U.S. intermodal rates rose 1.2 percent or $24 during the week of April 8, according to data on all-inclusive 53-foot door-to-door spot pricing quoted by railroads and provided by the 3PL IDS.

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for February, published in its April 2013 Trucking Update, had a favorable reading of 12.9, increasing 2 points month-over-month, reflecting an increasingly improving outlook and serving as a strong sign of positive momentum in the truck industry.

The Cass Freight Index accurately measures trends in North American shipping activity based on $22 billion in paid freight expenses for more than 350 of America’s largest shippers.

I originally was going to use a headline along these lines for this column: “New Year but same old problems” or something to that effect. But with Congress waiting until past January 1 to hammer out a deal for the so-called Fiscal Cliff, there is at least one less problem to worry about for now anyhow.

The nation's truckload sector will find itself short of hundreds of thousands of drivers by 2022 unless current trends change, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) said in a report released on Monday.

The Intermodal Association of North America today reported that overall intermodal volume in the third quarter was 3.77 million units, up 3.2 percent from last year’s third-quarter total of 3.65 million.

The average price of diesel in the U.S. was $4.010 during the week that ended Nov. 5, falling 0.5 percent or $.02 from the previous week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Larger U.S. railroads reported intermodal volume up 3.9 percent versus the same week last year, at 253,186 trailers and containers, during the week ending October 27, according to figures released by the Association of American Railroads. They originated 287,104 carloads for the week, down 7 percent compared with the same week in 2011, and down 0.6 percent from the week before.

The giant sucking sound H. Ross Perot once warned us about is back. Only this time it's not Mexico siphoning off U.S. jobs in a post-NAFTA market. In fact, it has nothing to do with jobs or Mexico. Rather, it's the sound of end users—businesses and consumers—sucking away control from the producers and retailers that, for generations, called the shots on order fulfillment and shipping.

The U.S. logistics industry will have nearly 1.1 million job openings between 2013 and 2016 just to keep pace with projected industry growth during that period, according to a soon-to-be-released study by a state advocacy group.

The economy should grow slowly through the first half of next year before retreating into a mild recession in 2014, an economist told attendees last Thursday at an annual conference in Little Rock, Ark., sponsored by the Hytrol Conveyor Co.

Business inventories in August were up 0.6 percent from July to a seasonally adjusted $1.602 trillion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported.

A jump in energy prices helped push the Consumer Price Index up 0.6 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis following the same increase in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Year-over-year, the index rose 2 percent in September following a 1.7 percent increase in August.

Containerized imports in Los Angeles increased 3.38 percent in September year-over-year, reaching the highest total of 2012. Imports in neighboring Long Beach edged up 0.7 percent over last September.

Freight shipping may have slowed to a crawl, but shippers are not benefiting from additional truck capacity or lower truck pricing, according to FTR Associates.The firm’s Shippers Conditions Index dropped to a negative 6.8 in September, and FTR doesn't expect it to head back toward positive territory anytime soon.

Reporting U.S. railroads originated 283,440 carloads in the week ending Oct. 6, down 6.3% compared with the same week last year, according to figures released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Intermodal volume was up 3.8% versus the same week last year, at 251,113 trailers and containers.

The container industry shows no real signs of recovery, according to an industry report, due to ongoing to supply side pressure.Container lines will remain in "transition mode" until at least 2014 and probably 2015, according to Drewry's "Container Market Review and Forecast 2012/13."

The concept of “following the money” may apply to the supply chain and freight transportation sectors more than most. It comes from a school of thought, which states where the freight is, the money is.

The Wall Street Journal proudly revealed “The Myth of the Black Friday Deal” in this morning’s edition. In working with Decide Inc., a consumer price research firm, WSJ revealed that Black Friday isn’t the only time consumers can get great holiday deals, and that the rise of online shopping “has presented a wealth of data for researchers looking to uncover retailers’ strategies and pinpoint when prices are lowest.” This helps Decide guide its member consumers on when to buy certain items.

It's not like the heady days of the early 21st century, but after a historically subpar performance for the last four years, the U.S. industrial property market is showing signs of tightening.

The United States is on track to meet a Dec. 3 deadline to screen and inspect all cargo moving in the lower decks of passenger planes that originate in foreign countries, a top official of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said.

Intermodal may be set to become the longest running hit on wheels, the transportation industry's version of "A Chorus Line," according to rail industry data.

The Material Handling Industry’s (MHI) latest material handling equipment manufacturing forecast calls for new orders to grow 6% next year. It’s encouraging to hear positive numbers in an era of uncertainty, but is that projection realistic?

Retail sales in November and December should increase 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion, which is higher than the 10-year average of 3.5 percent, according to the National Retail Federation. Actual holiday sales in 2011 grew 5.6 percent, based on data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, but this is the most optimistic forecast that NRF has released since the recession.

Ocean shippers may be paying a bit more this fall, but carriers say they’re delivering on their schedule integrity. And despite a restrained capacity increase, most leading container vessel operators are still confronting a formidable oversupply challenge.

According to analysts at the Paris-based consultancy Alphaliner, the carriers’ failure to collectively curb effective growth in 2010 and 2011 was the primary reason for the collapse in freight rates last year. Freight rates have also come under pressure again since July as demand weakened across all routes. Average freight rates from China, for example, have fallen by 8 percent since the 2012 peak, with further weakness likely for the remainder of this year.

The explosive growth of domestic and international e-commerce will drive retailers to create more regionalized distribution networks in order to stock products closer to the end customer and simplify the process of product returns.

Durable goods sector contracted in August – most of the contraction being in transport. Everything else was soft or contracting this month. Nobody can spin anything in durable goods as good. This data set is considered recessionary.Backlog also had a major contraction this month – and remains in a short term down trend. Backlog declined in all sectors.  Our analysis is worse than the headline numbers.

The third estimate of first quarter 2012 Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been significantly revised down from 1.7% to 1.3%. The market expected the third estimate 2Q2012 GDP growth at 1.7%.

Earlier this year, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Global Supply Chain Institute hosted a group of senior supply chain executives from its advisory board to talk about “what supply chain professionals really need to know.” These advisory board members range from VPs of supply chain to CEOs from 40 companies, such as Amazon, Disney, Dell, P&G, Kimberly Clark, Colgate, Johnson and Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, Boeing, Caterpillar, Nissan, Lowe’s, and Walgreens. This industry input is used to help UT design its executive-level MBA and non-degree educational programs, such as its new Global Supply Chain Executive MBA.

The push and pull nature of freight transportation volumes in today’s economy remains largely intact based on the results of today’s August trucking volumes released by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).The ATA reported that seasonally-adjusted (SA) truck tonnage in August—at 118.3 (2000=100)—fell 0.9 percent, following a flat July and June, which was up 1.2 percent compared to May, representing the largest month-to-month increase in 2012 year-to-date. SA tonnage was down 1.0 percent in May.

The push and pull nature of freight transportation volumes in today’s economy remains largely intact based on the results of today’s August trucking volumes released by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The recent stretch of weekly increases in diesel prices paused this week, with prices going down for the first time in 11 weeks, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The recent stretch of weekly increases in diesel prices paused this week, with prices going down for the first time in 11 weeks, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The world economy is sliding into a “twilight zone,” trapped between mixed valuations, feeble growth and recession on the horizon but with coordinated central bank intervention promising expansion and escape from contraction. In truth, fiscal authorities and central banks have steered us from recession, but we seem incapable of generating self sustaining growth and central banks on their own can not close the gap and bring about a lasting and durable recovery. Most equities have fallen into an eerie calm.

Online applications for mobile devices are emerging in ways that can finally close or reduce many of the information gaps in the supply chain between transportation planning, the shipping/receiving dock, customers, and even accounts payable. These mobile applications are enabling shippers to interface directly and more effectively with logistic partners; access logistics information in non-traditional business settings; and enhance communications where access to a computer is not readily available.

Shipping conditions are worsening to the point that, if Washington continues to sit on its hands, a recession could occur in 2013, predicts Larry Gross, senior consultant for FTR Associates. FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) for July fell to a reading of -4.5, indicating the beginning of an expected steady decline as shippers and carriers feel the impact of increased regulatory drag heading into 2013.

Independent research groups report that a transportation management system (TMS) can save a company anywhere from 3-20% of transportation spend as compared to manual management. It is easy to see why many companies that currently do not have a TMS are now searching for one for their business.

The growth of U.S. exports, especially to countries such as China, has put a spotlight on the need for strategic inland ports across the United States, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate. In a new white paper, the firm explores how inland ports are expanding their focus from moving and handling imports to facilitating the movement of goods outside the U.S.

The final business sales data (retail plus wholesale plus manufacturing) for July 2012 is not as good as either the numbers show on Econintersect‘s or the US Census analysis of the data.

The headlines say Industrial Production (IP) decreased 1.2% in August 2012 but up 2.8% year-over-year.  Econintersect‘s analysis using the unadjusted data is that IP was down 1.0% month-over-month and up 3.1% year-over-year.  The Federal Reserve blamed part of the decline on Hurricane Isaac.

Advance Retail Sales improved in August 2012. Pundits are cheering because many were worried that retail sales would fall – with some worrying that a recession marking trend was in play. But for sure, one needs a micrometer and calculator to gauge this improvement.

Gen Y is keeping the Baby Boomer generation on its toes; both at home and at work. But it’s in the supply chain where those generations are acting as generators of commerce. Only by synchronizing their respective powers of consumer technology adoption and logistics system integration can the promise of the 2020 Value Chain come true.

While diesel prices increased for the tenth consecutive week, the pace of growth was subdued, rising 0.5 cents to $4.132 per gallon, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The government’s newest monthly trade figures show that the U.S. manufacturing trade deficit has hit an all-time high -- $63.93 billion for July 2012 – according to U.S. Business and Industry Council calculations.

Based on the July 2012 rail data, we warned that the economy could be at a pivot point based on declining economic intuitive elements of the rail data – and now with the August data, the rail situation improved.

The Association of American Railroads said this week that carload and intermodal volumes for August were again mixed. August carloads—at 1,461,680—were down 1.4 percent annually. Intermodal—at 1,230,992 trailers and containers—was up 4.3 percent compared to August 2011.

Diesel prices moved up 3.8 cents to $4.127 per gallon, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).This marks the ninth straight week diesel prices have increased and the third straight week the price per gallon has been above the $4 mark, which had not previously been reached since hitting $4.026 per gallon the week of May 14. This week’s price matches the previous high of $4.127 per gallon from the week of April 16.

Manufacturing growth in August remained as it had been in the previous two months—sluggish. The PMI, the index used by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) to measure manufacturing activity, was 49.6 in August, which is 0.2 percentage points below July and 0.1 percent lower than June.

GE Transportation revealed the prototype for its Evolution Series Locomotive, which the company claims will be the first freight locomotive to meet the EPA's Tier 4 emission standards, effective 2015.

Gone are the days of single-channel apparel retailing—and supply chains servicing that model. Today, apparel retailers must optimize their supply chains to deliver products from any point where consumers want to buy them.

When vendors fail to comply with shippers' routing guide instructions, all parties involved experience frustration. To improve compliance, shippers must provide clear and concise instructions about how they want their freight to move. Here is advice on ensuring routing guide compliance from Harold B. Friedman, senior vice president of global corporate development at freight payment and auditing service provider Data2Logistics.

(Reuters) - Nearly all U.S. retailers posted better-than-expected sales gains in August at stores open at least a year as parents and students wrapped up back-to-school purchases, setting the stage for a strong third quarter.

The economy is always in a state of flux.  Writing this summary forces a review of the economic dynamics once a month.  This September forecast even surprised me to a degree – as the Econintersect Economic Index (EEI) is now clearly showing an uptrend.

Average spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific trade slumped 8.6 percent this week, the second weekly decline since carriers were able to lift rates to a record high after implementing the general rate increase recommended by the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement during the first two weeks of August.

While fuel prices again have turned to an upward trajectory, more attention continues to be paid to natural gas and how it can potentially be an asset for freight transportation sector stakeholders. And while natural gas is making inroads as a possible way for shippers and carriers to counter increasing and uncertain energy costs, a recent survey published by Transport Capital Partners and ACT Research shows that there are cautious reasons to be optimistic when gauging future natural gas prospects.

Retail sales and housing sector growth ticks up; manufacturing expansion slows Shippers of retail goods and cargo related to the housing industry, along with transportation providers, got a dose of goods news from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Group of Seven finance ministers urged oil-producing countries on Tuesday to raise output to ensure the market is well supplied, while warning that Western nations were ready to tap strategic oil reserves to offset rising prices that could hurt global growth.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index^®, which had improved in July, declined in August. The Index now stands at 60.6 (1985=100), down from 65.4 in July. The Expectations Index decreased to 70.5 from 78.4. The Present Situation Index, however, was virtually unchanged, at 45.8 versus 45.9 a month ago.

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently announced various changes to its much maligned government-mandated CSA program, which stands for “Compliance, Safety, Accountability.”

As is the case with the overall economy, truck tonnage patterns remain largely uneven. That appears to be the main takeaway from data released by the American Trucking Associations (ATA). The ATA reported that seasonally-adjusted (SA) truck tonnage in July—at 118.8 (2000=100)—was flat compared to June, which was up 1.2 percent compared to May, representing the largest month-to-month increase in 2012 year-to-date. SA tonnage was down 1.0 percent in May.

Diesel prices saw gains for the seventh straight week, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).The price per gallon hit $4.026, driven by a 6.1 cent weekly gain, with prices rising a cumulative 31.7 cents over the last seven weeks. This marks the first time diesel prices have cracked $4 per gallon since the week of May 14, when it checked in at $4.004 per gallon.

In trucking, employment has only made a half-hearted recovery. The Journal of Commerce Trucking Employment Index rose in July to its highest level since December 2008, but remained about 7 percent below the peak it reached in early 2007. The index climbed to 93.1, compared with 92.8 in June and 90.1 in July 2011.

Average spot rates on the eastbound trans-Pacific trade lane eased 5.2 percent from last week’s record high, which followed the general rate increase recommended by the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement implemented by carriers during the first two weeks of August.

FTR Associates’ Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) for June was basically unchanged from the previous month and remains in near neutral territory at a reading of -1.8. The SCI sums up all market influences that affect shippers; a reading above zero suggests a favorable shipping environment, while a reading below zero is unfavorable.

The final business sales data (retail plus wholesale plus manufacturing) for June 2012 clearly turned ugly – barely growing year-over-year.

The 50 largest U.S. and Canadian truckload carriers ranked by revenue grew 13.4 percent in 2011, with combined sales for the year rising to $32.6 billion. That compares with combined revenue of $28.8 billion in 2010, according to estimates prepared for The Journal of Commerce by SJ Consulting Group.

"TMS applications are very good at optimizing within the order-delivery planning horizon," says Gartner analyst Dwight Klappich. "But they are not good at forward planning—weeks, months, quarters in advance."

Although companies have tried using other demand forecasting and procurement applications to determine how many and what type of carriers they'll need, Klappich says they haven't had much success. In his view, so-called "product-centric planning tools" are not suited to transportation planning because they can't get down to the required level of detail. In other words, they can't look at future capacity needs by lane, carrier, or piece of equipment.

Rail carload and intermodal volumes were up for the week ending August 4, according to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Carload volume—at 228,229—was up 0.4 percent annually and behind the week ending July 28 at 288,167 and the week ending July 21 at 286,156. Eastern carloads were up 9 percent annually, and out west carloads were up 6.8 percent.

The Warehouse Management System (WMS) market saw significant growth in 2011, increasing by ten percent, according to data from Dedham, Mass.-based ARC Advisory Services. Reasons for the growth in the WMS market were widespread, according to ARC officials.

The heading of the July Cass Freight Index Report from Cass Information Systems, “Slow growth in freight; slow growth in the economy,” aptly sums up the current freight environment, which continues to flatten out and lack true signs of growth. And the report’s data also tells the same story, too.

Diesel prices in the U.S. jumped up more than 5 cents for the second time in three weeks, a sign of increasing volatility of fuel costs.

With growth not yet on the horizon, shippers are shifting their modal strategies to keep their costs as low as possible.The economic recovery will continue to sputter along weakly for the next three years. If you secure trucking services on a transactional basis you can be assured that sometime soon you will not be able to get a truck. In the face of tightening trucking capacity, rail intermodal is seeing a massive resurgence. Shippers are turning more to warehouse-based third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to provide intermodal and other logistics management expertise previously associated with non-asset-based 3PLs.

Far be it for me to enter the culture wars here concerning family (how it's defined, what it should aspire to), save for one observation: It's easier to apply various values if one is around the family enough to actually do it—and intermodalism can contribute.

Could it be that rail is warning of an economic pivot point?  Reflecting on the July 2012 rail data which we report on weekly – the trends within the data have changed.  Is it just one month of data?  A quote buried in the Association of American Railroads July report caught my eye.

An ocean carrier's reliability usually is measured on whether its ships arrived in port according to published schedules. But importers and customs brokers have long known that just because a ship is at the dock on the right day, that doesn't mean containers will reach consignees on time.

Economic indicators from North Asia continue to deteriorate as slowing Chinese growth, the Eurozone debt crisis and the bearish U.S. recovery dampen global demand.

American manufacturing unexpectedly contracted in July for a second month, reflecting a drop in orders that threatens to undercut a mainstay of the recovery. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index was 49.8 last month, little changed from a three-year low of 49.7 reached in June, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a reading of 50.2, according to the median estimate, just above the 50 mark that separates expansions and contractions.

Average spot rates on the eastbound trans-Pacific increased by 3 percent this week, or $71 per 40-foot-equivalent container, indicating that carriers have only been able to nail down a small portion of the general rate increase of $500 per FEU that some members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement scheduled for today, Aug. 1.

U.S. industrial manufacturers remain optimistic about the U.S. economy, but are less so about the global economic outlook, according to the Q2 2012 Manufacturing Barometer released by PwC US. According to the survey, overall revenue projections among U.S. industrial manufacturers remain positive, with 88 percent of respondents expecting revenue growth at their own companies and only five percent expecting negative results. In addition, 87 percent of respondents said they were planning increases in operational spending in the year ahead.

The average truck consumes roughly 11,000 gallons of diesel per year. Consequently, even minor shifts in fuel prices have a significant impact on operating costs. For instance, when applied to a fleet of 100 trucks, a price drop of 25 cents per gallon generates annual savings exceeding a quarter of a million dollars.

Q: What advice do you have for companies attempting to optimize their inbound freight?A: It's worth the effort. Traditionally, companies have focused on low-hanging fruit, such as improving efficiencies and reducing outbound transportation costs. Overlooked is the more difficult task of managing inbound transportation, which can often be multi-modal, multi-leg, and international.

Hardly a day goes by that a news story on fiscal deficits or monetary bailouts doesn't throw around numbers that start with a "t," as in trillion. It's gotten so that talk of mere billions doesn't rouse much interest anymore.But there's a number that anyone who ships, brokers, or transports goods for a living should sit up and take notice of: $53 billion.

A “synchronized deceleration in the global economy will have larger implications for the supply chain, said IHS Global Insight. In today’s “world flash” update, analysts said that all the key economies of the world have slowed down, almost simultaneously

On the heels of a 12-week run which saw the price per gallon of diesel fall a cumulative 50 cents, diesel prices are up for the third straight week, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The first round of earnings reports from publicly owned truckload carriers reflects two important trends. First, the economy, while still expanding, is slowing. Second, trucking companies are doing a better job managing their bottom lines.

A milestone power utilities achieved this spring should jolt transportation operators and shippers. In April, the amount of electricity generated by natural gas-fired power plants for the first time equaled that produced by coal-fired plants, with each accounting for 32 percent of total U.S. power generation that month.

A milestone power utilities achieved this spring should jolt transportation operators and shippers. In April, the amount of electricity generated by natural gas-fired power plants for the first time equaled that produced by coal-fired plants, with each accounting for 32 percent of total U.S. power generation that month.

Rail intermodal base rates hit seven-year highs in June, propelled by demand from shippers looking for alternatives to get their freight moved in a tightening market for truckload capacity and from motor carriers seeking a more efficient way to get their customers' goods to market, according to an index released today by one of the nation's leading freight bill audit and payment firms.

A monthly index of trucking conditions fell significantly in May compared to April's figures, an indication that shippers are benefiting from the carriers' inability to raise their rates amid a sluggish economic climate.

Over the long haul, exports will be the engine that drives the U.S. economy. But without the equipment properly positioned to get the goods from origin to port, the nation's exporters may lose out.

Average spot rates on the eastbound trans-Pacific trade lane fell 6.7 percent this week, in the first drop since carriers put a peak-season surcharge into effect on June 10.

Two reports, one freight-specific and the other more general in nature, are adding to the mounting evidence that U.S. economic activity has cooled.

Not long ago, the price for a barrel of crude was $110, and a gallon of regular gasoline would set you back nearly $4. While consumers wished for relief, politicians hunted scapegoats on Wall Street.

While freight costs and capacity dominate water cooler conversations, sustainability embers smolder deep within the supply chain. The fire is still perceptible. So are the justifications.

T. Boone Pickens didn't reach the top of the heap in the energy world by thinking small. His first major acquisition, in the late 1960s, was of a company 30 times the size of his own firm, Mesa Petroleum. Years later, Mesa would make takeover runs at such oil giants as Cities Service Co. and Phillips Petroleum, moves that cemented Pickens' reputation as a gutsy and shrewd wheeler-dealer.

One of the few bright spots in an otherwise grim global economic forecast was Japan’s recent performance.According to IHS Global Insight Economists, that nation’s real GDP increased at a 4.1 percent annual rate in the first quarter, led by gains in private consumption, government spending, and net exports

For the third year in a row, global growth has started out strong, only to falter by midyear, said IHS Global Insight Economists.The incoming economic data “point to softness” in most parts of the world, IHS adds.

In a collective effort to stem the flow of eroding freight pricing, ocean carriers are now competing on the two major global trade lanes – EU-Asia and the Transpacific – by focusing on value rather than rates. Indeed, all the major players are telling shippers the General Rate Increases (GRI’s) will not be jeopardized by competition offering deep discounts this year.

One of the most unstable elements in a marriage is control. Too much of it kills spontaneity but too little leads to financial and emotional chaos. The same can be said of a business marriage—as in your relationships with logistics service providers.

The good news for shippers is that things didn’t get any worse over the past month; the bad news is that things were already pretty bad. FTR Associates is reporting that its Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) for April was basically unchanged from the previous month, with a moderately negative reading of -5.4.

At a time when mixed economic signals continue to prevail, May retail sales data from the United States Department of Commerce and the National Retail Federation (NRF) both were down compared to May and up annually.

Logistics costs in 2011 rose 6.6 percent from the previous year to $1.282 trillion, or 8.5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, as railroads gained market share and the ocean shipping sector continued to struggle, according to an industry report.

As e-commerce continues to become more prevalent and becomes a “go-to” shopping option for consumers, subsequent effects of that figure to impact supply chains in the sense that they might be more consumer-driven in the future. That was one of the main findings of a recent study put out by UPS and comScore.

The U.S. rail shippers don’t appear to heeding the warnings of a national economic slowdown.Intermodal volume in May on the major U.S. railroads hit the highest level in history for that month, according to the Association of American Railroads. Intermodal traffic last month was 3.5 percent higher than the same month a year ago. Although carload volume was down 2.8 percent year-over-year in the same period, the big losses were because of slumps in the major commodities of coal and grain.

Based on the most recent reading of FTR Associates’ Trucking Conditions Index (TCI), it appears that the trucking sector is showing some signs of solid growth.

Rail traffic once again was mixed on reporting U.S. railroads in the week ending June 2, 2012, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said, as the lines originated 265,207 carloads, down 3.1% compared with the same week last year. Intermodal volume for the week totaled 213,911 trailers and containers, up 4.1% compared with the same week last year.

U.S. intermodal shipments on major railroads in the week ending June 2 rose 4.1 percent year-over-year but fell 12.6 percent from the week before, according to the Association of American Railroads.

FedEx Freight announced it is increasing its shipping rates on July 9, 2012. The 6.9 percent rate increase will apply to FedEx Freight shipments "within the contiguous U.S., between the contiguous U.S. and Canada, and within Canada," according to a statement.

Shippers on Wednesday failed to convince members of Congress to scrap legislation requiring all containers be scanned overseas before being allowed into U.S. ports.

The Cass Freight Index increased in May, despite signs of a slowing economy. The freight shipment index rose 1.8 percent from April and 2.2 percent year-over-year, according to Cass Information Systems

Stories about re-shoring manufacturing to the U.S. are typically anecdotal and unsustainable in segments where there is cost competition.  Besides, the statistics do not support the stories.

Gartner, Inc. has published four predictions expected to affect global logistics organizations over the next four years, covering environmental issues, risk and compliance, international flow optimization and supply chain execution convergence. These predictions will affect most logistics organizations, however the impact will depend on how prepared they are to adapt to these events, analysts said.

Diesel prices across the U.S. in the week ending May 28 fell to the lowest point since mid-January, and less than a cent from the year’s low.Oil prices rose slightly as diesel prices fell 5.1 cents to $3.846, the lowest price since the week ending Jan. 9 when prices were $3.828. The lowest price so far in 2012 occurred in the first week in January, with a gallon of diesel costing $3.783, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Prices are down 9.4 cents from a year ago.

Carload traffic grew along with intermodal volumes on reporting U.S. railroads in the week ending May 26, 2012, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said, breaking a pattern of mixed results seen frequently this year. The lines originated 291,381 carloads, up 1.3% compared with the same week last year, and intermodal traffic for the week totaled 244,726 trailers and containers, up 4.3% compared with the same week last year.

Conventional wisdom says buyers look mainly at price when they go to choose suppliers. Yet many place heavy emphasis on delivery capabilities as well. When it comes to sourcing products, parts, or materials, some companies choose their suppliers strictly on one basis: price. Given the current flat economy, that's probably no surprise. These companies are likely under enormous pressure to hold down supply chain operating expenses, and that starts with procurement.

The stop and start nature of the current freight economy and economic recovery was exemplified in today’s April truck tonnage data report by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

Recent data from TransCore noted that April marked the best single month volume output for the spot market, based on its TransCore’s DAT North American Freight Index, which reflects spot market freight availability on its network of load boards in the United States and Canada.

Non-vessel-operating common carriers generally have it good: Non- or light-asset based, agile in responding to customers’ needs and often consistently profitable, their presence in the market has increased even in heavy beneficial cargo owner markets such as the U.S., where shippers often choose to deal directly with carriers to ensure access to capacity.

March U.S. retail sales rose 7.2 percentyear-over-year, and inventories advanced 5.1 percent. Sequentially, March U.S. retail sales increased 11.5 percent, while inventories were ahead 2.2 percent. Retail inventories at the end of March were estimated to total $482.3 billion, with sales estimated at $374 billion for a total inventory to sales ratio of 1.29.

Rail traffic continued to be mixed on reporting U.S. railroads in the week ending May 5, 2012, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said, as they originated 276,136 carloads, down 2% compared with the same week last year. Intermodal volume for the week totaled 239,031 trailers and containers, up 3% compared with the same week last year.

Users of transportation services need to get accustomed to U.S. freight rates rising "indefinitely," or at least through the balance of the decade, a leading industry consultant said Tuesday.  Noël Perry, principal of consultancy Transport Fundamentals Inc., predicted that rates for truckload, barge, and rail intermodal services will each rise between 50 and 60 percent by the end of the decade. Truckload rates could escalate by between 8 and 9 percent a year by decade's end, he told attendees at the Warehousing Education and Research Council's (WERC) annual meeting in Atlanta.

Diesel prices across the U.S. fell to their lowest point in 10 weeks, slipping 1.6 cents in the week ending May 7 as oil prices dropped to the lowest point since February.

Trans-Pacific carriers announced proposed rate increases of $300 to $400 per 40-foot container unit, effective July 1, on shipments of frozen and chilled beef, pork and poultry shipments exported from the U.S. to Asia.

Domestic intermodal container volume in the first quarter surged 14.9 percent year-over-year, outpacing international intermodal traffic gains by a wide margin and reconfirming strong U.S. manufacturing growth.

Monthly year-over-year percent change in intermodal shipments of 20-foot, 40-foot and 53-foot units in the United States.
March 53-foot traffic advanced 12.1 percent sequentially, 20-footers were up 10.9 percent and 40-footers, 10.2 percent. March 53-foot traffic was 11.7 percent ahead year-over-year, 40-footers up 4.4 percent and 20-footers up 3.8 percent. Year-to-date, 53-foot traffic advanced 15.9 percent, 40-footers were up 3.1 percent and 20-footers, 2.8 percent year-over-year.

After watching in recent years as the number of intact containers moving to and from the Port of Tacoma by rail declined as a percentage of the port’s overall international volumes, officials spotted an interesting opportunity.

In the 1980s and 1990s, they ruled the interstate highway system as they crisscrossed the country. You knew their names: Roadway Express, Consolidated Freightways and Yellow Freight. They were the big three of the transportation industry. Only YRC remains, the result of the 2003 merger between Roadway and Yellow and CF’s bankruptcy a year earlier. The long-haul less-than-truckload industry has gone the way of vinyl records and film cameras. What led to the downfall of this once-mighty industry?

In explaining the vast quantities of excess capacity throughout the U.S. marine terminal world, it’s not hard to identify the culprit: Ports and port investors got drunk on growth in the years leading up to the financial crisis, overinvesting in expectation of a never-ending stream of compound growth rates exceeding 7 percent or higher.

Thanks to an improving U.S. economy, decent volume growth, and an avoidance of past errors, LTL is no longer the wreck on the highway.There's a proverb that "there are no mistakes, just lessons." If that's the case, the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector has received a world-class education during the past five to six years.

Trans-Pacific spot rates jumped 19.9 percent this week, according to the Drewry Hong Kong-Los Angeles Container Rate Benchmark, an indication that carriers’ April 15 rate increases are sticking.  The Drewry benchmark showed non-vessel-operating common carriers reported paying $2,405 per 40-foot container, up from $2,005 last week and 67.5 percent above the $1,436 rate in December. The latest week’s rate was up 34 percent from a year earlier.

Transportation brokers have an underused opportunity to move freight via intermodal shipping, but those rail shipments can require special attention, several industry experts said.

Speaking on March 22 at the Transportation Intermediaries Association meeting here, Shelli Austin, a vice president at broker IDS Services, said, “I don’t want you to think [intermodal] will fix all your problems. [Brokers] have to educate shippers and learn about it as well.”

What makes a good shipper?  That may be the most important question facing the trucking industry today. How shippers answer it—and carrier perceptions of that response—could determine if and how freight gets moved, the cost of moving the goods, and how effectively this large and important business is able to function at a critical point in its history.

Today’s supply chain organizations need more aggressive spend management to reduce costs and mitigate risk in shipping. Traditional tactics like invoice auditing and refund recovery are great ways to cut shipping costs in a stable market, but the complexity of today’s shipping environment requires a deeper understanding of how to lessen the impact of industrial, political and economic forces on corporate spending.

U.S. intermodal rail shipments in the week ending March 24 rose 4.2 percent year-over-year and 2.3 percent from the week before, according to the Association of American Railroads.  For the first 12 weeks of 2012, intermodal traffic was up 2.4 percent year-over-year, while carload volume was down 2.2 percent within the same period.

For logistics managers, it’s important to understand what surplus oil production capacity means to oil and fuel prices—and, therefore, your bottom line.  Surplus oil production capacity refers to the amount of oil that can be brought online to meet a surge in demand or to make up for a sudden decline in production. Prices rise sharply when surplus capacity dips below 1.5 percent of total consumption, or when surplus production capacity is declining rapidly toward that level.

While both rail and trucking have mechanisms designed to pass fuel costs on to shippers, rail’s fuel efficiency advantage over trucks should lead to a modal shift from truck to rail in an environment of increasing fuel prices, the roundtable concluded. Any increase in fuel costs should result in meaningful gains in market share for domestic rail intermodal for hauls 500-750+ miles.
Unsurprisingly, the impact of $5.00 gas prices is expected to have a negative overall impact on the macroeconomies of the U.S. and Canada. While the economic recovery is strong enough at this point such that $5.00 gas prices are unlikely to cause a recession, it would likely result in a surge in the unemployment rate back above 9.0%.

When it came time to impose the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement’s recommended March 15 rate increase, the 15 member carriers took different approaches. Some told their shipping customers they would follow the TSA’s recommendation and raise prices on eastbound containers by $300 per 40-foot equivalent unit. Others told their customers they would hold at the rate prevailing since the last TSA increase on Jan. 1.

MAPI forecasts 4 percent increase in production this year, exceeding GDP growth.  U.S. manufacturing recovery continues on track and should outperform overall GDP growth through 2013, according to a quarterly report by the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation.

The value of surface transportation trade between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico increased by 14.3 percent to a record $904 billion in 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation said.

The percentage increase was the third largest year-to-year increase since NAFTA went into effect in 1994.

Spot rates on the trans-Pacific trade stayed flat week-over-week this week after a 13.6 percent jump last week that followed the rate increase of $300 per 40-foot equivalent unit on March 15 implemented by carriers that belong to the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement.

The Drewry container rate benchmark for shipping a container from Hong Kong to Los Angeles remained at $2,013 per FEU this week after jumping by $242 last week, or slightly less than the full $300-per-FEU increase implemented by the TSA carriers.

According to Anne Landstrom, principal adviser for the commercial group at engineering and construction consultant Moffatt & Nichol, escalating wages and total landed costs are causing logistics managers to look south. More evidence that shippers may be “near shoring” in the future surfaced at a maritime conference in Southern California earlier this month.

The LTL trucking industry as a whole achieved more than $30 billion in revenue last year for the first time since the recession, increasing LTL sales 11.6 percent to $30.6 billion, compared with a 9.1 percent increase in revenue to $27.5 billion in 2010. (In its study, SJ Consulting ranks carriers by LTL revenue alone, excluding revenue from non-LTL sources such as truckload carriage and third-party logistics.)

Still, the recovery is incomplete. Despite steady improvement, LTL trucking has yet to regain its 2006 revenue peak of $33.7 billion, let alone the $33.3 billion in revenue reported for the industry before the economic collapse in 2008.

Research firm FTR Associates sees tightening truck capacity and rising truck pricing ahead this year for North American shippers as freight demand outstrips GDP.  “This will continue to keep transport capacity tight throughout the forecast period, resulting in ongoing upward rate pressure,” said senior consultant Larry Gross.

Diesel prices across the U.S. rose at the slowest pace in three weeks, climbing 2.9 cents in the week ending March 12 as oil prices fell at the end of trading for the first time in four days.  Prices rose to $4.123 but the pace was more akin to the steady increases seen since the beginning of the year, not the surge experienced in the last two weeks. The average price is 21.4 cents higher than the same period a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“Intermodal traffic was up for the 27th straight month, while carloads of a wide range of commodities — lumber, chemicals, petroleum, paper, steel and more — saw increases in February,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in the organization’s announcement. “Time will tell, but we’re hopeful it’s a sign of broad-based improvement in economic conditions.”

Multi-year contracts indexed to freight rates are slowly starting to catch on in global trade lanes as a means of creating stable and predictable rates for shippers and ocean carriers.  Despite their benefits, however, index-based contracts aren’t likely to become the new standard any time soon, according to a panel of shippers, carriers and intermediaries at The Journal of Commerce’s 12th Annual Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference on Tuesday.

Orders for U.S. durable goods fell 4 percent in January, the biggest decline in three years, following the expiration of a tax break on equipment purchases.  Demand for core capital goods, which exclude aerospace and defense orders, fell 4.5 percent after increasing 3.4 percent in December and falling 1.5 percent in November, according to the Census Bureau.  Economists said the January drop in durable-goods orders was influenced by the year-end expiration of a tax credit that allowed full depreciation of equipment purchases. The allowance this year is 50 percent.

Trucking in 2012 is an increasingly divided industry, not along lines such as truckload or less-than-truckload or dry van or flatbed, but by size and scale.

Large and small trucking operators face the same rising costs and must comply with the same federal regulations, but smaller carriers and owner-operators are finding it more difficult to cope with rising costs and to secure rate increases.

Prices hit $3.943 a gallon as oil prices climb to a month-high.  The average $3.943 left the price up 40.9 cents from the same period a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The ramp-up in price was the briskest since the week ending Nov. 14, when prices rose 10 cents.

Truckload rates are likely to rise anywhere from 2 to 6 percent in 2012 and even as high as 8 percent in coming years, depending on the strength of the recovery and the effect of new truck safety regulations, according to a transportation analyst.

Truck tonnage in 2011 rose 5.9% over 2010, representing the largest annual increase since 1998, according to the American Trucking Associations. Also, tonnage for December 2011 was 10.5% higher than December 2010, the largest year-over-year gain since July 1998. November tonnage was up 6.1% over the same month last year.

Container throughput in 2011 at the Port of Prince Rupert jumped 20 percent year-over-year, while the emerging gateway's larger West Coast rival, Port Metro Vancouver, saw flat traffic in the same period.

While the economic recovery remains far from complete, truck tonnage could be serving as a positive barometer of things to come, based on the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) December and 2011 year-end truck tonnage data, which was released today.

Following November’s 0.3 percent gain for seasonally-adjusted truck tonnage to 116.6 (2000=100), the ATA reported that December checked in at 124.5 for a 6.8 percent increase. December 2011 was up 10.5 percent than December 2010, according to the ATA, and is the single biggest annual monthly gain since July 1998. It also outpaced November’s annual gain of 6.1 percent.

IDS had another successful year in 2011. Our core business segments continued to grow and our financial performance remains strong. Each year we like to provide our clients and friends a review of the significant accomplishments for the year and a look forward

Intermodal volume hauled by major U.S. railroads surged 7.4 percent year-over-year in the week ending Jan. 14 and skyrocketed 18.2 percent from the week prior, suggesting American companies see strong demand this year.

A growing number of carriers, 65 percent, said driver pay must rise above $60,000 a year. That’s up from 49 percent of the carriers surveyed the previous quarter.  About 45 percent said pay would have to rise to the $60,000 to $70,000 annual range. That would be a significant bump in compensation. Tractor-trailer drivers are paid about $39,500 annually on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Connected, “always-on” consumers who expect instant information, a multitude of choices and flexible, real-time purchase and delivery options are driving change in the retail supply chain. Leading retailers have adopted technologies and practices to help them with demand forecasting, promotion, pricing, inventory management, and transportation. Rising transportation costs and potential efficiencies are driving advances in transportation management, according to Fabrizio Brasca, vice president, global logistics, JDA Software. Transportation trends have been a popular topic at the National Retail Federation’s 101st Annual Convention and Expo in New York City this week.

Shippers accustomed to seeing transportation costs drop year by year over decades are in for a sharp shock thanks to structural constraints on truck capacity that won’t be removed anytime soon — even if truckers would like to remove some of them.

Diesel prices across the United States increased for the second week in a row in the week ending Jan. 16, climbing 2.6 cents as oil prices hit above $100 per barrel as China reports economic growth.

Container lines will struggle to maintain recent freight rates gains after the Chinese Lunar New Year because the industry hasn’t done enough to reduce excess capacity, said Janet Lewis, head of Asia shipping research for Macquarie Capital Securities.

The Federal Maritime Commission is proposing a change in rules that will make it more expensive for U.S. non-vessel-operating common carriers to do business in China. The proposal would increase the bond rider amount from $21,000 to $50,000. The Chinese government requested the change in order to reflect changes in the relative values of the dollar and yuan. The bond amount was set in a 2003 bilateral maritime agreement.

The Cass Freight Index for U.S. domestic shipments inched up 0.7 percent in December over the previous year, signaling new stability in shipping demand after the market slipped downward during the fall.

Truckload rates rose less than some carriers expected but more than shippers wanted in 2011, with spot market rates on average rising 7.4 percent and contract rates climbing an average 6.5 percent, a freight pricing specialist says.

International container business has been a key element in the development of the North American rail intermodal transportation market for decades. Today, however, the opposite is true. Market share has reversed, with domestic business now representing the majority of North American intermodal loadings and growing much more quickly.

Major U.S. railroads handled a record number of intermodal containers in 2011, with a strong push late in the year that gave the industry a 6 percent gain in volume over 2010, according to the Association of American Railroads.

A closely watched gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity rose in December, indicating the 29th consecutive month of expansion, and similar indexes showed improvement in China, India, the U.K., Switzerland and Australia.

Intermodal volume for major U.S. railroads soared 22.9 percent year-over-year in the week ending Dec. 24, a likely signal that businesses were moving to replenish their lean inventories heading into the New Year.

Intermodal volume was 5.1 percent ahead of last year’s total through the first 50 weeks of 2011, according to the AAR figures. Container business has led the expansion, growing 5.6 percent, while truck trailer volume is up only 2 percent from a year ago and has been slipping backward toward the end of the year.

Diesel prices across the United States fell for the fifth straight week in the week ending Dec. 26, falling 3.7 cents on average to the lowest price in more than two months, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Groups representing shippers say new rules on work hours for truck drivers will reduce efficiency across their supply chains, complicating delivery schedules, raising costs and even undermining safety on highways.

Despite disputes over funding levels and where to find the money, Democrats and Republicans agreed on a broad swath of the safety agenda in several bills the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved on Dec. 14.

Local and state governments seeking a piece of the $500 million in TIGER grants available next year would be wise to pitch projects relating to intermodal rail because the majority of the freight projects that got a slice of the Department of Transportation’s most recent round of TIGER grants will improve intermodal connections, help shippers export or both. Forty-six projects, ranging from bridge replacement to passenger rail work, received $511 million in funding this month through the third round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economy Recovery program.

Paced by market leader Old Dominion Freight Line, LTL carriers are reporting year-over-year tonnage increases for 2011 and those gains are expected to repeat again in 2012. Ross is predicting a “slow, potentially choppy” economic recovery with price increases in the 2-3 percent range, although that could vary widely by geography, lane, customer and carrier.

Most major LTL carriers announced general rate increases (GRI) between 5.9 and 6.9 percent, effective in the fourth quarter. Privately, carrier executives say they would be happy to actually get half that amount from its customer base. But event that amount would continue a trend of increasing LTL yields (excluding fuel surcharges) that began in 2010.

Diesel prices across the United States plummeted 6.6 cents in the week ending Dec. 19, falling at the sharpest pace since May 2010 as crude oil prices inched up.

Intermodal volume for U.S. railroads grew 3 percent year-over-year in the first full week of December, helped by container shipments that maintained most of their momentum heading toward the end of the 2011.

Despite a few bumps along the way, the domestic intermodal segment has enjoyed a respectable to solid 2011. And if the railroads' 2012 and 2013 battle plans are any indication, the industry expects more of the same from the domestic front.

A large majority of truckload carriers expect freight volumes and truck rates to rise next year, according to new survey.

The driver turnover rate increased from 79 percent in the second quarter, hitting its highest point since early 2008, the American Trucking Associations said Monday. The turnover rate at small truckload carriers jumped 10 points to 57 percent, the highest level for those companies since the third quarter of 2008, the ATA said.

Year-over-year October U.S. retail sales rose 7.1 percent and inventories advanced 3.4 percent. Sequentially, October U.S. retail sales inched ahead 1 percent while inventories increased 4.4 percent. Retail inventories at the end of October were estimated to total $493.7 billion, with sales estimated at $344.7 billion for a total inventory-to-sales ratio of 1.43.

Diesel prices across the United States dropped 3.7 cents in the week ending Dec. 12, falling for the third week straight and hitting a six-week low.

Diesel prices across the United States fell 3.3 cents in the week ending Dec. 5, falling for the second week in a row as oil prices hit a two-week high.

The Cass Freight Index for U.S. shipments fell for the first time in nearly two years in November, slipping 2.9 percent in a sign that the fall’s peak shipping season was easing into a lower gear.

SaaS TMS is a single-instance, multi-tenant environment where customers and their partners access a shared solution via the Internet. Transportation feature functionality is comparable to other hosted or on-premise solutions. What makes SaaS unique, however, are the intangible benefits that exist by being part of a community as opposed to simply working siloed within the four walls of an organization.

Containerized imports plummeted 20.8 percent, exports were down 21.4 percent and empty containers fell 19.3 percent from October 2010. The past year has been a difficult one for carriers in the trans-Pacific as severe overcapacity and weak demand resulted in a steady decline in freight rates.

Shippers are likely to face steep increases in truckload rates in the next two years, followed by a recession in 2014 or 2015, a transportation economist warns.

Higher load volume made October the biggest month for the spot truckload market since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, TransCore said. Truckload spot pricing for various equipment types were mixed.

Capacity at a group of six large truckload carriers tracked by The Journal of Commerce fell a cumulative 1.5 percent from the second quarter and 1.5 percent from a year ago, with two carriers increasing capacity slightly year-over-year.

Intermodal volumes for the third quarter of this year resulted in annual gains for the seventh straight quarter, according to third quarter Market Trends report published by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).

While the economic recovery has had its fair share of stops and starts, it may be happening again in earnest on the railways. That is the consensus from John Lanigan, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at BNSF Railway.

The Cass Freight Index for U.S. domestic shipments took a steep 9.9 percent dive in October from the month before, cutting short a two-month rally in the closely watched measure.

After three straight weeks of increases, diesel prices dipped $0.5 cent to $3.887, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Capacity and driver shortages plague the over-the-road (OTR) trucking sector, prompting shippers to consider the merits of other transportation modes.

As railroads continue to ramp up capital spending on infrastructure and equipment, intermodal services have been significant beneficiaries, leading more shippers—and motor carriers—to adopt multimodal approaches.

Not only railroads and intermodal marketing companies, but also trucking companies expect to put more truckloads on the rails as the economically feasible length of an intermodal haul drops from 1,000 miles or more closer to 500 miles. Increasingly, the economic dividing line between a truckload haul and an intermodal move isn’t measured in miles but as what a single driver can do in one day, plus a day.

Container volume at West Coast ports declined 2 percent year-over year in September, as a 7 percent drop in imports further reinforced a disappointing peak shipping season.

Trans-Pacific spot rates rebounded this week off their 22-month low of last week, rising for the first time in two months, as measured by Drewry Shipping Consultants weekly benchmark.

LTL players Saia, Old Dominion, and ABF Freight System are reporting year-over-year per hundredweight price gains of 11.6 percent, 13.7 percent, and 15.9 percent, respectively.  In part, these pricing gains stem from General Rate Increase (GRI) announcements for non-contract freight made by LTL carriers during the second half of this year, with increases coming in around 6.9 percent on average.

Diesel prices this week increased 2.4 cents per gallon to $3.825, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Spot market volume on TransCore’s network of load boards rose 10 percent in September from August and 47 percent from a year ago, a sign of stronger demand.  Truckload pricing also increased last month, with national average dry van spot market rates rising 2.3 percent from August and 3.9 percent from a year ago.

Diesel prices headed down for the fifth straight week, falling 2.8 cents to $3.721 per gallon, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.

Shippers need to do more to help trucking companies reduce rising driver turnover rates and help keep transportation costs in line, a transportation consultant says.

Spot rates for container shipments from Hong Kong to Los Angeles fell below $1,500 per 40-foot-equivalent unit for the first time since January 2010, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants’ weekly benchmark.

Diesel prices across the United States dropped 3.7 cents in the week ending Oct. 3., hitting a 30-week low as crude oil prices fell to their lowest point in eight weeks.

Analysts say second quarter change was highest in eight years of shipper poll

Shippers shifted freight from all-truck modes to intermodal at the fastest pace in years during the second quarter, according to a closely watched survey by the Wolfe Trahan research group.