News

This week: DHL helps rescue five lions and a tiger; Schneider receives the SanMar Mask Award; and C.H. Robinson begins taking applications for student scholarships from carriers and employees.

As the U.S. cuts off borders to unvaccinated truckers, the impacts for Canadian trucking companies run the gamut from a punch in the gut to business as usual.

Amazon doesn’t have any pilots. It outsources flight operations to airlines. Find out which one is supporting cargo service to Wichita.

Tender volumes continue to outperform year-ago levels. Rejection rates are continuing to rise in a unseasonable pattern placing pressure…

Manufacturers are feeling the pressure to up their production big time, and that means finding ways to get around continued hurdles like shortages.

Triumph’s CEO Graft is not holding back, likening the automated deals to the invention of the telephone in terms of technical significance.

Among Friday’s notes: Tender rejections plummet from Dallas to Ontario, Richmond market to tighten, and more.

Disjointed collaboration within the supply chain has lead to little improvement; rail safety; renewables

Carriers, truck brokers and leasing companies will see annual fees collected by states reduced by up to $15,000 per year.

Host John Kingston also looks at renewable diesel, which might not be as plentiful as envisioned.

Clean air regulators have to play the long game with short-term updates, the latest of which comes from New Jersey. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state plans to lend policing and prosecution support to Union Pacific and other victims of cargo theft.

New financiers are backing a major fleet expansion at Mexican cargo carrier MasAir.

Renewable natural gas (RNG) is the leading low carbon solution that helps trucking companies and shippers reduce their carbon footprint and meet their sustainability goals.

Truck Tech is a weekly newsletter providing perspective and context on autonomy, electrification and other technologies impacting the fleet ecosystem.

CSX has been hiring more aggressively not only to meet anticipated market demand but to safeguard against COVID-19-related absences, according to executives on its fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call Thursday.

Supply chain disruptions are blamed for mixed results at Gulf Coast ports.

Leveraging its nationwide network of more than 7,000 attorneys, TVC has a high success rate reducing or dismissing citations.

E-commerce personalization platforms are playing an increasingly important role in the success of last-mile delivery.

The Supreme Court’s decision to halt enforcement of OSHA’s vaccine or testing mandate is a win for employers, but the final legality of the policy is still to be decided.

Ice, sleet and snow may keep truckers out of the mid-Atlantic this weekend.

Kubed Living is turning shipping containers into homes, offices and gyms.

The U.S. government moves forward with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate despite fears that thousands of truck drivers will leave cross-border freight.

UP’s capital expenditures plan for 2022 includes investments to intermodal terminals and intermodal ramps, executives said during the company’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call Thursday.

Chicago leads all markets, while Greenville-Spartanburg makes the top 10 list for the first time.

Among the major U.S. passenger carriers, United Airlines was the big winner in cargo performance during 2021.

FreightWaves reports very positive financial performance in 4Q 2021.

Heartland Express announced 2021 was its best year since going public. Fourth-quarter results were in line with consensus.

The Postal Service, bogged down by delivery delays and staff shortages, is taking on a monumental task from Washington –– can it succeed?

“Combining our visibility technology with a sophisticated fintech product will allow companies to make their payments around real-time updates,” says the founder and CEO of Shifl.

Extending a long-term relationship with Isuzu, Cummins will power a Class 6 medium-duty cabover battery-electric prototype.

DroneUp CEO Tom Walker sat down with Modern Shipper to discuss his company’s expanding delivery business, including its partnership with Walmart.

How USA Truck and Convoy developed a new solution for elastic capacity that benefits shippers, carriers and brokers

Aeronautical Engineering takes used planes and turns them into cargo configuration. More countries are approving a new design for its 737-800 freighter.

Among Thursday’s notes: Demonstrating the power of spot-rate knowledge, Headhaul Index rises in Columbia, and more.

A winter storm may keep truckers away from portions of Texas and the mid-Atlantic for a couple of days (video forecast included).

Could container shipping and tanker stocks end 2022 very differently than they began it?

From capital investments to competitive access, issues that CSX has brought before the Surface Transportation Board reflect concerns facing the freight rail industry as a whole.

P.A.M. Transportation Services finished 2021 on a high note, posting another large earnings beat during the fourth quarter.

It’s a sign of the supply chain times when customers are renting entire planes from United Airlines to haul low-value commodities like mayonnaise.

The Biden administration announced Robin Hutcheson will replace Meera Joshi as FMCSA deputy administrator.

“Historic, pandemic-induced import surge” drove record-smashing volume at the Port of Long Beach.

David Weil would have a key role in determining the federal definition of an independent contractor.

“We founded Parallel to allow railroads to open new markets, increase infrastructure utilization and improve service to accelerate freight decarbonization,” said Matt Soule, co-founder and CEO at Parallel Systems.

Freight consultant Chris Jolly and Shannon Breen of FreightVana discuss strategies to help transportation companies develop long-term relationships with clients.

Prologis provided better-than-expected 2022 guidance on Wednesday, citing the expectation that demand will continue to outpace logistics real estate additions during the year.

“An earlier transition will allow more gradual changes, thereby reducing the risk of significant disruptions of the sector and of asset stranding,” the report said.

Forward Air’s Sylvia Cintron talks with FreightWaves’ Kaylee Nix about tailoring B2B marketing to fit the audience you’re targeting.

The Biden administration has rejected assertions made by safety groups that more flexible hours-of-service rules will make roads less safe.

“It’s the sunk cost fallacy. It’s human nature to want to stick with something you have invested so much in but, at the end of the day, no technology is going to last forever,” says Kinetic co-founder on continuously investing in FreightTech as your business grows.

Legion Logistics Chief People Person Kyle Kosco chats with FreightWaves’ freight broker/3PL market expert Mary O’Connell on the strategies that go into creating a company culture that attracts and retains employees.

“People see themselves valued more by the marketplace sometimes than they do by where they are, and that’s why you suddenly see a lot of this Great Resignation business,” said Adrian Chapman, owner and CEO of Cover 3 Consulting.

With Aurora Driver 2.0, the self-driving developer plans to field the first robotic ride-hailing minivans along with Class 8 trucks.

Live on the show: social media audience building; converting TikToks to sales; should your business create NFTs and more

FreightWaves’ Kevin Hill chats with SandTable founder Michael Fullam about his recent brokerage launch during the Sales & Marketing Summit.

Among Wednesday’s notes: The tweener lane from Chicago to Harrisburg, supply chain challenges, and more.

As carriers face stiff competition for drivers, Ten4 Recruiting President Matt Beach explains what it takes to recruit them — beyond big bonuses and higher rates.

Experts say 2021 was a “tough year” regarding impacts of climate change and extreme weather in the U.S.

“Before you start your TikTok or before you start your social media platform, make sure that you have a goal in mind,” said Luke Kostka, co-founder and creative director at New Norml Media.

ArcBest announced a $25 million investment in a software company that provides remote operation of forklifts and trucks.

Communicating expectations with drivers and customers lowers the sales risk in the volatile perishables market.

In a move that will triple its European carrier base, FourKites is building the continent’s largest multimodal carrier network.

Logistics real estate investment trust Prologis issued 2022 guidance ahead of expectations on Wednesday.

SMC³ has fully embraced the FreightTech age and plans to continue innovating its LTL pricing and bidding tools in 2022.

Electric cargo bike delivery provider Urb-E is expanding to Los Angeles as the first city in an expansion of its service in 2022.

Schneider’s intermodal profits in the first nine months of 2020 were double those of a year earlier.

Truckers could hit delays later this week due to dicey winter weather in two regions of the country.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services beat fourth-quarter expectations. Visibility into 2022 remains murky but management is calling for continued growth.

While vaccine mandates prompt real fears of a cross-border capacity crunch, the cost of moving freight between the U.S. and Canada has been underpriced for too long.

Shippers, not just passengers, will be negatively impacted by delayed flights and rerouting to alternative airports if telecom companies eventually launch service close to airports.

There may be more to come: The key commodity benchmark for diesel is at levels not seen since 2014.

J.B. Hunt’s fourth quarter comes in ahead of consensus as the intermodal, brokerage and truckload divisions see notable year-over-year improvements.

For bulk commodity shipping, a rough start to the year. For container shipping, the profit bonanza continues.

The market set records across the board in 2021, with all-time vacancy lows expected to be set by the end of the first quarter, Colliers says.

Nikola secures a long-term battery supply for its electric trucks with Proterra, which earlier locked up critical cells with LG Energy Solution Electric.

President Biden thanked Verizon and AT&T for agreeing to the delay and said the DOT will continue working on safe 5G deployment.

All Daimler Truck segments reported higher sales in 2021 as the recent spinoff posted its first numbers as a publicly traded entity.

Another guilty plea last week brings the total to 30 for the U.S. attorney’s office.

XPO adds two terminals and 50 dock doors to its North American network.

Among Tuesday’s notes: Elizabeth outbound now a priority, Headhaul Index rises in Cleveland, and more.

FedEx wants to study the feasibility of putting a laser on planes to divert potential missile strikes. The FAA has shelved its review for the time being.

KLLM Transport Services is the latest carrier to announce a historic pay increase for drivers.

Comments coming into FMCSA look to be mostly opposed to the Apprenticeship Pilot Program.

Used truck prices continued to rise as 2021 ended with a short supply of late-model used trucks the main culprit, but there were other reasons too.

The western U.S. railroad is asking a district court in Dallas to prevent two rail unions from striking over changes to BNSF’s attendance program, saying a strike would result in significant disruptions.

For years, the industry has asked for the ability to expand its driver workforce. FMCSA’s apprenticeship program is that opportunity, and now is time to jump on this opportunity.

FedEx wants to put a laser-emitting device on a certain aircraft to protect against a missile attack. By all indications it’s for a very limited test, not a fleetwide procurement.

“We need to be able to not only get that data, but as a transportation industry, we need to understand how to interpret that data,” said Brad Benbow, business growth investments at Ardagh Group.

A winter storm slammed the eastern U.S. over the holiday weekend (video forecast included).

Data indicates delivery companies may have been overstaffed for the peak shipping season, leading to fewer delays and a successful season.

The railroad wants stricter penalties for those caught stealing from trains.

Freightos is expanding its North American air cargo customer base with the acquisition of 7L Freight.

A confluence of critical events will determine if the company can deliver on its margin improvement pledge.

Warehouse robotics firm Exotec has raised $335 million in funding as it looks to deploy more of its solutions in fulfillment operations.

Clean up on Runway 2, please! We’ve got rubber deposits.

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Mexican fishing vessels will be barred from US Gulf ports; Mexico drops to third place among U.S. trade partners; Canada joins Mexico in a USMCA automotive dispute; and FedEx will open a distribution center in central Texas.

Reefer demand remains strong heading into late January, breaking seasonal patterns that many have come to expect.

This week: the transportation industry supports Truckers Against Trafficking, J.B. Hunt drivers donate school supplies to their kids’ teachers and Mayor Pete gets a bobblehead.

As the vaccine mandates begin for truckers at the U.S.-Canada border, here are five burning questions about what’s required, how many drivers might leave and what the freight markets are telling us.

Time is running out for trucking companies to upgrade or replace third-generation mobile devices to 5G network services or face possible violations if logging devices can’t function properly.