A monthly survey of all the important economic developments from the past month, and a look at some of the key trends to watch throughout the month of June.
Retail activity improved again in April, helping to reinforce the idea of stronger consumer spending in the 2nd quarter. This should help sustain freight demand as retailers look for inventory replenishment and last mile residential delivery services
Economic conditions as they relate to freight generally improved during the month. With a few notable exceptions, most of the data released in April (largely covering March activity) either met or exceeded expectations and signal that freight demand will likely stay strong going forward.
GS1 makes the system complete and more accurate in the supply chain so that consumers have a smooth shopping experience from website searches, all the way to when the product reaches their doorstep.
Retail sales rebounded in March after declining in each of the previous three months. This rebound is a return to normal for the retail sector after some volatility in spending following the hurricane season.
Retail sales showed unexpected sluggishness in both January and December, which was revised downward.
No surprise, the e-commerce trend has entrenched itself into the lives of consumers — for better or worse — and there’s no turning back now. Another round of retailers this year has filed for bankruptcy.
A combination of factors continued to drive dry van trailer orders as 2017 came to an end, with December orders up 38% year-over-year, according to FTR.
A one-day brake enforcement inspection by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance resulted in 14% of commercial vehicles in the U.S. and Canada being placed out of service for brake violations. A full 22% of vehicles were placed out of service for some kind of violation, CVSA said.
Truck orders are about to boom, if a new industry update from Stifel is correct. The firm believes that Class 8 orders, which have been strong this year, are about to take off for the remainder of the year as many larger fleets begin ordering larger quantities of vehicles.
According to a report in a German newspaper, Daimler has now been swept up in the emissions cheating scandals that have been raging across Europe in recent years.
