The Logistics Manager’s Index (LMI), produced by Zac Rogers at Colorado State University, came in at 56.5 in February 2024, up (+0.9) from January’s reading of 55.6 and is tied with October 2023 for the highest reading for the overall index in the last year. This growth is bolstered by expansion in all eight sub-metrics…
The United States imports hundreds of millions of lithium-ion batteries each year, and according to IHS Markit/PIERS, refrigerated import volumes through the Port of Mobile, AL, have increased 62% year-over-year (y/y). Lithium batteries account for 20% of import volume, with over 70% imported in the last 12 months, arriving on the Gulf Coast in the…
It’s time to “Spring Forward” as Daylight Saving begins this Sunday, March 10th Despite many Americans’ aversion to having to “spring forward” and “fall back” each year because of daylight saving time (DST), recent attempts by states to switch to permanent DST have gone dark. That is despite growing support to eliminate the changing of…
The contract freight market continues to soften following last month’s 3.5% m/m drop in the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. The ATAs tonnage index, which includes truckload and LTL freight, is dominated by contract freight with minimal spot market loads. Compared to January 2023, the SA index fell…
According to Professor Jason Miller, a supply chain expert at Michigan State University, there’s some good and bad news for trucking companies based on the December data from the for-hire trucking ton-mile and revenue indexes (TTMI). December’s TTMI, based on output across 41 freight-generating industries, was down 0.1% from November, which is effectively unchanged sequentially.…
The myths and facts behind sleep Welcome to DAT Freight & Analytics’s six-part series on napping, sleep physiology, scheduling, and trip planning. While aimed at truckers in high-risk operating environments, the information will benefit anyone in the logistics industry equally. This week, we’ll take a deep dive into myths and facts about sleep. Myth: Your…
Welcome to DAT Freight & Analytics’s six-part series on napping, sleep physiology, scheduling, and trip planning. While aimed at truckers in high-risk operating environments, the information will benefit anyone in the logistics industry equally. This week, we’ll deeply dive into the big four sleep stealers. Who and what is stealing your sleep? Energy drinks Energy…
Flatbed report: Texas leads the way in manufacturing and infrastructure investments According to Goldman Sachs, Texas is the leading state in terms of projects that have broken ground (about 25% of all projects in the US), driven in part by semiconductor plants from major manufacturers. The research firm is tracking over $1 trillion in manufacturing…
Welcome to DAT Freight & Analytics’s six-part series on napping, sleep physiology, scheduling, and trip planning. While aimed at truckers in high-risk operating environments, the information will benefit anyone in the logistics industry equally. This week, we’ll examine driver scheduling in depth. Are you a night owl or a morning lark? We’re all born with…
Inbound truckload spot market volumes into Ft. Worth, TX, have increased by 23% since 2019, driven primarily by the surge in imports into the Gulf Coast as shippers diverted freight volumes away from the congested West Coast during 2021 and 2022. Houston, the fifth largest import port, recorded a 25% increase in December containerized volume…