Latest Employment Numbers Up—Except for Pirates

This country’s most recent logistics numbers (from the Logistics Market Snapshot, courtesy of the Georgia Center of Innovation) show rising employment and falling piracy among its highlights. Specifically,

• The unemployment rate in America decreased to 7.6% in March 2013 as there were 88,000 net new jobs.  (Source: US DOL);

• The cost of Somali piracy to the global economy in 2012 fell 13% year-over-year to about $6 billion. Hijackings dropped 50% and attempted attacks decreased more than 70%. (Source: One Earth Future Foundation);

• Intermodal rail traffic in March 2013 was 0.5% higher than in March 2012. Intermodal loadings have experienced year-over-year gains for 40 straight months. (Source: AAR). 

Here are the other market highlights:

Transportation Indexes:

• Dow Jones Transportation index rose 0.6% during the month of March. (Stock performance of twenty large, well-known U.S. companies in the transportation industry, average of March 10th thru April 10th);

• NASDAQ Transportation Index increased 3.2% in March. (Averaged share weights of NASDAQ-listed companies classified as transportation companies, average of March 10th thru April 10th);

• The USDOT's freight transportation services index rose 1.2% in February 2013. The index’s reading of 113.9 was up 2.7% from February 2012. (Source: US DOT);

• The March shipments index rose 5.8% over the previous month and rose 4.2% year-over-year. The March expenditures index increased 6.5% for the month, and increased 4.4% year-over-year. (Source: Cass Information Systems | Cassinfo.com) (Based upon transportation dollars and shipments of Cass clients comprised of over 400 shipping companies);

Imports and Exports:

• In February, the U.S. imported about $228.9 billion of cargo. February U.S. imports remained the same in terms of value from January, and rose 1.9% year-over-year. (Source: US Census);

• In February, the U.S. exported more than $186 billion of cargo. February U.S. exports have increased 0.8% in terms of value over the previous month and grew 3.2% year-over-year. (Source: US Census);

• U.S. import prices fell 0.5% in March. Import prices fell 2.7% over the past year. The price index for U.S. exports fell 0.4% in March. Export prices increased 0.3% year-over-year. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics);

Employment:

• The unemployment rate in America decreased to 7.6% in March 2013 as there were 88,000 net new jobs. (Source: US DOL);

• The trucking industry lost 6,900 jobs in March. The trucking workforce decreased 0.5% over the previous month and increased 2.6% over the previous year. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics);

Rail:

• Railroad bulk carload freight in March 2013 fell 1.4% from February 2013. Freight traffic in March fell 0.5%

from March 2012. Carloads excluding coal and grain increased 3.4% over the previous year. (Source: AAR.org) (Report includes rail car-loadings by 19 different major commodity categories as well as intermodal units);

• Intermodal rail traffic in March 2013 was 0.5% higher than in March 2012 and 4.9% lower than February

2013 totals. Intermodal loadings have experienced year-over-year gains for 40 straight months. (Source: AAR.org) (Report includes rail car-loadings by 19 different major commodity categories as well as intermodal units);

Trucking:

• The ATA’s seasonally adjusted cargo index rose 0.6% in February after rising 1% in January. The for-hire truck tonnage index rose 4.2% year-over-year. (Source: American Trucking Association | Trucking.org);

• The spot market for truckload freight in March rose 37% compared to the previous month, and was 4.1%

lower year-over-year. Truck capacity fell 1.3% for the month, and was up 19% year-over-year. (Source: TransCore Freight Index | www.transcorefreightsolutions.com);

Air:

• Global air freight traffic in February decreased 6.2% from one year ago. North American air freight in February fell 3.1% year-over-year. (Source: IATA.org) (Global air freight covers international and domestic scheduled air traffic. North American traffic includes only domestic freight traffic.);

• In February, the index of average international air cargo rates rose 1.9 points from January. The average price of air cargo leaving the United States in February stood at $3.32 per kilogram. (Source: Drewry) (The Drewry Air Freight Price Index is based on the average of rates ($US per kg) for cargoes of 100+kg to 1,000+kg cargoes from Shanghai to London, Moscow, Prague, New York, and Los Angeles.);

Ocean:

• Import shipment volume, in TEUs, at U.S. ports decreased 15% in March from the previous month and fell 12.5% year-over-year. Imports in March were the lowest since 2009 due to the Chinese New Year falling later this year compared to last year. (Source: Zepol Corporation | zepol.com);

Warehousing:

• The U.S. average industrial vacancy rate was 8.7% during Q4 2012, down from 9% in the previous quarter. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield);

• In Q4 2012, warehouse and distribution rental rates in the US averaged $4.30 per square foot. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield);

Purchasing Managers Index:

• The National PMI fell 2.9 points to 51.3 in March 2013. New orders fell 6.4 points to 51.4 and production decreased 5.4 points to 52.2. (Source: Institute for Supply Management) (The PMI combines data on new orders, inventory, production, supplier deliveries, and employment. A reading above 50 indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding.)