September brought another strong month for U.S.-bound imports of containerized freight, according to recent data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Imports in September totaled 2.88 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), marking a 13.4% year-over-year increase—up for the 13th consecutive month. This surpassed August’s 10.9% annual growth rate but trailed July’s 14.6% growth, the largest since … Read more

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending October 12, were mixed, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Rail carloads, at 222,003, fell 1.3% annually, trailing the weeks ending October 5 and September 27, at 225,280, and 227,046, respectively.    AAR reported that seven of … Read more

Retail sales saw gains in September, according to data respectively issued today by the United States Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce and the National Retail Federation (NRF). Commerce reported that total September retail sales, at $714.4 billion, rose 0.4% compared to August and were up 1.7% annually. It added that total retail sales from … Read more

September freight shipment and expenditure readings were largely down in September, according to the new edition of the Cass Freight Index, which was recently issued by Cass Information Systems.  Many freight transportation and logistics executives and analysts consider the Cass Freight Index to be the most accurate barometer of freight volumes and market conditions, with … Read more

Amid the many moving parts in logistics, at the moment, including things like the election, port labor issues, a potential bottoming (and hopefully a rebound) in the freight market, and the ongoing emergence of AI, among others, one consistent—and ostensibly permanent—theme throughout is that consumer spending is what powers the nation’s economic engine more than … Read more

A “new truckload freight cycle” has arrived, with September spot truckload volumes and rates highlighting how a typical cadence of cyclical demand for truckload capacity is heading up, according to the new edition of the DAT Truckload Volume Index, which issued today by DAT Freight and Analytics. The DAT Truckload Volume Index reflects the change in … Read more

The national average price per gallon of diesel gasoline increased for the fourth consecutive week, according to data recently issued by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). With a 4.7-cent increase, the national average came in at $3.631, following a $0.04-cent increase, to $3.584, for the week of October 7. That was preceded by … Read more

Earlier this week, Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, a provider of logistics based on-demand, software-as-a-service offerings announced it acquired Lakewood, N.J.-based Sellercloud, a provider of omnichannel e-commerce services. Descartes said that the acquisition price was roughly $110 million. Sellercloud’s customer base is comprised of small and mid-market retailers, distributors, wholesalers, and manufacturers with multi-channel ecommerce operations, according to Descartes. … Read more

When top executives at high-profile logistics companies share a stage together, it stands to reason that their opinions and insights will be valuable. That was certainly the case earlier this month, when Hamid Moghadam, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of San Francisco-based real estate investment trust Prologis, and Fred Smith, founder and executive chairman of Memphis-based … Read more

For the second straight year, concern over the state of the nation’s economy was the highest-ranked industry issue for trucking executives, according to an authoritative survey of industry issues by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). This year’s ATRI list includes the Economy, Truck Parking, Lawsuit Abuse Reform, Insurance Cost, and Availability, and rising four … Read more