Freight shipments and expenditures remain in good shape in January, reports Cass Freight Index

Freight shipments and expenditures, for the month of January, posted annual declines and sequential declines, according to the new edition of the Cass Freight Index, which was published this week by Cass Information Systems.

Many freight transportation and logistics executives and analysts consider the Cass Freight Index to be the most accurate barometer of freight volumes and market conditions, with many analysts noting that the Cass Freight Index sometimes leads the American Trucking Associations (ATA) tonnage index at turning points, which lends to the value of the Cass Freight Index.

The report’s shipment’s reading—at 1.110—headed up 8.6% annually, topping December’s 6.7% annual increase, and was off 1.1% compared to December.

While the 1.1% sequential decline was much less than normal seasonality, it was up 3.0% compared to December on a seasonally-adjusted (SA) basis, for its largest SA gain going back to September 2020.

“The acceleration takes us another step closer to the strong growth environment, which we expect to continue in 2021, due in no small part to easy comparisons,” wrote the report’s author Tim Denoyer, ACT Research vice president and senior analyst. “On a two-year stacked basis, the Cass Shipments Index was still 1.6% below January 2019.”

On the expenditures side, the January reading—at 3.070—saw a 19.5% annual gain and a 0.2% sequential decline. On a SA basis, expenditures rose 2.8%, from December to January.    

Author Denoyer wrote that the nearly 20% increase was primarily driven by volumes.

“Freight rate increases accelerated in January at the fastest pace since 2009-2011, with the exception of a few months in late 2018,” he wrote. “As these higher volumes meet rising contract rates, it is clear that this index is headed for growth rates over the next several months not seen since 2010-2011.”