TODAY SOF FTR_Header-1

Most Recent Posts

 


 

The FTR Experts

Recent Posts

Weekly Transportation Update: Inflation Eases But Remains a Worry


Consumer inflation eases year over year but remains a big concern.


  • Merchant wholesaler sales, inventories edge higher.
  • Flatbed pulls down spot metrics, but rates were sluggish in all segments.
  • Intermodal volumes decline due to weakness in the west; grain bolstered rail carload traffic.
  • Potential railroad labor disruptions are pushed out to December.
Read More

Weekly Transportation Update: GDP Rises as Goods Transport Falls


GDP rises in Q3, but the goods transport economy fades



  • New orders for core capital goods see largest decrease since May 2021.
  • Sales of new homes fall in September after August’s surprising increase.
  • The trucking spot market sees volume growth, mostly stable rates in the latest week.
  • Railroad labor issues return to the spotlight.
Read More

Weekly Transportation Update: September Strong for Production and Manufacturing


Industrial production and manufacturing output see gains in September.

  • Housing starts fall but remain above 2019 levels.
  • Diesel prices continue to rise as distillate inventories are still very low.
  • Truck spot metrics generally move seasonally while West Coast volume is lowest since May 2020.
  • Intermodal volumes hold steady as harvest drives up rail carload volume.
Read More

Weekly Transportation Update: New Home Sales Surprise with a Sharp Rebound


New orders for core capital goods show solid gain in August.

  • Sales of new homes surprise with a sharp rebound.
  • Real spending on goods declines as real spending on services ticks higher.
  • CDL driver hiring activity in August was the strongest of the pandemic.
  • Intermodal shows no volume improvement in week following rail strike scare.
Read More

Weekly Transportation Update: Production Dips Due to Weaker Utilities Output


Housing starts rise as multi-family construction hits an all-time high.

  • Sales of existing homes fall for the seventh straight month.
  • Industrial production dips due to weaker utilities output.
  • Worries about a possible rail strike failed to bolster the trucking spot market.
  • Uncertainty over the averted rail strike shows up mostly in weaker intermodal volume.
Read More

Weekly Transportation Update: Falling Fuel Prices Hit Wholesalers Hard

  • Falling fuel prices hit merchant wholesaler sales in July.
  • Diesel prices ease while crude sinks to its lowest price since January.
  • Mortgage rates rise to the highest level since November 2008.
  • Spot rates rise in key trucking segments heading into the Labor Day holiday.
Read More

Insights: Coal Industry

Coal will continue to be a significant commodity for railroads in the immediate future, but it will never return to the dominant position that it held in the twentieth century.
Read More

Insights: Construction Industry

The construction sector began a strong rally before the pandemic and made a rapid recovery as the economy opened back up. Construction is poised for strong growth over the next two years.
Read More

Insights: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Russias invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices skyrocketing in a U.S. economy already reeling from inflation. War injects further uncertainty into the outlook, but a sizable negative effect on the economy and freight is hardly a sure bet.
Read More

Transportation Update | March 2022

The U.S. economy adds 678,000 payroll jobs in February.

Crude, diesel prices soar in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
Retail inventories see another solid increase.

The surge in new trucking companies continues in February.

Volatility is the order of the day for rail volumes.

Read More
Content not found

Sign up to receive our State of Freight TODAY posts. Select notification preference below.

 


 

View recent posts:

 


 

Search commentaries:

       


       

      Submit a question:

      You ask. FTR Experts answer.

      SUBMIT A QUESTION