John’s Blog

5-10-10

Dear friends,

The Institute for Supply Management reported that the US economy grew in April for the fourth consecutive month. The ISM services index was at 55.4 (any reading greater than 50 shows growth). ISM’s services index is a measure of the services (non-manufacturing) which makes up 2/3s of the US gross domestic product.

Unemployment had mixed news last week with jobs added but more people reported that they were now actively seeking employment. The good news is that even though the unemployment rate increased this indicates that many people are starting to seek jobs who had given up. Our collective attitudes will improve when this lagging indicator starts showing 300,000 or more new jobs monthly. We have a way to go.

The trucking industry added almost 10,000 jobs while the railroads added back 1,000.

In the past we have talked about the truckload market tightening up but LTL carriers had lagged behind. Less than truckload carriers improved in the first quarter cutting their losses and in some cases showing a profit.

Conway, FedEx Freight, UPS Freight, Old Dominion, and others reported improving tonnage while YRC had less freight. This increase in business has begun to provide some pricing leverage with Saia reportedly beginning to raise rates.

If you are experiencing any transportation challenges please let us see if Wagner may help. Wagner has a great group of carriers in addition to our own trucks and we may be able to help.

Wagner’s distribution center network has capacity and we can tailor a facility to your needs should you desire a stand alone dedicated distribution center.

Have a great week!

John