already extreme container rates are ascending to even higher peaks.

On this episode of Freightonomics, Anthony Smith and Zach Strickland discuss whether inflation could pose a threat to a recovering U.S. economy.

A comparison of U.S. annual inflation rates to Freightos daily shipping rates over the course of two years

The odds are more iconic retail brands will declare bankruptcy in 2020

Donald Broughton writes a thought-provoking commentary about how technology has killed inflation.

Producer price data shows that trucking rates made some gains in June, but much of this was likely driven by seasonality

Industry detail from the Producer Price Index showed rates in trucking increased modestly, though long-distance truckload rates continued to decline.

Fed downgrades GDP growth projections, cancels rate hikes, stops balance sheet runoff, but “economic fundamentals are strong.”

Stifel’s head of equity strategy thinks the stock market will be weak for the next decade and that the federal government will default on debt unless it can force access into Chinese markets.

Data on producer prices shows that overall inflation pressure calmed further in December, weighed down again by declines in energy prices. Industry detail showed that trucking rates continued to surge, however, driven by another large gain in long-distance trucking rates.

Data on producer prices shows that overall inflation pressure calmed in November, weighed down by declines in gasoline prices. Industry detail showed that trucking rates continues to surge, however, driven by another large gain in long-distance trucking rates.

Data on producer prices shows that overall inflation pressure jumped at the start of the 4th quarter, though core price gains were more modest. Industry detail showed that trucking rates posted another solid gain in October, with big gains in long-distance rates offsetting declines in LTL.

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.

“We’re still in a little bit of wait and see mode in terms of detail, but I think the outcome is pretty positive in my mind,” said Clive McDonnell, the Singapore-based head of emerging market equity strategy at Standard Chartered Bank.

Data on producer prices shows that overall inflation pressure cooled in the economy last month, as big declines in food prices offset gain in other areas of the economy.  Trucking prices remained essentially unchanged for the second consecutive month, but remain elevated relative to this point last year.

TMW CEO Wangler dies; a complete guide to Tesla’s borrowing & spending; inflation, consumer spending rise; the UAE’s Hyperloop; lost trucker wanders through Oregon forest for 4 days, lives to tell the tale.

Producer price inflation remained relatively modest in February, but trucking prices grew at the fastest pace since 2011

Current financial news headlines are full of stories about inflation and the resurgence of inflation in the U.S. economy.  

Strong economic fundamentals in the U.S. and globally are driving the second-longest bull market since the 1920s. Could the driver shortage ultimately end it all?

The Shippers Conditions Index has improved slightly in August, although it remains in negative territory, according to the latest update from FTR. At the same time, DAT reported a decline in capacity last week on the spot market, which occurred before Hurricane Harvey struck Texas.