---
title: "Weekly Transportation Update: Vehicle purchases spur consumer spending; personal saving rate sinks."
description: Stay updated on the latest transportation trends with a focus on consumer inflation, diesel prices, truck spot rates and rail/intermodal volumes.
image: https://today.ftrintel.com/hubfs/Hero%20Images/Shippers%20Hero%20Images/Shippers%20warehouse%202.png
---

![](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Hero%20Images/Shippers%20Hero%20Images/Shippers%20warehouse%202.png?width=1600&height=500&name=Shippers%20warehouse%202.png)

Economy Freight Volumes Rail

# Weekly Transportation Update: Vehicle purchases spur consumer spending; personal saving rate sinks.

![The FTR Experts](https://7528315.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528315/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-cms-elevate-theme_hubspot/elevate/images/avatar-placeholder.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=avatar-placeholder.jpg)

 The FTR Experts

September 3, 2024

Weekly Transportation Update: Vehicle purchases spur consumer spending; personal saving rate sinks.

0:31

 

Retail inventories-to-sales ratios remained steady at 1.32 overall and 1.13 excluding automotive, reflecting historically lean levels. New durable goods orders surged 9.9% in July, driven by a significant rebound in aircraft orders, although core capital goods orders showed only a modest decline.

Unemployment benefits and mortgage rates remained stable, while diesel prices fell to their lowest since January 2022, and the trucking industry saw a net increase in carriers despite historically low spot rates.

For the week ending August 24, North American rail traffic increased 1.3% year-over-year, driven by a 7.1% rise in intermodal traffic despite a 4.5% drop in carloads, largely due to a short Canadian rail work stoppage, while YTD totals show a 2.3% increase with intermodal up 8.1% and carloads down 3.2%.

- August sees the fewest trucking authority revocations since April 2022.
- Diesel prices fall to their lowest level since January 2022.
- Total truck spot rates sink to their lowest level since July 2020.
- Brief Canadian rail disruption drags down North American carload traffic. 

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