Insights - October 2015 - (Page 9)

2013-2015 YEARLY TRAFFIC TOTALS BY MONTH Source: IANA Equipment Type, Size and Ownership data file For more information on IANA's data and statistics products, visit www.intermodal.org or contact Tara Mullen at 301-982-3400, ext. 366. Freight Reports Retail Imports Begin Holiday Climb According to the Sept. 9 Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, the nation's top containerports handled 1.62 million twenty-foot equivalent units in July, the latest month for which after-thefact numbers are available. This is a 2.9 percent increase over June and 8.1 percent above July 2014. Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail containerports was expected to rise 1.2 percent in September over the year-earlier period, as holiday volumes were moving through supply chains. The year is expected to close 5.4 percent ahead of 2014 at a total of 18.2 million TEUs. "After supply chain worries earlier this year, inventories are plentiful this fall," said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy. "Shoppers should have no worries about finding what they're looking for as they begin their holiday shopping." Economists have been watching a "stubbornly high" inventory-to-sales ratio this summer, according to Ben Hackett, Hackett Associates founder. But, he added, the cause appears to be the flood of cargo that came after the new West Coast dockworkers' contract was signed, rather than as a result of weakness in demand. Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by the consulting firm Hackett Associates, covers the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades and Miami on the East Coast and Houston on the Gulf Coast. International Volumes Again Lead Growth International containers continue to lead intermodal volume growth, according to IANA. In August, North American railroads handled 6.3 percent more international shipments than in August 2014. The total year-over-year gain for the month was 4.0 percent. Domestic container traffic rose 3.3 percent and trailer volume dropped 5.2 percent, for an overall increase of 1.6 percent for all domestic equipment movements. For information on subscribing to IANA's Intermodal Market Trends and Statistics go to www.intermodal.org. Truck Tonnage Sees Big July Rise The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.8 percent in July, following a revised drop of 0.4 percent during June, according to the American Trucking Associations. The July index equaled 135.0 (2000=100), the second highest level on Freight - continued on page 11 October 2015 | Intermodal Insights 9 http://www.intermodal.org http://www.intermodal.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - October 2015

Fed Update
GAO Report Expresses PTC Concern
Positive Note for Positive Train Control
Peak Charges Proposed at Oakland
Intermodal EXPO 2015 Addresses Stakeholder Needs
Nominations for Election to the 2016 Board of Directors
University of North Texas Three-Peats at Intermodal EXPO
Gooden Presented with Silver Kingpin Award
Freight Reports
Sustainability News
Port News
People in the News
In Brief
2015 Sponsors
Welcome New Members
Size and Weight Comments Due Oct. 13th
Intermodal Calendar

Insights - October 2015