According to Fastmarkets 2023 Outlook, “widespread economic turmoil, including interest rates that soared to the highest levels in more than a decade, overshadowed the fact that 2022 was a banner year in the U.S. softwood lumber industry by historical standards. Fastmarkets’ latest projections indicate U.S. housing starts will drop 12.8% from last year due to…
While California’s recent storms have caused widespread localized flooding, high winds, property damage, power outages and a number of deaths, they have not yet shut down the state’s key interstates, most major state highways or its ports. The storms that have been punishing California since Christmas are being caused by atmospheric rivers, which meteorologists call…
As the retail shopping season nears the finish line, December import volumes confirm a non-existent peak season in the retail sector. According to IHS Markit, TEU, (twenty-foot equivalent unit) import volumes were down 1% m/m and 12% y/y in December, and unlike prior years, import volumes are slowing rapidly. Since the peak in imports in…
The outlook for flatbed carriers in the housing construction industry continues to worsen. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), homebuilder sentiment in November dropped for the 12th straight month to the lowest since 2012. Regionally, the sentiment was strongest in the Northeast and weakest in the West, where prices are highest. Single-family…
We’ve all seen them driving along our interstates and in cities, thousands of huge oil storage tanks storing various products, including crude oil, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and more. Refiners often have clusters of storage tanks at their locations to maintain a running inventory of crude oil and store finished products before shipment. They are…
As the early stages of the 2023 produce season begin in southern latitudes, including Florida and Arizona, the 2022 calendar year was a disappointment for reefer carriers. The year ended with total produce volumes at 2016 levels. According to the USDA, weekly truckload volumes of produce ended the year down by 8.5% compared to the…
Of the thousands of dry van destinations, 10 stood above the rest. For various reasons, these are the top 10 dry van markets of 2022. Do these surprise you? Atlanta, GA Dallas, TX Chicago, IL Los Angeles, CA Fort Worth, TX Ontario, CA Joilet, IL Houston, TX Columbus, OH Charlotte, NC Lucky for you,…
Though temp-control trucks are heading in every direction, we looked deeper and found the top 10 temp-control markets. Do any of these surprise you? Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL Dallas, TX Fort Worth, TX Fresno, CA Fayetteville, AR Joilet, IL Los Angeles, CA Lakeland, FL Ontario, CA Lucky for you, you don’t need to be…
Despite the economic headwinds facing many industries, there are strategic opportunities for transportation professionals in the new year. Taking advantage of them will require collaboration with your trusted partners, and those relationships will prove critical in 2023. Of course, there are the usual suspects when it comes to freight disruptions – hurricanes, snowstorms, etc. –…
Flatbeds constantly crisscross the country, but 10 cities were flatbed magnets in 2022. We’ve combed through over $137B of logistics invoices from last year and found the top 10. Do any of these surprise you? Houston, TX Dallas, TX Fort Worth, TX Savannah, GA Birmingham, AL Cleveland, OH Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL South Bend, IN …