This country’s most recent logistics numbers (from the Logistics Market Snapshot, courtesy of the Georgia Center of Innovation) show growth in intermodal transportation and shrinkage in unemployment.
• Intermodal rail traffic in February 2013 was 10.5% higher than in February 2012 and 3% higher than January 2013 totals. Intermodal loadings have experienced year-over-year gains for 39 straight months.
• The trucking industry added 5,600 jobs in February. The trucking workforce increased 0.4% over the previous month and rose 3.2% over the previous year. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• The unemployment rate in America decreased to 7.7% in February 2013 as there were 236,000 net new jobs. (Source: US DOL)
• The Consumer Confidence Index increased to 69.6 in February 2013, up from 58.4 in January 2013.
Here are the other market highlights:
Transportation Indexes:
• Dow Jones Transportation index rose 3.9% during the month of February. (Stock performance of twenty large, well-known U.S. companies in the transportation industry, average of February 10th thru March 10th)
• NASDAQ Transportation Index decreased 1% in February. (Averaged share weights of NASDAQ-listed companies classified as transportation companies, average of February 10th thru March 10th)
• The USDOT's freight transportation services rose 1.2% in January 2013. The index’s reading of 111.3 was up 1.3% from January 2012. (Source: US DOT)
• The February shipments index rose 5.6% over the previous month and rose 0.5% year-over-year. The February expenditures index increased 1.8% for the month, and decreased 1% 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:
• In January, the U.S. imported about $228.9 billion of cargo. January U.S. imports have increased 1.8% in terms of value from December, and fell 0.9% year-over-year. (Source: US Census)
• In January, the U.S. exported more than $184.5 billion of cargo. January U.S. exports have decreased 1.2% in terms of value over the previous month and grew 3.3% year-over-year. (Source: US Census)
• U.S. import prices rose 1.1% in February. Import prices fell 0.3% over the past year. The price index for U.S. exports rose 0.8% in February. Export prices increased 1.5% year-over-year. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Employment:
• The unemployment rate in America decreased to 7.7% in February 2013 as there were 236,000 net new jobs. (Source: US DOL)
• The trucking industry added 5,600 jobs in February. The trucking workforce increased 0.4% over the previous month and rose 3.2% over the previous year. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Rail:
• Railroad bulk carload freight in February 2013 rose 2.3% from January 2013. Freight traffic in February fell 1.1% from February 2012. Carloads excluding coal and grain increased 4.5% 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 February 2013 was 10.5% higher than in February 2012 and 3% higher than January 2013 totals. Intermodal loadings have experienced year-over-year gains for 39 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 2.9% in January after rising 2.4% in December. The for-hire truck tonnage index rose 6.5% year-over-year. January’s index was the highest on record. (Source: American Trucking Association | Trucking.org)
• The spot market for truckload freight in January fell 8.1 compared to the previous month, and was 1% lower year-over-year. Truck capacity fell 6.3% for the month, and was up 16% year-over-year. (Source: TransCore Freight Index | www.transcorefreightsolutions.com)
Air:
• Global air freight traffic in January increased 5% from one year ago. North American air freight in January rose 0.6% 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 January, the average international air cargo rate fell 10.5 points from December; the largest monthly drop in the index since its inception in May 2012. The average price of air cargo leaving the United States in January stood at $3.25 per kilogram. (Source: Drewry) (The Drewry Air Freight Price Index is based on the average of rates ($US per kg) for cargoes of 100+kg to 1,000+kg cargoes from Shanghai to London, Moscow, Prague, New York, and Los Angeles.)
Ocean:
• Import shipment volume, in TEUs, at U.S. ports decreased 5% in February from the previous month but rose 15.3% year-over-year, the highest since 2008. Over 1.4 million TEUs were imported in February, and shipments were over 720,000. (Source: Zepol Corporation | zepol.com)
Warehousing:
• The U.S. average industrial vacancy rate was 8.7% during Q4 2012, down from 9% in the previous quarter. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield)
• In Q4 2012, warehouse and distribution rental rates in the US averaged $4.30 per square foot. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield)
Purchasing Managers Index:
• The National PMI rose 1.1 points to 54.2 in February 2013. New orders rose 4.5 points to 57.8 and production increased 4 points to 57.6. (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.)
