Shipments

With 1,144,033 shipments, October was up 11.9% annually, which Panjiva said marks the fastest rate of growth for monthly shipments going back to March 2014.

Freight shipment and spending levels trended 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 recently released by Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank.

Through July, the most recent month for which data is available, freight shipments and expenditures have now seen annual gains for 19 and 22 months, respectively, the report said.

The report’s National Shipment Index, at 138.7 (2011=110.1), hit a new record-high and was up 1.2% compared to the first quarter and up 7.8% annually.

The most recent edition of the Cass Freight Index Report from Cass Information Systems pointed to an ongoing thesis describing the state of the United States freight economy as “extraordinarily strong,” given the ongoing gains in freight shipments and expenditures.

March freight shipments and expenditures continued to show annual and sequential growth in April, according to the most recent edition of the Cass Freight Index Report from Cass Information Systems, which was released this week. Freight Index May 2018, Cass Freight Information

United States-bound waterborne shipments saw some growth in April, albeit not at the same levels it hit in previous months, according to data issued this week by global trade intelligence firm Panjiva. April shipments, at 955,956, saw a 0.3% gain compared to April 2017, getting annual shipment growth back on a positive track, following March’s 0.2% annual decline. March’s annual decline was the first one going back to a 7.7% annual drop-off in February 2017.

In February, freight shipments and expenditures each saw annual gains, with shipments up for the 17th consecutive month and expenditures up for the 14th consecutive month.

July shipments, at 1.126 were off 3.2% compared to June and up 1.4% annually, and July expenditures at 2.460 headed up 4.5% annually and were off 1.5% compared to June.

Reversing a trend which occurred in February and March, cost growth outpaced shipment growth, according to data in the most recent edition of the Cass Freight Index report.

Slight signs of economic stability appeared to take hold on the global trade front from October to November, according to data from Panjiva.

The company said that Monday, December 12 is expected to be the busiest day in its almost 40-year history, pegging today’s shipment count to check in at around 17 million, which is about twice as much a typical day’s average volume.

Coming off of a 4 percent gain in United States-bound waterborne shipments from January to February, shipments from March to April saw a 7 percent bump with 959,364 shipments, said Panjiva. And the number of global manufacturers shipping to the U.S.—at 139,337 was up 6 percent.