Supply Chain Research

U.S. non-farm payrolls increased by 235,000 in February, well ahead of the 200,000 expected by economists, but only parts of the logistics industry shared in the bounty. Waterborne employment fell 1.1% vs. January, accelerating the annualized decline to 0.6%. The surprise was a 0.2% monthly drop in warehouse employment. That was the first drop since May 2013 and likely reflected retail store closures announced earlier in the new year. Trucking jobs jumped however, expanding at the fastest rate since February 2012 with 10,600 staff added.