FREIGHT shipments within north America in May reached the second-highest monthly level recorded in 31 years of data, according to Cass Information Systems, a provider of freight payment services and author of the Cass Freight Index (CFI), reports IHS Media.
The CFI for shipments, which measures the volume of freight that moved within North America, reached 1.269 last month, the highest level since May 2018. The shipments index grew a record 35.3 per cent from May 2020, driven by a strong rebound from a pandemic-battered freight market, Cass said in its latest monthly index report.
Cass said the strong year-over-year growth was a natural result of a comparison to low volumes during early Covid-19 lockdowns. Even so, Cass said the year-over-year gain was stronger than expected and well ahead of the 27.6 per cent gain seen in April.
'It's safe to say the pandemic recovery is progressing much faster than the recovery from the Great Recession,' Tim Denoyer, researcher for Cass, said in a statement.
Compared with pre-pandemic 2019, shipment volumes in May were up a more modest 3.3 per cent, according to Cass data. However, that marked the first such increase in 2021 from a more normal year. April, for example, saw a 1.3 per cent decline in overall freight shipments relative to 2019, Cass said.
Cass attributed the May acceleration primarily to inventory restocking due to the ongoing strength in retail sales, as well as the residual effect of the February polar vortex that severely impacted North American ground transportation and delayed shipments well into March. For last month, Cass said automobile shipments via railroads rose 4 per cent from April.
Unsurprisingly, North American shippers are also paying more for transportation services than they would in a typical market. The Cass Freight Index for expenditures stood at 3.362 for May, the third-highest reading since Cass began tracking volume and payment data, behind only April and March 2021. The May index reading was up 50 per cent from a year earlier, and up 18.2 per cent from 2019, Cass said.
The Cass Implied Freight Rate Index, which measures implied pricing for truck, rail, and parcel delivery based on data from the shipments and expenditures indices, rose 10.8 year over year in May, slowing slightly from the 13.7 per cent growth seen in April. Cass said the slowdown from April does not reflect any slackening in demand or additional capacity in the market, but rather reflects temporary shifts in the mode of transportation for the month.
Cass said its Truckload Linehaul Index, which measures per-mile truckload rates, reached a 16 year high of 149, up 14 per cent from a year earlier and 8.4 per cent from 2019. Cass said the ongoing shortage of drivers, trucks, and chassis will keep the linehaul index 'up and to the right' - i e growing rapidly - in the near term.
SeaNews Turkey
The CFI for shipments, which measures the volume of freight that moved within North America, reached 1.269 last month, the highest level since May 2018. The shipments index grew a record 35.3 per cent from May 2020, driven by a strong rebound from a pandemic-battered freight market, Cass said in its latest monthly index report.
Cass said the strong year-over-year growth was a natural result of a comparison to low volumes during early Covid-19 lockdowns. Even so, Cass said the year-over-year gain was stronger than expected and well ahead of the 27.6 per cent gain seen in April.
'It's safe to say the pandemic recovery is progressing much faster than the recovery from the Great Recession,' Tim Denoyer, researcher for Cass, said in a statement.
Compared with pre-pandemic 2019, shipment volumes in May were up a more modest 3.3 per cent, according to Cass data. However, that marked the first such increase in 2021 from a more normal year. April, for example, saw a 1.3 per cent decline in overall freight shipments relative to 2019, Cass said.
Cass attributed the May acceleration primarily to inventory restocking due to the ongoing strength in retail sales, as well as the residual effect of the February polar vortex that severely impacted North American ground transportation and delayed shipments well into March. For last month, Cass said automobile shipments via railroads rose 4 per cent from April.
Unsurprisingly, North American shippers are also paying more for transportation services than they would in a typical market. The Cass Freight Index for expenditures stood at 3.362 for May, the third-highest reading since Cass began tracking volume and payment data, behind only April and March 2021. The May index reading was up 50 per cent from a year earlier, and up 18.2 per cent from 2019, Cass said.
The Cass Implied Freight Rate Index, which measures implied pricing for truck, rail, and parcel delivery based on data from the shipments and expenditures indices, rose 10.8 year over year in May, slowing slightly from the 13.7 per cent growth seen in April. Cass said the slowdown from April does not reflect any slackening in demand or additional capacity in the market, but rather reflects temporary shifts in the mode of transportation for the month.
Cass said its Truckload Linehaul Index, which measures per-mile truckload rates, reached a 16 year high of 149, up 14 per cent from a year earlier and 8.4 per cent from 2019. Cass said the ongoing shortage of drivers, trucks, and chassis will keep the linehaul index 'up and to the right' - i e growing rapidly - in the near term.
SeaNews Turkey
