June 17,204
Foreclosures Fall
Realty Trac says in May the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in U.S. was 5% lower than the previous month and 26% lower than the same time last year.
Freight Index Higher
The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry rose 0.4 percent in April from March, rising for the third consecutive month, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) . The April 2014 index level (117.6) was 24.1 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession The level of freight shipments in April measured by the seasonally-adjusted Freight TSI (117.6) was at the second highest all-time level and 0.1 percent below the all-time high level of 117.8 in November 2013.
Cargo Numbers Edge Up in Long Beach
Modest rise brings busiest May since 2007
June 16, 2014
Cargo container numbers edged up 2.7 percent last month at the Port of Long Beach, making for the Southern California seaport’s busiest May since 2007 by reaching nearly 600,000 container units.
Terminals handled 599,509 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) overall in May, including 312,439 TEUs of imports, which is a 2.3 percent increase compared to May 2013. Exports were flat with a slight decline of 0.3 percent to 146,702 TEUs. Empty containers rose 7.1 percent to 140,368 TEUs. With imports exceeding exports, empty containers are sent back overseas to be refilled with consumer goods.
While May was the second consecutive month of increasing volume, Long Beach has seen an increase of just 1.3 percent for the first five months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.
Last year, against which 2014 is being compared, was the third-busiest year in port history with a total of 6.73 million TEUs.
With an ongoing $4 billion program to modernize its facilities, the Port of Long Beach continues to invest in long-term, environmentally sustainable growth.
Weekly Rail Traffic Up 5.3 Percent
WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 12, 2014 – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported increased U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 7, 2014 with 292,924 total carloads, up 5.3 percent compared with the same week last year. Total U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 269,823 units, up 6.8 percent compared with the same week last year. Total combined U.S. weekly rail traffic was 562,747 carloads and intermodal units, up 6 percent compared with the same week last year.
Nine of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2013, including grain with 17,568 carloads, up 15.5 percent; nonmetallic minerals and products with 39,577 carloads, up 12.2 percent; and motor vehicles and parts with 18,343 carloads, up 8.9 percent.