inventories

Transportation capacity near 2-year low; pricing surges

Truck on highway with intermodal train in background

Supply chain data shows transportation capacity has declined to a 22-month low with utilization and prices reaching 19-month highs.

Those were a couple of the highlights from a report summarizing July data from the Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI), a survey of leading logistics executives. The overall index increased to a reading of 63% during the month, up 130 basis points from June and well off the all-time April low of 51.3%. The July mark was the highest for the index since January 2019.

The...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/transportation-capacity-near-2-year-low-pricing-surges

Pandemic sparks 97% jump in e-commerce sales for Walmart

Entrance to Walmart

Retail giant Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported a surge in earnings on the back of COVID-19 in its Tuesday fiscal second-quarter 2021 (ended July 31) report. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.56, outpacing analysts’ forecasts of $1.25.

Comparable sales grew 9.3% year-over-year in the U.S., with e-commerce sales climbing 97%. The company cited high demand for general merchandise and food as the drivers.

“Q2 sales started strong, both in store...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/pandemic-sparks-97-jump-in-e-commerce-sales-for-walmart

What does Navistar loss portend for other truck manufacturers?

International construction truck

Navistar International Corp.’s second-quarter fiscal loss from COVID-19-disrupted production in April points to worse numbers for truck manufacturers that will report pandemic-addled results for the April-June quarter.

For Navistar (NYSE: NAV), things likely will get worse in its third quarter, which covers May-July. Its second-quarter report on Thursday, June 4, pointed to the difficulties that manufacturers and suppliers will unpack when they report their second quarter results in July.

None of...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/what-does-navistar-loss-portend-for-other-truck-manufacturers?

Class 8 truck orders stagnate in May

Freightliner production

Preliminary Class 8 truck orders totaled just 6,700 in May as heavy-duty truck manufacturers kept production suspensions in place while helping reduce an overhang of trucks in dealer inventories.

The inventory-to-sales ratio remained more than 50% higher than desired levels even as dealer stocks fell by 11,900 trucks, Kenny Vieth, ACT Research president and senior analyst, told FreightWaves.

“Restarting the manufacturing sector from a full stop was only partly successful, as Mexico’s lockdowns...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/class-8-truck-orders-stagnate-in-may

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