Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm (8/6/2025)
8/6/2025
1.75
“We’ve been a growing shareholder in CSX and I think that company finds itself at the crossroads, too, where it has to make a decision of whether it wants to find a merger partner or whether it’s going to have to go retool management,” Ancora Alternatives President James Chadwick told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan in a July 30 interview. Ancora's stake in CSX is reportedly around 1.75%, according to CNBC. Ancora Holdings last year waged a proxy battle for control of Norfolk Southern Corp.
19 & 34 & 107
"For us, it's just been a see-saw effect all year. In May, you saw cargo plummet by 19% after the original tariffs were announced in April. And then we shot back up in June — a 34% increase in imports. The best June ever. Now we're sitting here with 107 ships that came to L.A. in the month of July. It will be our best July on record, all front-loaded cargo coming in early [ahead of the possibility of higher tariffs on Aug. 7]." — Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka on Bloomberg Television on Aug. 1
20,000
On July 30, Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation Inc., which uses self-driving trucks, announced it had surpassed 20,000 driverless miles by the end June; increased its driverless fleet to three trucks; launched commercial operations at night, and opened a new terminal in Phoenix terminal.
1,226
On Aug. 4, FreightCar America Inc. reported revenue of $118.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, a 19.5 decline compared with the $147.4 million recorded in the same 2024 period. The company reported rail-car deliveries of 939 units, a 19% decline compared with 1,159 deliveries in the prior year period. The company received new orders for 1,226 rail cars during the second quarter. “While broader market uncertainty earlier in the year delayed some order activity, we believe the underlying fundamentals point to a meaningful replacement cycle ahead,” said Nick Randall, president and CEO.
35 & 22.7
The Railway Supply Institute reported North American rail-car orders totaled 6,237 for the quarter ended June 30, down 35% compared with the 9,606 recorded in the same 2024 period, and up 22.7% compared with the 5,085 reported in Q1 2025.
29
“Two of our most followed data points — freight volumes and truckload linehaul rates — held steady versus May, yet June marked the 29th consecutive month of year-over-year volume declines — well beyond a typical freight down-cycle. Tariffs continue to weigh on international trade and risk further impacting the affordability of goods and real incomes. With this uncertain outlook, a meaningful rebound for the transportation sector remains elusive.” — Cass Information Systems email on July 14
16 & 13.6
In May, $132.1 billion of transborder freight moved between the United States, Canada and Mexico, a 4.9% decrease compared with May 2024’s total, according to a July 23 post on the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics website. The freight-flow breakdown: Freight between the United States and Canada — $57.6 billion, down 12.7%; freight between the United States and Mexico — $74.5 billion, up 2.1%. Overall, trucks moved $86.7 billion of freight, down 4.6% compared with May 2024’s total; and railroads moved $16 billion of freight, down 13.6%. Meanwhile, pipelines moved $8.3 billion of freight, down 13.2%; vessels moved $8 billion of freight, down 18.6%; and air carriers moved $4.6 billion of freight, up 4.4%.
10.1 & 12.8
Port of Oakland container volume declined in June “as shippers and carriers adjust to softening demand and ongoing tariff uncertainty,” port officials said on July 17. For the month, the port handled 168,460 twenty-foot equivalent units, down 10.1% from May's volume, and 12.8% from June 2024's total, when 193,158 TEUs passed through port facilities. “This is not a seasonal dip, but a market recalibration,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes. “Importers and exporters are adjusting their supply chain timing and routing decisions in response to evolving conditions.”
5
“Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in July for the 5th consecutive month, following a two-month expansion preceded by 26 straight months of contraction, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report on Business®.” — Institute for Supply Management press release issued Aug. 1
3.56
FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for May rose to 3.56, the strongest reading since February 2022, FTR officials said on July 25. Although the May index was strong, it also probably was an outlier: The near-term outlook is for negative or near-neutral market conditions for carriers, FTR officials said. “As we have noted, the supply chain’s efforts to anticipate and respond to changing tariff policies and other uncertainties make it difficult to get a firm read on the truck freight market’s trajectory,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking.
0.9
FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index declined to -0.9 in May from the -0.6 reading in April, FTR officials announced on July 31, adding that the index has remained between +1 and -1 for five months. “We expect more negative readings in the near term — in part due to higher fuel costs — but the outlook is more favorable for shippers by late this year,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. “Our forecast doesn’t envision a consistently unfavorable freight market for shippers until 2027, but uncertainty is high concerning both the strength of freight volume and the degree of capacity utilization. Volatility will be the norm for a while.”