Transportation Insights & Analysis

 

November State of Freight TODAY

View Online: https://freight.ftrintel.com/softoday-november2019

What’s up with Housing? Flat or up, where is housing going?
Housing has been giving us some mixed signals lately. Several questions rise to the surface. Is housing on a long-term upwards meaningful trend? Or is the market going to return to the almost flat trend of the last few years?

Assessing The Freight Markets
As we near the end of the year, Eric Starks and Avery Vise sat down to discuss what we are seeing in the freight markets and what that will likely mean for the transportation industry in the near future. Their conversation delves deep into trucking, shippers and brokers, and the broader economy, with a brief look at the rail side as well.

Trucking Regulation Insights: Hours-of-Service Reform
FTR concludes that the final ELD transition and the drug and alcohol testing clearinghouse could disrupt driver productivity and supply, but a fast-tracked rulemaking on hours-of-service promises greater flexibility in 2021. In an October State of Freight INSIGHTS report on Trucking Regulations that spanned 11 pages, FTR provided a clear and concise overview of all of these issues. In this commentary, we provide you with an extract from this report showing the hours-of-service reform.

 

October State of Freight TODAY

View Online: https://freight.ftrintel.com/softoday-october2019

Can the Consumer Support the Economy Alone? The U.S. consumer is carrying the economy. This article addresses the question of how strong consumption will be in the future as trade tensions are undermining business confidence and slowing capital investment. Can the consumer stand alone?

Driver Supply: What the Data Tells Us: One of the chronic debates in trucking is the extent - and even the very existence - of driver shortages. Kristen Monaco, associate commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a leading researcher in truck driver dynamics, clarified some of the confusion surrounding driver availability in September at the 2019 FTR Transportation Conference. 

What is the Trade War’s Impact on U.S Manufacturing?
Ake's Take on the trade war provides insight on the impact of the trade war with China on US manufacturing. 

 

September State of Freight TODAY

View Online: https://info.ftrintel.com/softoday-September2019

Mexico: Near-Term Clouds but A Brighter Long Term: Mexico’s economy has a bright long-term future. It is the 15th largest in the world in nominal terms and the 11th by purchasing power parity. This article gives a background on the Mexican economy and an overview of Mexico in 2019.

Shipper of Choice: Chief Commercial Officer for Schneider National, Bill Matheson talks about shipper of choice, the impact of ELDs and the how that data is being used to make decisions, changes in customer's buying behaviors and it’s impact on the bid process, and much more. 

Singing the Recession Blues Again: Financial markets have been gyrating recently as the spread between the ten-and-two-year Treasuries turned negative for the first time since 2007. This article gives an overview and insight into economic factors surrounding talks of recession.