Fleet idle capacity is at 1% and rates to both US coasts are climbing week-over-week, but wait for the summer peak season for large container box rate increases.

Trucking’s environmental progress since the first Earth Day; Volvo Trucks shares battery tech across brands; US oil exports to Europe jump on Brent/WTI spread; BNSF and Union Pacific offer $25k signing bonuses; FedEx links Guangzhou and Memphis; how China is buying Europe.

Trucking employment has grown a healthy 32% since 2012, but very small and small fleets are absorbing the new drivers, leaving large carriers struggling to seat their trucks.

Volatility returns to commodity markets, with oil, aluminum, and nickel posting huge price increases. How long will these price shocks last, and how will they affect the economy?

Hapag-Lloyd explores priority container freight; CSX raked in Q1 profits; aluminum prices are turbulent; UPS launches Groupon-like discounts for retailers; project44 raises $35M in Series A.

Daseke has purchased Aveda Transportation and Energy Services, one of North America’s largest oil rig movers. This acquisition increases Daseke’s exposure to the oil and gas industries, which have a bullish outlook for 2018 and beyond.

Tesla has shut down Model 3 production again, with Elon Musk admitting he made a mistake over-automating Tesla’s factory. The media has also begun scrutinizing Tesla’s problematic safety record.

The words ‘realtime’ and ‘visibility’ get thrown around a lot, but most companies offering visibility solutions don’t actually define what they mean by the terms, which confuses the market.

Volkswagen is talking openly about increasing its 16.9% share of Navistar and taking over the brand as a prelude to an IPO or debt sale for its Truck & Bus division in Q1 2019. VW ousted its CEO Müller last week and continues to roll out its new messaging.

E-commerce is intensifying last mile delivery activity; warehouse prices are climbing rapidly in consumer-dense markets; but the logistics space is fragmented, with high EBITDA multiples and low barriers-to-entry hindering consolidation.

Schneider National and 8VC announced a partnership with Platform Science to develop data platforms to allow carriers to manage IoT data and generate custom, realtime insights.

FTR expects overall intermodal traffic to grow 6% YOY despite capacity constrains in rail and some downside risks like NAFTA renegotiation.

We explain how the yield curve works, how it affects the cost of debt, and what that means for trucking.

The spot market is normalizing; XPO’s Brad Jacobs talks jazz and M&A; China COSCO’s purchase of OOCL might be held up; railroad Teamsters want NAFTA changes; weak spot rates for container ships pulling down contract negotiations; Xi looks for a way out of the trade war.

There’s a quiet spot market nationally, but we’re seeing significant upward movement for reefers coming out of California’s agricultural regions.

SenseTime Group Ltd. just raised $600M from Alibaba and other investors, making them the world’s largest AI startup. SenseTime’s product offerings and strategic plans reveal how closely related mass surveillance and autonomous driving really are.

Trucking contract rate increases tamp down volatility; Nikola Motor Company returns deposits on truck orders; Hunter Harrison was one of the highest paid CEOs in 2017; Xi Jinping takes the stage to defend Chinese trade practices; container lines enter bid season with a weak hand.

Stifel returns to trucking with an array of notes on individual carriers and a comprehensive industry update. Analysts expect 12% increase in truckload rates y/y, spillover into LTL and intermodal, and no relief in sight for the driver shortage.

Turndowns inbound and outbound of Charleston are gradually rising in tandem, indicating a healthy market. Spot rate movements will depend on where capacity is positioned once port traffic ramps up.

Brian Reed has spent the last 18 years as a business and IT chameleon serving freight providers and shippers around the globe.

Transport stocks excluding bulk maritime carriers largely unaffected by tariffs; Port of LA getting new container terminal; Boeing and Ford threatened by Chinese tariffs; new autonomous shipping joint venture announced; commercial driving schools see low enrollment; a guide to Tesla’s guidance.

McLeod’s VP of Special Projects and BiTA co-founder Ken Craig recounted the early days of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance and explained the importance of data standards to the transportation industry.

BNSF hauls more coal than any other railroad, but the future of American coal production and consumption is an open question. Is BNSF heavily exposed to downside risk or will it be the last coal carrier standing?

The number of oil rigs and the demand for flatbed trucking are rising in tandem, as WTI prices go up and the Brent-WTI spread widens.

China approves drone package delivery; driver pay is up 15% in 3 years; Hapag-Lloyd has a plan to switch to low sulphur fuel; Trump gears up for fight with Amazon; Barclay’s thinks WTI crude will drop to $51 this year.

The JOBehaviors Assessment helps carriers identify applicants who possess the behaviors, core values, and attributes of top performing truck drivers. Fleets who implement the assessment see higher productivity and lower turnover.

Used truck prices strengthen; trailer orders go crazy; Arizona suspends Uber self-driving; Canadian National trades at 52-week lows; aftermath of Harvey still affects Houston tanker traffic; Philadelphia freight market is heating up.

The threat of retaliatory tariffs on American agricultural products could hurt wheat exports, which are already struggling to compete on the international market. Railroad grains volumes in 2018 YTD are down, in many cases by double digits.

April 1st promises a surge of HOS violations; Uber pulls out of Southeast Asia; China starts trading oil futures; US Customs looks to upgrade their digital tools; Kansas City Southern hit by new tax bills.

Transportations companies with cross-border business are exposed to tariff risks; new home sales fall unexpectedly; the Dow crosses below its 120-day moving average; acquisition-minded trucking companies face new financial scrutiny; Target and Kroger merger rumors.

New 12 month price targets for FedEx stock range from $260-$310, representing 20% of the company’s value and reflecting uncertainty about how the parcel carrier will improve margins and find synergies with TNT.

Container traffic into the Port of Seattle is down 22.6% YTD, starving the city of freight. Trucking spot rates have cratered, and turndowns have dropped 75% since their peak in October as carriers are forced to accept lower prices.

KeepTruckin raises $50M in a Series C financing. Plans to have 400,000 subscribers by the end of the year

Uber AV kills pedestrian in Arizona; XPO Logistics takes its app to Europe; CSX has no apologies; China COSCO building methanol fuel plants in Louisiana; air cargo markets may see slower growth; Covenant stock hits a 52 week high.

An Uber self-driving SUV struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, the first known time a pedestrian has been killed by an autonomous vehicle.

Transport stocks outperforming broader economy; FedEx adds robots to distribution centers; Knight-Swift picks up a 400 truck fleet; CMA CGM turned around in 2017; Union Pacific’s drones monitoring workers cause union trouble. 

Executives flee, production shuts down, parts need reworking, and Tesla is still burning cash like there’s no tomorrow.

For months, West Coast spot rates have been softening, allowing brokers to take big margins and shippers to move freight inexpensively, with short lead times. That’s about to change.

An optimistic Q1 guidance document released by Covenant Transport yesterday caused the carrier’s stock to jump 5% this morning. We explain how the team fleet is exploiting the new ELD environment.

UniGroup, a leading transportation and logistics company that owns two of the nation’s largest moving company brands–Mayflower and United Van Lines–has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

Vietnam is the fastest growing supplier of electronics and apparel to the United States, and a fresh wave of foreign investment has the country poised to realize gains in worker productivity.

Volkswagen invests $25B in EVs; Tesla exposed to neodymium supply shocks; FedEx to announce earnings today; Union Pacific plans $127M capex in Arkansas; Maersk says Canadian container trade growth will outpace U.S. in 2018.

While blockchain and Bitcoin were invented simultaneously, there are a lot of applications of blockchain technology in transportation and logistics that don’t depend on cryptocurrencies.

Morgan Stanley says that shippers with low gross margins, bulky merchandise, and relatively low cost of goods sold who outsource their transportation needs are at the mercy of rising freight costs and will face EPS headwinds in 2018.

LNG carrier charter rates have posted the strongest recovery since the 2015-6 crash in maritime shipping, and 9.7% YOY growth in capacity hasn’t been enough to keep up with demand.

OriginTrail, a European developer of blockchain protocols specifically for the supply chain, announced today that it has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance.

Mack Trucks and Volvo discuss performance of their remote software update systems; Uber Freight is using autonomous trucks in Arizona; air cargo was up 8% in January YOY; the 3,000th Neopanamax container ship transited the Panama Canal; intensifying freight flows are driving oil demand.

Filament, a leading developer of blockchain-native software and hardware, announced this morning that it has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

We all know that trucking carriers want more money and better information, but Comdata and FR8 Revolution have discovered the specific pain points in heavy hauling, such as permit requirements.

Stifel says UPS is now under-priced; Hapag-Lloyd offers digital rates platform for its customers; the Hudson Tunnel revamp just got harder; freight brokers do record volumes in January.

Rolling Strong’s app can you tell exactly what you need to do every day to pass your DOT health exam.

Lumber prices are above $500 due to a convergence of high demand and tight supply. Eventually housing starts could be affected by rising material costs.

Match Factors, a pioneering invoice factor based in South Carolina, announced that it has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

Coal, steel, and the railroads that carry those commodities saw stock gains; auto companies and aluminum-intensive manufacturer stocks slipped on the news.

It’s estimated that Tesla produces battery packs at a cost of $157/kwh, and the company has stopped claiming that it can dramatically reduce their cost. This puts the 1 mw Tesla Semi battery at $157k.

New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira hinges on whether lease-to-purchase drivers classified as “independent contractors” can get out of their arbitration clauses.

The CEO of Maersk says that in 3-5 years, Maersk will be competing with UPS and FedEx, and recognized as one of their peers. But what’s the strategy?

SkyCell has 1,000 high-tech refrigerated air freight containers circulating through the global biopharmaceutical cold chain. They’ve reduced temperature deviations from a global average of 8.5% to less than 0.1%.

In a recent phone interview with FreightWaves, Quanergy CEO Louay Eldada spoke about what makes his company’s LiDAR sensors superior to the competition.

FourKites will use the funds to double its headcount, accelerate product development, and expand internationally.

Psychemedics Corporation says they have developed a test which eliminates false positives and has been vetted by the FBI.

Union Pacific is investing $550M in its new Brazos Yard in Texas, aiming to smoothly manage growth in two crucial sectors: Mexican automotive production and Gulf Coast petrochemicals and plastics.

14 Pilot Flying J employees pleaded guilty before the trial started. Now Mark Hazelwood, Scott Wombold, and Heather Jones join their former colleagues as newly minted felons.

Customers want more visibility and creativity than ever; technology solutions must be nimble enough to add value for a customer without adding a burden; just because you spend on technology doesn’t mean you’re truly tech-oriented.

Panelists from Bosch, eNow, Motiv, and Thor discussed the state of the electric truck industry and the technical and commercial challenges facing automobile electrification, especially battery technology.

Craig Fuller, Kevin Haugh, Abtin Hamadi, Tom McLeod, and Edward Ryan discussed the technological approaches to solving some of the transportation industry’s most intractable problems: the driver shortage, capacity utilization, and payment inefficiencies.

The U.S. Energy Information Agency has released its Annual Energy Outlook for 2018, with projections to 2050. The EIA calls for massive growth in oil and LNG production and exports over the next few decades, which will be a boon for the trucking industry.

5 days into the trial, Uber settled the Waymo lawsuit on the cheap. But who really benefits? We break down the deal here.

Elon Musk says 100k Tesla Semis annually by 2022; Mexican cargo theft doubles YOY; the 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is awesome; click through for the rest of today’s digest.

Shaw Industries Group, a leading global floor covering provider, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

The heat map of areas affected by today’s Uber outage shows how vulnerable an Uberized freight industry would be.

Manufacturers surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers have been slow to implement autonomous, mobile robotics in their operations–they’re waiting for proven ROI. But they may be too focused on driverless trucks, overlooking other technologies that are closer to commercial viability.

TransRisk, our parent company, announced its rebrand as FreightWaves last night at our Chattanooga headquarters. Click through for video!

This video shot in 360 degrees follows a book on its journey through a Penguin Random House fulfillment center. 

The National Association of Truck Stop Owners has released a study showing a correlation between commercialized rest stops and lower available truck parking. We discuss the findings as well as the study’s limitations.

Jury deliberations in the Pilot Flying J trial begin tomorrow. We’ve learned as much about the importance of data analytics as we have about fraud.

Freight brokers’ revenues went up but margins went down in 2017; Amtrak blames CSX for yesterday’s crash; Hazelwood won’t testify in Pilot trial; oil tanker shipping rates crater; click through for more!

The Baltic Exchange is changing one of their signature indices, the Baltic Dry Index, which averages shipping rates for raw materials like coal, ores, and grains. Baltic is hoping to make the BDI a more attractive benchmark for futures investors.

Automotive cybersecurity is even more critical in the era of connected vehicles. Trillium has finally delivered a solution that’s unhackable… so far. 

Warehouse development and lease prices are rising through the roof as available land dwindles, and the vacancy rate hovers at an historic low. Shippers and 3PLs who want to expand must optimize the operations of their existing facilities.

Knight Trucking put 20% of its capacity on the spot market in Q4 2017 and it paid off big. Swift has also been improving its operations, and management said it will focus on fixing its reefer business in 2018.

Reliance Partners, a leader in transportation and logistics insurance and risk management, announced today that it joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). 

President Trump’s first State of the Union raised the stakes of his infrastructure plan from $1T to $1.5T in a rare moment of bipartisan appeal. 

Covenant Chairman and CEO David Parker said 2018 will bring wage hikes, rate increases, and unprecedented opportunities for team carriers due to the ELD mandate.

The American oil boom has already electrified the wider economy and increased demand for truckload miles; could it also stabilize fuel prices long term?

Current and former Tesla engineers are blowing the whistle on the company’s sloppy manufacturing processes, citing problems with testing, assembly, and employee qualifications. 

2018’s unusually late Chinese New Year means that port traffic will normalize and then accelerate for pre-summer shipments at the same time as California’s March harvests, causing a truckload capacity crunch.

Yesterday Maersk Line announced that it joined the New York Shipping Exchange (NYSHEX), a new digital platform offering standardized contracts, locked-in prices, and space security for ocean container shipping.

The infrastructure bill outline leaked yesterday provides clues to how Trump wants to incentivize $800B in state, local, and private spending: tolls on interstates, removing constraints on private activity bonds, and value capturing financing for transit projects.

February weather is going to be volatile, cold, and stormy as the Polar Vortex returns to North America. Plan accordingly!

With the PyeongChang Winter Games opening ceremonies on Feb. 9, we wondered what kind of logistics operation it takes to make the Olympic Games run smoothly? We break down some of the numbers from past Games in this infographic.

Although most federal agencies are furloughing workers, the free movement of freight should not be impeded by the government shutdown. However, research, policy, rule-making, and permit/grant application review processes are largely being suspended.

Outbound rates from the Great Lakes have held steady at the high prices reached during last September’s nationwide spike, but over the past 7 days, they’re trending upward again.

Bettina Warburg explains blockchain to a child, a teenager, a college student, and an expert in this video from Wired Magazine.

IBM and Maersk have teamed up to build blockchain solutions for the maritime container shipping industry, apparently focusing on automating costly import-export documentation.

South Korea worked feverishly expanding roads and train services in anticipation of thousands of athletes and spectators and millions of items arriving from all over the world. Then North Korea decided it wanted to join the party. 

The American auto industry’s shift to electric vehicles over the next five years may represent an opportunity for Chinese EV makers to capture market share. Several companies have announced plans to expand into the U.S., which might represent a threat to Tesla.

After a difficult adjustment period in July/August, CSX improved its performance on key metrics like train speed and dwell time, ending 2017 as an industry leader.

Mudslides and a dead Pacific Northwest are contributing to high northbound rates coming out of Los Angeles, while extreme winter weather in the Northeast and freight backbuilds are keeping Chicago hot.

China’s $3B copper mining deal in Afghanistan, the largest foreign investment in the country’s history, is going nowhere. 10 years into a 30 year lease, supply chain problems are keeping any copper from being extracted at all.