Imports drive a significant volume in the truckload markets here in the U.S. It is not just the port areas.
Yes, it does drive intermodal as well, and as we are seeing right now the urgency or need to get the goods to market has dropped, allowing more loads to take the cheaper intermodal option.
This has caused a shift from over the road to intermodal as seen in the SONAR chart below.
Add to this what is going on in China and you have some impending severe impacts.
Imports drive the truckload market and you can see this in the left-hand side of the chart above.
CSTM, in green, is showing customs imports for the U.S. Outbound tender volumes, in blue, is showing truckloads in the U.S.
It is very clear that much of our truckload market is driven by imports, whether they be full container loads or smaller shipments.
On to Shanghai
On the right-hand side, the chart above is showing you just how much impact Shanghai has on the total TEUs (ocean containers) coming into the U.S.
The chart is looking forward seven days in the dotted lines and is comparing TEUs into the U.S. from all ports total in green vs. TEUs from just Shanghai into the U.S. in blue.
Quite clearly there is a significant drop in volume that has not yet impacted the truckload market.
Read more articles from Michael “The Dude” Vincent
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