St. Louis, December 15, 2015 – The Cass Freight Index, a widely recognized and utilized barometer of U.S. economic activity, is celebrating its 20th anniversary, noted Cass Information Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASS), the publisher of the Index. The Cass Freight Index measures North American freight volumes and costs, and is based on $26 billion in annual freight shipments of many of the largest shippers in the world.
The Cass Freight Index is used as an economic indicator by analysts and economists. Additionally, Cass provides The Cass Freight Index Report, a monthly analysis that is freely available through a subscription or online at www.cassinfo.com/frtindex. Data points since 1990 are also available.
Providing freight audit, payment and business intelligence services since 1956, Cass processes freight invoices for North American and multi-national companies including Caterpillar Inc., Ford Motor Company, Emerson, The Hershey Company, The Kroger Company, Macy's Inc., Toyota and Unilever. These companies and the others in the Index represent a broad sampling of industries including consumer packaged goods, food, automotive, chemical, OEM, retail and heavy equipment. The diversity of shippers and aggregate volume provide a statistically valid representation of North American shipping activity.
The Cass Freight Index is regularly referred to by The Wall Street Journal and other leading media outlets. In addition to the Cass Freight Index, Cass also publishes monthly data on changes in truckload and intermodal costs.
Due to the high cost and complexity of freight invoices, their processing and payment is a commonly outsourced function for most large corporate shippers. Freight invoice audits are an integral part of the Cass solution. Annual freight costs for a typical Cass client range anywhere from several million to hundreds of millions of dollars, and complex contract terms and frequency of billing errors make invoice audits essential. For many shippers, freight audit savings of just one-half percent per year can generate six-figure savings. In addition to these savings, the valuable business intelligence data provided by Cass allows its clients to further manage and reduce their transportation expenses.
Cass Information Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASS) is a leading provider of integrated information and payment managementsolutions. Cass enables enterprises to achieve visibility, control and efficiency in their supply chains, communications networks, facilities and other operations. Disbursing $38 billion annually on behalf of its clients, and with total assets of $1.5 billion, Cass is uniquely supported by Cass Commercial Bank. Founded in 1906 and a wholly owned subsidiary, Cass Bank provides sophisticated financial exchange services to the parent organization and its clients. Cass is part of the Russell 2000®.