In our ongoing effort to provide status updates regarding MIQ Global Houston, we are alerting our customers that the Global branch will remain closed through Friday September 1st. MIQ holds the safety and well being of our employees in the highest degree. While we are aiming to reopen the office on Tuesday September 5th, we will only do so once emergency officials have advised that it is safe to move about. MIQ does not anticipate that our office will be fully staffed during the first week of September, as the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey has impacted our Global Houston employees.
News / Brian Higgs
“The U.S. LEI improved in July, suggesting the U.S. economy may experience further improvements in economic activity in the second half of the year,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. “The large negative contribution from housing permits, a reversal from June, was more than offset by gains in the financial indicators, new orders and sentiment.” – The Conference Board
Source: American Trucking Associations
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.1% in July, following a 4.4% drop during June. In July, the index equaled 138.5 (2000=100), up from 138.4 in June.
MIQ Logistics would like to make our Global Houston customers aware of our implemented business continuity plan as the Texas coast is reeling from the continued fallout brought on by Hurricane Harvey.
According to the National Weather Service, “Harvey has brought over 20 inches of rain to portions of southeast Texas since Thursday night. The forward motion with Harvey has stalled. Due to this slow motion, another 15 to 25 inches of rainfall is expected through Thursday. Storm totals in some locations may approach 50 inches. This is producing devastating flooding”.
Hurricane Harvey is currently approaching the gulf coast and already impacting supply chains as port and road terminals along with airports prepare for landfall. According to the National Hurricane Center, “Harvey will make landfall on the middle Texas coast tonight or early Saturday morning. Harvey is then likely to meander near or just inland of the middle Texas coast through the weekend.” As of 7:00 a.m. c.t. the National Hurricane Center has classified Harvey as a Category 2 hurricane; additional details can be found below.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Sales
The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for June, adjusted for seasonal and
trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,356.8 billion, up 0.3 percent (±0.2
percent) from May 2017 and was up 4.3 percent (±0.4 percent) from June 2016.
MIQ Logistics is now providing air freight consolidation services from Houston (IAH) to Santiago (SCL), Lima (LIM), and Buenos Aires (EZE).
MIQ Logistics consolidation services are chosen through blocked space agreements (BSA) with premium commercial and freighter airline direct flights. Many of the blocked space agreements are with freighter cargo carriers, which helps eliminate commercial aircraft restrictions that occur.
As you may have read in recent articles, August is expected to be the busiest month on record for imports at major container ports in the United States and 2017 is on track to set a new annual high for import ocean volume. In addition, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA), global air freight market demand grew by 10.4% in the first-half of 2017 compared to the first-half of 2016, making it the strongest first half-year performance since air cargo’s rebound in 2010.
With record setting ocean and air volumes, importers need to understand their options to ensure they are limiting impacts to their supply chain. Here are a few ways you can prepare and manage through this record breaking time.
Source: Cass Information Systems, Inc.
Both the Shipments and Expenditures Indexes extended their run of positive comparisons. Shipments turned positive eight months ago, while Expenditures turned positive seven months ago. In part because of normal seasonality, and in part because of more difficult comparisons, they were less strong in July.
Source: National Retail Federation
Boosted by continuing sales growth, August is expected to be the busiest month on record for imports at the nation’s major retail container ports and 2017 is on track to set a new annual high, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.