- US Manufacturing Expect Rising Profit in 2017. Manufacturing has expanded at the fastest pace in 2 years, and US manufacturing firms expect to see revenues accelerate 4.6% next year. (Manufacturing Productivity Generates Focus on Transportation)
- Diesel Gains: Highest Price Since Summer 2015. Transport Topics reports that the week of January 9, the average retail price of diesel climbed 4.6 cents to $2.586 a gallon – nearly a 17-month high amid volatile crude oil prices. (Diesel Climbs – What Will Happen to Transportation Rates?)
- Amazon Patents Flying Warehouse. Amazon filed a patent that unveils its plans to deploy “air fulfillment centers (AFCs)” that would act as a ‘flying warehouse’ – where drones deliver goods to customers. (Plus, read about Amazon’s innovative grocery store here.)
- Outlook for 2017 Economy “Mildly Optimistic”. The industrial property market will continue its multi-year surge, fueled by the rapid growth of e-commerce. US online sales will increase by 9.3% annually over the next 5 years. At that pace, e-commerce will generate roughly 40 million square feet of new demand for US industrial space each year through 2020. (Read more of the CBRE forecast here.)
- BMI Boosts US Coal Outlook. US coal production growth is estimated to be 1.5% in 2017 and 2% in 2018. An increase in coal use in the domestic electricity generation mix will tighten the US market in the near term and support coal production growth in 2017 and 2018. (Read more from Mining Weekly.)
- Ports on Both Coasts Post Record-High Container Traffic in 2016. The Port of Los Angeles retained its place atop the list in North America, setting a record for the busiest year ever for a container port in the Western Hemisphere, a Transport Topics article says. The LA port authority announced that its terminals handled 8,856,782 industry-standard 20-foot-equivalent units in 2016. The Port of Virginia, which ranks 7th in North America, set a new annual record for container cargo volume with 2,655,705 TEUs, a 4.2% increase since 2015. (Learn how megaships provide opportunities for US ports here.)
Read Next: December 2016 Transportation Trends
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