Business

J.B. Hunt Transport Services updated its long-term division margin targets on its first-quarter call Thursday.

Autonomous trucking software startup plans to use proceeds of its $1.1 billion initial public offering to grow its employment by 50% in the next six months.

The weather-related closure of three Walmart DCs had an outsized impact on the company.

The Teamsters call it a strike, but it is more of a protest. Still, it did garner support from another union on Wednesday.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced first-quarter results well ahead of analysts’ expectations.

One more quarter taking its pandemic lumps and then Delta says it will steer out of the COVID vortex and start making more money than it loses.

TuSimple, the first autonomous vehicle software developer to go public, raised $1.1B at $40 per share, above the high-end of its estimated price..

Experts warned lawmakers of industry backlash if trucking is singled out to save the nearly bankrupt highway trust fund

The Biden administration is prioritizing climate and racial inequity in $1 billion worth of RAISE grants for infrastructure.

Domino’s is partnering with self-driving vehicle company Nuro to schedule pizza delivery for select customers in Houston with Nuro’s R2 robot vehicle.

The Teamsters called it a strike even though no employed workers were believed to be on the picket line.

Forward Air’s growth plans net 11 new final-mile terminal locations in the first quarter. While recent activist shareholder interests called into question the company’s capital allocation strategy, it appears the final-mile segment remains part of the plan.

Amazon has started requiring third-party sellers to meet more stringent Prime shipping promises, and that is forcing changes to the supply chain.

An understanding between European truck maker IVECO and self-driving software maker Plus includes liquified natural gas but not electric trucks.

Improvements will come in the form of more ship-from-store, but mainly more ship-from-dark-store as retailers realize the unnecessary complexity of the method and seek to transform more stores into localized fulfillment centers.

Startup self-driving truck software-maker Embark Trucks sees itself at the center of an autonomous ecosystem driven by fleet and logistics partners.

The telematics, ELD and satellite provider is getting sold for a 50% premium. Even that is less than at least one analyst saw as its value.

Truck drivers Brian T. Summerson, 25, of Dillion, South Carolina, and Pierre Washington, 35, of Chicago, have been charged in a kidnapping-for-ransom scheme.

Bunn in put in charge of day-to-day operations; Hogan has a diversified portfolio of duties.

Needing to know where your freight is spawns incredibly competitive market

The lead trucking industry lobby has come together with insurance-focused groups to fight two vexing problems of fraud.

An off-duty trucker charged with smuggling 13 bricks of cocaine from the U.S. to Canada via car was acquitted after maintaining that the drugs were planted while he was aiding a fellow driver with a repair at a rest stop.

Not being limited to the modes of a particular carrier or their own private fleet, a business can access more available capacity in the market.

The sale price is $11.50 per share, about 150% more than the closing price on Wednesday.

The acquisition provides MercuryGate with ready-made last-mile logistics exposure, Blough says.

Zach Strickland, the Sultan of SONAR, talks about what the pandemic did to supply chains.

The first autonomous trucking software company to go public, TuSimple seeks up to $1.5 billion in stock sales.

Embark Trucks hit the autonomous road sooner than the competition. Now it wants to help fleets get ready to plug into self-driving trucks.

FreightTech companies showcased their cutting-edge technology solutions for common fleet inefficiencies during the Enterprise Fleet Summit.

Trimble MAPS worked with Wisconsin trucking company Roehl Transport to implement a navigation system to allow seamless and precise last-mile operations. The companies share their story during FreightWaves’ Enterprise Fleet Summit.

Railcar manufacturer Greenbrier expects economic conditions and the rail market to improve in the second half of the year and that optimism is starting to be reflected in higher inquiry activity.

I am encouraged to see that President Joe Biden is calling for up to $300 billion of investments by the federal government to begin rebuilding America’s manufacturing sector.

Hubtek’s digital worker, TABi, enters a company’s TMS as a user, scans documents, forms and emails for data, and transfers the data to the TMS.

Nashville is the Chicago-based freight brokerage’s first expansion office.

The latest increase raises the question: Are we nearing the end of the cycle of increases or just kicking off yet another one?

Mercado Labs connects, organizes and optimizes international supply chains, bringing order to the complex and monthslong importing process. End-to-end visibility is table stakes for an agile, efficient and resilient supply chain.

This clever twist on micro-fulfillment centers offers a futuristic model for urban retailing and fulfillment. And it comes as companies test out a bevy of automated, unmanned service models, from dark stores to drones and autonomous delivery fleets.

Hubert Ivan Ugarte pleaded guilty to bribing a FedEx Ground manager in a pay-to-play scheme, and to defrauding the PPP loan program.

One interesting aspect of the report by B Riley: Could TriumphPay and Triumph Capital be headed in different directions?

Isuzu trucks will install technology from autonomous vehicle startup Gatik on its medium-duty N-Series truck models.

Samsara’s new Fleet Benchmarks Report compares a fleet’s performance to that of similar fleets across the trucking industry, providing insight into how they are trending relative to peers.

Shipwell is adding pricing intelligence tools to its enterprise platform. Shippers testing the new tools have seen procurement costs drop as much as 10%, Shipwell said.

Truck driving is the biggest single occupation that stands to benefit from the president’s infrastructure plan, according to a new report.

The supply chain cloud softrware company says revenue for its fiscal 2022 year will align with what it told investors last fall;. The recently completed year also was in line.

It’s the third vote in just a few months to push the union out. But contracts at all 3 locations had not ever been finalized.

Research firm Cowen has set a price target of $28.50 per share for EV startup Arrival – more than $10 higher than Monday’s trading price. Cowen cited its unique approach to manufacturing as one reason for its optimism.

The decision in a suit brought against drayage company East Coast Transport affirms a finding in the earlier Cal Cartage case

It’s not that companies can’t operate without China, it’s just that for now, said companies will not grow as fast as they could with it, and will likely do so with lower margins. In a retail world constantly balancing sales and profit, avoiding China is giving up both for many Western brands.

John Krafcik, who led Waymo, the former Google self-driving car project, to recognized leadership in autonomous vehicles, is stepping down as CEO.

Kenworth and Peterbilt avoid downtime from semiconductor shortage by parking unfinished trucks and getting back to them later.

The battle between brands and retailers is not new, but it’s more acute than ever because of the options each side has. For brands, it’s never been easier to own and operate sales channels both online and IRL. For retailers, there’s never been more digitally native brands seeking out offline homes than there are right now. And giants like Target, Walmart and Amazon have proven that consumers are willing to purchase and even be very loyal to private label brands.

As hackers exploit the interconnectedness of the global supply chain to stage ransomware attacks, executives say technology and strategy are key to avoiding a knockout punch.

Fleets on the East Coast need to make every attempt to maximize capacity and assets

FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller writes about FreightWaves, as well as transportation today and moving forward.

TriumphPay is acquiring HubTran to integrate machine-learning capabilities for a fully integrated payments network for its customers.

The costs of keeping up with four engine technologies and the pace of self-driving trucks push rival truck manufacturers into partnerships.

CIO named for soon-to-be-spun-off company

A ransomware gang is threatening to leak 2 terabytes of files stolen from shipping firm ECU Worldwide in the aftermath of a cyberattack as the owner vows to “take any steps necessary, legal and otherwise,” to protect customer data.

Self-driving technology startup Embark Trucks develops a universal autonomous driving system that will work in semis from the four largest manufacturers.

Investors plow more money into Plus, which expects to commercialize Level 4 self-driving technology in China this summer.

Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan relies heavily on rolling back Trump’s corporate tax cuts.

The trucking industry sees the costs — but not so much the benefits — of new congestion pricing initiatives.

STORD, which describes itself as a cloud supply chain company, has secured a $65 million funding round as it seeks to expand upon its logistics capabilities.

Last of major trucking companies to pick an autonomous technology partner, Volvo Group chooses Aurora after three years of quiet collaboration.

This transaction will benefit the automotive supply and distribution network throughout North America.

As a federal definition of an independent contractor moves toward resolution, ongoing litigation could be affected by what the Biden administration finally announces.

The loan size shrinking across the board but the amount of money going to transportation and warehousing sector grew more than $1 billion last week.

A South Texas citrus packing facility and Houston supply chain services provider are two of the latest companies to announce layoffs across the Lone Star State.

Chipotle reveals it has invested in self-driving vehicle startup Nuro as it looks at new ways consumers will engage with the brand.

Volatility in trucking markets has prompted shippers to assess different ways of securing reliable capacity. For DG, that means more reliance on in-house transportation, but that’s certainly not the only option. Some retailers are looking to diversify their transportation partners to avoid delays and secure truck space. Others are debating streamlining their transportation needs by signing over their private fleets to logistics specialists.

Add Nike (NYSE: NKE) to the growing list of retailers being severely hampered by port congestion and supply chain bottlenecks. The congestion at West Coast ports in particular strained Nike’s supply chain and negatively impacted revenue, which declined 11% yoy in the quarter ending Feb. 28.

Truck Talk is a weekly newsletter where FreightWaves adds context, commentary and color to industry news and trends.

An anticipated increase in North American rail traffic, coupled with FreightCar America’s move of its manufacturing to Mexico, should provide support to the company in 2021, executives said.

Refrigerated carriers Leonard’s Express and Holman Transportation join forces in latest truckload acquisition.

Autonomous trucking startup Plus is beginning production of Level 4 software this year as it works toward 10 billion miles of on-road testing.

Faxinating Solutions, an EDI provider that works with some of the largest shippers in North America and IBM, says it was the victim of a ransomware attack.

Roadrunner announced it has raised $50 million in equity through a private placement led by GlobalTranz and Emerge founder Andrew Leto. The company continues to advance its focus on the less-than-truckload market following a major restructuring.

Intel’s Ravi Dosanjh and the Port of Long Beach’s Noel Hacegaba take on supply chain visibility.

Waymo is leveraging software lessons from its autonomous ride-hailing pilots to Class 8 trucks, applying fifth-generation software that debuted on a Jaguar.

In this Put That Coffee Down segment, Kevin Hill talks with Chris Hurst about why the freight and logistics sector is lagging, and why companies should fix that.

One of the four family members involved in the founding of the company, he was gone by the time it merged with Swift.

Labor groups tell DOT that automated vehicle policy should not be based on industry self-regulation.

Samsara announced Sue Bostrom as the latest strategic addition to the company’s board of directors.

The capital will drive volume growth and help Baton expand to new markets.

Turvo’s Luis Pajares explains why software that was traditionally optimized around a particular supply chain function needs to be reimagined from the 3PL customers’ perspective.

COVID-19 forced dramatic change at the end of the supply chain seemingly overnight. Retailers had to adjust quickly to succeed, and those that did are looking at a recovering consumer economy with the best balance sheet in decades on top of a real estate market reeling from store closures. Pair this with an e-commerce acceleration of five years and a movement to DTC and you have a market ripe for innovative physical expansion.

Canadian Pacific wants to acquire Kansas City Southern. Here are five thoughts from Wall Street transportation analysts about the transaction.

Fewer options means less competition and less incentive to control costs.

FourKites said it had a banner year in 2020 as more companies sought out the real-time supply chain visibility company.

TuSimple, the self-driving truck startup backed by fleets, suppliers and manufacturers, filed on Tuesday to become a public company.

STB Chair Marty Oberman shares the board’s views on two proposed acquisitions: CSX’s acquisition of New England short line Pan Am Railways and Canadian Pacific’s merger with Kansas City Southern.

As the number of places where product flows increases, naturally, smaller, more frequent inventory replenishment runs are created. Whether it’s middle-mile solutions from DC to store or DC to DC or it’s home delivery, the location of endpoints is dispersing and the size of shipments is decreasing.

BorgWarner’s acquisitions in electric components and systems position the Tier 1 supplier to grow its electrification revenue to 45% from 3% by 2030.

Automation will mitigate exposure created by process errors and duplication of efforts by integrating disparate systems.

Electronic payments provider Relay Payments announces Old Dominion Freight Line is the latest carrier to join its platform.

If many fleets procrastinate to avoid a disruptive transition, there could be a shortage of equipment.

FreightWaves Ratings is FreightWaves new review/rating site of commercial products for the freight industry.

MyCarrier is scaling a white-labeled LTL TMS with a unique distribution model.

Ocean carrier ZIM just released record results and confirmed huge gains for contract rates. So why did its stock sink?

Nuvocargo recently updated its platform to include bilingual tracking features and more visibility for cargo shipments in Mexico.