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News / Brian Higgs

Cass Freight Index Report-March 2017

Cass Freight Index Report – March 2017

Source: Cass Information Systems

Both the Shipments and Expenditures Indexes have now been positive for three months in a row. Throughout the U.S. economy, there are a growing number of data points suggesting that the economy is getting better. Some data points are simply less bad, but an increasing number of them are better, and even a few are becoming outright strong. The 0.9% YoY increase in the March Cass Shipments Index is yet another data point which suggests that the first positive indication in October may have indeed been a change in trend. In fact, it now looks as if the October Cass Shipments Index, which broke a string of 20 months in negative territory, was one of the first indications that a recovery in freight had begun in earnest.

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ATA's Truck Tonnage Index

ATA Truck Tonnage Index Decreased 1% In March

Source: American Trucking Associations

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index slipped 1% in March, following a 0.1% decline during February. (February’s percentage decrease was unchanged from our press release on March 21, 2017.) In March, the index equaled 137.5 (2000=100), down from 138.8 in February. The all-time high was 142.7 in February 2016.

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Inventory Logistics

Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales, February 2017

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Sales
The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for February, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,360.7 billion, up 0.2 percent (±0.2 percent)* from January 2017 and was up 7.1 percent (±0.4 percent) from February 2016.

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US Import Cargo Volume

Retail Imports Continue to Grow As Economy Expands

Source: National Retail Federation

Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports should continue to see strong increases throughout the spring and summer as the nation’s economy improves, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

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US Unemployment

The Employment Situation – March 2017

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The unemployment rate declined to 4.5 percent in March, and total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 98,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in professional and business services  and in mining, while retail trade lost jobs.

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Manufacturing ISM Report

March 2017 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business

Source: Institute for Supply Management.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in March, and the overall economy grew for the 94th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

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A Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Without the U.S.?

A TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (TPP) WITHOUT THE U.S.?

The President signed an order on January 23, 2017 withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Because the original TPP deal required the ratification of TPP members comprising at least 85 percent of the GDP of the entire TPP grouping, without the U.S., a new version of the TPP agreement would be needed for it to take effect. However, a TPP agreement without the U.S. is still relevant and would have significant economic value. The remaining Parties include four of the world’s 20 largest economies — Japan, Canada, Australia, and Mexico — alongside significant emerging economies like Vietnam and Malaysia. With that economic value in mind, the 11 existing TPP members, joined by China and South Korea, met in Chile on March 14-15 to discuss: (a) the possibility of a TPP agreement without the U.S., (b) the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as the TPP alternative and, (c) the Free Trade Area for the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

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ATA Truck Tonnage Index

ATA Truck Tonnage Index Decreased 0.1% in February

Source: American Trucking Associations

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index slipped 0.1% in February, following a 2.9% increase during January. (January’s index was unchanged from our press release on February 21, 2017.) In February, the index equaled 138.7 (2000=100), down from 138.9 in January. The all-time high was 142.7 in February 2016.

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MIQ Supply Chain Alert

Critical Information for Food Importers!

Starting May 27, 2017, the FDA will begin implementing the FDA’s Food Supplier Verification Program (FSVP).

What is FSVP?

A central feature of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the FSVP is intended to be a flexible, risk-based program to verify foreign suppliers and the safety of the food they produce. FSVP will require:

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Cass Freight Index

Cass Freight Index Report – February 2017

Source: Cass Information Systems

Both the Shipments and Expenditures Indexes have been positive for two months in a row. Throughout the U.S. economy, there is a growing number of data points suggesting that the economy is getting better. Some data points are simply less bad, but an increasing number of them are better, and even a few are becoming outright strong. The 1.9% YoY increase in the February Cass Shipments Index is yet another data point which strongly suggests that the first positive indication in October may have indeed been a change in trend. In fact, it now looks as if the October Cass Shipments Index, which broke a string of 20 months in negative territory, was one of the first indications that a recovery in freight had begun in earnest.

Read More