Newsletter

MARKET UPDATE - JUNE

Although the reopening of many parts of the Economy has shown some encouraging changes in the freight market, many fear that a second spike in COVID-19 in some parts of the world, including the US, could cause another temporary drop in freight volumes.  June continued to show many positive signs:


Trucking:

  • The load-to-truck ratio continued to climb for all major equipment types, indicating ongoing increased demand.  In the week ending June 20th, load-to-truck ratios were up 20+% overall.  Forecasts still predict 2020 ending the year aligned with 2019 demand levels
  • National rates for van, flatbed, and reefer have climbed steadily from their lows in April/May and are closely aligned with pre-COVID levels


Ocean:

  • Rates are holding steady across some lanes, however, Asia to US and Europe trade lanes have seen an increase in pricing
  • Vessels remain full out of the major Asian ports to the US
  • Space is quite tight from Asia to Europe (book 3 weeks in advance)
  • Space also remains fairly tight on the following lanes (suggested bookings 10-14 days in advance):
    • Europe to US East Coast
    • US to Asia
    • US to Europe


Air Freight:

  • China/Hong Kong:  Many of the passenger aircraft that were converted to cargo have been retired through the end of summer.  Rates continue to be somewhat higher than normal, however, they have come down considerably from the peak highs of the last couple of months
  • Americas:  Airlines are adding more flights in July and August, but very little international capacity is being added.  Ground handling delays continue at major US hubs (i.e. – LAX, ORD)
  • Europe:  Airlines have been increasing capacity between major hubs in the EU and North America.  Transatlantic rates remain high


Parcel:

  • Both FedEx and UPS continue to apply the COVID-19 surcharges on international shipments (the costs vary, starting at around $0.10/lb on most shipments, but substantially higher out of places like China and Hong Kong).
  • In June, both FedEx and UPS added additional “peak” surcharges, to include additional costs on items like Large Package/Oversize, Residential Delivery, and SmartPost/SurePost packages
  • E-commerce demands remain at elevated levels, helping offset some of the impact faced by the drop-off in the commercial market.  Parcel shippers had to adjust to the much higher ratio of residential and last-mile deliveries, however, commercial shipments have made a fairly strong rebound over the last month

Data2Logistics has a dedicated “Professional Consulting Services” team that can help you identify opportunities across all modes.  We provide various services such as data metrics/analytics, market studies, carrier strategy/negotiation, etc. For more information, please contact Dan Leva at [email protected] or 973-222-5882.