John’s Blog

2-21-11

Dear Friends,

I hope everyone is well and back after President’s Day. Here is the news from last week.

The Federal Reserve reported last week that industrial production dipped 0.1% in January after a 1.2% gain in December. The share of industrial capacity in use declined a fraction from 76.2 in December to 76.1 in January.

The Conference Board reported that leading economic indicators increased in January by 0.1% for the seventh straight monthly increase.

The Labor Department said the consumer price index went up 0.4% in January which was higher than the expected 0.3% increase. The core rate excluding energy and food went up 0.3% for the largest monthly increase since October of 2009.

At the Commerce Department, it was reported that retail sales rose by 0.3% in January. This is the 7^th straight monthly increase but below the forecast 0.5% expected. Poor weather across the country my have led to the lower than expected sales.

Publically held LTL carriers are reporting better numbers in their fourth quarter results as volume and pricing increased. The best of the pack is Old Dominion who more than doubled its quarterly net income on a 20% increase in tonnage. YRC, Vitran and ABF all reduced their losses while Con-Way did worse on less volume. As a group, the LTL results are moving in the right direction.

The American Association of Railroads reported that in the week ending February 12^th intermodal traffic was up 18.5% year over year. 228,035 units were handled and containers gained 18.7% to 193,085 units. Carload traffic was up 6.2%.

At Wagner we are seeing increased volume and good levels of activity across the company. Should you have a supply chain challenge to discuss, let’s collaborate on a solution. Wagner’s tool box of services including plant materials support, consumer fulfillment, retail replenishment, packaging and transportation are at your disposal.

Have a great week!

John Wagner Jr