Trucking News

DO YOU ENJOY THIS NEWSLETTER AND WORKING WITH MFW? REFERRALS ARE OUR BIGGEST COMPLIMENT. PLEASE, DON’T BE SHY. SEND THIS TO ONE FRIEND NOW!

Noteworthy news bullets we thought you’d enjoy

• Manufacturing output declines for fifth consecutive month in March, reports ISM (source: Logistics Management)
  • March’s PMI reading came in at 46.3 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth), down 1.4% from February. This is the 5^th month in a row of overall contraction.
  • New Orders, commonly referred to as the engine that drives manufacturing, decreased 2.7% to 44.3, contracting for the 7^th straight month.
• Despite sequential decline, March Services PMI points to growth, reports ISM (source: Logistics Management)
  • The Services PMI for March came in at 51.2 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth), down 3.9% from February – but it’s still growth.
  • The services sector has seen growth in 33 of the last 34 months, with December 2022 being the one month with a decline.
• Logistics industry growth slowed in March (source: DC Velocity)
  • The March Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) reached an all-time low of 51.1 (50 or higher indicates growth). NOTE: The index has been around for 6.5 years.
  • Things have clearly been slowing down, but the macro economy has not yet come to a halt.
• Georgia ports are seeing record growth (source: Supply Chain Dive)
  • The Port of Savannah handled record cargo volumes of 3.8 million TEUs in the 2022 fiscal year, with February 2023 being its “busiest February ever,” according to a press release.
  • In comparison, volumes dropped 43% YoY at the Port of Los Angeles in February.
• US trucking firms adding jobs ahead of expected freight demand (source: The Journal of Commerce)
  • US trucking companies are preparing for higher demand this spring by adding to their payrolls. Trucking employment climbed by 3,600 jobs in March, a 0.2% gain from February and 3% increase year over year.
  • The monthly gain was the first increase in trucking jobs since October.
• Warehouse Jobs Drop to Lowest Level in 15 Months (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Employers cut 11,800 warehouse and storage jobs from February to March. Warehouse companies have reduced employment by nearly 50,000 jobs since June 2022.
  • Employment at U.S. warehouses surged by nearly 700,000 jobs from April 2020 to June 2022, so jobs are still well above pre-pandemic levels.
• Laredo Regains Status as No. 1 US Port for February (source: Transport Topics)
  • The Port of Loredo, Texas just went from the No. 1 inland port in the U.S. to the country’s No. 1 international trade port overall in February, the first time it’s ranked No.1 since February of 2020.
  • Chicago O’Hare International Airport ranked No. 2, reporting $22.8B in trade while the Port of Los Angeles ranked No. 3 with $17.2B in trade.
• Cass Transportation Index Report March 2023 (source: Cass Transportation Systems)
  • The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index, which measures the total amount spent on freight, fell 1.5% m/m in March, and fell 12.0% y/y after a 9.7% y/y decline in February.
  • With shipments down 1.0% m/m in March, Cass infers rates were down 0.4% m/m.
• Truck Tonnage Falls 5% in March, when taking into account seasonality (source: Transport Topics)
  • “After increasing 2.6% during the three previous months, March’s sequential decline was the largest monthly drop since April 2020”, per ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.
  • The non-seasonal adjusted # was an increase of 9.3% from February, but that did not fare well against a 17.2% increase in March of 2022 and 17.4% in March of 2021.
  • Falling home construction, decreasing factory output and soft retail sales all hurt contract freight tonnage.
• Diesel sheds $0.039 to $4.077 per gallon (source: Transport Topics)
  • A gallon of trucking’s main fuel now costs $1.083 less than it did at this time in 2022.

Want to receive this monthly update in your inbox?