Inland Distribution

Special Report

US shippers increasingly uncertain about Q4 revenue , orders : survey

By William B . Cassidy

US shippers are increasingly cautious about the outlook for the remainder of the year , with negative sentiment rising in a quarterly industry survey .

Positive expectations for revenue among shippers declined 3.4 % from the last survey , according to the BlueGrace Logistics Q4 2024 Logistics Confidence Index ( LCI ), released Aug . 29 .

Neutral sentiment about fourth-quarter revenue dropped 4.3 % and negative expectations rose 7 % from the last survey , BlueGrace Logistics said .

Survey questions on inventory and orders blunt some of the pessimism over sales , however . The inventory section of the LCI marked a 7.9 % rise in neutral sentiment among shippers , while positive and negative sentiment declined 1.4 % and 6.5 %, respectively .

Positive sentiment about orders in the fourth quarter dropped 4.2 %, with shippers reporting negative expectations rising 1.4 % and those going neutral climbing 2.8 %.

The LCI likely reflects a logistics market still rebalancing and seeking a catalyst for stronger growth , while absorbing often contradictory economic forecasts .

“ Our shippers have switched to a conservative supply chain strategy compared with what we were seeing in 2021 and 2022 ,” Jason Lockard , BlueGrace ’ s senior vice president of managed logistics , said during an Aug . 28 webcast on LinkedIn .

Although the US economy continues to expand , demand for physical goods remains soft . Shutterstock . com www . joc . com September 23 , 2024 | Journal of Commerce 35