🏝️ Labor Day Weekend Report

Rise and grind, hustle fam. Happy Labor Day weekend! This morning we’ve got information that will help you to steer clear of trouble this holiday, keep you posted on September’s latest news, and recap of this week’s podcast.

Don't forget to take it easy and enjoy this awesome holiday so you can return to work energized and ready to tackle new challenges!

SAFETY

Data from Cambridge Mobile Telematics and CargoNet shows us that speed increases by 34% and texting while driving increases by 4.6% on Labor Day weekend.

Additionally, CargoNet has identified patterns in fleet car theft during the previous five Labor Day holidays. A total of 156 thefts occurred, with an average cargo value of $151,726 per incident. The majority of thefts took place in close proximity to major supply chain hubs, particularly in Southern California, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Memphis, and Atlanta.

Thefts from prior Labor Day holidays

  • $1,088,983 of seafood stolen in Sioux City, Iowa

  • $800,000 of footwear stolen from Memphis, Tennessee

  • $713,000 of apparel and accessories stolen from Eastvale, California

  • $417,206 of computer electronics stolen from Ontario, California

  • $400,000 of vodka stolen from Jacksonville, Florida

Be sure to stay focused and alert, as you take time off to celebrate.

BUSINESS

Remember last week when we mentioned that a digital freight brokerage had engaged an investment bank to investigate its financial alternatives? Since then, OTR Solutions has included the brokerage on its "Do Not Purchase" list, indicating that it will no longer reimburse carriers for their loads due to concerns about the brokerage's financial stability and creditworthiness.

However, as of yesterday, the brokerage and OTR Solutions issued a joint statement declaring that the matter has been resolved. "The misunderstanding has been resolved, and the brokerage has now fulfilled all payments. Furthermore, it has been reinstated on OTR's purchase list."

— OTR Solutions and Convoy

FREIGHT

Freight analysts are predicting a 'market reversion' that is expected to cause spot rates to surge above contracted rates for the first time in more than a year. This implies that there will be a rise in the cost of transporting goods.

“There are more trucks than loads available” says Dean Croke.

Shippers and truckers need to establish and strengthen their business relationships ASAP, to take advantage of the markets current favorable conditions, in order to be well-prepared for the challenging fourth quarter ahead.

The market is expected to flip back by the new year of 2024.

ECONOMY

The trucking sector shed 37,000 jobs, mainly because of the shutdown of Yellow, while August had 97,000 booming job opportunities for other sectors in the economy.

However, the Fed wants hiring to remain steady because high demand for labor typically increases wages and causes inflation. They want to aim for a “soft landing,” to avoid a deep recession; which is currently expected in early 2024.

Gus Faucher, Chief Economist at PNC Financial Service Group, feels confident that the August jobs report could be the start of that “soft landing”.

RAILROAD

Northfolk Southern Railway experienced an outage that may take weeks to recover from. “During a routine maintenance procedure being performed by our vendor a defect in their software created an error which caused both our primary and recovery data storage systems to become unresponsive…this in turn affected our core operational systems” said Northfolk Southern Railway.

Thankfully, Northfolk’s systems were corrected and they are currently making progress on recovering their backlog.

WEEKLY RECAP

If you didn’t watch this episode you’ve gotta click on the YouTube video above! We sit down with Rob Davis from Diakon Logistics and chop it up about big and bulky loads, as well as 3PL. Rob is working with some of the largest appliance and furniture companies in the world. Watch and listen to what he has to say about it!

“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.“

— Martin Luther King Jr.