The ranks of workers and their buying power are on the rise, resulting in growing logistics activity, according to the latest Logistics Market Snapshot, from the Georgia Center of Innovation . Highlights from the latest report:
- Job openings rose in June to the highest level in more than 13 years. The number of unfilled positions climbed by 94,000 to 4.67 million, the most since February 2001, from a revised 4.58 million in May, a report from the Labor Department showed today. These figures indicate there are about two unemployed people vying for each opening. The ratio when the last recession began in Dec. 2007 was 1.8 job seekers per opening. (Source: USDOL | Bloomberg)
- Overall freight tonnage in the U.S. is expected to grow 23.5% from 2013 to 2025. Freight revenues are projected to increase 72% during the same period. Trucking's share of freight tonnage will grow from 69.1% in 2013 to 71.4% in 2025. (Source: American Trucking Association | IHS)
- The Consumer Confidence Index increased to 90.9 in July 2014, up 4.5 points from the previous month and the highest since Oct. 2007. (Source: The Conference Board)
- During the first half of 2014, the air freight industry experienced a 4.1% increase in volume as capacity rose by 3.6%. Middle Eastern air cargo saw the highest growth in volume with a 10% increase year-over-year. North American volume grew 1.6%. Airline companies are optimistic about the state of the industry with 56% of airlines expecting higher volumes over the next year. (Source: IATA.org)
Other highlights from this Snapshot report:
Transportation Indexes:
• Dow Jones Transportation index fell 2.8% during the month of August. (Stock performance of twenty large, well-known U.S. companies in the transportation industry, average of July 10th thru August 10th)
• NASDAQ Transportation Index decreased 4.0% in August.(Averaged share weights of NASDAQ-listed companies classified as transportation companies, average of July 10th thru August 10th)
• The July shipments index fell 3.9% over the previous month and rose 4.2% year-over-year. The July expenditures index fell 3.9% for the month, and increased 6.7% year-over-year. (Source: Cass Information Systems | Cassinfo.com) (Based upon transportation dollars and shipments of Cass clients comprised of over 400 shipping companies)
Rail:
• Railroad bulk carload freight in July 2014 rose 2.4% from June 2014. Freight traffic in July rose 6.3% from July 2013. Carloads excluding coal increased 11.7% 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 July 2014 was 5.5% higher than in July 2013, and fell 0.9% from June 2014.
Intermodal loadings have experienced year-over-year gains for 56 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 fell 0.8% in June. The for-hire truck tonnage index rose 2.3% from June 2013. (Source: American Trucking Association | Trucking.org)
• The spot market for truckload freight in July fell 11% compared to the previous month, and was 40% higher year-over-year. Truck capacity rose 16% for the month, and increased 7.3% year-over-year. (Source: DAT Trendlines | www.dat.com)
• The spot market for truckload freight in July fell 11% compared to the previous month, and was 40% higher year-over-year. Truck capacity rose 16% for the month, and increased 7.3% year-over-year. (Source: DAT Trendlines | www.dat.com)
Air:
• Global air freight traffic in June increased 2.3% from one year ago, and rose 0.1% from the previous month. North American air freight in June rose 2.3% year-over-year. (Source: IATA.org) (Global air freight covers international and domestic scheduled air traffic.)
• In June, the index of East-West air cargo rates rose 2.5% over the previous month, and was 7.8% higher year-over-year. The average price of air cargo leaving the United States in June stood at $3.30 per kilogram. (Source: Drewry) (The Drewry East-West Air Freight Price Index is based on the average of rates ($US per kg) for air freight services on 21 major East-West routes.)
Ocean Freight:
• Import volume through major U.S. container ports is expected to hit an all-time record 1.54 million containers in August. In June, the latest month for which numbers are available, U.S. container ports handled 1.48 million TEUs, a 0.4% decrease from the previous month and a 9.1% increase from the same month last year. Total U.S. containerized imports are expected to increase 3.6% in 2014. (Source: NRF/Hackett Associates)
Warehousing:
• The U.S. average industrial vacancy rate was 8.2% during Q2 2014, down from 8.3% in the previous quarter. (Source: Cassidy Turley)
• In Q2 2014, warehouse and distribution rental rates in the U.S. averaged $5.14 per square foot, up from $5.13 per square foot in the previous quarter. (Source: Cassidy Turley)
Employment
• The unemployment rate in America rose to 6.2% in July 2014 as there were 209,000 net new jobs. (Source: US DOL)
• The trucking industry workforce added 2,300 employees in July. The trucking workforce increased 2.1% over the previous year. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Economic Indicators:
• The Consumer Confidence Index increased to 90.9 in July 2014, up 4.5 points from the previous month and the highest since October 2007. (Source: The Conference Board) (The consumer confidence index is based on a monthly survey of 5,000 U.S. household. It is designed to gauge the financial health, spending power, and confidence of the average U.S. consumer.)
• The Leading Economic Index for the U.S. increased 0.3% in June to 102.2 (2004=100), following a 0.7% increase in May and a 0.3% increase in April. (Source: Conference Board) (The LEI is a composite of 10 economic indicators that together create an analytic system designed to signal peaks and troughs in the business cycle. The LEI reveals patterns in economic data in a clearer and more convincing manner than any individual component alone.)
• The consumer price index for all urban consumers increased 0.3% in June from the previous month. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.1%. The producer price index for finished goods rose 0.1% in July from the previous month. Prices for finished goods rose 1.7% over the previous year. (Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
