Interest rates go up, global shipping rates go down
Good morning! It’s Sunday Funday. Are you taking the day to relax or prepare? Maybe a bit of both?
“Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”
– Dale Carnegie, American writer
Interest rates are rising again - from 3.0% to 3.25% - after last week’s announcement by the Federal Reserve. With global trade often reflecting interest rates, shippers that use both Asia and the west coast of the United States shipping routes are concerned. Compared to earlier this year, shipping rates have already fallen 70%, making the price of moving a container from Shanghai, China to Los Angeles, California a total of approximately $2,700.
Check out today’s featured article from More Than Shipping to read about the shipping rate’s slippery slope after the Federal Reserve announced another round of interest rate increases to combat inflation. ☕️
Featured Article:
Shipping Rates Continue to Fall as Interest Rates Rise | More Than Shipping
“Following their September 20-21 conference last week, the Federal Reserve has announced that it will be raising interest rates by another 0.75% from 3.0 to 3.25%.”
Regulations & Maritime 🚢
American Maritime Partnership deems Jones Act waiver issued to Puerto Rico as ‘unlawful’
The White House issued an emergency Jones Act waiver to Puerto Rico and The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) is not happy. The AMP penned a strongly-worded letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, flogging the decision to issue this waiver based on unstable and questionable grounds. AMP president Ku’uhaku Park says that the waiver sets a precedent that will lead to more waiver requests for more “unnecessary” reasons. He also speculates that foreign companies will now continue to exploit humanitarian crises in order to profit as much as possible.
The waiver request came directly from the governor of Puerto Rico, who described a situation on the island of distress and desperation as fuel reserves have become dangerously low.
Artificial Intelligence 🤖
BMW opens $100M logistics center and unveils fleet of AI-operated trucks
BMW Manufacturing’s $100 million dollar logistics center is officially open. A whopping one million square feet make up the new logistics center called LCX, built by Becknell Industrial and divided to separate the new container Freight Station and BMW’s Foreign Trade Zone. This consolidates two warehouses under one roof and is expected to increase productivity and efficiency.
With this launch is the introduction of BMW’s new driverless hostler trucks. These trucks have “smart” sock doors that will communicate with the facility when docking.
Owner-Operators & Hours of Service 🚛
ELD exemption change proposal renders negative response from many owner-operators
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering a change to its mandate regarding pre-2000 engines and how ELDs are expected to act. With the exemption, engines built prior to 2000 are not required to meet ELD standards due to them typically being unable to meet the data demand required.
The agency has received nearly 700 comments on its September 16th notice where they announced the proposed changes and a majority of the comments are negative.
Sales & Inflation 💸
Even used cars are making potential buyers think twice, now
Used cars are officially unaffordable for most Americans. Interest rate bumps have forced a number of potential car shoppers to reconsider buying, even what has previously been the most ‘reasonable’ option. CarMax, the country’s largest used car seller, has reported a 54% drop in earnings in the past quarter. Rival Caravan also recorded a top of 23%.
Over the past two years, car prices have ballooned as chip and parts shortages and strong consumer demand have had cars flying off the lots. Statistically, about 40% of American households purchase a car every year. But the price tag on a used vehicle is still up 48% from August of 2019.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for November 28, 2024, from iLevel Logistics Inc.