This country’s most recent logistics numbers (from the Logistics Market Snapshot, courtesy of the Georgia Center of Innovation) show rising retail sales and employment among its highlights. Specifically,
• E-commerce sales in 2012 in the U.S. reached $225 million, or 5.2% of total retail sales. E-commerce sales are increasing at 10% a year and are expected to total $1.2 trillion, or 30% of total retail sales, in 2030. (Source: National Center for Supply Chain Technology Education);
• On May 1, the number of freight rail cars in storage had decreased to 302,833 (20.3% of the fleet), down 8,616 cars from a month earlier. (Source: AAR.org) (A freight car is "in storage" if it has had a loaded revenue move since 2005, but not in the past 60 days. Decrease here = more demand);
• The unemployment rate in America decreased to 7.5% in April 2013 as there were 165,000 net new jobs. The trucking industry alone added 11,700 of these, 3.4% higher than last year. (Source: US DOL)
Here are the other market highlights:
Transportation Indexes:
• Dow Jones Transportation index rose 3.1% during the month of April. (Stock performance of twenty large, well-known U.S. companies in the transportation industry, average of April 10th thru May 10th);
• NASDAQ Transportation Index increased 0.4% in April. (Averaged share weights of NASDAQ-listed companies classified as transportation companies, average of April 10th thru May 10th);
• The USDOT's freight transportation services index rose 0.3% in March 2013. The index’s reading of 113.7 was up 2.8% from March 2012. (Source: US DOT);
• The April shipments index fell 3.5% over the previous month and fell 1.3% year-over-year. The April expenditures index decreased 1.6% for the month, and decreased 0.5% year-over-year. (Source: Cass Information Systems | Cassinfo.com) (Based upon transportation dollars and shipments of Cass clients comprised of over 400 shipping companies);
Imports and Exports:
• Import shipment volume, in TEUs, at U.S. ports increased 22.7% in April from the previous month and rose 1.3% year-over-year. Imports in April were the highest since 2007. (Source: Zepol Corporation | zepol.com);
• Import volume through major U.S. container ports is expected to increase 3.3% in May. In March, the latest month for which numbers are available, U.S. container ports handled 1.14million TEUs, an 8.6% decrease over the same month last year. Total U.S. containerized imports are expected to increase 7.8% during the first half of 2013. (Source: NRF/Hackett Associates);
• In April, every ocean carrier in the top 20 posted increases in TEUs from March. Maersk Line had a 19.4% increase from last month and APL Co. rose by 25.9%. The largest increase in the top 10 was China Ocean Shipping Company, posting a 47% rise in U.S. cargo imports. (Source: Zepol Corporation | zepol.com);
Employment:
• The unemployment rate in America decreased to 7.5% in April 2013 as there were 165,000 net new jobs. (Source: US DOL);
• The trucking industry gained 11,700 jobs in April. The trucking workforce increased 0.9% over the previous month and increased 3.4% over the previous year. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics);
Rail:
• Railroad bulk carload freight in April 2013 fell 1.2% from March 2013. Freight traffic in April fell 0.4% from April 2012. Carloads excluding coal and grain increased 2% over the previous year. (Source: AAR.org)(Report includes rail car-loadings by 19 different major commodity categories as well as intermodal units);
• Intermodal rail traffic in April 2013 was 1.6% higher than in April 2012 and 0.2% higher than March 2013 totals. Intermodal loadings have experienced year-over-year gains for 41 straight months. (Source: AAR.org)(Report includes rail car-loadings by 19 different major commodity categories as well as intermodal units);
Trucking:
• The ATA’s seasonally adjusted cargo index rose 0.9% in March after falling 0.7% in February. The for-hire truck tonnage index rose 3.8% year-over-year. (Source: American Trucking Association | Trucking.org);
• The spot market for truckload freight in April fell 13% compared to the previous month, and was 23% lower year-over-year. Truck capacity rose 3.7% for the month, and was up 24% year-over-year. (Source: TransCore Freight Index | www.transcorefreightsolutions.com);
Air:
• Global air freight traffic in March decreased 2.3% from one year ago, and fell 0.2% from the previous month. North American air freight in March fell 5.2% year-over-year. (Source: IATA.org) (Global air freight covers international and domestic scheduled air traffic. North American traffic includes only domestic freight traffic.);
• In March, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport transported 56,265 metric tons of cargo, a 17% increase from the previous month and a 0.8% decrease year-over-year. (Source: HJIA);
Ocean:
• Import shipment volume, in TEUs, at U.S. ports increased 22.7% in April from the previous month and rose 1.3% year-over-year. Imports in April were the highest since 2007. (Source: Zepol Corporation | zepol.com);
Warehousing:
• The U.S. average industrial vacancy rate was 8.5% during Q1 2013, down from 8.7% in the previous quarter. (Source: Cassidy Turley);
• In Q1 2013, warehouse and distribution rental rates in the US averaged $5.07 per square foot. (Source: Cassidy Turley);
Purchasing Managers Index:
• The National PMI fell 0.6 points to 50.7 in April 2013. New orders rose 0.9 points to 52.3 and production increased 1.3 points to 53.5. (Source: Institute for Supply Management) (The PMI combines data on new orders, inventory, production, supplier deliveries, and employment. A reading above 50 indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding.).
