October is expected to be the second-busiest month of the year for the nation’s major retail container ports as merchants stock up for the holiday shopping season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
News / 2016
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 156,000 in September, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment gains occurred in professional and business services and in health care.
The National Hurricane Center issued Advisory #34A concerning Hurricane Matthew, which as of 4:00 p.m. e.t. is less than 115 miles east-southeast of West Palm Beach, FL. The public advisory states that currently Hurricane Matthew is a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, with sustained winds of 140 mph. The advisory speaks to the current Hurricane Watch which is in effect from Edisto Beach, FL to South Santee River, SC.
Hurricane Matthew is targeted to land in South Florida over the next 48 hours. This is expected to create significant flood threat, high winds and heavy downpours.
Overland Park, KS, October 5, 2016 — MIQ Logistics is excited to announce being selected by the Missouri Association of Manufacturers for the “ONE SOURCE Member Benefit” award.
Institute for Supply Management
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in September following one month of contraction in August, and the overall economy grew for the 88th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
American Trucking Associations
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 5.7% in August, following a 2.1% decline during July. In August, the index equaled 141.8 (2000=100), up from 134.2 in July. The all-time high was 144 in February.
Stay up to date on Q3 regulatory updates, including Brexit, ACE, HTSUS Chapter 62, and CBP Informed Compliance notifications.
The National Retail Federation and the Hardwood Federation today led a coalition of 120 organizations representing retailers, manufacturers, agribusinesses and other sectors affected by the Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy in sending a letter to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker outlining specific concerns and urging her continued leadership in bringing about a resolution.
August’s Cass Freight Index continued to signal that overall shipment volumes (and pricing) are persistently weak, with increased levels of volatility as all levels of the supply chain (manufacturing, wholesale, retail) continue to try and work down inventory levels. That said, there have been a few areas of growth, mostly related to e-commerce, with lower levels of expansion being experienced in transit modes serving the auto and housing/construction industries. All of this added up to slightly lower shipment volumes in August on a YoY (year-over-year) basis, marking the eighteenth straight month of year-over-year decline. That said, at least on a seasonally adjusted basis, August volume was up sequentially, offering a glimmer of hope that the contraction in volumes may be getting closer to an end.