Transportation TIP List: Week of March 27th, 2016

Transportation TIP List: Week of March 27th, 2016

As the weather gets warmer, many celebrate the beginning of April by playing a fun practical joke or two on friends, family members and coworkers. And as you may be preparing some pranks to play for April Fools’ Day, we’ve prepared a list of the current important transportation and supply chain trends. This week’s TIP List is no joke!

• Trucking Demand Soared in February: February was a good month for the trucking business, as tonnage rose to an all-time high and rates for truckload shipments ticked up slightly from a year ago. The American Trucking Associations’ seasonally-adjusted truck tonnage index rose 7.2% in February from a month earlier.

• Reefer Warming With the Weather, Van Gaining Steam: More than half of U.S. states are on the edge of tilting or have already tilted reefer rate momentum in carriers’ favor, continuing the momentum seen in recent weeks for both the reefer segment and van and flatbed segments.

• U.S. Durable Orders Fell 2.8% in February: A key measure of U.S. manufacturers’ health tipped back into decline last month. New orders for durable goods—products designed to last at least three years, like dishwashers and aircraft — fell a seasonally adjusted 2.8% in February.

• Who’s the Greenest of Them All?: With the rise of the environmentally conscious consumer and the growing importance of sustainability to corporate boardrooms, more and more companies are looking to reduce their carbon footprint and the amount of waste they send to the landfill.

• How the Mexican Peso Is Impacting Cross-Border Transportation: The devaluation of the Mexican peso over the past two years has been rather extreme, which has led to Mexico importing less cargo due to higher costs and exporting more cargo as Mexican products become even cheaper for U.S. consumers.

• Favorable and Sustained Shippers Conditions Continue in 2016: FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) improved for the third consecutive month to 4.3 reading in January with the SCI in positive territory as favorable market conditions from 2015 continue into 2016. Capacity now is sufficient to meet the demands of the current market.

• Economy Grew 1.4% in Fourth Quarter, Supported by Consumers: The U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter at a faster pace than previously estimated, supported by stronger household spending that’s helping cushion the expansion from weakness overseas.

What transportation trends are on your list this week?