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Trucking Volume Collapses, Falls Most Month To Month Since March 2009 Gregory White Sep. 28, 2010, 4:29 PM Truck tonnage may have increased 2.9% year-over-year in August, but the collapse in month-over-month levels is much more illuminating. Tonnage fell by 2.7% from July to August, according to the American Trucking Association. That's the biggest month over month fall since March 2009. The chief economist at the ATA, Bob Costelo, says this slowdown was expected and that it should be slowing further with the economy for the remainder of the year. From the American Trucking Association:[snip]

West Coast Shipping Booms In August by: Mark Perry September 19, 2010 The Port of Portland reported that shipping totalled 1,256,980 short tons in August, which was the highest monthly shipping volume in almost two years, since the 1,268,216 short tons in October 2008 (see chart above), and the highest shipping volume ever for the month of August at the Portland port. Compared to August of last year, shipping volume was up by 27.8%, and the cumulative year-to-date volume is up by 39.5%. The Port of Portland is a major shipping point for grains harvested as far east as the...

The Baltic Dry Index Has Exploded Higher And The Silence From The Bears Is Deafening Vincent Fernando, CFA Aug. 23, 2010, 10:27 AM Earlier this year when the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a measure of shipping rates for dry bulk commodities, was plummeting, many were to quick to point out that this 'signaled' an end to the global recovery, even though the Baltic Dry Index is lousy, if not completely useless, as a leading indicator for the global economy. Yet now the index has rebounded extremely hard over the span of just two weeks... and the silence from the bears...

STOCKHOLM – An island of ice more than four times the size of Manhattan is drifting across the Arctic Ocean after breaking off from a glacier in Greenland. Potentially in the path of this unstoppable giant are oil platforms and shipping lanes — and any collision could do untold damage. In a worst case scenario, large chunks could reach the heavily trafficked waters where another Greenland iceberg sank the Titanic in 1912. It's been a summer of near biblical climatic havoc across the planet, with wildfires, heat and smog in Russia and killer floods in Asia. But the moment the...

L.A. Ports Already Forecast An Awesome Christmas Season Vincent Fernando, CFA Aug. 9, 2010, 6:14 AM Los Angeles port volumes continue to rebound, and the ports themselves believe that this could signal a strong holiday season in the U.S. this year, or at least stronger one than last year's: Hellenic Shipping News: “I think we’re seeing the imported goods and the containers like what you see here obviously filled with holiday items and we’re seeing those in larger numbers,” said Richard Steinke, the executive director of the Port of Long Beach, which sits on a complex alongside the Port of...

MUSCAT/TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese oil tanker damaged in an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, was being diverted to a port in the UAE on Wednesday. One of the 31 crew aboard was injured but no oil leaked from the M Star very large crude carrier (VLCC), according to the Japanese transport ministry. It said an explosion occurred onboard at around 00:30 a.m. local time (2030 GMT Tuesday), but the cause was unclear.

A Reminder Of Why The Baltic Dry Index Is A Useless Leading Economic Indicator Joe Weisenthal Jul. 11, 2010, 9:16 AM With the Baltic Dry Index falling for more than 30-days, there's plenty of talk about how this is a signal of collapsing global demand, and a confirmation that we are indeed headed for a double dip. Well it could be saying that. Or it might not be. But before you jump to any conclusions, you should at least know what the BDI is really measuring. Here's part of what our Vincent Fernando wrote (then an occasional contributor), back in...

China Posts A MONSTER Trade Surplus, As Exports Surge 44% Joe Weisenthal Jul. 11, 2010, 9:05 AM Image: AP The most-hyped economic event of the year was when for one month China actually showed a trade deficit. That was back in May that it was announced, but it was a joke, purely an artifact of seasonal patterns and the Lunar New Year. Still a lot of folks ran with it, as though it was a big deal, calling for an imminent DEVALUATION of the yuan. Well, now... Bloomberg: China’s trade surplus widened to the highest this year and exports climbed...

Look Out Below: The Baltic Dry Index Is In Freefall by: Brett Owens July 09, 2010 Remember a few weeks ago, when the Baltic Dry Index was on the ropes? Well, it's off the ropes - and in complete freefall. Support has NOT held for the BDI, a favorite leading indicator of many investors. And one, might I add, that has performed quite well since the equity markets topped in 2007 (in '09, the BDI turned up 3 months before stocks). The short term prediction appears to be PAIN, as shipping rates plummet. Apparently not as much to ship as...

The BDI May Have Collapsed, But Check Out The Shipping Rebound Everybody's Missing Vincent Fernando, CFA Jul. 7, 2010, 1:07 PM The recent plunge of the Baltic Dry Index has by now been relatively well documented. Thing is, the Baltic Dry measures shipping rates for just one facet of the economy -- primarily dry bulk commodities demand from developing nations (mostly China) against global dry bulk ship supply. What many have missed, however, has been the surging rates for container shipping, which primarily measure demand for products from developed nations (mostly the U.S. and Europe) against global container ship supply....

Clerical workers at several terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach went on strike after their contract expired early Thursday. There was no extension when the labor contract elapsed at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, said Stephen Berry, lead negotiator for the Harbor Employers Association. Berry said the shippers rejected the latest proposal which called for a wage increase of 21% over three years. Berry said the shippers countered with a proposal that includes a 10% increase in monthly pension payments and protection from layoffs. The shippers want to use new computer programs allowing customers access to booking information....

U.S. Sen. John McCain has introduced legislation to repeal a 90-year-old maritime law that requires vessels transporting goods between states to have been built in the United States, be crewed and owned by U.S. citizens and fly the U.S. flag. The law, known as the Jones Act, has been criticized recently for allegedly hampering foreign ships offering assistance in the cleanup of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Asian Trade Demand Is So Strong That Maersk Is Pulling Off 'Unprecedented' Shipping Surcharges Vincent Fernando, CFA Jun. 23, 2010, 7:09 AM It's peak trade season, but Asian container trade demand is coming in far stronger than major carriers had expected. Shipping giant Maersk is running out of containers along its Asian routes, forcing it to bring out of service ships back online in order to simply ship supplies of empty containers to the region. Hellenic Shipping News: Head of network and product Lars Reno Jakobsen said: “We are experiencing a demand surge in most trades, which is a development...

Pacific Shipping Rates Surge To Record Highs -- Now 183% Higher Than 2009 Vincent Fernando, CFA Jun. 21, 2010, 9:38 AM Pacific shipping rates tracked by research firm Drewry (Their Trans-Pacific Charter Rate Benchmark) spiked 18.9% in just the last week, hitting a record high for Drewry's five-year old index. A 40-foot container from Hong Kong to Los Angeles cost $2,607 to ship as of June 14th, which is markedly higher than $2,193 just a week before. JOC: The apparent jump in spot pricing comes as demand on trans-Pacific lanes remains strong even as space on vessels remains tight and...

Freight And Truck Traffic Point To Recovery by: Edward Harrison June 10, 2010 One common metric used by analysts to gauge how the economy is doing comes from freight or rail tonnage. If the economy is doing well, then more goods will be shipped via trucks and trains. This is exactly what is happening. Andy Lees showed this via a few Bloomberg charts in a note earlier today. Of note: The seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index is at its highest level since September 2008. US railcar container index which is just 4% off its all time high. The ConTex container...

After Several Months Of Gains, Rail Traffic Softens In May Calculated Risk Jun. 7, 2010, 5:00 PM From the Association of American Railroads: Rail Time Indicators. The AAR reports traffic in May 2010 was up 15.8% compared to May 2009 - and traffic was still 11.8% lower than in May 2008. Image: AAR Click on graph for larger image in new window. This graph shows U.S. average weekly rail carloads. Traffic increased in 18 of 19 major commodity categories YoY. From AAR: • U.S. freight railroads originated 1,153,675 carloads in May 2010, an average of 288,419 carloads per week. That’s...

Amid The Financial Turmoil, One Economic Indicator Is Soaring Oilprice.com May 25, 2010, 5:18 PM The financial world is coming unglued again. Greece has pushed the E.U. to the brink. Global stock markets are tumbling. And yet, at the same time at least one economic indicator is soaring. The Baltic Dry Index. Today, the BDI jumped nearly 9%. The largest daily jump in at least the last six months. In fact, the index is up 40% since the end of April. A jump that has roughly coincided with the recent decline in global stock markets. The BDI tracks global shipping...

Shippers Are Blowing Off European Problems And Rushing Vessels Back Into Action Vincent Fernando, CFA May 25, 2010, 1:20 PM Despite the concerns about Europe, global trade continues to show signs of a continued rebound. For example, average freight rates and volume reported by the container shipping company NOL (a leading player) have both continued to rise thanks to strength between North America and Asia. Moreover, ship owners are bringing vessels back into action based on demand growth expectations. Fearnly Fonds: The idle container fleet fell to 4.1% or 549,000 TEUs (263 ships) from 5.3% or 306 ships two weeks...

Shippers Launch New Export Route TO Asia From The U.S. In Response To Huge Demand Vincent Fernando, CFA May. 12, 2010, 7:58 AM Shipping companies are creating a new Oregon route from the U.S. to Japan, in response to demand for U.S. exports. We should probably get used to these trade trends: Seatrade Asia: Starting on July 11, the monthly service will provide space for more than 200 containers per month under a six month contract. Once successfully established, Port officials say the service could quickly increase in both volumes and frequency of vessel calls.
 “While this will start relatively...

In one of the many new age music albums, there is a song called "Fly Away" and the constant refrain is "Fly Away, Fly Away, Fly Away," and the refrain really describes what you can do with this new invention. The catch is of course with this, you can only fly away in your imagination. TFT INSTRUMENTS Company has designed a new flight simulator that can be used for entertainment (with both movie studio sets/movie productions), airports, and shopping centers.