Rail carloads—at 229,246—fell 1.5% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers—at 229,383—fell 13.0%.
Quarterly revenue—at $22.2 billion—was off 6% annually, and net income—at $865 million was below the $1.22 billion recorded a year ago. Diluted earnings per share—at $3.41—fell 7.4%.
Commerce reported that February retail sales—at $697.9 billion—were off 0.4% compared to January and up 5.4% annually. And it added that total retail sales, from December through February, saw a 6.4% annual gain compared to the same period a year ago. NRF reported that its calculation of retail sales, which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants, pointed to a 0.5% increase over January and a 6.5% on an unadjusted annual basis.
The long-awaited decision regarding the acquisition of Kansas City Railway Company (KCS) by Canadian Pacific (CP) reached its expected outcome today, with the Surface Transportation Board (STB), an independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers, saying it has approved the $31 billion deal, which will go into effect on April 14.
February’s van freight TVI—at 207—fell 8%, from January to February, and was down 5% annually. The refrigerated (reefer) TVI—at 162—was down 7.9% compared to January and off 4.7% annually. And the flatbed TVI—at 217—was in line with January’s 218 reading and up 7.9% annually. DAT observed that these lower February TVI readings are not uncommon, due to February having fewer days.
We speak with a number of logistics experts to capture their views on the overall impact that e-commerce is having on moving the nation’s freight. One thing is for certain: The current level and speed of churn has irrevocably altered the pattern so many had become accustomed to managing.
Two of the trends making an impact on reverse logistics besides the increase of e-commerce and the increased focus on customer centricity—are the circular economy and robotics. Here are some suggestions for transforming your reverse process to meet today’s pressing demands.
February’s shipment reading—at 1.167—was down 0.3% annually, up against an easy annual comparison, while rising 3.8% over January’s 1.124 reading. And the February expenditures reading—at 4.020—was off 9.7% annually, while seeing a 1.9% decline, from January to February.
The national average fell 3.5 cents, to $4.247, following a 1.2-cent decrease, to $4.282, for the week of March 6.
Logistics Management (LM) Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Matt Muenster, Chief Economist for Green Bay, Wisc.-based Breakthrough, an innovator in transportation management, dedicated to creating transparent and fair strategies for the world’s leading shippers. Muenster provided Berman with an overview of steps shippers need to take and consider, relating to inventory management, and the impact of key economic indicators on freight volumes, among others.