Let's take a look at the general overview of global freight. The supply chain for the past few years has been at its worst. It has been the most unstable for several reasons. Costs went high; there were inventory imbalances and many other challenges. Both industries and consumers felt the same effects. There are signs of hope for better things to come. The only issue is that we must determine how to maintain the high numbers. There still is inflation, and the economy still needs to be stable. The supply chain is improving, but the disruptions are still here.
The State of Global Freight
According to Transport Topics, ocean shipping is the leading indicator of the state of global freight. Tim Denoyer noted that this year's market differs from last year's. Shipping costs are coming down from record highs. Spot rates for ocean containers have also dropped 61% compared to last year. Freight rates are slowly stabilizing due to slow demand. The backlogs seen in the past two years are now clearing out.
Mario Cordero said that they have been able to deal with the bottlenecks they faced earlier. He pointed out that in January last zear, the backlog was a mess compared to now. He said three main factors are helping out. The White House appointed a team to work with all parties to deal with supply chain issues. They also came up with yards and other means to handle capacity issues. Easing hours of service also greatly helped out. Return to normalcy is not given, but the trend is promising. Growth is now being experienced in most ports despite the challenges.
Trucking and Rail
Trucking and Rail have been affected by the shift in consumer needs. Most consumers are going for services rather than goods. The same poses a big dent to transporters. Spending has not normalized, and it will take some time to do so. Some retailers are still receiving goods they ordered ages ago. Suppliers are still taking a long to make deliveries. The pandemic's effects are still in the air today. Being optimistic, Bob Costello said they are returning to the status before the pandemic hit. He said that people should not worry that much yet. It might not be growing at the earlier pace, but steadily, normalcy is not so far away.
