Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm (9/5/2025)
9/5/2025
1.5
Through early September, The Laredo International Bridge recorded 2.76 million commercial crossings for fiscal-year 2025, which ends Sept. 30, down 1.5% compared with fiscal year 2024, according to data posted on Port Laredo's website.
1.5
In July, the Port of New York and New Jersey handled 794,268 twenty-foot equivalent units, a 1.5% decrease compared with July 2024's total but the port's second-busiest July ever, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported on Sept. 4.
4.8, 9.2, 8.2 & 1.2
For Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. revenue per day decreased by 4.8% in August compared with the same 2024 month, the trucking firm reported on Sept. 4. The reason for the decrease? A 9.2% decrease in less-than-truckload (LTL) tons per day, which the carrier attributed to an 8.2% decrease in LTL shipments per day and a 1.2% decrease in LTL weight per shipment. "[Our] revenue results for August reflect the ongoing softness in the domestic economy," said Old Dominion President and CEO Marty Freeman.
14 & 135,000-190,000
The average railroader stays on the job 14 years, which is triple the national average, and Class I employees earn $135,000 to nearly $190,000 in total pay and benefits each year, according to the Aug. 28 edition of The Signal, published by the Association of American Railroads.
21
In July, container volumes at Port Houston were up 21% compared with the same 2024 month, reaching 392,829 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), port officials announced on Aug. 27. Loaded import growth increased 19% for the month; loaded exports, primarily resins, were up 18%.
-3.6
FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index for June declined to -3.6 "as shippers faced their toughest market conditions in three years, although a big element contributing to the decline was the spike in fuel prices due to the now-eased tensions with Iran," FTR officials announced on Aug. 26. Added Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking: “The freight market still looks soft well into next year but not quite as soft as it did a month ago. While that’s not great news for shippers, it’s not really bad news, either. Still, the range of possibilities remains broad due to an uncertain impact from recent tariff hikes potentially offset by a boost in activity due to lower financing costs and July’s enactment of tax cuts. Another wild card is capacity, which has been surprisingly resilient but might not be able to withstand rising insurance costs and other cost and regulatory pressures.”
0.6
U.S. truck freight tonnage rose 0.6% in July, noted the writer of Women in Trucking's Aug. 26 blog, citing American Trucking Associations (ATA) data. “July truck tonnage increased sequentially, but did not erase the 0.7% decline in June,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Since March, truck tonnage has been in a tight range. The good news is truck freight volumes haven’t fallen much over that period, but we are not seeing many increases, either. In July, there were mixed drivers of truck tonnage with housing starts and retail sales up, while manufacturing output was flat to down depending on the metric.”
-1.83
FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index declined -1.83 in June following a strong 3.56 reading in May, FTR officials said on Aug. 20. June's drop was due primarily to freight rates and fuel prices, they said. Added FTR Vice President of Trucking Avery Vise: “We still forecast a steadily but only modestly more favorable market for carriers next year. However, swings in freight volume and fuel prices – and to a lesser extent, freight rates – continue to generate volatility in trucking conditions. ... So far, the economy is weathering tariffs and other stresses better than anticipated, and our latest freight outlook is not as weak as it was previously.”
1.8
In July, the shipments component of the Cass Freight Index declined 1.8% month over month, and fell 1.7% month over month in seasonally adjusted terms, Cass Information Inc. officials announced on Aug. 14. Year over year, the shipment decline "widened" to 6.9% in July, they added. "Tariffs hit shipments harder in the most recent data, as paybacks began from demand pull-forwards earlier in the year, though goods prices are relatively steady," Cass officials said.
7
A pause in tariffs in recent months lifted the Port of Long Beach to its busiest July on record and the third-busiest month in its 114-year history, port officials said on Aug. 8. The port handled 944,232 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 7% from July 2024's total. Imports rose 7.6% to 468,081 TEUs and exports declined 12.9% to 91,328 TEUs. “Retailers are now seeing the arrival of goods that were purchased for lower costs during the temporary pause placed on tariffs and retaliatory tariffs earlier this year,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. But due to "the ongoing uncertainty caused by shifting trade policies," the port forecasts cargo will be down about 10% in the second half of 2025, Cordero added.