The US economy remains “extraordinarily strong,” based on the level of freight shipped and money spent on transportation this autumn and despite the agita caused by elections, trade wars, and the stock market, data from the latest Cass Freight Index show. Shipper expenditures and volumes slipped in October from September but remained elevated year over year.
Shipment volumes increased 6.2 percent in October from a year ago, while shipper expenditures on transportation climbed 12 percent. Those not insignificant gains come in comparison with a breakout month a year ago, when the reaction to two major hurricanes combined with a faster-paced economy to send freight demand and costs soaring.
