Armada Corporate Intelligence

Prior to the White House’s proclamation being issued, Dan Moyer, senior analyst, commercial vehicles, at freight transportation consultancy FTR, said that this development had rattled fleets, OEMs, and suppliers coping with weak demand, rising costs, and fragile supply chains.

In this podcast Armada Corporate Intelligence Managing Director Keith Prather addressed various topics, including: the current state of the freight economy; tariffs and their impact on the supply chain; inventories and imports; and 2025 Peak Season prospects. 

When looking at inventory-to-sales ratios, Prather stressed that they are typically viewed at a “high level,” for things like total business, manufacturing, retailers, or wholesale trade. But he cautioned that is not enough, because one needs to take a deeper look at individual sector indices, especially when it comes to the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector.

When posed the question of if there is really strong product consumption, coupled with consumers spending, why is that not being felt in the freight market, Prather explained that based on looking at data going back multiple decades, at time, freight transportation and the general economy get disconnected from one another.