Transportation Market News

U.S. Container Imports in March rose slightly to 2,145,341 TEUs

Source | Descartes

• This is a 0.4% increase from February and 15.7% year-over-year.
• Chinese imports to the U.S. fell for the second month, with a 13.8% decrease from February 2024.
• East and Gulf Coast ports maintained their import volume share lead over West Coast ports, with notable declines in Los Angeles and Baltimore ports.

Logistics Manager Index Rose to 58.3, Indicating Growing Logistics Activity.

Source | the-lmi.com

• This is a +1.8 % increase MoM, and the 7th out of the past 8 months of expansion.
• Inventory levels (63.8) increased at the highest rate since October 2022.

• Warehouse capacity is down to 44.6, marking the first contraction since January 2021.

• Warehousing utilization (63.6) and transportation capacity (57) are growing but at a slowing pace.
  • This caused a +2.1% increase in warehousing pricing, which registered at 66.3
• Inventory costs are up to 66.8 suggesting anticipation of continued consumer spending.
• Transportation capacity is slightly down to 59.6, while prices reported at 53, meaning we are still operating in a freight recession.

US Manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index Registers at 50.3, Breaking 16 Consecutive Months of Contraction.

Source | ISM.com

• This marks a 2.5% increase from February
• Other Notable Results:
  • New Orders Index: 51.4
  • Production Index: 54.6
  • Employment: 47.4
  • Supplier Deliveries: 49.9
  • Inventories: 48.2
  • Customers’ Inventories: 44.0
  • Prices: 55.8
  • Backlog of Orders: 46.3
  • New Export Orders: 51.6
  • Imports: 53.0

The Trucking Tonnage Index Indicates a Decrease to 113.4.

Source | Trucking.org

• This is a decrease of 2.3% in March, following a 1.5% decrease in February.
• The reduction in tonnage is attributed to severe winter storms affecting the U.S., which impacted overall freight movements.
• Despite the monthly decrease, the index showed a year-over-year increase of 1.6% compared to March of the previous year.
• Not seasonally adjusted, the index rose to 116.3 in March, which is 10.3% higher than the February level of 105.5.

March 2024 U.S. Retail and Food Services Sales Reached $709.6 Billion.

Source | Census.gov

• This is a 0.7% MoM increase.
• Sales rose 4.0% year-over-year.
• Total Q’1 24 sales increased by 2.1% year-over-year.
• Retail trade sales in March were up 0.8% from February and 3.6% from the previous year.
• Non-store retailer sales surged by 11.3% from last year.
• Food services and drinking places saw a 6.5% year-over-year rise in March.

Cass Freight Index decreased to 1.113 a 0.2% month-to-month change.

Source | Cassinfo.com

• Q1 showed a roughly 2% improvement in shipments from Q4’23.
• Year-over-year, there was a 3.6% decline, the smallest in a year.
• Expenditures rose by 0.1% month-to-month, yet saw an 18% annual drop.
• Inferred rates dipped by 15% year-over-year for ten consecutive months.
• The Truckload Linehaul Index in March showed a slight increase, suggesting market stabilization.
• Expectations hint at a brighter outlook despite logistical challenges.