April 2024
Here is a link to the GCP Trade Report for April 2024. This report offers continuous insight and perspective on the various trade and cost challenges we are currently navigating together.
Review the highlights of the report:
- Commodity prices continue to be volatile, especially crude oil, aluminum and plastics. 24% of companies surveyed by Institute for Supply Management (IMS®) reported higher raw material prices, compared to 18% last month.
- Global economic conditions improved in March across a broad set of sectors and regions, thereby quelling recession concerns (for now). Forward-looking indicators hint at further improvements, though employment growth has remained muted despite rising confidence.
- U.S. producer prices rose by 2.1% year-on-year (YOY) in March, the highest since April 2023. That said, the gain was less than expected.
- In 2017, a year before trade frictions between the U.S. and China started, Mexican products represented 13.5% of the U.S. import market. In 2023, it was 15.4%, today it is 16.3%.
- For the U.S. total trade continued to climb, rising substantially by 13.1 billion from the pervious month. Specifically, the export of industrial supplies and materials increased $2.9 billion while imports also increased by $129 million.
- U.S. ports handled 1.96 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in February. That was down 0.3% from January but up 26.4% from the same month last year.
- Asia-North America rates remain 90% higher than in 2019 to the West Coast and 60% higher to the East Coast, as Red Sea diversions continue to absorb capacity.
- An imbalance of truck freight supply and demand continues, pushed by the surge of carriers who entered during the Covid period. This is keeping rates lower as the pace of carrier exits from the market remains gradual.
Dive deeper into these topics and more by checking out the full report in the link below.
This months report is 2306 words, 7.5 minute read.
