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Trucking News

MFW Musing’s – December 28, 2022

Industry Insights / December 28, 2022
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Noteworthy news bullets we thought you’d enjoy

  • The Manufacturing sector contracted for the first time since May 2020 after 29 consecutive months of growth (source: Institute for Supply Chain Management)
    • The November PMI registered at 49 percent, 1.2 points lower than October’s reading.
    • The New Orders Index remained in contraction territory at 47.2 percent, down from 49.2 in October.
  • Transportation hiring surge falls short in November (source: The Journal of Commerce)
    • Seasonally adjusted, trucking added 1,300 employees in November.
    • Actual truck tonnage declined 2.3% from October but was 2.8% higher than October of 2021.
  • November Class 8 Orders Stay Strong (source: Transport Topics)
    • North American Class 8 orders hit 33,000 in November, far above the replacement level of 20,000 per month.
    • November’s orders are another indication of fleets’ pent up demand, and strong carrier profitability and elevated fleet age, according to ACT Research.
  • US LTL volumes drop, but pricing proves resilient (source: The Journal of Commerce)
    • Freight volumes at large US LTL carriers are softening in the fourth quarter, and some trucking companies are responding with temporary layoffs or other cutbacks.
    • Despite the downturn, LTL revenue and pricing remain elevated compared with a year ago and pre-pandemic norms.
    • In fact, it appears a new floor has been set as a few LTL carriers have already announced general rate increases for 2023, with Forward Air, Estes, and FedEx announcing GRIs of more than 5%.
  • Cass Transportation Index Report November 2022 (source: Cass Information Systems)
    • The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index rose 4.7% year over year and 1.8% from October.
    • Total shipments declined 1.9% from October, inferring rates were up 3.7%.
  • LA/LB imports drop double digits; slump predicted through spring (source: Freight Waves)
    • Volumes at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach deteriorated further in November, down 21% compared to November of 2021. Volumes are not expected to rebound until Q2 of 2023 at the earliest.
  • NRF survey: shopping returns rate persists at 16.5% (source: DC Velocity)
    • 16.5% of all merchandise is returned in 2022, compared to 16.6% in 2021.
    • For every $100 in returned merchandise accepted, retailers lose $10.40 to return fraud, which mainly consists of returns of used, non-defective merchandise, and the return of shoplifted or stolen merchandise.
  •  Diesel drops to $4.537 per gallon as of 12/26 (source: US Energy Information Administration)
    • This amount is $0.922 higher than a year ago at this time.

 

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