QI TAKEAWAY — Record freight cost inflation is safeguarding transportation stocks’ prospects despite a slowdown in shipment volumes.
- Cass freight shipping costs saw a 36.2% YoY gain in October, the largest on record, as supply chain disruptions persist; though logistics costs have surged, shipment volume has calmed thus far in Q4 to a 0.8% YoY advance vs. the 29.9% and 9.1% gains of Q2 and Q3
- The American Trucking Association estimates that the trucker shortage will exceed 80,000 drivers by year end 2021; pandemic scarring has also exacerbated the issue, with more than 3,000 trucking companies shuttering last year, per Broughton Capital, up from 1,110 in 2019
- September’s JOLTS saw 589,000 job openings in transportation, more than twice December 2020’s 277,000; this pushed openings to 8% of total sector employment, all while paychecks for long-distance freight trucking rose a record 11.9% YoY vs. the 2.5% long-term average
