Shipments

The firm reported that total November shipments—at 1,16,7943—rose 20.7% annually, topping November’s 16.8% annual increase, with imports of containerized freight shipments—at 2,668,416 TEU—seeing a 17% annual gain.

The report’s third quarter National Shipment Index—at 114.9—was up 6% compared to the second quarter and down 7.6% annually. This followed a 7.6% decline, from the first quarter to the second quarter. On the spending side, the report’s third quarter spend index—at 186.0—was up 14.6%, from the second quarter to the third, and was off 7.3% annually. The sequential gain nearly erased the 13.7% spending decrease, from the first quarter to the second quarter.

September shipments—at 1.099—were down 1.8% annually, nearly 6% better than August’s 7.6% annual decrease and were up 7.1% compared to August. And September expenditures, which measures the total amount spent on freight—at 2.888—rose 1.2% annually and were up 7.2% over August.

Coming in at 2,711,435 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), September was up 11.1% annually. But on a year-to-date basis, through September 30, shipments are down 3.9% annually, to 20,874,996 TEU. This marked the second time ever a monthly tally topped 2.70 million TEU.

A recent blog by Vivek Vaid, Chief Technology officer, for Chicago-based FourKites, observed that consumer packaged goods (CPG), food and beverage (F&B), and retail payments are leading the way for shipments and “continue to drive overall growth in shipment volumes across the U.S., with a huge surge in less-than-truckload and parcel shipments.”

July shipments—at 1.018—were down 13.1% annually, faring better than June’s -17.8% annual spread, and up 4.8% compared to June, and expenditures—at 2.452—were down 14.3% annually and up 2.8% compared to June.

At a time when nothing is really close to normal, in the conventional sense, due largely to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, recent data from Chicago-based FourKites, a provider of real-time tracking and visibility solutions across transportation modes and digital platforms, showed that there are some signs of a leveling off of COVID-19-related supply chain disruptions.

With minimal improvement off of dismal April readings, which were viewed as “recessionary,” the May edition of the Cass Freight Index, from Cass Information Systems, showed that the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on freight transportation shipments and expenditures remains intact.

Data recently issued by Chicago-based FourKites, a provider of real-time tracking and visibility solutions across transportation modes and digital platforms, highlights the difficulties being encountered at facilities—located in the United States and Europe—in dealing with increased shipment volumes resultant of meeting coronavirus- (or COVID-19) related demand.

January shipments—at 1.022—fell 9.4%, marking its largest annual decline going back to 2009, while also dropping 2.9% compared to December, and January expenditures—at 2.568—fell 8% annually and were down 5.7% compared to January 2019.

The report’s National Shipment Index—at 126.5—was down 4% from the third quarter to the fourth quarter and off 5.4% annually. On the spending side, the report stated that the spending index—at 195.2—was off 2.7% from the third quarter to the fourth quarter and off 2.5% annually.

October shipments, at 1,047,257, were off 8.9% annually on a preliminary basis, which was far steeper than September’s 1.6% annual decline and the third quarter’s 0.2% gain. Containerized freight shipments in October rose 7.5 On a year-to-date basis through October, shipments are up 0.05%, at 10,301,352.

May shipments, at 1.128, slipped 6% annually and were down 2.8% compared to April. This marks the sixth consecutive month that annual shipments were down. Freight expenditures in May, at 2.845, were down 1.08% annually and down 2.2% compared to April.

Entitled Delivery Track, Pitt Ohio said this offering leverages what it described as sophisticated data mining techniques that tie a shipment to the truck moving it, and it shows its location on a specific delivery route, while also providing real time ETA updates.

Freight shipment and spending levels showed improvement from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, following a trending down from the second quarter to the third quarter, according to the most recent edition of the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index, which was released this week by Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank.