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?
