Container bookings data has rebounded back to previous year levels. Is a wave of freight coming to surface markets?
May’s inflation data was set to be the first real test of how consumer prices would be impacted by historically high tariffs.
Uncertainty springing from erratic policy implementation in 2025 has made it challenging for businesses to make long-term commitments. That has kept the trucking sector from having its expected breakout moment this year.
Truckload capacity tightened noticeably during the annual CVSA International Roadcheck inspection period.
With so many fingers pointed at so many targets, the Q1 GDP data must have been an absolute disaster, right? Well, no.
Southern California is at the epicenter of freight coming from China. Domestic demand patterns have not changed much since “Liberation Day,” but no one expects this to last.
Demand for loads moving less than 100 miles has been resistant to the intermodal shift. Its representation of consumer and manufacturing activity could be the key to staying on top of the economy amid extreme uncertainty.
During the COVID years, transportation providers were flooded with freight that needed to move yesterday. The current environment is flooded with freight that needs to move in a few weeks, maybe.
The strength in ocean bookings today will not translate into domestic freight volumes until May at the earliest.
The difficulty in comparing “hard” versus “soft” data is that sentiment influences decisions that will eventually bear out in the hard data.
Until recently, surface transportation demand in total was relatively flat with shippers utilizing the rails more frequently. Annual intermodal growth has stabilized, with truckload demand eroding beyond the modal shift offset.
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.
Executives at some of the nation’s largest truckload transportation providers are seeing incrementally positive signs that the market is turning.
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.
There is more than meets the eye looking at the aggregate inventory level data. Retailers are shedding goods at a faster rate than their upstream counterparts, making the total look like a wash. This bodes well for 2025 from an economic perspective.
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.
A stable labor market suggests carriers are less likely to face harsh wage competition, a common concern during periods of labor scarcity.
Empty containers could be a strong transportation demand signal for September, but the market appears ready to handle it, for now.
Inventory pull-forward has been the driving theory behind container import growth, but data suggests that may not be as true as people think. What are the implications to domestic transportation markets?
Truckload carrier Werner Enterprises’ CEO noted some reasons for optimism at an investor conference.
The conflict in the Middle East may have late-year implications for the domestic transportation market.
Shippers are reverting to pre-pandemic shipping patterns, which may exacerbate the next freight market shift.
The return of intermodal shipping could accelerate truckload capacity’s exodus.
Upstream and historic values are predicting another strong deterioration in truckload spot rates in April. How seriously should we take this?
FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller analyzes truckload contract rates and where they may be headed.
Inventory levels grew at an astonishing pace in February. Is the supply chain crisis ending?
China’s biggest holiday used to have a dramatic impact on U.S. transportation and the flow of goods. Now it seems more of an afterthought.
Prices have increased 17% but carrier compliance shows only marginal improvement
After a year of record demand, shippers are hesitant to pull their feet off the accelerators heading into the “slow” season.
Long-haul freight typically shrinks around the holiday season as fulfillment becomes a priority. The exact opposite is occurring this season, which may be indicative of shipper overcorrection.
Congestion around the ports and drayage capacity issues are pushing shippers to use trucks more frequently while loaded container volumes dip. But shipping patterns are changing in more ways than just mode conversion.
Two of the nation’s largest centers for outbound freight demand saw record low levels of carrier acceptance rates this past week. This comes as the worst of the COVID capacity crunch appeared to be in the rearview mirror.
The relationship between personal consumption and trucking demand has strengthened even further as companies struggle to maintain inventory. This suggests a very active spring and summer for transportation providers.
