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Trucking News

MFW Musing’s – May 18, 2022

Industry Insights / May 18, 2022
MFW makes the wheels of transportation FAR less squeaky
We do this by having an extremely high give a dang level, proactive communication, and shooting straight – even if the news isn’t great
 

Noteworthy news bullets we thought you’d enjoy

  • Diesel prices clock in at $5.613 per gallon as of 5/16/22 (source: U.S. Energy Information Administration)
    • Diesel is now $2.364 higher per gallon than it was one year ago.
  • Knight-Swift execs sticking to strong rate growth forecast (source: Fleet Owner)
    • Leaders of Phoenix-based Knight-Swift told analysts and investors that they still expect contract prices to rise at a double-digit pace for all of 2022.
    • CEO Dave Jackson said the freight market remains fundamentally constrained even as demand is only falling off slightly.
  • April manufacturing output declines but still showing overall growth, reports ISM (source: Logistics Management)
    • New orders were basically even with April, at 53.5, falling 0.3%, growing (at slower rate) for the 23rd consecutive month.
  • Shifting supply chains settle on Mexico (source: Market Place)
    • China is still the manufacturer to the world, accounting for 28.7% of global manufacturing output in 2019.
    • After a pandemic, a trade war, and rising wages in China, manufacturers are looking for other options. One increasingly strong option is Mexico.
    • Aside from the reasons listed above, supply chain must be considered. It used to take Little Tikes toys 21 days to get merchandise from China to the port of LA or Long Beach, and now it takes 159 days.
  • Warehouse vacancy rates sink to 27-year low (source: DC Velocity)
    • With vacancy rates as low as 1.6% in Southern California and top markets experiencing double-digit rental growth, the industrial market continues to be challenging for tenants.
    • National construction activity is up 48% from one year ago, which should help ease conditions.
  • U.S. Job Openings, Quits Reach March Records in Tight Labor Market (source: The Wall Street Journal)
    • According to a ZipRecruiter analysis of Labor Department data, job postings at employers – those with more than 5,000 workers – have doubled since February 2020.
    • Manufacturing, retail, education and professional services have seen largest increases.
  • Chip shortage fears chill Class 8 truck orders in April (source: Freight Waves)
    • Class 8 truck orders in April fell to their lowest level in seven months.
    • Manufacturers, wary about ongoing supply chain disruptions, held off accepting bookings as they fret over how many trucks they can deliver in 2023.
  • Payrolls Power Forward in April (source: Grant Thorton)
    • Manufacturing added 55,000 jobs in April, driven by a pickup in motor vehicles and parts. Chip shortages have at least temporarily eased.
    • Oil and gas mining had the biggest one month surge since 1981.
    • Transportation and warehousing added 52,000 jobs in April and is now running 674,000 above pre-crisis levels. The rebound we are seeing in manufacturing is aiding those gains as manufacturers are attempting to hedge against future supply chain shocks with larger inventory cushions.
  • ‘Trade is holding steady’: Los Angeles port has yet to see impact of Shanghai lockdowns (source: Supply Chain Dive)
    • The Port of Los Angeles is not seeing any impacts yet from the COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai, Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a briefing Friday.
    • There has been “no dramatic change” in the number of vessels leaving China, Seroka said. “I don’t see a bust in cargo volumes coming anytime soon, more likely we may see a lull in volume with a fairly quick bounce back when the lockdowns end.”
  • Cass Transportation Index Report April 2022 (source: Cass Information Systems)
    • The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index, measuring total amount spent on freight, rose 0.2% in April vs March, against a shipment decline of 2.6%. Year over year, total freight expenditures were up 31%.