ISSUE 1 2021
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Feature: West Coast Ports Pandemic Disruptions p.8
Feature: Covid 19 Lessons Learned p.19
opposed to spot market freight. ATA in its latest Freight
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 7.4% in December aſter rising 3.2% in November. In December, the index equaled 120 (2015=100) compared with 111.7 in November.
“Tonnage ended last year
on a high note,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The index not only registered the largest monthly
gain since
June, but it also had the first year-over-year increase since March. Freight continues to be
helped by strong consumption, a retail inventory restocking, and robust single-family home construction. With the stimulus checks recently issued and with a strong possibility of more in the near future, I would expect truck freight to continue rising.”
November’s gain was revised
down slightly to 3.2% from our December 22 press release. Compared with December
2019, the SA index rose 2.3%. For all of 2020, compared with the same 12-month period in 2019, tonnage was down 3.3%. 2019 had an annual increase of 3.3%. “Because of the pandemic,
2020 was obviously a very challenging year for the economy overall, and that is reflecting in the tonnage index’s dip from the previous year,” Costello said. “Despite that, truck tonnage clearly outperformed the broader economy as freight continued to move in the face of a myriad of COVID-related challenges faced by the country.” The not seasonally adjusted
index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 115.9 in December, 5.4% above the November level (109.9). In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. ATA’s For- Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as
Transportation Forecast: 2020 to 2031 shows that despite contraction in 2020, the long- term trend for both trucking and overall freight shipments is still positive. “The COVID-19 pandemic has
had an unprecedented impact on many parts of the economy and trucking is no exception,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “However, despite significant contractions in 2020, the forecast makes it clear that the long-term trend for trucking, as well as for the overall freight economy is positive.” Among the findings in this forecast:
year’s total freight
volumes in 2020 are likely to collapse by 10.6% to 14.6 billion tons, although truck freight volumes falls a smaller 8.8%; trucking volumes are expected to rebound in 2021, rising 4.9% next year and then growing 3.2% per year on average through 2026; and overall freight revenues in 2020 will total $879 billion, rising to $1.435 trillion in 2031. “Freight Forecast provides a
roadmap for where our industry, as well as all modes of freight transportation, are going – which is why you can find it on the desks of industry executives and policymakers around the world,” Costello said.
Port of LA reaches 9.2 million TEUs in 2020
The Port of Los Angeles moved 9.2 million TEUs in 2020, reported Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka at the port’s recent State of the Port virtual meeting. A late-year surge of pandemic-induced consumer
spending helped @PortofLA
boost volumes to near 2019 levels, making 2020 the fourth highest-volume year in the port’s history. “Our container business in
2020 was the most erratic we have ever seen, with volumes plunging nearly 19% in the first five months of the year, followed by an unprecedented second-half surge,” Seroka said. “Our ILWU longshore workforce
did a great job
adapting to the huge swings in volume, as did port truckers and everyone else involved in moving cargo through our Port. In a year of great difficulty, we
+ our regular From the Editor p.4
Shipping Roundupp.2 Logistics Roundupp.3
Road & Rail Roundup p.5 Airfreight Roundup p.6
are extremely grateful for the tenacity and resolve of all of our partners.” The port’s third- and fourth-
quarter 2020 cargo volumes increased 50% over the first half of the year, with the port handling a remarkable 94%
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In this Issue
News
New weekly direct-Asia
service from Port NOLA p.6
US Carriers on the front lines p.20
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