Institute for Supply Management
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in January for the fourth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 80th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
The Port Authority of NY/NJ has reported that full operations at Port of NY and NJ are restored. Gates opened as scheduled this morning 2/1/16, however a service advisory from the Port Authority website, reflects notifications of potential truck and roadway congestion: “as a reminder, in order to keep traffic flowing on the roadways and for the safety of everyone, there is no overnight parking and no queing on public roadways before 5:30 a.m. Truckers should plan accordingly and stagger their arrivals in the morning to help limit potential congestion”.
The Port Authority of NY/NJ has reported a labor walk-off that took place at 10:53 this morning involving the workers of the International Longshoremen’s Association.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., February 1, 2016 – MIQ Logistics announces the purchase of certain assets in Alfa Logistics (Miami, Fla.) and Kronos Logistics (Bogota, Colombia), effective December 2015. The acquisitions enable MIQ Logistics to expand its specialized service offering with complementary capabilities in the Latin America region. Details of the acquisitions are not disclosed.
Sales. The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for November, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,313.5 billion, down 0.2 percent (±0.2%)* from October 2015 and was down 2.8 percent (±0.5%) from November 2014.
On 16 January 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran has complied with its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) conditional to the first phase of sanctions relief. As a result, significant EU and US sanctions relief went into effect as of 16 January 2016. Certain nuclear-related sanctions remain in place, however, and the sanctions related to the Iranian human rights situation remain entirely unaffected and in full force.
American Trucking Associations
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1% in December, following a decrease of 0.9% during November. In December, the index equaled 135.6 (2000=100), up from 134.3 in November, and 0.1% below the all-time high of 135.8 reached in January 2015.
The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, fell 1.0 percent in November from
October, falling after a one-month rise, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS). The November 2015 index
level (122.3) was 29.1 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession.
Both the number of shipments and freight transportation expenditures continued their downward slide in December, falling 4.9 and 2.7 percent respectively. The declines are not unusual for December, but they capped off a second quarter of decline. In retrospect, 2015 did not even begin to reach the heights we reached in 2014. By the end of
2015, both shipment volume and expenditures fell back to 2013 levels. Expenditures for freight transportation were 5.2 percent lower than at the end of 2014 and shipment volume was down 3.7 percent from the same period.
