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John’s Blog
1-24-11
Dear Friends,
Last week the Conference Board reported
that the leading economic indicators rose for the 6th
straight month in December. The LEI rose 1% in December after a 1.1%
gain in November.
Existing home sales increased 12% in
December for the highest level since May according to the National
Association of Realtors. A total of 4.91 million existing homes sold
in all of 2010 matching the last low in 1997. It still looks like it
is going to take a long time for the housing segment to recover.
The Labor Department said that initial
jobless claims fell 37,000 in the week ending January 15th
for the largest weekly decline in about a year. The moving 4 week
average decreased to 411,750 from 415,750. Forecasts say that more
companies will hire this year than those cutting payroll.
In trucking the TransCore Freight Index
(tracking the spot freight market) marked a 55% year over year
improvement in December. From 2001 through 2008 spot market volume
historically dropped 19% in the November to December timeframe. In
2010 it only fell 0.2%.
Longbow Research said that truckload
demand softened in January after a tight capacity crunch during the
holidays. Longbow’s weekly freight barometer fell 3.9% in the week
of January 17th and this is attributed to the many winter
storms across the nation in addition to the normal seasonal fall off.
It is expected that freight volumes will increase in February as
retailers restock inventories.
In rail news the Union Pacific reported
that net income came in at $775 million for the 4th
quarter on a 17% increase in revenue to $4.4 billion. For the entire
year UP made $2.8 billion on $14.1 billion. Now we know why the UP
is the largest railroad in terms of revenue.
At Wagner we are working on improving
service and finding efficiencies. Wagner had a good safety record in
2010 and we are refocused on making sure we are even better in 2011
with more training.
If we may help with any new
distribution center projects or transportation challenges let us
know. We are continually seeking relationships where we may add some
value.
Have a great week!
John Wagner Jr
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John's Blog 
