Freight shipments and expenditures see gains to end 2021, reports Cass Freight Index

The December edition of the Cass Freight Index, which was published this week by Cass Information Systems highlighted gains, for both freight shipments and expenditures, amid various ongoing supply chain challenges.

Many freight transportation and logistics executives and analysts consider the Cass Freight Index to be the most accurate barometer of freight volumes and market conditions, with many analysts noting that the Cass Freight Index sometimes leads the American Trucking Associations (ATA) tonnage index at turning points, which lends to the value of the Cass Freight Index.

December’s shipment reading—at 1.208—saw a 7.7% annual increase, outpacing 4.5%, 0.8%, and 0.4% annual gains for November, October, and September, respectively, and it was up 14.8% on a two-year stacked change basis. Shipments were up 0.2% and 4.2% compared to November on a month-to-month change and seasonally-adjusted month-to-month change, respectively.

The report’s author Tim Denoyer, ACT Research vice president and senior analyst, observed that the nearly 8% annual increase in December shipments served as a testament to how the U.S. transportation sector delivered in time for the holidays.

“Though the record backlog of 105 containerships off Southern California and sharp declines in intermodal volumes in early 2022 still demonstrate capacity constraints on freight volumes, the strong finish to 2021 shows progress as the trucking industry has begun to build driver and equipment capacity in spite of extraordinary challenges,” he wrote.

December freight expenditures—at 4.419—increased 43.6% annually, just below November’s 43.9% annual spread, and were up 62.3% on a two-year stacked change basis. Expenditures were up 3.4% compared to November and were up 6.6%, for the same timeframe, on a seasonal-adjusted basis.

“This index rose 38% in 2021, after a 7% decline in 2020 and no change in 2019,” wrote Denoyer. “Tougher comparisons in the coming months will naturally slow these y/y increases, but just using normal seasonality from here, the increase in 2022 will still be about 25% at this trend level.”