
July 2024 Economic Insights White Paper
U.S. Container Volume Dips to 2,297,979 Import TEUs
Source | Descartes
- Month over Month: Decreased by 2.1%
- Year over Year: Increased by 10.4%
- US Ports: West Coast ports regained share while East and Gulf Coast ports experienced marginal delays
- Country of Origin: Chinese imports: 0.1% month-over-month increase, 13.8% year-over-year growth
The Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) Reported at 55.3, Showing Moderate Expansion.
Source | The-lmi.com
- Transportation Prices: 66.2 (increasing at an increasing rate)
- Inventory Costs: 61.1 (increasing at a decreasing rate)
- Warehousing Capacity: 52.8 (increasing at a decreasing rate)
- Warehousing Utilization: 58.7 (increasing at a decreasing rate)
- Warehousing Prices: 72.5 (increasing at a decreasing rate)
- Transportation Utilization: 63.9 (increasing at a decreasing rate)
- Transportation Capacity: 50.0 (no change)
- Inventory Levels: 46.1 (contracting)
US Manufacturing PMI® recorded 48.5% Marking Third Consecutive Month of Contraction.
Source | ISM.com
- New Orders Index: Rose to 49.3% (+3.9%)
- Backlog of Orders: Dropped to 41.7% (-0.7%)
- Production Index: Dipped to 48.5% (-1.7%)
- Employment Index: Declined to 49.3% (-1.8%)
- Supplier Deliveries: Grew to 49.8% (+0.9%)
- Prices Index: Decreased 52.1% (-4.9%)
- Inventories Index: Fell to 45.4% (-.2.5%)
- New Export Orders: Dipped to 48.8% (-1.8%)
- Imports Index: Contracted to 48.5% (-2.6%)
The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index Drops to 113.5
Source | Trucking.org
- Month-Over-Month: The index decreased by 1.6% from May.
- Year-Over-Year: Compared to June 2023, there was a slight dip by 0.4%.
- Not-seasonally Adjusted Index: Representing the actual tonnage hauled by fleets reported at 113.1, which is a 5.5% decrease from May.
U.S. Retail and Food Service Sales Reached $704.3 Billion
Source | Census.gov
- Month-Over-Month: Virtually unchanged from May (0.17%)
- Year-Over-Year: Increased at a rate of 2.3% compared to June of 2023.
- Total sales: April through June were up 2.3% from the same period last year.
- Nonstore Retailers: Sales grew by 8.9% from May.
Cass Freight Index Insights
Source | Cassinfo.com
- Shipments: Reported at 1.098, unchanged month-over-month, indicating ongoing softness in for-hire demand.
- Expenditures: Increased 1.9% month-over-month to 3.288, reflecting increased freight costs despite flat shipment volumes.
- Inferred Freight Rates: Jumped 3.9% month-over-month, showing the highest level in six months.
- Truckload Linehaul Index: Fell 0.5% month-over-month, with a gradual year-over-year decline of 1.7%.