Transportation TIP List: Week of February 24th, 2019
Posted - February 27, 2019
The saying goes, “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb.” And as the new month kicks off this week, many across the country are hoping for warmer weather to come. To try to get us into the spirit of spring, this week’s TIP List includes a plethora of bright trends impacting the future of transportation such as the impact of technology on the supply chain and the current state of the economy.
- “State of the Economy is Sound” and Forecasts Retail Sales Will Grow: The NRF recently forecasted that retail sales during 2019 will increase between 3.8% and 4.4% to more than $3.8 trillion. This is despite threats from an ongoing trade war, the volatile stock market and the effects of the recent government shutdown.
- How AI is Bringing the Supply Chain to New Frontiers: AI has the power to transform the way business is done, and could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, according to PwC. Among the industries to benefit most from AI adoption, supply chain management is in the top three, per a recent McKinsey global survey.
- U.S. Truckers’ Pricing Power Receding: The pricing power held by trucking companies in 2018 will likely diminish in 2019, but not disappear. Because of the healthy freight demand and uncertainty about future capacity, trucking firms still have pricing leverage over shippers despite an eight-month slide in spot market truck pricing and various economic indices.
- Push to Electric Vans and Trucks Will be Led by Amazon and Other “Megafleets”: Amazon’s goal of carbon neutrality will help take electric vehicles “to the next level” because the e-commerce giant has a huge fleet of vehicles, says Morgan Stanley.
- Panjiva Reports Continued Shipment Growth to Start 2019: January shipments, at 1,061,288, were up 5.1% annually, growing for the 23rd consecutive month with Panjiva. This tally includes a 5.8% annual increase in containerized freight, which “will do little to alleviate the congestion being felt at U.S. ports”.
How is AI technology impacting your operations?
