While the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics” latest Market Snapshot report showed signs of a U.S. economy that is stagnant in many areas, there were some encouraging statistics to report. For example:
1. While the U.S. Department of Transportation”s freight transportation index remained flat from June to July, the United States exported more than $178 billion of cargo in July — the highest volume on record, according to the U.S. Census. July U.S. exports have increased 3.6 percent in terms of value over the previous month and grew 15.1 percent year-over-year.
2. While unemployment remains stubbornly high, U.S. businesses posted 3.2 million job openings in July, a 13.3 percent year-over-year increase and the highest number of job openings posted since August 2008. The trade, transportation, and utilities industries accounted for the largest gains of 551,000 job openings, a 33 percent increase from a year ago.
3. While railroad bulk carload freight in August 2011 remained flat since July 2011 and freight traffic in August decreased 0.3 percent since August 2010, the number of freight cars in storage decreased to 271,404 (17.8 percent of the fleet) on September 1, down 5,539 cars from a month earlier. The number of railcars in storage is now at its lowest level since the 2008–2009 recession and was the strongest monthly drawdown of parked railcars since April.
To review the latest Market Snapshot report and archives from previous monthly reports, visit snapshot.georgialogistics.org.??
