The U.S. average retail price of diesel dropped 3.5 cents to $3.013 a gallon, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Jan. 7, even as crude oil prices saw some renewed vigor and approached $50 per barrel.
Author Archives: Jeffrey Goh
China surpassed the United States in annual gross crude oil imports in 2017, importing 8.4 million barrels per day (b/d) compared with 7.9 million b/d for the US, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
As we usher in 2019, many industry analysts are telling logistics managers to begin planning for a major transformational event coming into play for the ocean cargo sector a year from now.
Imports at the nation’s major container ports slowed in November 2018 after a months-long rush to beat increased tariffs on goods from China, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
Carrier pricing for air cargo shipments is also expected to remain on a steep trajectory, says Chuck Clowdis, managing director of the consultancy Trans-Logistics Group, Inc.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 5, 2019. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 436,103 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.8 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending January 5 were 221,759 carloads, up 6.2 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 214,344 containers and trailers, up 3.4 percent compared to 2018.
Trucking industry economists say – after a 2018 that saw record-setting levels of freight-hauling demand and driver pay as tonnage levels reached a 20-year high – the industry is expected to remain strong in 2019 but undergo a bit of a cool-down.
For years, shippers were warned about the looming driver shortage. Trucking executives sometimes were accused of “crying wolf” when it came to driver shortages to secure rate increases – until 2018. Suddenly, the wolf was real and had teeth, in the form of higher spot and contract rates and rejected freight tenders that drove double-digit cost increases.
Factory activity weakened across much of Europe and Asia in December as the U.S.-China trade war and a slowdown in demand hit production in many economies, offering little reason for optimism as the new year begins.
While 2018 was largely characterized as a strengthening U.S. economy – equities are ending the year on a tumultuous note, causing concern among investors for the coming year.