Transportation TIP List: Week of November 29th, 2015

Transportation TIP List: Week of November 29th, 2015

Even though Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping days have officially passed, holiday retail trends continue to stay top of mind in the transportation industry. From a big boost in online Black Friday shopping to an ongoing surge in auto sales, the holiday retail supply chain is becoming more important than ever before. This week’s TIP List is fully stocked – check out all of the popular stories below!

• Online Shopping Tops Stores on Black Friday Weekend: Holiday shopping isn’t what it used to be. A National Retail Federation survey found that more people shopped online than in stores during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend, a sign of how quickly and deeply American shopping habits have changed.

• Rising US Auto Sales Set to Drive Freight Demand in 2016: The six-year surge in automobile sales and automotive freight demand hasn’t run out of gas. New car and light truck sales will rise 2.3 percent to 17.71 million units in 2016, driven by moderate wage growth, low fuel prices and low auto loan interest rates.

• FMCSA Final Rule Protects Truck Drivers from Coerced Safety Violations: The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has published a final rule in the Federal Register to keep commercial truck drivers from being compelled to violate federal safety regulations.

• Change the Game: Take a Portfolio Management Approach to Transportation Optimization: Many companies still take a fragmented approach to analyzing and optimizing their transportation operations, but “changing the game” in how they approach transportation optimization could help them stay competitive in today’s fast-changing business environment.

• Trucking: The Barometer of the U.S. Economy?: A report issued last week by the American Trucking Association said that its seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 1.9% in October, following a 0.7% decrease during September. The release notes that “trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy.”

• The US Turkey Trot: Turkey Supply & Demand Balancing: About 730 million pounds of turkey is consumed by Americans over the Thanksgiving holiday. But where in the US are turkeys produced and how is production distributed across the country?

• Intermodal Rates are Down, But Winter Could Quickly Change That: U.S. domestic intermodal spot rates have been falling thanks in large part to loose capacity on major lanes. However, that trend could easily reverse course if the industry is rocked by another winter as it has been in years past.

How is the holiday retail supply chain affecting your business?