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Employers add 280,000 jobs including 8,600 in for-hire trucking

The Trucker

U.S. employers added a robust 280,000 jobs in May, showing that the economy is back on track after starting 2015 in a slump.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.5 percent from 5.4 percent in April. But that occurred for a good reason: Hundreds of thousands more people sought jobs in May, and not all found them.

Last month’s strong job growth suggests that employers remained confident enough to keep hiring even after the economy shrank during the first three months of the year. The government also revised up its estimate of job growth in March and April by a combined net 32,000.

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U.S. Unemployment Situation – May 2015

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 280,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.5 percent. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and health care. Mining employment continued to decline.

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Container Shipments MIQ

Time for Shippers to Think Again About Diverting US West Coast Cargo to the East

Supply Chain 247

US shippers that diverted Asian imports to east coast ports to avoid the heavily congested Pacific coast container terminals could do well to review their strategy following a return to normality on the west coast.

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Enhanced Hong Kong Office

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., June 2, 2015 – MIQ Logistics announces the opening of its new, enhanced regional and local combined office in Hong Kong. Located at Kwun Tong Harbour Plaza, Kowloon, the new facility has twice the square footage of the prior facility.

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Economic Update – May 2015

“April’s sharp increase in the LEI seems to have helped stabilize its slowing trend, suggesting the paltry economic growth in the first quarter may be temporary,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Economist at The Conference Board. “However, the growth of the LEI does not support a significant strengthening in the economic outlook at this time. The improvement in building permits helped to drive the index up this month, but gains in other components, in particular the financial indicators, have been somewhat more muted.”

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May 2015 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business

Institute for Supply Management

  • 50 (red line below) represents the dividing line between expansion and contraction for the index of the below chart; which covers the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) and new orders.
  • The PMI reading registered 52.8% in May, which is an increase of 1.3% from April ’15.
  • New Orders Index registered 55.8% in May, which is an increase of 2.3% from April ‘15.

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March 2015 North American Freight Numbers

Department of Transportation

U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $96.1 billion in March 2015 as three out of five transportation modes – air, rail, and truck – carried more U.S.-NAFTA freight than in March 2014, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)

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Freight Forwarding Shipping Carrier and Containers

Labor peace finally arrives for West Coast ports

Logistics Management

Labor peace has finally officially for West Coast ports. Following the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) signing off on ratifying a new five-year contract with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) on May 20, the ILWU followed suite on May 22, saying that 82 percent of its longshore worker members voted to ratify the tentative contract agreement between the parties that was reached on February 22.

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MIQ Supply Chain Alert

ILWU & PMA Ratify Five-Year Contract

After nearly 11 months, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) have announced a ratification of a new five-year contract.

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West Coast Longshore workers overwhelmingly vote to approve new 5-year waterfront contract by 82%

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)

West Coast Longshore workers have overwhelmingly voted to ratify a tentative contract agreement reached in February with employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) voted 82% in favor of approving the new 5-year agreement that will expire on July 1, 2019. The previous contract was ratified in 2008 with a vote of 75% in favor.

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