August 2025 Economic Insights White Paper
U.S. Container Imports Surge to 2,621,910 TEUs in July
Source | Descartes
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Month-over-Month: Increased 18.2% (+404,235 TEUs), the strongest gain since early 2021.
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Year-over-Year: Up 2.6% compared to July 2024, highlighting a rebound from earlier summer softness.
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Port Activity: Top 10 U.S. ports rose 20.4% month-over-month, with Miami (+35.5%) and Houston (+34.2%) leading gains.
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Country of Origin: Imports from China surged 44.4% month-over-month to 923,075 TEUs, though still 9.8% below July 2024’s record.
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Transit Delays: Port delays extended slightly but remained manageable, showing that ports absorbed record-level activity without major congestion.
Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) Registers at 59.2
Source | the-lmi.com
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Month-over-Month: Declined 1.5% from June’s 60.7.
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Inventory Levels: Slowed to 55.2, signaling more cautious replenishment.
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Inventory Costs: Dropped 9.0 points to 71.9 but remain elevated.
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Warehousing Capacity: Rebounded into expansion at 51.1.
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Warehousing Utilization: Softened, reflecting slower downstream movement.
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Transportation Capacity: Held steady at 52.6.
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Transportation Utilization: Rose sharply to 59.5, showing stronger activity.
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Transportation Prices: Increased slightly to 63.0, maintaining steady growth.
U.S. Manufacturing PMI® Contracts to 48.0
Source | ISM.com
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New Orders: Contracted at 47.1 (+0.7)
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Production: Grew to 51.4 (+1.1)
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Employment: Fell to 43.4 (-1.6)
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Supplier Deliveries: Improved to 49.3 (-4.9)
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Inventories: Slipped to 48.9 (-0.3)
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Customers’ Inventories: Too low at 45.7 (-1.0)
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Prices Index: Eased but high at 64.8 (-4.9)
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Backlog of Orders: Contracted at 46.8 (+2.5)
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New Export Orders: Declined to 46.1 (-0.2)
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Imports: Contracted to 47.6 (+0.2)
U.S. Truck Tonnage Index Holds Near Flat at 113.7
Source | Trucking.org
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Month-over-Month: Increased 0.6% after June’s 0.7% decline.
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Year-over-Year: Down 0.1% compared to July 2024.
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Year-to-Date: Unchanged versus the same period in 2024.
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Not Seasonally Adjusted Index: Rose to 116.8 in July, up 1.9% from June.
U.S. Retail and Food Services Sales Reach $726.3 Billion in July
Source | Census.gov
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Month-over-Month: Increased 0.5% from June.
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Year-over-Year: Up 3.9% compared to July 2024.
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Key Drivers:
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Retail Trade Sales: Rose 0.7% month-over-month and 3.7% year-over-year.
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Non-store Retailers: Up 8.0% year-over-year, reflecting e-commerce growth.
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Food Services & Drinking Places: Sales increased 5.6% year-over-year, showing steady demand in dining.
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Cass Freight Index® Trends in July 2025
Source | Cassinfo.com
Shipments: 1.033
- Month-over-Month: Declined 1.8%
- Year-over-Year: Fell 6.9%, widening from June’s 2.4% decline.
Expenditures: 3.225
- Month-over-Month: Decreased 1.5%
- Year-over-Year: Increased 0.4%, marking the fourth straight annual gain.