Economic Insights White Paper October 2025
Executive Overview
We hope you find this month’s transportation update helpful as you plan the rest of the year. October’s data tells a familiar story: the freight market remains steady and predictable. Imports eased a bit after a busy third quarter, freight volumes leveled off, and contract rates stayed firm while spot pricing continued to run lower. Shippers are still enjoying reliable capacity and stable costs heading into the holidays.
Diesel prices ticked up slightly, nudging overall freight spend a little higher, but network balance remains healthy. The latest Logistics Managers’ Index showed more available transportation capacity and easing inventory costs, both good signs for supply chain efficiency.
As always, feel free to pass this along to others who keep an eye on the freight market. And if you know someone who could benefit from partnering with us, we’d be grateful for the introduction. Referrals are the highest compliment we can receive.
U.S. Container Imports Reported at 2,307,933 TEUs
Source | Descartes
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- Month-over-Month: Down 8.4% from September’s 2,520,935 TEUs
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Year-over-Year: Down 7.5%
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Top Ports:
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Long Beach: – 11.4%
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Baltimore: – 12.6%
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Savannah: – 9.1%
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Los Angeles: – 7.6%
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New York/New Jersey: – 8.6%
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Charleston: – 7.6%
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Norfolk: – 6.2%
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Oakland: – 6.4%
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Houston: – 2.0%
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Tacoma: – 4.7%
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Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) Registers at 57.4
Source | the-lmi.com
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Month-over-Month: Declined -1.2 points
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Inventory Levels: 55.6 (-1.6)
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Inventory Costs: 66.2 (-2.2)
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Warehousing Capacity: 54.9 (+1.2)
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Warehousing Utilization: 56.4 (-0.8)
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Transportation Capacity: 56.1 (+1.5)
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Transportation Utilization: 55.8 (-0.9)
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Transportation Prices: 60.7 (-0.8)
U.S. Manufacturing PMI® Grows to 49.1
Source | ISM.com
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New Orders: 48.9 (-2.5)
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Production: 51 (+3.2)
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Employment: 45.3 (+3.2)
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Supplier Deliveries: 52.6 (+1.3)
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Inventories: 47.7 (-1.7)
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Customers’ Inventories: 43.7 (-0.9)
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Prices Index: 61.9 (-1.8)
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Backlog of Orders: 46.2 (+1.5)
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New Export Orders: 43 (-4.6)
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Imports: 44.7 (-1.3)
U.S. Truck Tonnage Index Falls to 114.2
Source | Trucking.org
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Month-over-Month: Fell 2.6%
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Year-over-Year: Rose 0.8%
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Year-to-Date: Slightly up at 0.2%
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Not Seasonally Adjusted Index: 119.1, up from 117.0 in July
Cass Freight Index® Trends in July 2025
Source | Cassinfo.com
Shipments: 1.042
- Month-over-Month: Up 2.5%
- Year-over-Year: Down 5.4%
Expenditures: 3.296
- Month-over-Month: Up 2.2%
- Year-over-Year: Up 5.1%