Economic Forecast for 2011 and the Effect on International Shipping

There is a lot of good news in the 2011 economic forecasts made by experts in this field, especially when it comes to trade and that will have a big affect on the international shipping world. We’re talking about international freight and intermodal trucking throughout the Midwest not to mention the world. That means the supply chain will be busy in the next year.

Let’s look at the specific numbers. First of all, imports will climb in the next year, according to economic experts. Households are wanting more and more good like footwear and apparel, televisions, and toys, just to name a few. These goods are typically shipping to the United States from Mexico, China, or those countries that had in years past signed onto the Central America Free Trade Agreement. International shipping and all of the transportation and other industries connected to it will continue to grow in 2011. The increase in imports, however, will also have an effect on things like oil prices, which also makes an impact on the trucking industry because of its reliance on fuel.

There is some really great news when it comes to economic growth in general. Business investment and consumer spending are expected to continue its growth into the new year. Companies have increased their equipment purchases this past year and will continue to do so in 2011. The equipment has to come to the business, whether it’s a factory or retail outlet somehow. That could be by ship or a chassis, which is a container car on a train or a tractor trailer. International freightwill undoubtedly get a boost from this economic growth. Drayage will be very important in the upcoming year, especially in the shipping industry and logistics.

With all this positive news, there are bound to be some negatives. The minor increases in growth we’ve seen already were because companies were building their inventory. This, however, is bound to slow in the next quarter, judging by the current pace of spending by consumers. That will have a major impact on the international freight and the trucking world. The supply chain will likely slow again.

Still, economic experts expect that unemployment in the United States will remain relatively high, keeping the economy from growing by leaps and bounds. The Fed expects to see a much lower than expected expansion of the American economy. Unemployment will get slightly better, but that’s only a small comfort. The jobless rate will go no lower than 9 percent. The rate’s at 9.6 these days.

Overall, the nation’s leading economists expect the economy to expand by less than 3 percent in 2011. This year, the economy grew by only 2.6 percent, very disappointing by all concerned.

While there has been a modest increase in consumer spending, shoppers are still holding onto their cash for the most part, especially in the housing, international trade, and manufacturing sectors. Once people start feeling more comfortable in their job, that’s when the economy will start to grow at a noticeable rate. Then all of the industries connected with these industries, specifically international freight and trucking industries will also grow.

You can read all about what’s in store for today’s international and domestic shipping world at the www.utsgrp.com, the website for today’s industry leaders. Universal Transportation Services Group’s website can give you all the information you need to plan in these interesting economic times.