Freight

Despite some carriers expressing positive sentiment for the second half of this year, demand may not hit the heights of 2021.

platform, which is focused on modernizing and transforming how freight is loaded, unloaded, and transferred. Entitled Vaux, ArcBest said that through this platform, a trailer’s entire contents can be unloaded in less than five minutes while also provide what it described as complete visibility into freight movement within warehouse facilities, on the dock or over the road.”

Fourth quarter freight shipments—at 113.0—were down 4.6% compared to the third quarter, for the largest sequential decline since the first quarter of 2021, and were down 7.1% annually, marking the largest annual decrease since the third quarter 2020. For expenditures, the fourth quarter reading—at 272.3—was off 0.2% compared to the third quarter and was up 1.8% annually. The annual gain represented its lowest increase since the third quarter 2020.

When looking at the current state of intermodal volumes, a few quick themes jump out, observed Larry Gross, president of Gross Transportation Consulting at the last month’s RailTrends conference in New York.

Clients can optimize transportation spend while managing logistics constraints, leveraging carrier network and insights.

Entitled Hi-Fi visibility, the company explained that this offering gives shippers detailed, real-time updates across trailer pools and shipments hauled by Convoy-connected carriers, as well as robust analytics geared towards improving supply chain health. Shippers are able to access Hi-Fi Visibility through TMS integrations, APIs, and Convoy’s shipper platform, said Convoy.

August’s shipment reading—at 1.278—increased 3.6% annually, and freight expenditures—at 4.614—increased 20.4%

On a webcast hosted by the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) this week, Jonathan Starks, Chief Intelligence Officer for freight transportation consultancy FTR, and Avery Vise, FTR Vice president of Trucking, addressed the current state of the economy with a freight-based focus, to help put things into perspective.

January’s shipment reading—at 1.078—fell 2.9% annually, coming off of a 7.7% annual gain in December. And January expenditures—at 4.027—saw a 31.2% annual increase, in tandem with U.S. wholesale inflation up 9.7% annually for the month, as per U.S. Department of Labor data.

Learn more about FreitRater payment and management reporting system designed specifically for freight shippers or consignees

New York-based investment firm Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC announced they have partnered up to roll out a new offering, entitled the Cowen/AFS Freight Index. The companies said that the objective of the quarterly Freight Index is to provide institutional clients of Cowen with predictive pricing tools for various sectors—including less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload shipping (TL), and parcel shipping (separately focusing on express and ground).

The report’s shipment reading—at 1.184—eked out a 0.6% annual gain, well short of August’s 12.3% annual gain, and September freight expenditures—at 3.818—increased 32.2% annually, which is off from August’s 42.2% annual gain.

Scottsdale, Arizona-based Emerge, a provider of its proprietary Digital Freight Marketplace (DFM) and TMS focused on accelerating productivity and increasing visibility for supply chain stakeholders and freight procurement, recently announced it raised $130 million in a Series B funding round.

One thing which stood out while I was out of the office is how prevalent supply chain and global trade is, no matter where you are.

The report explained that imports hit a new record this spring, with volume over the first half of 2021 pegged to be up by one-third annually, or 33.9%, driven by the economy continuing to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.