Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 292,000 in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment gains occurred in several industries, led by professional and business services, construction, health care, and food services and drinking places. Mining
employment continued to decline.
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Institute for Supply Management
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in December for the second consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 79th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
American Trucking Associations
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index declined 0.9% in November, following an increase of 1.8% during October. The October figure was revised down from our press release on November 24. In November, the index equaled 134.3 (2000=100), down from 135.5 in October, and 1.1% below the all-time high of 135.8 reached in January 2015.
On Nov 29th, the U.S. Department of Transportion’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) officially published the Final Rule in the Federal Register pertaining to Prohibiting Coercion of Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers; referred to as the “driver coercion rule”.
MIQ Logistics wants to help you plan for the upcoming Chinese New Year with our air freight consolidation services from Chicago (ORD) to key commercial gateways in China. The Chinese New Year is on February 8, 2016, so let MIQ secure space for you before the rush! This special promotion will run through February 29, 2016.
Although the economy continued to be sluggish in November, our Freight Shipments Index was stronger than expected. Freight payments decreased, as capacity to carry was abundant. Black Friday sales—combined with Cyber Monday sales—were very strong this year as customers took advantage of reduced prices and discounts, placing orders before the cost of shipping goes up for the remainder of the holiday period.
On December 9, 2015 Congress reached a final agreement on H.R. 644, the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.” The bipartisan, bicameral trade legislation authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection and puts in place effective tools to: (a) strengthen trade enforcement at the border; and, (b) facilitate the efficient movement of legitimate trade and travel. The Bill now will go to the President for signature.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a new requirement under the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter VI, Part A, Regulation 2. The new container weight verfication rule will go into effect on July 1, 2016, and will impact shippers from 171 countries due to the added requirements of necessary documentation.
This amendment to SOLAS states that the shipper is responsible for providing the container’s gross verified weight to the ocean carrier and port terminal representative prior to the container being loaded on a ship; regardless of who packed the container.
Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to be essentially unchanged from last year this month as stores bring in the last round of merchandise for the holiday season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.