Consumer spending

Consumer economy to be “A Tale of Two Halves”

(Chart: Bank of America)

The U.S. economy, though certainly aided by exorbitant fiscal stimulus, did prove one long-held truism — the American consumer is resilient, nearly impossible to break, and he or she will continue to spend almost regardless of the circumstances (even including the biggest quarterly drop in real GDP in 90 years since the Great Depression). Consumers drove the economy and the freight market throughout the back half of 2020, and for at least the first half of 2021, the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/consumer-economy-to-be-a-tale-of-two-halves

Commentary: Think 2020 is weird so far? Buckle up for Q4

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

Historically in the U.S., the fourth quarter of the year brings steadily increasing trucking rates. The question this year is to what degree this trend will continue in Q4 2020.

In a year filled with only short-term predictions, we expected low rates out of Q2, and while they were low, they also exceeded expectations. Trucking rates then surged in Q3, and these...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/commentary-think-2020-is-weird-so-far-buckle-up-for-q4

Are freight volumes here to stay? The great debate continues

Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Volume Index– USA SONAR: OTVI.USA

After experiencing one of the most volatile periods in history over the past two months, freight market volumes have recovered to February levels in the past week. February is not a great month for freight traditionally speaking but considering a month ago volumes were running 15-20% below average for this time of year, February looks fine.

One of the most debated topics in the transportation industry and the overall economy is...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/are-freight-volumes-here-to-stay-the-great-debate-continues

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