Newsletter

MARKET UPDATE

With the reopening of many parts of the Economy, the world has seen some encouraging changes in the freight market, presenting both new opportunities and new challenges:

Trucking:

  • The load-to-truck ratio continued to climb, indicating increased demand.  In the week ending May 23rd, outbound tender volumes were actually up 7% year-over-year.  Forecasts now predict 2020 ending the year aligned with 2019 demand levels
  • While national rates for vans and flatbeds are still below April levels, they continue to increase.  Reefer rates continue to increase and are actually trending above April levels

Ocean:

  • Rates are holding steady across the majority of trade lanes
  • Vessels remain full out of the major Asian ports to the US
  • Space is fairly tight on US Exports to Asia and Europe (book 10-14 days in advance)
  • Space also remains tight on the following lanes (suggested bookings 3 weeks in advance):
    • Europe to US East Coast
    • Asia to Europe
    • India to the US

Air Freight:

  • China/Hong Kong:  The backlog of cargo in Shanghai has been minimized with a large shift of PPE equipment to ocean freight.  Operations are returning to normal at the major hubs and rates are softening to more manageable levels
  • Americas:  Passenger flights are gradually increasing as we head into June.  Ground handling continues to be delayed, especially in Los Angeles and Chicago
  • Europe:  Capacity is still somewhat constrained due to the lack of passenger travel demand, resulting in rates remaining at higher levels

Parcel:

  • Both FedEx and UPS continue to apply the COVID-19 surcharges on international shipments (the costs vary, starting at around $0.10/lb on most shipments, but substantially higher out of places like China and Hong Kong)
  • E-commerce continued a strong trend over the last couple of months, helping offset some of the impact faced from the drop-off in the commercial market.  Parcel shippers had to adjust to the much higher ratio of residential deliveries, and as commercial deliveries begin their rebound, some delays and issues are to be anticipated


Data2Logistics has a dedicated “Professional Consulting Services” team that can help you identify opportunities across all modes.  We provide various services such as data metrics/analytics, market studies, carrier strategy/negotiation, etc. For more information, please contact Dan Leva at [email protected] or 973-222-5882.