inventories

Intermodal volumes are robust, even past peak retail season. What does it mean for 2025?

More signs are surfacing that the second half of the year won’t be a panacea to the international freight recession. Seko Logistics says there won’t be a surge in orders that fuels transportation spending.

Inventory destocking is the biggest container shipping headwind, says Maersk. Its data shows no evidence of inventory pressures alleviating yet.

U.S. businesses overshot in 2022, importing way more than they needed. The hangover is in full swing, depressing 2023 imports.

Container shipping fundamentals are not as bad as spot rates imply, says the head of the world’s fifth-largest ocean carrier.

Retail sales are still up double digits compared to pre-COVID. Inventory-to-sales ratios have yet to fully recover.

Major retailers like Target, Walmart and Amazon are suddenly packed with inventories. It’s a whiplash that’s spooking investors.

Zim continues to outpace growth rates of rival container shipping lines, but investor demand fears are on the rise.

Major retailers and suppliers reassured the White House they have a handle on supply chain volatility and can meet consumer demand.

Long-haul freight typically shrinks around the holiday season as fulfillment becomes a priority. The exact opposite is occurring this season, which may be indicative of shipper overcorrection.

President Biden got input Tuesday from express carriers and large retailers on the supply chain crisis.

The ocean shipping boom is spreading across vessel types. Spot LNG shipping rates just topped $150,000 per day.

A double whammy of few new trucks and fleets wanting upgraded equipment in a booming freight market is driving prices to a post-Great Recession peak.

With the retail inventory-to-sales ratio still falling, U.S. importers are urged to move fast on their holiday import plans.

Microchip shortages and skyrocketing commodity prices make it unlikely that any of the 33,500 new Class 8 trucks ordered in April will be built this year.

PACCAR puts up strong Q1 numbers, including record parts sales that suggest the new truck backlog is boosting aftermarket sales.

July supply chain survey confirms torrid pace of logistics recovery as transportation capacity remains in short supply and rates bound higher.

Walmart’s fiscal second quarter comes in well ahead of analyst expectations as e-commerce sales surge. The COVID-related inventory drawdown is a positive for trucking.

Navistar included only one full month of impact from the COVID-19 pandemic in its loss-making second quarter. How bad will it be for manufacturers who report on a traditional April-June quarter?

Near-shutdown of Class 8 truck production in May resulted in stagnant orders as COVID-19 lockdowns took hold.

Swollen inventories of heavy-duty trucks must shrink or manufacturers will need to cut production further to keep the industry order bank from declining further, ACT Research says.

A slower year of trailer production is expected as the equipment backlog waiting to be built fell in 11 of 12 months in 2019.

2019 is shaping up to be the worst year for trucking in the past five years.

Exports improve sequentially, raw materials price ease again.

New orders bounce significantly, raw materials prices fall.

Growth in the US economy slowed slightly in the third quarter of the year, but remains strong headed into the end of 2018 and consumers and inventory building carried the load.

Freight conditions generally held solid during the month despite some softening in the manufacturing sector. With economic fundamentals largely in place, the focus has shifted to trade policy, where trade war escalations threaten domestic activity.

A monthly synopsis of events and results in the macroeconomy from the past month and a discussion of implications for freight markets going forward. Results released in March were generally more favorable than the previous month and suggests that freight demand should remain strong going forward.

Inventories picked up in January, but low inventory/sales ratios mean that carriers with remain under pressure to hit tight deadlines.