When looking at the current state of the economy, specifically with a freight transportation and logistics focus, it seems like, in different ways, that there may be cause for optimism as well as concern. For one thing, while it remains at a high level, to be sure, inflation is heading down, which is good news. For the month of November, the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the annual inflation rate headed down for the fifth straight month, coming in at 7.1%, lower than October’s 7.7%.