Economic Watch: Manufacturing Shipments, New Orders Drop
A full report on activity at U.S. factories in December shows drops in both shipments and new orders, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

A full report on activity at U.S. factories in December shows drops in both shipments and new orders, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
Shipments of manufactured items declined for the fourth out of the last five months, falling 1.1% from November.
On the upside, shipments of manufactured durable goods in December, up following two consecutive monthly declines, increased 1.3%, revised from the previously published 1.1% increase. This follows a 0.7% November decrease. Transportation equipment, up three of the last four months, led the increase, adding 3.7%.
New orders for manufactured goods in December, down five consecutive months, decreased another 3.4% from November. This is the biggest drop since August and follows a 1.7% November decline from October. Excluding transportation, new orders fell 2.3% in December, the biggest drop since March 2013.
New orders for manufactured durable goods in December, down four of the last five months, decreased 3.3% from November, revised from the previously published 3.4% decline. This follows a 2.2% November decrease from October. Transportation equipment, also down four of the last five months, led the drop, falling 9.1%
Various analysts described the declines as “broad based” saying this shows new factory orders are shirking after so many monthly drops and the falloff was more than was expected.
More Fleet Management

Kodiak Lines Up Fleets for Driverless Trucking
An agreement for 75 trucks, a new Texas freight lane, and progress on safety validation move Kodiak closer to its planned driverless highway launch.
Read More →
ITS Logistics Settles Religious Harassment Case
The Nevada-based logistics firm agreed to pay more than $396,000 to settle a religious harassment charge involving an employee's Jewish identity.
Read More →
Your Trucks Are Busy. That Doesn’t Mean They’re Winning.
High utilization doesn’t always mean strong margins. Looking beyond the current load can help fleets make better dispatch decisions and get more value from each truck’s time.
Read More →
Why This Trucking Recovery Is Different
Freight demand remains sluggish, but rising costs and tougher enforcement have taken enough capacity out of the market to change the outlook for motor carriers.
Read More →
Platform Science Adds Dispatch and Safety Tools
Four additions to PS Fleet help fleets monitor loads, manage driver coaching, share truck locations and adjust video system settings.
Read More →
PrePass Intelligence Mines Fleet Bypass, Toll and Safety Data
PrePass Intelligence helps fleets measure bypass savings, flag potential toll overcharges, and spot suspicious transactions by combining data from separate systems.
Read More →
Motive Adds AI Agents for Fleet Operations
New tools automate follow-up on fleet data, from maintenance work orders to driver alerts, with two-way voice conversations planned for later this year.
Read More →Can You Beat Our Trucking Trivia Challenge?
Test your truck knowledge with 19 trivia questions from Heavy Duty Trucking Exchange. Can you keep up with the fleet pros?
Read More →
BeyondTrucks Adds Rules Checks to Dispatch
New Compatibility Engine checks driver qualifications, equipment requirements and fleet policies before loads are dispatched.
Read More →
Diesel Prices Hijack Trucking’s Worry List
ATRI’s annual survey finds cautious optimism about freight, but diesel costs, litigation, and insurance continue to squeeze fleets. Drivers have different priorities on several issues.
Read More →
