Trucks, trailers, tariffs: Updated commercial vehicle data
A short-lived trailer order surge in June belies deeper cracks in the commercial vehicle market, where rising aluminum costs, soft freight demand, and margin compression are colliding.
Tag: Freight
Commercial vehicle trends in aluminum
Class 8 orders drop, trailer backlogs thin, but transportation spending sets a record.
Rules of retaliation: Canada tightens trade policy on tariff tensions
Canada's new trade rules may be retaliation, but it's also starting to look like long-term industrial strategy.
Rail freight metrics
Looking at short line and regional movements as an indirect barometer of what's happening in aluminum rail movements.
AMU PATH Fireside Chat: Bottlenecks and backchannels in the freight market
The kickoff session of Aluminum Market Update's fireside chat tackled the turbulence facing the freight market in an increasingly protectionist environment.
Container bookings and prices surge
Average bookings for the seven days ended on May 14th skyrocketed, which could cause bottlenecks, as containers getting stripped and shipped from the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports
The downside of the US-China tariff rollback: Container lines’ price hikes
The container lines operating in this shipping lane were quick to respond to the expected surge in freight demand.
Association of American Railroads freight volumes
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) publishes monthly freight indices and carload volumes which are a good barometer of economic activity. Canadian carriers CN and CP participate in this reporting, so aluminum imports from Canada are embedded in these numbers.
April survey says things are steady, but the market’s telling a different story
April's survey paints a picture of a market holding steady, but it's far from smooth sailing.