| |
Released: December 5, 2007
Trucking Revenue Tops $300 Billion
Total revenue for truck transportation, couriers and messengers, and warehousing and storage reached $312 billion in 2006, up from $293 billion in 2005, according to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Commercial trucks traveled 91 billion miles in 2006, with revenues reaching $220 billion. Of that amount, motor carrier revenue was $204 billion, with 67% from long-distance trucking and the remaining $67.9 billion from local trucking. The report, "2006 Service Annual Survey: Truck Transportation, Couriers and Messengers, and Warehousing and Storage," provides estimates, such as revenue, size of shipments, revenue by commodity shipped, origin and destination of shipment, and inventories of revenue-generating equipment, for firms with paid employees. The Census report did not include private trucking, which makes up about half of all trucking revenue. Including those figures, the American Trucking Associations put 2006 trucking at more than
$645 billion.
Trucking within U.S. borders accounted for 96% of the total, or $196 billion, of motor carrier revenue in 2006. Revenue generated from truck transportation with Canada, Mexico and all other destinations was $8 billion. According to the report, among the largest dollar volume of truck shipments were new furniture and miscellaneous manufactured products, agricultural and fish products, base metal and machinery, and wood products, textiles and leathers. Other highlights included:
- About 84% of trucks and trailers were owned and/or leased with drivers, while 16% were leased without drivers.
- General freight trucking, which handles commodities transported on pallets in a container or van trailer, contributed two-thirds of all trucking revenue, with $147 billion.
- Local general freight trucking revenue, which come from carrying goods within a single metropolitan area and its adjacent non-urban area, grew 12.3% to $25 billion.
- Long-distance general freight revenues, which come from carrying goods between metropolitan areas, increased 4.3% to $122 billion.
International Cargo With U.S. Airlines Grows
International air cargo traffic for U.S. airlines grew 4.3 percent in October, the strongest expansion in that industry segment within a year, according to the Air Transport Association. This increase was driven by rapid growth and record numbers in the Atlantic and Pacific markets. Domestic cargo traffic also grew, increasing 1.1 percent, but remained down
0.3 percent for the first 10 months of 2007, the ATA said in its monthly report on cargo performance for American air carriers. Overall cargo traffic was up 2.8 percent in October, the largest monthly increase since November 2006, and remains up 0.7 percent through the first 10 months of the year.
Helped by surging U.S. exports, the growth was strongest on trans-Atlantic lanes and Pacific lanes, where U.S. carriers recorded their strongest monthly traffic figures in history. The combined 544.5 million cargo ton miles on the Atlantic were ahead 6.1 percent compared to last October. The 636.6 million cargo ton miles on the Pacific exceeded the previous record set in March 2006, and the 4.4 percent expansion of Asia air trade was the most for U.S. carriers there since September 2006.
Diesel Drops 2.8¢ to $3.416
The national average price of retail diesel fuel fell 2.8 cents from last week’s all-time record to $3.416 a gallon, the U.S. Department of Energy reported to NASSTRAC on Monday. Trucking’s big-ticket cost of diesel fuel had hit records in three of the past four weeks, peaking at $3.444 a gallon last week, following soaring crude oil prices. Monday’s price is the third-highest on record, as diesel’s average was $3.425 a gallon three weeks ago. Regular gasoline, meanwhile, fell 3.6 cents to $3.061 a gallon, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations. Oil prices dropped sharply over the past 10 days, closing Friday at $88.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange from a peak of $98.18 a week earlier. Diesel prices fell in all five regions, led by a 5.5-cent drop on the West Coast to $3.532, the highest regional average. Prices in California, which DOE breaks out separately, fell 5.3 cents to $3.567 a gallon, DOE said. The Midwest had the lowest regional price, at $3.385. NASSTRAC provides a weekly update on national fuel prices For a unique graphical representation of this week's prices nationwide, click:
http://www.nasstrac.org/newsroom/Transportation.asp
Manufacturing Index Slips Back
The U.S. manufacturing economy dipped slightly in November, but still grew for the 10th straight month, according to the Institute of Supply Management's monthly index on economic activity. ISM's monthly PMI index fell one-tenth of a percentage point from October, to 50.8. It was the lowest level since January and the fifth consecutive month-to-month decline
in the closely watched index. The ISM index for new orders grew slightly from October to November, reaching 52.6, and a sharp growth in production also suggested that many companies may be bracing for stronger growth in coming months even amid bleak forecasts. The sharpest growth, and area of greatest concern, was in prices. The price index jumped 4.5 percentage
points to 67.5 and ISM said high energy prices are a major concern.
TWIC Sign-Up Expanded
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced two new enrollment centers for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential. Enrollment will begin Dec. 12 at the port of Tulsa, Okla., and Dec. 13 at the port of Albany, N.Y., bringing to 30 the number of sites slated to begin enrollment. When enrollment began in October, TSA officials said they would
have enrollment centers at 40 ports by the end of the year.
|
Industry News