Logistics Flat for September; Year Remains Strong

The freight logistics sector was relatively flat in September, with a drop in North American shipment volume and a slight increase in total freight expenditures, or payments.

Other freight indicators have shown that shipment weights have been rising steadily, so a decrease in the actual number of shipments does not necessarily indicate a drop in freight activity.

In a typical summer trend, the economy as a whole cooled in August and September.

The number of shipments fell 1.4 percent in September compared to August levels, but on a year‐over‐year basis the number of shipments in September was only 0.7 percent higher than a year ago.

Since the end of 2013 the number of freight waybills has increased 12.2 percent. Orders to U.S. factories fell by 10.1 percent in August, the largest amount on record according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This decline, however, came on the heels of a record 10.5 percent increase in July.

Almost all of these changes can be attributed to the commercial aircraft industry.

The remaining sectors were largely unchanged in August, so the impact should be narrowly targeted on carriers moving aerospace materials. The September freight expenditures index rose 0.8 percent, almost exclusively on increased tonnage.

Source: Cass Information Services

Category: Featured, General Update, Management