You can listen to this conversation using the player below, or by going to www.ftrintel.com/podcast, or read below for the transcribed audio. As you read or listen, you will hear from Eric Starks, Chairman and CEO for FTR, Avery Vise, Vice President of Trucking, and Todd Tranausky, Vice President of Rail and Intermodal, with each providing… Read More »
Although initial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the second quarter of 2019 show economic growth at 2.1%, the components of GDP linked to demand for and transportation of goods was far weaker, according to an analysis by FTR Transportation Intelligence. FTR estimates that the GDP Goods Transport Sector rose at a seasonally adjusted annual… Read More »
By Noël Perry If you are like us at FTR you watched the debate on the repeal of ‘ObamaCare’ with great interest. The debate is of critical interest to all of us because it is the first in a long line of debates that explicitly addresses the ‘entitlements’ we have voted ourselves. In this case… Read More »
Not again! In the third week of March the Northeastern portion of the U.S. was once again paralyzed by an unusual late-winter snow storm, dumping a foot or more of snow on a swath running from West Virginia to Maine. Given the magnitude of this event and its negative effects on trucking, one wonders what… Read More »
Commentary by FTR Partner and Senior Economist, Noël Perry As expected the FMCSA has announced publication of its long-awaited electronic logging devices (ELD) rules. Although the rules formally take effect now, carriers will have two years before the devices will actually be required. This timing is consistent with what FTR has been assuming for at… Read More »
Since the middle of last year our working hypothesis has been that the U.S. economic recovery from the Great Recession had been a two-phase experience, with a step up to a third phase in the offing. Phase 1 The first phase, beginning in 2009 and lasting about four years, was the disappointing “new normal” with… Read More »