Business

North American intermodal rates climbed another 9.1 percent in May, according to the latest Cass Intermodal Price Index.

Watkins leading talent acquisition; Monson heading software provider; Mitchell overseeing human resources; and Coda is taking helm.

As of late yesterday the Canadian dollar volatility began trending poorly throughout the night and into today, and the short-lived support fell.

U.S. shale oil production is fast-growing, but pipeline bottlenecks at the Permian basin could mean that it can’t completely fill the gap being created by the drop in Venezuelan oil production.

Millennials are helping drive the current economic cycle, which is showing no sighs of slowing down.

The American Institute for International Steel reports a 12.1 percent year-over-year increase in April to 3.76 million net tons of imported steel.

Rates to the West Coast tumbled 6.8 percent since last week, while rates to the East Coast fell 5 percent.

The $982 million budget includes funding for the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement and the Middle Harbor Terminal redevelopment.

The leader of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America takes on everything from cargo manifest data to trade statistics.

Berkshire Hathaway-owned railway cites interoperability delays with other railroads.

Steady loaded import container volumes in May were offset by an 8.3 percent drop in loaded exports.

University of Maine, Rutgers and Penn State will split more than $7.7 million to support their transportation research and technology programs.

The economy remains strong, and capacity tight, although buffeted by some headwinds.

Retail sales rose 0.8% in May, beating economist estimates of 0.4% and showing that economic growth still has some room to expand.

Shippabo is a cloud-based supply chain management startup that is helping businesses connect with freight forwarders and carriers, while consolidating their data in one place.

DNB Markets has partnered with ocean freight rate benchmarking platform Xeneta to develop a “crystal ball” for carrier financials.

Fleets that run without an ELD could get into a lot of trouble with the inspectors, insurance companies, and customers, who can access the CSA data with regard to crash incidents and violation details.

Efforts are being made to exempt livestock and certain agricultural haulers from ELD and hour-of-service rules, but a trucking group and safety advocacy organization are fighting back.

Geotab, a global leader in IoT and connected transportation, today announced the acquisition of clean-tech solution provider, FleetCarma.

The Air Cargo Advance Screening program requires cargo data to be submitted to Customs and Border Protection before being loaded onto aircraft.

Jeffrey Kessler and two International Trade Commission nominees discussed their views on trade remedies that would fall in their would-be agencies’ jurisdictions, including duty and Section 337 investigations.

“Tactical decision” made to limit the flow of empty containers during the project.

Autonomous vehicle startup secures an additional $7.5 million in seed funding.

The American Institute for International Steel warns a brewing tariff battle with Canada and Mexico could significantly dampen exports.

Shuffling of alliance services in San Pedro Bay blamed for 3.4 decline in number of TEUs handled.

Sauder Manufacturing says that imports of convertible couches made by a Canadian company are infringing its intellectual property rights and is asking for a limited exclusion order on those imports.

Indian logistics industry is undergoing a technological evolution, and is looking to improve visibility and traceability into its supply chain, while also working on increasing capacity to handle its volume explosion.

SpotSee, the global leader in shock and vibration monitoring through low-cost connectivity and data, is joining the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) to help develop the standards for blockchain in the transportation market.

The value of commodity indexes has grown about twice as fast as equities indexes in 2018 so far, prompting a wave of capital expenditure in timber, mining, and oil extraction and keeping demand for truckload miles hot.

After spending its first year focused on empowering independent owner-operators, Uber’s cargo spinoff is shifting to multi-truck carriers.

The Energy and Water Development Appropriations legislation makes use of revenues from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.

FreightWaves raises $13 million from venture capital investors from San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC, and New York to continue scaling the freight market analytics platform.

The transportation management systems provider adds Trucker Tools’ freight-matching application to its offering to streamline the process of finding and securing truck capacity.

The self-driving truck startup selected the Matrix HPC storage system to provide flash-based parallel file storage capabilities.

The nonprofit Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation is working on modernizing the country’s customs bonding system.

DeMarco hired as chief commercial officer for Florida port; Wagoner tapped to head sales and marketing in western United States and Canada.

For the first half of the year thus far, coal exports are up nearly 24% over the same period last year.

RevUnit, a digital strategy and product studio with clients in the logistics space, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) to help industry leaders work toward common blockchain standards.

Dale Huang, the CTO of COSCO Network e-Logistics spoke about the importance of blockchain in the logistics and shipping world and how he expects the technology to gain centerstage in the near future.

The second-highest month of container traffic in the port’s history is logged in the midst of infrastructure improvements and wharf modernization project.

Knight is named general counsel; Tanggaard is first male member of Norwegian group promoting female participation in maritime industry.

Sandler Travis trade attorney Michael Cerny said during a conference on Friday that the White House Office of Management and Budget is expected to pass the regulation back to CBP in less than 30 days.

The lumber markets have not cooled off since we last covered them in March: futures prices are still breaking records because of a Canadian rail capacity crunch, and flatbed rates in the Southeast are climbing right along with them.

Plug Power in association with Workhorse Group has developed a hydrogen-powered delivery van that is one of the first of its kind to be deployed on a standard delivery route for the FedEx facility.

Large food shippers are citing rapidly inflating freight costs as headwinds to their earnings, including Smuckers, Kraft Heinz, Tyson, Hershey, and General Mills. We round up the impacts to their businesses here, based on earnings call transcripts.

Unable to attend Demo Day at Transparency18? Don’t fret. You can now watch each presentation on our website.

SEC’s Jay Clayton has dismissed the idea of amending securities law to suit ICOs and mentioned that if IPO comes with a token it should be considered a security.

K & L, a privately owned full-service transportation and supply chain solution provider, recently became a member of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

The Australia-based software company adds Canadian customs management solutions provider to its growing portfolio.

Imports at ports tracked by the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker were steady in April, ticking up just 0.3 percent year-over-year to 1.63 million TEUs.

Mexico was the leading value and volumes market for U.S. pork and lamb exports, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

As demonstrated by recent collisions involving autonomous vehicles, drivers must remain vigilant and ready to take control of the vehicle at any moment. “Driver readiness” is paramount to successfully operating an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle,

Fleet CyWatch is an ATA Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) and Transportation Security Council (TSC) supported program that assists fleet members in reporting information about trucking related internet crimes and cyber-attacks, and shares information to fleets about cyber threats that may impact their operations.

The United States’ deficit in goods and services trade shrank another 2.1 percent to $46.2 billion in April, the lowest level in seven months, following a revised 18.2 percent drop in March.

Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday announced $241 million in grants are being allocated toward 23 transportation projects designed to improve freight mobility across the state.

Congressional Ports Caucus disappointed harbor maintenance language removed from bill.

Container carriers transported more than 13.8 million TEUs in April, bringing the year-to-date total to 54.24 million TEUs, according to the latest data from Container Trade Statistics.

The trade deficit declined from C$3.9 billion in March to C$1.9 billion in April.

Lindsey is named branch manager; Mordhorst gets promotion.

New NSA, NRA language written to relieve regulatory burdens on NVOCCs and shippers.

ATA president Chris Spear addressing the crowd at the annual 2018 NAFC.

SAP announced the expansion of its SAP Leonardo Blockchain technologies, through which the company hopes to create immediate business value for its clients.

Navistar has rolled out a series of new products in the last few years and the strong overall economy is helping the once-beleaguered truck maker rebound with another strong performance in its second-quarter earnings, beating Wall Street estimates.

With transport stocks surging, some market watchers are hopeful that the current expansion period will continue despite downturns in the broader market earlier this year.

The world of transportation is changing and changing fast. After decades of little innovation, the past five years or so have ushered in a sea change and it will profoundly impact the way people and goods move.

FTR Transportation Intelligence reports fleets are struggling to keep up with demand in “red-hot market.”

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has opened an inquiry into the loss of 83 containers off the Yang Ming containership off the coast of New South Wales last week.

The French ocean carrier has been working with San Francisco-based maritime technology startup Shone to develop artificial intelligence systems for use on CMA CGM containerships.

Legislation also proposed could relieve up to 90 percent of the trucking industry from the logging device mandate.

Logistics company hires key account manager; properties group names corporate affairs lead; airline taps commercial activities chief; industry groups elect board members; and longtime public servant becomes EVP.

The job openings rate in the overall economy hovered at record highs at the start of the 2nd quarter, as companies across industries continue to struggle to find workers. Results from the transportation sector show an industry facing a significant challenge, and wages will likely face additional pressure to rise in upcoming months.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., says he and others are “crafting” legislation requiring congressional authority over levying tariffs in response to President Donald Trump’s imposition of stiff steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

Uber Freight has introduced a new tool called “fleet mode” that helps small fleet owners to manage all their drivers under a single account on the app.

The supply chain payment and finance platform provider’s Series E funding round, led by heavy hitters Goldman Sachs and PSP Investments, brings its total valuation to $1.1 billion.

Investigations were launched after petitions were received from companies in Illinois and Texas.

Israel-based container shipping carrier makes senior management changes; transportation intelligence provider names VP of North American sales.

California is introducing digital license plates that can relay real-time location information to a cloud server and has the ability to display ads and emergency information to motorists while on the road.

Hyperloop is just one of the technologies that is looking to change the way goods and people move over the next 30 years.

Schneider National’s Shaleen Devgun joins San Francisco-based venture capital firm 8VC as an advisor. FreightWaves spoke to Devgun and 8VC co-founder and partner Jake Medwell by phone.

Manufacturing activity continues to expand in the 2nd quarter, and challenges with finding employees and tight freight capacity have made it difficult for producers in the economy to keep up with strong demand.

Decentralized technology could change some of the fundamental ways that the trade community keeps in line with government regulations.

Increased duties will take effect when the International Trade Commission publishes its final injury determination.

Surett is promoted to CFO; Cornede is named executive director; Matthews is tapped as association president.

BiTA is opening an office in Singapore to cater to the Asian and Oceanian market, building on its recent membership success in the region.

Candid conversations with leaders in the logistics/truck freight brokerage industry.

Much of the focus is on its financials rather than any significant shift in operations.

A monthly survey of all the important economic developments from the past month, and a look at some of the key trends to watch throughout the month of June.

Job growth improved considerably in May as the unemployment rate matched a near-50 year low. Trucking hires also made significant strides during the month, erasing the large decline in trucking employment from last month.

Shipware’s proprietary technology audits weekly carrier invoices to recover refunds on all billing errors, ensuring proactive compliance of contract rates and terms, as well as on-time service performance.

No longer just a tire company, Michelin is quickly becoming a “solutions” company as it positions itself as a business its customers can rely on regardless of their needs.

Given just 3 minutes to make their pitch and an additional 2 minutes to answer judges’ questions, 15 startup companies did their best to show judges at the Movin’ On conference why their solutions will change the market.

For widespread data openness and implementation, it is essential to develop data standards that are mindful of the collective interests of all the stakeholders in the freight industry.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration revises exemptions on personal conveyance to include laden trucks.

Two legal battles on the West Coast involving proposed bulk marine terminals will test the limits of state and local government regulations over these projects.

Truck transportation and warehousing and storage had the biggest gains of the 18,700 added jobs.

In case you missed it, we’ve compiled some of the highlights from Transparency18 into one Infographic.

Oil, which helped drive a rally for stocks Wednesday, began pulling back ahead of U.S. supply data.

Oil prices have stabilized after a month of volatility, but Iran pulling out of the nuclear deal is still a possibility, as European oil companies and banks are unwilling to buy oil from the country in the wake of perceived sanctions.

Results from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book suggest that manufacturers have shrugged off tariff concerns and are enjoying stronger growth in the 2nd quarter. Labor shortages remain an issue however, broadening beyond the trucking industry.

According to experts, platooning is a “now” technology ready for commercial operations, but there is still some resistance and operational challenges that must be overcome.