U.S. rail shippers don't appear to be heeding the warnings of a national economic slowdown. Intermodal volume in May on the major U.S. railroads hit the highest level in history for that month, according to the Association of American Railroads. Intermodal traffic last month was 3.5 percent higher than the same month a year ago. Although carload volume was down 2.8 percent year-over-year in the same period, the big losses were because of slumps in the major commodities of coal and grain.
Buoyed by growth and confident in their futures, American manufacturers are laying out an agenda for restoring their industry to its earlier glory, according to results of ThomasNet.com's newest Industry Market Barometer (IMB). Overwhelmingly, they are pushing to revitalize the American manufacturing sector by creating jobs at home, doing business with U.S. suppliers, and expressing pride in the quality of products that are "Made in America."
U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico using surface transportation in March set a new monthly high mark, up 6.2 percent over March a year ago, and pushing the sum value over $85.8bn, the according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
A simplified "Product of Canada and the USA" labeling system should apply to beef and pork as well as livestock raised, processed, and traded between Canada and the United States, says a study released by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian public policy think tank, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute of Washington, DC.
U.S. manufacturing has been one of the few bright spots of the recovery, restoring 489,000 jobs since the beginning of 2010. However, there are some significant geographic distinctions in that recovery, says a recent report.
The tide has begun to turn on the flow of manufacturing jobs from the U.S. to China and other low-cost countries, according to a new study from The Hackett Group. Some companies are already reshoring a portion of their manufacturing capacity, and this trend is expected to reach a crucial tipping point over the next two to three years, as the total landed cost gap between the two nations continues to shrink, driven in part by rising wage inflation in China and continued productivity improvements in the U.S.
U.S. factories produce about 75 percent of what the country consumes, but the right decisions by both business and political leaders could push that to 95 percent, say University of Michigan researchers.
U.S. TRANSCOM Commanding General William Fraser III said maintaining a strong domestic maritime industry is critical to the defending the homeland, describing the sector as the "fourth arm of defense." The Air Force General's remarks came at a National Maritime Day celebration at the Washington Navy Yard.
At a time when the pipeline industry is facing opposition to new projects, rail is surging. In the span of months, executives who had never considered moving oil by train are not just tinkering with rail shipments, but embracing them. While these shipments are small for now, by one estimate rail could be carrying 100,000 barrels a day out of Canada by next year; others have suggested more than 75,000 barrels a day is already moving by train.
