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Weekly Transportation Update: Industrial Production Weaker As Automotive Drives Retail Inventory Growth


Annual data revision shows modestly weaker industrial production.

  • Real consumer spending eased slightly in February.
  • The automotive industry drove retail inventory growth in the latest month.
  • EPA grants waivers to California for heavy-duty vehicle and engine emissions standards.
  • Intermodal volume continues to be weak, but rail carload recovered to the prior trend.



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Weekly Transportation Update: Existing Home Sales Trend Upward After Long Fall


Sales of existing homes surge in February after a year of decline. 

  • Durable manufactured goods orders hold steady excluding transportation equipment.
  • Knight-Swift to buy U.S. Xpress, establishing a truckload fleet of about 25,000 tractors.
  • The spot market for truck freight sees a largely status quo week.
  • Intermodal volumes remain weak as saber-rattling begins at west coast ports.




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Weekly Transportation Update: Lean Retail Inventories Reduce Prospects for Correction


Manufacturing output and retail sales were lackluster in February. 

  • Retail inventories were leaner in January, reducing prospects for a stronger correction.
  • Housing starts and permits see solid increases in February.
  • Van segments’ spot rates reverse their gains from the prior week.
  • STB approves Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger.




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Weekly Transportation Update: U.S. Jobs Rise Overall While Trucking Jobs Drop


U.S. economy adds 311,000 payroll jobs in February. 

  • Job openings decline in January from an upward revision of prior data. 
  • Trucking loses the most payroll jobs in a month since April 2020. 
  • Van segments posted their strongest spot rate gains of the year. 
  • Intermodal volumes are still sluggish, but coal spurs volume gains in rail carload.



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Weekly Transportation Update: Mortgage Rates Rise While Diesel Prices Fall


New orders for core capital goods rise in January, but real orders were flat. 

  •  Retail inventory gain in January lags sales for the month. 
  •  Mortgage rates rise, diesel prices fall in the latest week. 
  •  Spot rates in trucking move slightly higher. 
  •  Carload volumes are stagnant overall; intermodal takes a step down due to Lunar New Year. 

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Weekly Transportation Update: Real Consumer Spending Rises While Existing Home Sales Fall


Real consumer spending posts largest increase since March 2021. 


  • Sales of existing homes fall for the 12th straight month, but sales of new homes rise sharply. 
  •  Trucking and parcel post record revenues in 2022, but trucking sees sharp drop in Q4. 
  •  Dry van and refrigerated spot rates cool further in the latest week. 
  •  The latest railroad employment figures are a cause for concern. 




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Weekly Transportation Update: Manufacturing and Retail Make Up For Weak Housing Starts


Manufacturing and retail post strong seasonally adjusted gains.


  • Housing starts in January were weakest since June 2020.
  • Energy and shelter costs fuel inflation at the consumer and producer levels.
  • Dry van and refrigerated resume their modest cooling in spot rates.
  • Intermodal volumes are already weak ahead of the Lunar New Year impact.



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Weekly Transportation Update: Victory For Carriers in Chassis Choice Case


FMC judge hands motor carriers a victory in intermodal chassis choice case.


  • Net revocations of trucking authority jumped to an all-time high in January.
  • Sales and inventories in wholesale were basically flat in December.
  • Truck spot market rates move higher in keeping with seasonal expectations.
  • Intermodal volumes are still sluggish, and rail carload traffic starts to slow.



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Weekly Transportation Update: Unemployment Plummets to Levels Not Seen in 50 Years


U.S. job growth soars in January on a seasonally adjusted basis.


  • The unemployment rate declines, matching levels not seen since the 1960s.
  • The ISM manufacturing index falls deeper into contraction territory.
  • Dry van and refrigerated spot rates continued their seasonal declines.
  • Intermodal volumes show no sign of improvement or conversion.


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Weekly Transportation Update: A Growing Economy Does Little For Freight Demand


Economic growth in Q4 does little to bolster freight demand.


  • Sluggish orders for durable manufactured goods were skewed upward by aircraft orders.
  • Real consumer spending falls for the second straight month as the savings rate rebounds.
  • Dry van and refrigerated spot rates have given back their holiday-period surge.
  • Rail carriers’ earnings reports share cautious outlooks.


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