A quick glance into the Logistics Market - July 2013
Georgia Logistics complies a monthly set of facts and figures regarding the Logistics Markets. We selected a few facts to share with you :-
The U.S. GDP increased 1.8% in the first quarter of 2013 according to the third estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The U.S. trade deficit increased by 12.1% in May to $45 billion. Exports fell 0.3% to $187.1 billion and imports rose 1.9% to $232.1 billion.
The consumer price index for all urban consumers increased 0.1 in May fromthe previous month. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.4%. The producer price index for finished goods increased 0.8% in June from the previous month. Prices for finished goods rose 2.5% over the previous year.
TRUCKING:
The ATA’s seasonally adjusted cargo index rose 2.3% in May after falling 0.2% in April. The for-hire truck tonnage index rose 6.7% year-over-year, the largest year-over-year gain since December 2011.
Over the next 12 years, the trucking industry’s share of total freight tonnage is expected to rise from 68.5% in 2012 to 70.8% by 2024. Overall freight revenue will grow by 63.6% to $1.3 trillion annually by 2024. During the same period, Truckload volumes will grow 2.15% annually and Less-than-truckload volume should grow 2.95% annually.
U.S. average diesel prices rose to $3.83 per gallon, up 1¢ since last week. The U.S. average diesel price was 14.5¢ higherthan the same week last year. The average price of diesel in the lower Atlantic states was $3.76 per gallon.
AIR FREIGHT:
Global air freight traffic in May increased 0.8% from one year ago, and rose 0.1% from the previous month. North American air freight in May fell 1.2% year-over-year.
The International Air Transport Association recently upgraded its global outlook for the airline industry to a $12.7 billion profitin 2013 on $711 billion in revenues. This estimate is $2.1 billion higher than the $10.6 billion profit projected in March of this year and is 83% higherthan the $7.6 billion profit generated in 2012.
As of July 5, 2013, the global average jet fuel price was $121.70 per barrel; up 4.2% from the previous month, and 2.3% higher year-over-year.
OCEAN FREIGHT:
Import shipment volume, in TEUs, at U.S. ports increased 3% in May from the previous month and fell 2.2% year-over-year.U.S. vessel imports in May increased for the second consecutive month and are the highest since last August. The number of bills of lading, or total shipments, filed with U.S. Customs totaled 786 thousand in May, up 2.5% from April.
The Baltic Dry Index rose 45.7% in June, ending at 1,179. The BDI has decreased 2.5% during the first half of July.
Import volume through major U.S. container ports is expected to increase 1.1% in July. In May, the latest month for which numbers are available, U.S. container ports handled 1.38million TEUs, a 0.6% increase over the same month last year. Total U.S. containerized imports are expected to increase 1.2% during the first half of 2013.
WAREHOUSING & DISTRIBUTION:
The U.S. average industrial vacancy rate was 8.68% during Q1 2013, down from 8.89% in the previous quarter. Overall vacancy was 12.66% in Atlanta and 11.66% in Savannah during the first quarter.
The National PMI rose 1.9 pointsto 50.9 in June 2013. New orders rose 3.1 pointsto 51.9 and production increased 4.8 pointsto 53.4.
Georgia’s PMI fell 1.7 pointto 52.1 in June. New orders in Georgia rose 2.1 pointsto 60.4 and production rose 2.1 pointsto 56.3. Georgia’s PMI is 1.2 points higherthan the national PMI.
RAIL:
Railroad bulk carload freight in June 2013 rose 1.2% from May 2013. Freighttraffic in May fell 0.3% from June 2012. Carloads excluding coal and grain increased 3.8% over the previous year.
The index of average railroad fuel prices in May was 596.8, down 0.9% fromthe previous month and 2.9% lower year-over-year.
The number of freight cars in storage has increased to 303,547 (19.8% of the fleet) on July 1, up 3,974 cars from a month earlier.
MULTIMODAL:
Dow Jones Transportation index rose 1% during the month of June.
In May, the U.S. imported about $232.1 billion of cargo. MayU.S. imports rose 1.9% in terms of value from April, and rose 0.7% year-over-year.
Companies in theU.S. are beginning to boost capital spending. Orders for capital goods excluding aircraft and military equipment (an indicator of future business investment) increased 1.5% in May, a third consecutive advance and the longest streak since October 2011. Company CEO outlooks are also improving as the Business Roudtable’s quarterly outlook index rose to 84.3 in the second quarter, the highest in a year.