Freight Forecasting host Michael Vincent is joined on this episode by Zach Strickland, FreightWaves’ Director of Freight Market Intelligence. Zach shows viewers how to build SONAR charts centered around international trade.
Watch the episode below:
International trade is a leading indicator of domestic surface transportation. Among the tools in SONAR that relate to international trade are: daily imports by lane; various heat maps; the Maritime Export Shipments to the U.S. tree map; CSTM.CHNUSE charting; gauge charts that show the 52-week highs and lows of maritime shipments port to port. More
Most U.S. imports travel by ship and are unloaded at U.S. ports. Exceptions are time-sensitive or expensive imports that are shipped via air cargo, or imports from Mexico and Canada that cross the borders via rail or truck. But those imports that arrive by ship are predominantly in containers, which are off-loaded at U.S. ports and then shipped via rail or truck to destinations across the country.
Therefore, in addition to knowing about the increase or decrease of imports at a specific port (which can provide a great deal of data in and of itself), freight forecasters will know whether goods will need rail or truck transportation at a specific port and can plan ahead. SONAR provides a wealth of maritime data and analysis, much of which can then be extrapolated to help forecast surface transportation needs.
Know more, faster – and find just what you need with SONAR!
