Source: National Retail Federation
The rate of import growth at the nation’s major retail container ports has begun to slow after double-digit surges earlier this year but volume should nonetheless hit an all-time high by the end of the summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 138,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care and mining.
Source: Institute for Supply Management
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May, and the overall economy grew for the 96th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
Source: Cass Information Systems
Both the Shipments and Expenditures Indexes have now been positive for four months in a row. Throughout the U.S. economy, there is a growing number of data points suggesting that the economy continues to get slightly 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 4.0% year-over-year (YoY) increase in the April 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—or at least a change in trend—had begun.
Source: American Trucking Associations
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index slipped 2.5% in April, following a 1.1% decline during March. (March’s percentage decrease was slightly more than reported in our press release on April 18, 2017.) In April, the index equaled 134 (2000=100), down from 137.4 in March. The all-time high was 142.7 in February 2016.
“The recent trend in the U.S. LEI, led by the positive outlook of consumers and financial markets, continues to point to a growing economy, perhaps even a cyclical pickup,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. “First quarter’s weak GDP growth is likely a temporary hiccup as the economy returns to its long-term trend of about 2 percent. While the majority of leading indicators have been contributing positively in recent months, housing permits followed by average workweek in manufacturing have been the sources of weakness among the U.S. LEI components.” – The Conference Board
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Sales The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for March, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,361.0 billion, virtually unchanged (±0.1 percent)* from February 2017, but was up 6.5 percent (±0.4 percent) from March 2016.
Source: National Retail Federation
Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports should see steady increases through the summer and into the fall, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance, financial activities, and mining.
We may soon learn whether the President has the legal authority to impose tariffs on imports without Congressional approval or whether the administration will bypass WTO rules and impose new barriers to imports. The first test may come as the result of an April 20th Presidential Memorandum directing Commerce to initiate an investigation under Section 232(b) of Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine the impact of steel imports on national security.
