Todd Tranausky was asked: "Consumption is up. What are the contributing factors and how does it relate to intermodal?"
This Q&A response from the FTR experts came from our April Rail Outlook (Carload + Intermodal) webinar. View the video and the key takeaways below.
Key Takeaways:
- Looking at this February compared to February 2020 (the final month unaffected by the pandemic), goods spending was up nearly 10%. Personal income was up as a result of stimulus payments, and retail sales and new & existing home sales were positively affected as well.
- Personal spending was just about flat, and payroll jobs and spending on services were both down significantly compared to last year.