U.S. single-family homebuilding tumbled in March as a resurgence in mortgage rates pushed potential buyers to the sidelines. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, housing starts dropped by 14.7% in March to 1.321M vs. 1.480M expected and 1.549M prior (revised from 1.521M). Single-family housing starts ran at a rate of 1.022M, 12.4% below the revised February figure of 1.167M. Building permits also slid more than expected, falling by 4.3% M/M to 1.458M vs. 1.510M expected and 1.523M prior (revised from 1.518M). According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Mar ..read more

Typically, the season sees the first fruits ripening by the end of April, with shipments wrapping up by mid to late June, and winds down quickly after contributing around 22% to the national annual volume in a very short 6-week season. Nearly all of the cherry production is centered around Lodi, CA, in the Stockton freight market where the famous Bing cherry variety is grown because of the ideal climate that provides cold winter temperatures and warm, but not too hot, temperatures in the spring and summer months, according to California Cherries. Get the clearest, most accurate view of the tru ..read more

The Logistics Manager’s Index (LMI), produced by Zac Rogers at Colorado State University, came in at 58.2 in March 2024, up (+1.8) from January’s reading of 55.6; this is the fastest rate of expansion in the overall index since the reading of 61.2 from 18 months ago in September of 2022. Rogers said, “The change this month was primarily driven by a continued rebuilding of Inventory Levels (+5.3), at 63.8, which has been at its highest level since October 2022. This growth has had cascading effects on tightening Warehousing Capacity (-8.2), which has been back into contraction territory for the ..read more

Memorial Day is just five weeks away, and even though cargo thieves won’t be taking time off, it is a time of the year when supply chain professionals should be on high alert. Highlighting just how big a problem cargo theft is in the U.S., New York District Attorney Damian Williams announced a multi-year beer heist enterprise — primarily Corona and Modelo shipped from Mexico, had been smashed. Cargo theft involved railroad cars and beverage distribution facilities throughout the Northeast, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.  William said, “For years, the Beer ..read more

From the desk of Mike Weaver, VP of Sales and Partnerships The Baltimore bridge collapse proved – at great cost – what we already knew: our industry is a complex, sporadic web of interactions that can be difficult to navigate.  Below, you’ll find examples of DAT tools that make that navigation simpler. You’ll see demos of Market Conditions Index (MCI) and discussions about how to use tools like LaneMakers to pivot out of uncertainty with confidence. DATCON 2024: NEXT Be the driving force in logistics DATCON is where the industry decides its future. Every year, DAT users gather for one of ..read more

DAT’s crew had a great four days in Phoenix mixing and mingling with our friends at TIA Capital Ideas 2024. Like every year, we learned so much and came home with new ideas and perspectives to implement at the office.  Our in-house experts were busy at TIA, too, leading panels and discussions during the entire event. Their panels and learning labs focused on cybersecurity, fraud prevention, AI and ML applications in transportation and logistics, leveraging data for growth, and an economic update.  Here’s a quick recap: Panel: Collaborative Cyber Security And The Rise Of Fraud   ..read more

The unofficial starting date for the 2024 produce season has been announced.  The unofficial starting date for the 2024 produce season has been announced for truckload carriers, and it’s April 17th when the much-awaited Vidalia onion begins shipping. Around the same time, the Florida produce season is almost halfway through peaking in May, followed by the start of the peach season in Georgia and South Carolina in June. This creates a chain reaction for higher reefer demand in the Southeast, eventually spreading nationwide as summer crops are harvested.  In a typical year, reefer truc ..read more

The same week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned China that Washington would not accept new industries being decimated by Chinese imports. In March, import data showed that Chinese imports were 26% higher than last year. Nationally, containerized import volume, as measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), increased by 4% month-over-month (m/m) and 23% year-over-year (y/y). TEU volume from China accounted for just over a third of all March imports into the U.S. and almost half of the volume in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles last month. Get the clearest, most accurate vi ..read more

Leafy green production in “The Winter Salad Bowl” in Yuma, AZ, is drawing to a close as growers transition back to the Salinas Valley in California. Yuma, also known as America’s winter lettuce capital, produces just under 90% of the lettuce, citrus, and many other vegetables for the United States every winter. Get the clearest, most accurate view of the truckload marketplace with data from DAT iQ. Tune into DAT iQ Live, live on YouTube or LinkedIn, 10am ET every Tuesday. The latest data from the USDA indicated shipments of lettuce in Yuma, AZ, were down 23% y/y at the end of March, totaling ..read more

The US manufacturing sector is in its strongest position since 2022, according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The March Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) indicated that the sector moved into expansion for the first time since September 2022.  According to the ISM, the Manufacturing PMI registered 50.3% in March, up 2.5 percentage points from the 47.8% recorded in February. The ISM PMI is a diffusion index where values below 50 indicate contraction, while values over 50 indicate economic expansion. Get the clearest, most accurate view of th ..read more