The Weekly Freight Report for April 21st, 2022
The Top Headlines in Freight, Transportation, & Logistics from FLS Transport
The FLS Weekly Freight Report covers the week’s top news in logistics, transportation, shipping, and freight. This week’s report covers changing spot rates, Georgia suspending hours-of-service regulations, last-mile delivery robots, a North American cross-border report, and updated truck tonnage data.
- SPOT RATE SWING | New data predicts decreasing spot rates.
- HOS SUSPENDED | Georgia suspends hours of service regulations.
- LAST-MILE BOTS | Labor shortages force companies to turn to robots.
- CROSS-BORDER REPORT | See what’s happening with cross-border trade.
- TONNAGE DATA | For-Hire truck tonnage rates continue to rise.
SPOT RATE SWING | New data predicts decreasing spot rates.
While fuel prices are heating up, spot market rates and load volumes are cooling down.
In March, shippers locked in historically high prices to move their cargo under long-term contracts rather than paying sky-high variable spot rates.
Consequently, carriers saw a decrease in spot rate demand and were paying more at the pump due to increased fuel prices.
Both of these factors are impacting the spot market, capacity, and contract rates. Want to know the rates and data? Read more here.
HOS SUSPENDED | Georgia suspends hours of service regulations.
Georgia’s Governor declared a state of emergency as there have been severe disruptions to the state’s supply chain.
If you are transporting cargo throughout Georgia, the hours of service regulations have been suspended, and weight restrictions increased to 95,000 lbs for trucks transporting emergency relief goods.
To read more on the declaration, click here.
LAST-MILE BOTS | Labor shortages force companies to turn to robots.
The future of transportation could start looking like scenes from the movie Ready Player One or iRobot, as companies look to expand into drone delivery, autonomous vehicles, and now home delivery robots.
Warehouses have been utilizing robots to pick packages and move them for a while, and now companies are testing the use of autonomous mobile robots to make last-mile deliveries in cities and on college campuses.
With the labor shortages in virtually every industry, companies look for solutions to keep products moving. There are currently seven home delivery robot companies, and you can read more about them and their plans here.
CROSS-BORDER REPORT | See what’s happening with cross-border trade.
Mexico beats out China and Canada as the top US trading partner and moves to the 4th largest global auto parts producer.
Imports from Mexico have increased 16% year-over-year, with exports from the US to Mexico rising 13%.
How much is that in billions, and what are the top US exports?
TONNAGE DATA | For-Hire truck tonnage rates continue to rise.
For-Hire Truck Tonnage numbers continue to climb and would have been even higher if more drivers were available to haul the freight.
Last month, truck tonnage surpassed the previous year’s numbers at 3.8%.
The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage data stems from mainly contract freight with a small contribution from spot market loads.
Click here to see the data and the trends.
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