So this is what a “recovery” looks like?

1. From “Wealth Daily” on July 13th …

“Today’s ADP National Employment Report estimates employment in the service-providing sector rose by 130,000 in June, making 18 consecutive months of employment gains … June’s figures suggest that the economic recovery, which slipped in the spring, might have found new traction in the summer.”

“Swell stuff, if only it were true,” states the Wealth Daily author. “I have to say there’s nobody out there that couldn’t use a real economic recovery right now … Solve the employment problem, and we would really be off to the races …

“There’s only one catch: it (the ADP report) was pretty much a complete and total lie. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say ‘lie’ … Heck, for all we know, ADP’s analysts really believed in the crock they were putting out. One thing’s for sure: ADP’s happy gas sure as heck didn’t match the facts on the ground as we know them.

“Here are a few of the more salient facts available to us last week …

– The bean counters at the Department of Labor tell us only 18,000 new jobs were created in June. This dismal figure misses the analysts’ guesstimate by some 83%! Contrary to ADP’s happy talk, unemployment actually climbed last month.
– From the folks at employment consultant Challenger, Gray and Christmas, we hear that U.S. firms are actually increasing planned layoffs for the second month in a row.
– The American Bankers Association is warning that more shoppers fell behind on their credit card bills in the first quarter of 2011.
– A recent Harris Poll noted that 67% of American shoppers are cutting back at the mall and grocery store.” –

2. From “World Wide Shipper” on July 7th …

“WASHINGTON, DC – The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry declined 1.8 percent in May from April, falling for the second consecutive month, according to the U.S. Department of transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI). BTS reported that freight shipments in May dropped to the lowest level since November 2010.” –

3. From “Cargo Business Newswire” on July 13th …

“Report: U.S. import shipments down 4.57 percent in June.

“Import containerized shipment volume into the U.S. for June decreased 4.57 percent from the previous month and 7.38 percent for the same period last year, according to trade intelligence firm, Zepol …

“One major impact to the containerization downturn was due to a close to 6 percent drop in shipments from Asia, with China accounting for most of that drop …

“Imported shipments from Central and South America were down to 4.85 percent and 7.56 percent, respectively, the report said.

“California’s box ports ended a 2-month-long streak of rising imports, posting an 8 percent decrease from June 2010, according to Zepol.” –

4. From “The Container Shipping Manager” on July 13th …

“Recently we commenced our look at potential opportunities in the container shipping sector in 2011 in spite of the growing supply and demand imbalance.

“Given the comparatively dire situation on the Asia-Europe trade this year, particularly in relation to the dive in freight rates, we decided to instead focus our attention on the transpacific trade, which although still presents a challenge for carriers, appears to be a littler better off and consequently presents a better off and consequently presents a better opportunity for growth and profit.” –

5. From “Cargo Business Newswire” on July 13th …

“Top Story: Three carriers suspend Pacific Southwest trans-Pac service.

“Increased capacity and a decline in ocean freight rates has spurred the suspension of a trans-Pacific service that operates between Asia and California.

“The New World Alliance composed of Singapore’s APL, South Korea’s Hyundai Merchant, and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) announced last week that as of July 14, that it would suspend its Pacific Southwest Service that has run between Taiwan/South China/Korea and Los Angeles/Oakland utilizing five 4,600 – 4,700-TEU operated by Hyundai …

“As reported last week, new shipping tonnage has been hitting the world’s waves despite the decline in freight rates, that have dropped as much as 60 percent in the Asia-Europe trade since March of last year, according to Paris-based shipping consultancy Alphaliner in a Bloomberg report …

“Presently, about 45 percent of cargos to Europe from Asia are being shipped at a loss, says the Nordea Bank AB. Containerized capacity in that trade lane would need to be cut by up to 10 percent in order to balance out supply and demand, the bank said.” –

[“Solve the employment problem … new shipping tonnage has been hitting the world’s waves … balance out supply and demand …” Isn’t it about time someone began connecting the dots?]