In another sign of weakening demand, freight companies are reporting a significant decrease in business in Q4, a season that is typically the busiest of the year. Spot freight orders, a type of at-will agreement that allows consumers to choose the best price from several bidders, are a strong indicator of who is moving inventory. At the moment, the spot rate for shipping goods sits at $1.83 per mile down from nearly $2.7 in January of 2022, according to DAT Solutions. By comparison, the contract rate, which is set up in advance is currently sitting at $2.47 per mile.
Adam Satterfield, the chief financial officer of Old Dominion Freight Line, said in the company’s earnings call last week: “We believe this decrease in LTL tons reflects the overall softness in the domestic economy that has generally caused a decrease in demand for our customers’ products.” This sentiment is compounded by a myriad of inconsistencies related to a battered supply chain.
In regards to the stockpiling of supplies, Aman Advani, co-founder and CEO of Ministry of Supply Inc., said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal: “We were holding kind of two winters’ worth of stuff in, like, August… Our fall-winter line, a lot of pieces arrived two months early. Our fall-winter line last year, a lot of pieces arrived six months late.”
In other news, TP-Link has announced the release of three new Deco mesh wireless networks and access points: The Deco X50-PoE AX3000, the Deco X50-Outdoor AX3000 and the Deco PX50. The new additions feature a weatherproof access point, a unit powered by the ethernet and a Powerline mesh system. These new systems are designed to provide Wi-Fi to indoor and outdoor settings with thick walls or complex layouts.
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