Check Call: It’s all coming together

In this edition: Three intermodal companies form an alliance; DAT has zero tolerance; and Yellow’s legacy lives on.

Mary O'Connell

11 months ago

people gathered around a desk of computers. Check Call news and analysis for 3pls and brokers

Welcome to Check Call, our corner of the internet for all things 3PL, freight broker and supply chain. Check Call the podcast comes out every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. EST. Catch up on previous episodes here. If this was forwarded to you, sign up for Check Call the newsletter here.

Better together is a phrase that didn’t die in the pandemic as BNSF Railway, Grupo México Transportes (GMXT) and J.B. Hunt Services have taken the phrase literally. These three companies are working together to form a U.S.-Mexico seamless operation for automakers and parts suppliers. They claim that goods can get from Monterrey, Mexico, to Chicago, and vice versa, in a day.

Here’s how it’s supposed to work: GMXT will take the intermodal load from Monterrey to Eagle Pass, Texas, which is just across the U.S.-Mexico border. From there BNSF or J.B. Hunt will take the load the rest of the way to Chicago. Given the amount of nearshoring happening in Mexico, specifically in regard to auto parts, this is a game changer for automotive companies.

Gone are the days of supply chain shortages being tolerated. Carmakers are apparently also done with those excuses as they continue to build resilience into their supply chains.

An update to the fraudulent emails coming from what appeared to be DAT but were actually hackers trying to get DAT login credentials: DAT shut it down. After learning about this scam, it said enough was enough and got the websites shut down and doubled down on its commitment to customers.

FreightWaves’ Grace Sharkey’s article says, “DAT advises customers who suspect they have received a phishing email impersonating DAT or suspect a compromise of their DAT credentials to promptly contact the customer service department and report the incident. It also recommends sending a screenshot of the message to customer service instead of forwarding the actual phishing email to avoid further issues.”

It cannot be said enough that if something seems off or out of place, don’t click on the links in the email and instead reach out to the customer service team. And while we’re at it, since it is December, it might be time to change those passwords and start fresh for the new year. It never hurts to be a little proactive.

Market Check. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Atlanta has dropped considerably in terms of total market share compared to past years. In 2020, the orange line, demand went up around the country as it was peak pandemic shopping time. Volumes were up everywhere, rates were up, a good time was had by all. However, as the middle to end of 2021 rolled around and the wait was weeks to a month to get berths at the ports of LA and Long Beach, shippers started looking elsewhere, and that elsewhere was the East Coast and that caused a massive increase in outbound tender market share.

Fast-forward to now. The West Coast ports are relatively under control. Rail union contracts worked out. Longshoremen contracts worked out. And there’s plenty of space for ships to come in and get unloaded. With the rising issues of ships getting through the Panama Canal, it seems the tide has turned yet again and the West Coast ports have started reabsorbing the volumes lost the last few years.

Who’s with whom? Yellow’s legacy lives on, but the question remains where it lives. Yellow ceased operations at the end of July, filing for bankruptcy shortly after that. A bidding war for Yellow’s terminals then began. Estes Express Lines placed a bid on the facilities at the end of September for $1.525 billion and that offer set the floor for the auction price. The auction was held last Tuesday and the results should be posted anytime now.

It’s likely that Estes will take a majority of the facilities, but Jack Cooper Transport cannot be ruled out of contention. Jack Cooper is a carrier that specializes in automobile hauling. The details of Jack Cooper’s bid can be found in FreightWaves’ Todd Maiden’s article from late October. Jack Cooper’s plan had the support of senators and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which is responsible for a majority of Yellow’s former workforce.

Yellow’s equipment like trailers and tractors have already been liquidated through auction houses around the country. It’s unlikely that the facilities will be split between the two. Since both companies are privately held, there is no easy way to tell how deep the pockets run. My money is that Estes will get the facilities, but it’s anyone’s game at this point — well, anyone that has more than $1.525 billion to spend.