census bureau

Freight rate hikes over past 2 years unprecedented, economist says

No one needs to tell the users of transport services how high freight rates have climbed during the past two years. But recently released producer price data from the federal government provides empirical evidence to support the painful anecdotes.

The numbers are striking. Import air cargo rates rose 80% from January 2020 through January 2022, due largely to a massive curtailment of belly cargo capacity, which in normal times accounts for about half of international air commerce. Freight...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freight-rate-hikes-over-past-2-years-unprecedented-economist-says

Brick and mortar’s comeback story?

Q3 retail sales remain strong

The death of the retail store seems to be overexaggerated. Third-quarter retail sales from the Census Bureau, released last week, suggest strength in in-person shopping in the quarter and a slight slide in e-commerce market share.

In an analysis of the data, Jason Miller, associate professor at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business, dug into the data and concluded while pure-play e-commerce retailers are thriving, for those retailers with physical stores, their e-commerce...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/brick-and-mortars-comeback-story

Retail sales pop in March along with freight demand

Retail sales surge in March

Retail sales, including food services, increased 9.8% sequentially in March, according to Thursday Census Bureau data. The pop in sales highlights the impacts of widespread vaccinations and federal stimulus payments to consumers.

On a year-over-year comparison, sales were up 27.7% for the month and 14.3% for the first quarter. The comparison to 2020 is clouded by a sharp rise in pantry stocking in the first few weeks of the pandemic’s onset, followed by a sharp falloff as shutdowns spread.

“Americ...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/retail-sales-pop-in-march-along-with-freight-demand

Commentary: Your railroad contingency plan?

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.

Now a third of the way into the fourth quarter, how is 2020 going to end up for the U.S. freight railroads?

It’s going to be a mixed bag.

There are plus and minus indicators as we look closely at the data year-to-date. 

Yes, third-quarter economic recovery has lifted railroad volumes back up — but not for every rail-moved business commodity segment.

Table 1 shows two...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/commentary-your-railroad-contingency-plan

NCBFAA’s 35-year general counsel retires

NCBFAA

Ed Greenberg plans to retire as general counsel for the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) at the end of December after 35 years of representing the ocean freight transportation intermediary industry in Washington.

Greenberg, 78, made the decision four weeks ago after spending the past six months working from his home office and enjoying the presence of his 2-year-old grandson.

“It had never occurred to me. I had no interest in retirement,” Greenberg told...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/ncbfaas-35-year-general-counsel-retires