Surface Transportation
He said AFS Logistics expects LTL rates to rise 2.4 % on average in 2024 . Meanwhile , the company is seeing an uptick in LTL daily shipment volume , Day said , after a decline in shipment counts in 2023 .
“ Sequentially from the fourth quarter to the first quarter , we saw a slight increase in shipments per day ,” he said . “ The same data indicates a lower weight per shipment and shorter length of haul . Buyers are buying less product more frequently .
“ Perhaps purchasing managers are a little bit more apprehensive about bigger orders in the current economic environment ,” he added .
Growth spurs optimism
Meanwhile , optimism is building in both the truckload and less-than-truckload ( LTL ) sectors as US manufacturing output improves and consumers continue to spend despite inflation and higher interest rates .
The S & P Global purchasing managers index ( PMI ) for US manufacturing has been above 50 for three straight months , signaling a quarter of expansion in manufacturing output . The Institute for Supply Management US manufacturing PMI rose above 50 in March for the first time in 18 months .
The labor market remains strong , and consumer spending is rising , according to US data .
“ It ’ s bizarre how resilient the American economy is , but it ’ s not surprising if you ’ ve lived anywhere else in the world ,” Chris Jamroz , CEO and executive chairman of LTL carrier Roadrunner , said in an interview April 11 .
“ It ’ s bizarre how resilient the American economy is , but it ’ s not surprising .”
“ While I recognize the challenges we face , this is still the mightiest economy on the planet ,” he said .
Jamroz said his shipper customers expect inventories to “ normalize ” and need to be replenished — which will create more demand for trucking services .
“ We ’ re in a period of demand normalization ,” he said .
email : bill . cassidy @ spglobal . com
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