Trucking News

Noteworthy news bullets we thought you’d enjoy

• U.S. Ecommerce grows 6.7% in Q1 2022 (source: Digital Commerce 360)
  • Online sales hit $231.35 billion in Q1 2022, up a modest 6.7% from Q1 2021.
  • What % of U.S. Sales is ecommerce? More than $1 in every $5. The 21% in Q1 2022 was a slight dip from 21.2% in Q1 2021.
• Parcel volumes remain on upward trajectory (source: Freight Waves)
  • 59 million parcels were generated each day in 2021, according to Pitney Bowes.
  • Parcel volume grew 6% in 2021 vs. 2020.
  • Market share:
    • UPS: 37%
    • FedEx: 33%
    • USPS: 17%
    • Amazon Logistics: 12%
    • Other: 1%

• ISM Reports point to slight May manufacturing gains (source: Logistics Management)
  • Manufacturing output in May eked a slight gain over April, while remaining in growth mode.
  • New orders saw a 3.0% gain, up to 57.6 (anything over 50 indicates growth).
  • May was the 24^th consecutive month of growth

• Truck Driver Employment in May: GANGBUSTERS (source: US Bureau of Statistics)
  • Headcounts at truck transportation establishments rose by 22,500 in May, following a gain of 14,900 in April. May saw the greatest number of individuals employed by truck transportation establishments EVER.

• NRF Says Economy ‘Being Rebalanced’ but ‘Extreme Cooling Off’ Seems Unlikely (source: National Retail Federation)
  • We’ve got inflation at a 40-year high, uncertainty over the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.
  • “Though many people fear an extreme cooling off of the economy, there is not an overwhelming amount of evidence to support such predictions”, said Chief Economist of the National Retail Federation, Jack Kleinhenz.

• May 2022 Logistics Manager’s Index Report (source: Council of Supply Chain Management)
  • The Logistics Managers’ Index reads in at 67.1 in May, as the industry continues its regression to the mean after two years of rapid growth. The reading of 67.1 is slightly above the all-time average of 65.3, but down considerably from March’s all-time high reading of 76.2. The downward shift is driven by more capacity (+7.8) and price decreases (-8.7).

• Boom times not over yet: US container ports still near highs (source: Freight Waves)
  • There may be doom and gloom about the future, but America’s ports are still posting historically high numbers.
  • Imports totaled 436,977 TEUs, which was the second highest May behind May of 2021.
  • Imports in May 2022 were 30% higher than pre-pandemic levels in May 2018 and 2019.

• U.S. retail sales see slight May decline (source: Logistics Management)
  • “There’s been little relief from inflation, and we expected some cooling off in sales in reaction to prices,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a statement. “There have been swings across sectors that reflect the impact of both higher prices and supply chain disturbances, and higher interest rates are expected to curb spending going forward.”
• One Price Dodging Inflation: China to U.S. Shipping Rates (source: Wall Street Journal)
  • Freight rates from China to the U.S. West Coast stood at $9,585 a box last week, down 34% from the start of the year and 50% from a year earlier.
  • Those rates, however, are four times higher than June 2020, and industry experts expect them to remain above pre-pandemic levels through at least 2023.
• High Gas Prices Hit Demand as Drivers Cut Back at the Pump (source: Wall Street Journal)
  • Gasoline sales at U.S. stations were down about 8.2% compared with the same week last year – the 14^th consecutive week that sales have lagged behind 2021 levels.
• Diesel prices clock in at $5.718 per gallon as of 6/13/22 (source: U.S. Energy Information Administration)
  • Diesel is now $2.432 higher per gallon than it was one year ago.