Growing Transportation Demand Suggests Global Freight Recession Over: Analysts

(Winnipeg Free Press – Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press)

Growing demand for cargo transportation suggests the global freight recession may have ended, but industry observers remain concerned that a rising Canadian dollar may bring the progress to a screeching halt.

After bottoming out in the second quarter of last year, demand for rail, air and trucking transportation has materially strengthened over the last four weeks, a report from UBS analysts Rick Paterson and Fadi Chamoun says. “We’re no longer limping along from quarter to quarter,” they wrote.

But the head of the Canadian Trucking Alliance said the industry remains fragile even though the situation has improved since last fall. “There are optimistic signs and things appear to have turned the corner but I don’t think people are dancing in the streets just yet,” David Bradley said in an interview. He added that the fragile recovery could still be undermined by the Canadian dollar’s march towards parity. Read more here.