Intermodal

Eternity México recently launched ELIS, a new cloud-based platform to track international freight shipments in real-time between major markets from Asia to Latin America. ELIS (Eternity Logistics Intelligent System) was unveiled recently during Eternity México’s two-year anniversary celebration in Mexico City, where company officials also unveiled a new logo and rebranding campaign. Nicolás Portenza, president […]

The Port of Savannah saw container volumes drop from year-earlier levels as the outlook for international trade remains weak. But the fourth largest U.S. port is still seeing some of the best year-to-date growth for imports.  The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) said June 2019 container volumes were 361,906 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 2.4 percent […]

The Class I railroads have reported their second quarter/first-half of 2019 results. Jim Blaze writes about what may happen during the remainder of 2019.

Hub Group believes “soft” intermodal volumes will begin to flatten out and that the 2019 peak shipping season will be similar to that of 2017.

CHRW grew net income by 6.3% but increasing earnings per share by 8% with buybacks.

Hub Group sees record earnings despite a “softening demand environment” and “increased truckload and intermodal competition.”

Legislation includes first-ever grants for electric vehicle infrastructure.

The record occurred despite extreme weather conditions that stymied rail shipments in February and March, as well as restrictions on Canadian canola exports to China, the railway said.

After California, New Jersey is the next battleground for trucking’s owner-operator business model. And motor carriers fear the war there may be largely lost. The latest skirmish centers on a report that New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy commissioned from the state’s labor department and other agencies about employee misclassification. Trucking, along with janitorial services, construction, […]

A softening freight market took a toll on Universal Logistics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ULH), an asset-light provider of customized transportation and logistics solutions.  The company reported second quarter 2019 net income of $20 million, or $0.70 per share, a 12.9 percent increase over the same period last year. Universal also reported second quarter 2019 operating […]

Denser shipments and higher prices combined for a 6.9 percent improvement in revenue per LTL shipment.

U.S. rail volumes fell yet again for the week ending July 20, according to data from the Association of American Railroads.

Owners of ships, railcars and trucks face increased risk from environmental regulations, credit rating agency Moody’s said. The value of $265 billion in debt owed by transportation companies may be in for a bumpy ride in the near-term due to the costs of meeting those new rules. But Moody’s said the transition should be manageable.     […]

Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) expects continued operational changes will help boost profits and lower operating ratios in the second half of the year.

Knight-Swift reported results within its recently lowered guidance range and doubled down on its estimation that the TL capacity correction is underway.

Schneider wins award for security excellence, while US Xpress honored as carrier of the year by FedEx Ground

Canadian National (NYSE: CNI) reported increases in net profit and revenue in the second quarter of 2019, with its acquisition of trucking and transportation provider TransX providing both higher revenue and costs.

Brian Aoaeh writes about how machine learning and artificial intelligence can be used to improve transportation and decrease emissions.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) said Maryland has received a $125 million federal grant that the state hopes will lead to an expanded rail tunnel in Baltimore to allow for taller trains to travel to the Port of Baltimore.

The $30 million Heartland Intermodal Gateway has generated little income.

West Virginia may look to sell an intermodal port that it developed, but which has failed to generate the expected level of freight volumes. The state’s Port Authority developed the Heartland Intermodal Gateway, a $30 million project funded by state and federal government grants. Earlier this month, the authority voted to allow the facility to […]

Geopolitical risks are escalating, increasing the risk for petroleum shipments transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

To prepare for ultra-large containerships, the port revises the plan last updated in 1990.

While investing in the North American railcar market is risky right now because the market is so uncertain, Europe and India are among the places where there are “attractive’ opportunities to invest in railcars, officials with railcar lessor GATX said on the company’s second quarter earnings call on July 17.

Capacity has returned to freight markets and spot rates are falling against “contract.”

The railroad said second quarter revenue totaled $714 million, a 5 percent increase from $682 million for the same period in 2018.

After decades of planning and discussion, freight traffic could finally have an alternative highway loop around Dallas that saves them from bottlenecks along Interstate 35. The Loop 9 project will add a connection between two interstates in south Dallas – I-35 East and I-45 East. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has made the project a […]

APM Terminals reached a deal with the longshore union at the Port of Los Angeles to retrain dock workers in repairing the automated cargo handling equipment that will take their jobs. The deal further paves the way for the Maersk subsidiary to start a project to install electrical charging stations and to make other upgrades […]

East Coast ports controlled nearly half of all US TEU traffic last year, JLL report says

It’s hard to blame the skeptics, given what has happened in the past, but dry bulk freight rates are getting pretty impressive.

“You’ve heard me say this many, many times – we’re not going to use the lack of volume as an excuse not to make aggressive achievements on our productivity,” Union Pacific chief financial officer Rob Knight said.

“Rest assured our commitment to achieving our financial targets is unwavering and has never been stronger,” says CFO Rob Knight.

The South Carolina Port Authority (SCPA) said ocean container moves were up 9 percent in its fiscal year, setting a volume record for the port.  The Port of Charleston’s two main container terminals, Wando Welch and North Charleston, saw 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in container moves last year.  The region’s freight moves represent […]

Sudden surge in marine fuel costs could spur shippers to consider switch to California over Panama Canal route.

The continued decline of U.S. rail volumes was one of the themes mentioned in the second quarter earnings calls for CSX and Canadian Pacific.

Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific are modifying some of the ways they collect demurrage and accessorial charges for some commodities, but some shippers are questioning the modifications.

Another shoe drops as the heart of truckload earnings season commences with Knight-Swift saying that it won’t meet analyst expectations.

“The present economic backdrop is one of the most puzzling I have experienced in my career,” says CEO James M. Foote.

“The present economic backdrop is one of the most puzzling I have experienced in my career..”

Despite a drop in profit in the second quarter, CSX’s (NYSE: CSX) operating ratio set a company record.

Logistics real estate company Prologis, Inc. acquires 37.5 million square feet in $4 billion deal.

After 38% growth in 2018, the company says it is optimistic about continued expansion.

Jordan Alliger rated UPS, FedEx, and J.B. Hunt ‘Buy’; XPO and C.H. Robinson ‘Neutral’; and Expeditors ‘Sell.’

J.B. Hunt posted net earnings of $133.6 million in the second quarter, down 10 percent from a year ago.

Ben Thrower recently visited the Panama Canal. He writes about the canal’s expansion and what that means to global trade and the maritime industry.

Cowan Systems has acquired family-owned regional carrier Carlisle Carrier as it looks to strengthen its Northeast presence.

Bascome Majors says contract rates will be under downward pressure for the rest of the year, but spot rates may have already turned up.

This article brought to you courtesy of NEXT Trucking Transloading services are becoming an increasingly popular option for international shippers looking to beat the cost of carrier haulage by an ocean carrier and to better manage their inventory.  Transloading refers to moving freight cargo from an international 40- or 45-foot ocean container to a domestic […]

Union Pacific’s (NYSE: UNP) intermodal rail service saw average speeds sink to a two-year low in the second quarter, with shippers and intermodal marketing companies reporting extensive delays in getting their freight from the railroad. The service hit came during an overall lull for West Coast container imports. And many of the delays were due […]

Maersk, for the second time, was granted a permit by the Port of Los Angeles that would allow its APM Terminals subsidiary to install infrastructure for electrified, automated container handling equipment. The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners voted three-to-two against an appeal by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13, which opposes […]

As the Class I railroads begin reporting their second quarter earnings results next week, some members of the Wall Street community expect the lower rail volumes from the second quarter to affect the railroads’ financial results.

U.S. Xpress lowered its financial outlook for the second quarter 2019 as well as the full year.

The port handled a record 2.4 million TEUs of containerized cargo in the 12 months ending June 30, an 8.8% increase over the prior fiscal year.

Although volumes are down across modes, rails don’t need top-line growth to improve cash flows.

Executives from C.H. Robinson discussed increasingly strict retail compliance programs and how to exceed expectations.

Year-to-date U.S. rail volumes fell yet again this week, although improving economic indicators signal that rail volumes could moderate in the weeks and months ahead.

Chris Lytle will step down as executive director of the Port of Oakland on July 19, ending a 53-year career in trade and transportation.

When it came to choosing the location for our latest and greatest event, Chicago was a no brainer. The Windy City isn’t just at the heart of the Midwest, it’s the center of all things freight, futures, and some of the most disruptive tech on the market today. That’s what makes Chicago the perfect place […]

The Port of New York and New Jersey published its plans on how it will handle an expected doubling of container volume over the next 30 years, all while trying to mitigate pollution and congestion. The plan has major implications for the region’s four largest marine terminals as the Port Authority of New York and […]

Appeals court rejects CMA CGM’s attempt to avoid paying up.

The November 2019 contract is being bid at $2.01/mile and falling.

Atlas Air has won an injunction ordering pilots that have been staging sickouts and delays to stop the practice.

As more bulk and oversize cargo gets transported in containers, some shippers are abusing equipment, says the Institute of International Container Lessors.

The Florida East Coast Railroad’s ships ran a regular and profitable service from 1915 to 1940.

Rail volumes were off again for the week ending June 29, 2019 with U.S. railroads reporting a 5.5 percent decline.

In the longer-term, rail industry observers are waiting to see how and whether Genesee & Wyoming will be able to make the capital investments needed to maintain its infrastructure.

Shippers now will have access to container carriers in all three major east-west space-sharing alliances through the digital shipping platform.

Jim Blaze writes about the movement of grain by rail. This is a huge business for U.S. and Canadian railroads, and is also critical to the export market of the two countries.

“The requested special permit presents unique and substantial risk to the safety of the public and the environment,” reads a letter sent by Reps. DeFazio and Malinowski.

The freight railway owner and operator will be taken private once the transaction, which includes debt, closes later this year or in early 2020.

Also earning accolades were ports throughout the Western Hemisphere, Kongsberg Maritime and ORBCOMM.

Top transportation economist Paul Bingham goes in-depth on trade war freight consequences, both pro and con.

Florida International Terminal (FIT) deployed a new appointment system in a bid to improve turnaround times for reefer drivers. The appointment system is part of a previously announced expansion at the 41-acre marine terminal in Port Everglades. The expansion saw the terminal add 12 acres from an adjacent site and install  350 reefer plugs to […]

Each lane of the new ramp, opened earlier this month, operates six days a week and offers two- to three-day transit times to New Jersey and Massachusetts.

In partnership with Carggo… small freight brokers now have a white-label solution for automated load matching.

England Logistics has partnered with Trucker Tools to streamline operations and provide real-time visibility to customers, allowing the company to eliminate many broker inefficiencies.

Year-to-date U.S. rail volumes fell again amid a loosening truck market, receding floodwaters in the Midwest and overall economic uncertainty.

The American Trucking Associations will steer clear of the fight over longer-combination vehicles

Intermodal giant sees rail and truck as better than option than truckload into

An additional $300 billion in proposed U.S. tariffs against China could result in lower railroad freight volume , but economic uncertainty and competition from trucks appear so far to be bigger threats for rail volumes.

You may have to become a super-shipper of choice. Don’t underestimate Walmart

2019 is shaping up to be the worst year for trucking in the past five years.

The Trump administration is considering levying tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese exports to the United States so far unaffected by duties. Freight Intel, FreightWaves’ proprietary research group, has just published a study warning that such a move would disrupt trade flows far beyond what has occurred so far. Freight Intel Group research […]

Beemac Logistics, a Beaver, Pennsylvania-based transportation and logistics provider, has opened a new office in Houston to better serve clients in the region, said chief commercial officer Michael Ceravolo. Beemac recently entered into an agreement to occupy a 5,000-square foot facility at the Towers at Westchase II, located in west Houston. The company plans to […]

In partnership with Slync… data from across the supply chain must be integrated and automatically pushed to decision-makers.

The port agency for Seattle and Tacoma is encouraging terminals to use extended hours, “peel-off” piles and street turns to ease congestion.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said this week that it is ready to be the second largest port in the U.S., thanks to the completion of the ExpressRail Port Jersey facility at the GCT Bayonne marine terminal. The Port Authority said in a none-too-subtle way that it “bolstered its already lofty […]

U.S. rail volumes trended downward again for the week ending June 15, with weekly volumes falling over 5 percent and year-to-date volumes declining nearly 3 percent, according to the latest data from the Association of American Railroads.

Eroding fundamentals in the truckload carrier market have led analysts to lower their earnings estimates for the carriers they cover.

The industry is at “a new crossroads,” according to the co-author of a state of logistics report titled “Cresting the Hill.”

The report showed further deceleration in the freight markets in May and warns an economic contraction could be underway.

The negative data and commentary centered on the lack of a seasonal increase in demand is forcing analysts to meaningfully lower earnings estimates and the outlook for the sector.

With a strong start to the year, the port says it is poised to overtake the Port of Long Beach as the nation’s second-largest container port.

The US logistics industry is making strides in overcoming macro volatility by a focus on IT improvements and shipper-carrier relationships

A study projects the state’s seaports to increase cargo tonnage by more than 32 million tons in the next five years to 142.4 million tons in fiscal year 2022-23.

Market expert Jim Blaze writes about the movement of coal by rail. He explores the history of rail-coal; more importantly, he writes about what the future may hold for coal in the U.S. and how that will impact the railroads.

New incentives for container shipping could bring more boxes through the canal to the U.S. East Coast.

Shippers in the maritime market can choose between a carrier-owned container or a shipper-owned container, with each business model holding certain advantages over the other based on availability and the freight corridor in question.

The Federal Railroad Administration is awarding more than $326 million in grants to help states and localities repair, maintain and build rail infrastructure supporting freight rail and intercity passenger rail.