Transportation TIP List: Week of June 24th, 2018

Can you believe it? We’re halfway through 2018 and there have already been plenty of highlights and memorable moments! And with Q3 right around the corner, this week’s TIP List is here with the latest transportation trends to help keep you in the know for the rest of the year. Featured articles range from the impact of ELDs on the Canadian market to strategies for lowering shipping costs – dive into all of the stories below and we’re looking forward to a fantastic rest of 2018!

• U.S. ELD Mandate Tightens Canadian Trucking Markets: The U.S. ELD mandate for truck drivers is impacting motor carriers, railroads and shippers in Canada – and not only those involved in cross-border trade, but in domestic transportation too.

• As Shipping Costs Soar, Supply Chains Get a Makeover: Retailers and manufacturers are taking stock of their transportation costs and exploring alternative options such as: building out their own truck fleets, reducing the frequency of pickups and shopping around for better rates as the capacity crunch is driving up prices and causing shipping delays.

• Companies Spent a Record $1.5 Trillion on Shipping Costs in 2017: U.S. businesses are spending more on transportation and warehousing as demand and prices for logistics services increase. Costs for big-rig haulers, rail transportation, airfreight, parcel carriers and storage have risen steeply since the middle of last year, and demand doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

• Cass Freight Index Report is Strong Again in May: The most recent edition of the Cass Freight Index Report pointed to a thesis describing the state of the U.S. freight economy as “extraordinarily strong,” given the ongoing gains in freight shipments and expenditures.

• Oil Prices Climb on News Of OPEC Agreement: Oil prices recently climbed on word that the OPEC oil ministers had agreed to a moderate increase in oil production. The WTI market rose by as much as 3% and Brent (crude oil) was up over 2% following the announcement.

What trends are you following as we move into the second half of the year?