Headline April declines largest ever in manufacturing, industrial production, retail sales, and housing starts New unemployment remain above 2 million even nine weeks into the COVID-19 crisis. Truck freight volumes continue to recover in stages. The rail space is a tale of two markets -carload activity is weak while intermodal has
The latest economic data has been miserable. The U.S. economy is in a deep reces-sion and signs of recovery are few. In almost every sector, there has been a record-breaking decline. The labor market is in shambles, with over 30 million people out of work. Retail sales have plummeted and the industrial sector has been ham-mered. Still, green shoots are starting to emerge as the nation begins to re-open. Even in the midst of a meltdown, some companies, such as Walmart and Amazon, are adding jobs. The question is now emerging, what will the recovery look like? Will it be v-shaped, or more U-shaped, or as some Fed officials projected a W-shaped recovery, or an economy that jumps forward and stalls and jumps again repeatedly?
As the U.S. and global economies start theprocess of restarting, variables can be identified (are known) but the outcome of the variables are still unknown.
Canada: The Economy Reopens and a Long Cool Road Back BeckonsThe Canadian economy is reopening after suffering a sharp decline because of the COVID-19 virus. Economic damage from the virus was steep. The 8.2% annualized decline in the first quarter equaled the darkest days of the Great Recession. The decline only
Shippers, carriers, equipment suppliers, and other industry participants are looking to find the next growth story in the carload business. However, there are more reasons to be negative than positive about growth so far in 2019. Energy carried the ball last year, but headwinds in many of its sectors will not
More than a third of the timber cut in the United States each year is processed into paper and paper products. Pulp logs are shipped to a mill where they are converted into chips. Sometimes the logs are chipped in the field and shipped to the mill in chip form
As I sit here and wonder what to focus on in this week’s T4C commentary I can’t help but think ‘what’s really going on?’. I’m sure that there were notable, real-world actions that occurred over the last few days, but I can’t turn on
Welcome to FTR’s “Monday Morning Coffee “ blog. The following article is designed to keep busy executives up to date with the latest economic data releases. Released every Monday, this blog promises to keep our clientele updated with the latest weekly economic news and developments, highlighting its impact on the
Welcome to FTR’s “Monday Morning Coffee “ blog. The following article is designed to keep busy executives up to date with the latest economic data releases. Released every Monday, this blog promises to keep our clientele updated with the latest weekly economic news and developments, highlighting its impact on the
Welcome to FTR’s “Monday Morning Coffee “ blog. The following article is designed to keep busy executives up to date with the latest economic data releases. Released every Monday, this blog promises to keep our clientele updated with the latest weekly economic news and developments, highlighting its impact on the