Federal Reserve

AskWaves checks in on AAPA’s port industry panel for its take on ocean shipping’s short-term prospects.

Supply chain issues are in the rearview mirror for Fed inflation policy, but for importers, there’s still room for improvement.

Measures of supply chain bottlenecks, cargo transit times, bookings and spot rates are all down, yet inflation remains historically high.

The ghost of Paul Volcker is stalking truckload carriers as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell looks to his mentor’s 40-year-old strategy to quell inflation. The lagging impacts from the recent interest rate hikes will inevitably erode demand several months into the future.

Inbound container volumes into the U.S. bode poorly for future trucking volumes. Trucking is the critical node for transporting goods, handling over 70% of freight in the U.S. at a given time.

A severe recession deserves some mindshare among scenarios that could play out in coming months, ACT Research economist Jim Meil says.

If you’re an owner-operator, chances are that money-wise 2021 felt pretty good to you. Has 2022 been quite as generous?

The unrelenting rise of used truck prices in auctions and at retail appears to be immune even to the threat of an economic slowdown.

While there are other factors in driving up supply chain costs, it cannot be refuted that maritime costs are adding to inflation.

Driver recruiting challenges, pay and demographics trends Driver recruiting remains a key challenge heading into 2022 due to pandemic, demographic and economic trends. Pay and wages remain a central theme […]

New barometer from NY Federal Reserve highlights how extreme supply chain crunch has become.

F3 Virtual Experience trucking roundup Last week FreightWaves hosted the F3 Virtual Experience, which involved industry leaders discussing topics related to the future of freight, key factors impacting markets, industry […]

Rail traffic continues to increase after bottoming out in April and May.

Deutsche Post World has lowered its guidance for the year and cited Amazon’s continuing insourcing of logistics as a major reason. Plus, Goldman Sachs is predicting a 5% contraction in the economy, labor shortages could hamper restocking of shelves, and the Fed slashes interest rates.

Brian Aoaeh explores the vulnerability of supply chains in an interconnected world that is threatened by a potential pandemic.

Analyst forecasts tough sledding for freight in first half of the year

The Fed cut interest rates for the first time in over a decade. Shippers and carriers should benefit as the economy looks to reaccelerate

Fed downgrades GDP growth projections, cancels rate hikes, stops balance sheet runoff, but “economic fundamentals are strong.”

The Federal Reserve is being “patient” with rate adjustments, spurring a range of theories from market experts.

Industrial production rose at a solid pace to round out 2018, helped by a jump in manufacturing activity during the month. The gain in output in December rounded out the strongest year for the industrial sector since 2010, and eased fears after a string of negative releases from manufacturing.

Imports into the U.S. grew an estimated 5-10 percent last quarter while U.S. exports to China fell 25-30 percent.

Regional surveys from Federal Reserve districts were mixed during the month, as softening conditions from the Philadelphia and Kansas City districts were offset by improvements in the Richmond and New York regions. Commentary from the regional surveys suggests tariffs, labor shortages, and the inability to find trucking capacity are curbing economic activity across the board, though growth remains generally positive.

Demand in the economy continues to grow at a solid pace at the start of the 3rd quarter, but a myriad of government survey results suggests that trucking capacity and concerns over tariffs have limited the performance of several sectors.

Responses from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book on regional economic conditions show that recent tariffs and capacity issues in freight are starting to pressure businesses.

Regional manufacturing data from the Dallas and Richmond Fed suggests that manufacturing activity has cooled in March as the impact of tariffs has affected output

The Fed is expected to raise rates again this week. This move has been communicated for several months, but what the Fed says about future increases could have significant implications for freight markets and carriers

Conditions improved slightly for shippers in November according to FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI). The SCI recorded a -8.9 for November, slightly better than October but still solidly negative, the firm said.

At least for one week, seasonality has impacted rates, according to the latest data from DAT Solutions. Spot rates for dry vans and flatbeds fell for the week ending Jan. 20.

The Fed has raised interest rates to 1.25%–rates on new loans, equipment leases, old variable debt, and factoring services will all go up. 

The Fed announced today that it will allow $10 billion of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities to mature each month without buying new ones as it cautiously approaches the wind down to avoid another financial collapse.