A glimmer of hope that U.S. manufacturing was starting to rebound at the start of the year may have been quickly been dashed, leading to increasing concerns about the state of the overall economy, while separate reports show consumers don’t feel as good as they did last year, but they are still in the mood for home buying.
Category Archives: FOOD & BEVERAGE
The second annual Secure Rail conference drew more than 100 people to Orlando, Fla., last week. Held Feb. 9-10 and organized by Progressive Railroading, the event addressed physical and cyber security in the North American rail industry.
For a look inside the event, follow this link to view a slideshow of conference highlights.
United States rail carload and intermodal volumes were again mixed for the week ending February 13, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Spot market freight volume and demand patterns remained on a typical seasonal trajectory in January, according to data recently issued by Portland, Oregon-based freight marketplace platform and information provider DAT.
Mentions of a recession-like environment from top transportation executives and lackluster growth in domestic and international freight volumes are sparking fears that a U.S. freight recession is upon us that could be a harbinger of something even worse: an outright economic recession.
(This article requires registration at the Journal of Commerce. To access, please click on the above link.)
U.S. businesses boosted their stockpiles slightly in December, as sales dropped sharply. This combination has stoked anxieties about weakening economic growth, as sales over the entire year dropped for the first time since the Great Recession.
Despite network congestion and economic headwinds, intermodal freight saw solid growth in 2015, but the level of freight was barely up in the final quarter, according to the Intermodal Association of North America.
The battle to recruit and keep truck drivers is heating up. As unemployment levels drop and driver pay and benefits increase, the number of drivers who move from carrier to carrier is rising. To compensate, trucking companies continue to increase pay. Carriers are moving beyond general pay increases to target specific areas, such as detention pay, and specific drivers.
(This article requires registration at the Journal of Commerce. To access, please click on the above link.)
Giant Food is joining the trend of retailers making online deliveries to places beyond consumer homes. The Peapod by Giant online delivery service is now allowing Washington, D.C.-area shoppers to place their orders online and pick them up at one of three Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) stations: Fort Totten, Glenmont and Vienna.
The average price of diesel fuel continued to fall last week amidst reports that global crude oil production would not be cut to meet lower demand, according to the latest numbers from the Energy Department.