State of the Industry Report November 2022
Industry Insight from RXO Experts
Ocean Market Update
Despite Trans-Pacific east-bound ocean rates being 70-80% off their YOY highs, we’re still seeing a significant amount of activity in the transload space- particularly on the west coast. While the decrease in IPI rates have reduced or eliminated the cost benefit in some cases—customers prefer the flexibility and velocity the routing offers. It also continues to be a slight hedge should rail or port labor negotiations take a turn for the worse.
In addition, blanked capacity in the Trans-Pacific is already close to 20% of deployed capacity for November 2022 and this schedule instability continues to drive the utilization of a variety of routings and modes. These solutions are still in high-demand given their ability to offer fixed, stable transit times to inland destinations and DCs.
Demetri Venetis
Division President,
Freight Forwarding
Charlotte, NC
RXO Completes Spin-Off from XPO
XPO (NYSE: XPO) announced that it has completed the previously announced spin-off of RXO, Inc. (NYSE: RXO), creating two independent, publicly traded companies.
RXO In The News
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Top Industry News
Freight Demand has Not Found the Floor
Container imports, rail intermodal shipments and truckload demand have fallen from their lofty peaks during the pandemic era and may be a better indicator of how inflation will be tamed in the coming months than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) itself.
- Container import bookings measured by FreightWaves’ Inbound Ocean TEUs Index (IOTI) are now only roughly 6% higher than they were in November 2019 after averaging 80% above pre-pandemic levels through most of 2021.
- Loaded intermodal container volumes on the rails (ORAILL) are down 7% versus mid-November 2019 levels.
- The Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI), a measure of shipper requests for truckload capacity, is now only 9% higher than it was the week before Thanksgiving in 2019 after averaging nearly 50% above pre-pandemic norms from July 2020 to March 2022.
5 Things You Should Know about a Potential Rail Strike
A rail strike — or a lockout by the railroads — could occur in early December if unions and railroads can’t reach a labor agreement that satisfies everyone. Congress can stop a strike. So why is it so hard for everyone to come to a resolution? Here are five things to consider.
US and Global Macroeconomics
Virginia Captures Key Warehousing, Distribution Center Ventures
Transport Topics: Beating out other states, Virginia snagged two warehousing and distribution center ventures worth $289 million for a logistics park and a port.
Buttigieg Touts Safety Progress After IIJA Enactment
Transport Topics: To mark the anniversary of a $1 trillion infrastructure law, the nation’s top transportation officer pointed to progress in implementing safety provisions linked to freight and commuter corridors.
Best Buy, Dick’s Ease Fears About Holiday Spending
SupplyChainBrain: The supply and demand picture for retailers heading into the holidays is only getting more complicated, says The Wall Street Journal. Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods reported mixed results in the most recent quarter, as part of what Best Buy CEO Corie Barry calls an “uneven and unsettled” consumer market.
Holiday Shopping Season Brings Hopes for Supply Chain Improvements
Transport Topics: As this year’s holiday shopping season ramps up, shipping industry experts say supply chain issues that plagued the season last year have alleviated, but there are other dynamics at play.
Over 400 Trade Groups Plead with Congress to Prevent Rail Strike
FreightWaves: Calls for government intervention to prevent a rail strike in early-to-mid-December became louder, with more than 400 state and national trade groups asking the majority and minority leaders of Congress to prevent a rail strike they maintain could further hobble the US economy.
DOE/EIA Benchmark Diesel Price Sees Biggest 1-Week Drop Since August
FreightWaves: Diesel weakening against crude but from higher-than-normal level.
Truckload and LTL
Shipping Prices Fall in Inventory Glut, Upping Broker Deals
Shipping rates that spiked during disruptions caused by the pandemic have plummeted — some are now calling it a “freight recession” — as inventory gluts across the US lowered demand. That has placed the sector at a disadvantage during annual contract negotiations now in full swing, but means retailers and other customers will benefit from lower transportation costs.
Smart Solutions
Modes Overview
- Contractor-mageddon’ Unlikely at FedEx Ground Heading into Peak. More from FreightWaves.
- Consumers Push Back on Retailers’ Online Return Fees. More from FreightWaves.
- Zero Ships Waiting off Southern California, 59 off Other Ports. More from FreightWaves.
- Air Cargo Execs more Nervous over Consumer Pullback. More from FreightWaves.
- Biden Ready to Urge Congress to Intervene in Freight Rail Fight. More from Transport Topics.
- Lone Star Dedicated ceasing operations. More from FreightWaves.
- Hwy Haul Raises $10M to Build Produce Book to Keep Reefer Drivers Busy. More from FreightWaves.
Infrastructure and Regulation
Air Cargo Capacity Comes Back
For more than two years, demand for air cargo vastly exceeded supply. But now, at the end of 2022, air freight capacity is approaching pre-pandemic norms. What happens now?
Anyone who has taken an introductory economics course has likely learned about the forces of supply and demand. If not, the post-2020 air cargo market could provide a lesson.
A combination of factors threw air cargo capacity for a loop in 2021. On one hand, US retail sales reached $5.6 trillion in 2020, and then added another $1 trillion in 2021, the Census Bureau found.
Transportation Best Practices and Trends: Hand of regulation weighs heavy
Taking an annual dive into the world of trucking regulations and explore what’s happening and what could lie ahead for both carriers and shippers as they attempt to stay afloat in the jetsam of acronyms and agencies.
31st Annual Study of Logistics and Transportation Trends
Broken, stressed, strained, and out of sync. All have been featured in recent headlines describing the condition of logistics and supply chain operations.
Cross-border: Mexico, Canada and International
Mexico Mulls Using National Guard to Combat Cargo Theft
With criminals aggressively targeting tractor-trailers even more during the holiday season, trucking industry officials in Mexico have proposed using the National Guard (GN) to patrol the country’s vital freight corridors through the holidays.
Trade Dispute Arising over Mexico’s Plan to Block Imports of Genetically Modified Corn
Country’s plan to stop importing yellow corn violates trade deal with US, officials say.
Canada’s Transport Minister Seeks to Beef up Port Investments, Railway Safety
Legislation aims to help country ‘modernize the way … marine and rail transportation systems operate’
Technology
Who’s Who in Self-Driving Truck Development
Transport Topics: The process of developing, validating and ultimately commercializing fully autonomous trucks has proven to be a long and arduous journey, but there is no shortage of software developers and technologists dedicated to accomplishing that mission.
Catching a Glimpse of Trucking’s Future
Multiple truck manufacturers and their self-driving technology partners showed highway tractors fitted with sensors and software designed to eventually enable highly automated driving.
Applied Materials Forecast Indicates It’s Weathering Slowdown
Applied Materials Inc., the biggest maker of chip manufacturing equipment, gave a better-than-feared sales forecast for the current quarter as supply chain improvements help offset an economic slowdown.
Stellantis Promotes Opportunities for Minority-Owned Businesses in EV Shift
A top-level executive with the manufacturer of Ram trucks and Jeep SUVs said opportunity exists for minority-owned businesses to be a part of the company’s transformation toward electrification.
Initiatives
Opportunities Abound for Women in Trucking, Observers Say
Trucking provides women with career opportunities that allow them to chart successful paths, but consideration must be given to challenges they face, experts said at an industry conference.
Hero Daniel Harmon: Helping Kentucky Flood Victims Whose Homes Washed Away
Daniel Harmon understood what people in Kentucky were confronting when flooding overwhelmed parts of the state in July. The West Virginia native has experienced it, and when he saw it happening to neighboring Kentucky, he wanted to help.