Economic Watch: Core Capital Goods Orders Soar, Existing Home Sales Slip

New orders for big-ticket durable goods fell in July by the most in nearly three years, as orders and shipments for core-capital goods surged, according to a new report, while a separate one showed the market for existing home sales declined following a drop in new home sales.

The 6.8% drop in orders for new durable goods was largely due to drop in the volatile aircraft sector and follows a revised 6.4% improvement in June, according to the Commerce Department. Many analysts were anticipating a slightly larger decline.

Excluding transportation orders, new orders for durable goods increased 0.5% in July, marking three consecutive monthly improvements.

Shipments of durable goods increased 0.4% in July from the month before, the third straight monthly gain.

The closely watched orders for nondefense capital goods minus aircraft, an indicator of business investment, increased 0.4% in July, slightly better than Wall Street expectations, and is up from being nearly unchanged in June. Compared to July 2016, orders for these goods are up 3.3%.

Shipments of core capital goods jumped 1% in July following an upwardly revised to a 0.6% increase in June following an originally reported 0.1% gain. Core capital goods shipments are used to calculate equipment spending in the government's gross domestic product measurement.

The gain in durable goods shipments translates into a “special plus and one that will lift gross domestic product,” once the third quarter is over and numbers are released, according to analysts at Econoday.

“Positives are definitely the theme of today's report, one that helps offset last week's unexpected decline in manufacturing production and supports the enormous strength being signaled by advance regional reports,” they said. “The economy may very well get a solid second-half boost from what has been an improving factory sector.”

On the other hand, sales of existing ...Read the rest of this story

Analysis: Industrial Activity Points to a Mixed Picture

Industrial activity has picked up its pace during 2017 after a stretch of weakness that lasted from mid-2015 until late 2016. Recent reports have done little to change our underlying assumptions of the U.S. economy or freight demand.

Let's key in on a couple of important segments to trucking and see what sort of movement has occurred during the first half of 2017.

It is easy to see from the chart above that mining activity was very, very strong early in 2017. This sector includes four important segments: stone/earth, metal, coal, and oil/gas. Not surprisingly, the impetus for growth has come from the oil and gas shale fields. Construction (and especially housing) have been lackluster, metal demand has rebounded some but remains weak, and coal demand turned back up in late 2016 but hasn't moved much since then.

Durables are the biggest component of manufacturing and tend to be more cyclical than non-durables (we may not buy a new car during a recession, but we still eat and drive). This segment slowed noticeably during the second quarter – and it remains well below the average growth for this recovery.

Automotive (this includes both vehicles and parts) is a big component of durable manufacturing. While we did eke out a gain in the second quarter, you can easily see that we are running well below the recovery average and we had a very negative quarter in Q1. Automotive demand looks to have topped out, and growth in industrial activity or freight demand is not likely to come from this segment.

Non-durables did see a notable uptick in the second quarter. Surprisingly, this sector has been quite weak during much of this recovery. The three main segments are: food, fuel, and chemicals. Chemicals growth has been weaker than anticipated during this recovery as it ...Read the rest of this story

Spot Truckload Rates Fall for Second Straight Week

Spot truckload freight rates moved slightly lower for the second consecutive week for the seven-day period ending August 19 as freight volume remained strong, according to the freight matching service provider DAT Solutions.

The number of loads posted on its load boards declined 2.1% compared to the previous week while available truck capacity was unchanged. The is due a seasonal transition, driven largely by produce harvests, according to DAT Analyst Peggy Dorf on the DAT blog.

“Reefers are needed, but anything that affects reefers will affect dry van traffic, as well, so there's a geographic shift in the van segment,” she wrote. “More loads are available in the Upper Midwest and Northeast, while the Southeast is winding down, and trends in the Western region are mixed.”

Nationally, van load posts fell 1% and truck posts increased 1% to push the van load-to-truck ratio from 4.9 to 1 to 4.8 to 1. The national average van rate fell 1 cent to $1.78 per mile, a small change in an otherwise firm freight market, but down from a four-week high of $1.82 per mile. All reported rates include fuel surcharges.

Refrigerated load posts increased 5% and truck posts declined 2%, which resulted in a 7% increase in the load-to-truck ratio, hitting 9.3 to 1. At $2.07 per mile, the national average reefer rate was 1 cent lower compared to the previous week but is down 5 cents from two weeks earlier.

The Midwest is heating up for reefers, which is a normal trend for this time of year. More loads are moving out of the Grand Rapids market, and outbound rates rose in Green Bay and Chicago, according to DAT. More loads left Sacramento last week but it's still not a high-volume market at this point in the summer.

Flatbed load posts declined 7% while truck posts ...Read the rest of this story

Love’s to begin fundraising campaign for CMN Hospitals

Love's Travel Stops will run its 18th annual campaign to raise money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Saturday, Aug. 26, through Sept. 30. According to the company, more than 430 Love's locations nationwide will sell Miracle balloons for $1, $5 or $20 and hold events to raise money for sick and injured children in their communities.

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The Fleet Owner 500 Awards Finalists

To honor advances and innovation in private fleet operations across the country, Fleet Owner is holding its inaugural “Fleet Owner 500 Awards” ceremony this fall in conjunction with the North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) exposition in Atlanta, GA.

Eighteen fleets drawn from nine distinct industry segments are in the running for the awards, with these motor carriers selected from the annual “Fleet Owner 500” list of the largest private fleet operations in North America.

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Minimizer releases Long Haul Series mattress

A year after introducing its Long Haul Series Seat, Minimizer is releasing a mattress that is designed and specified for professional, over-the-road truck drivers.

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Leasing rules are changing, but fiscal advantages will remain

New lease accounting rules will hitting the books in a little over a year, changing how trucking companies that lease trucks, trailers and other equipment “recognize” the value of such assets on their balance sheets.

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