News

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.

Ghost flights — passenger aircraft with no passengers, only cargo — were never a thing before the coronavirus pandemic. In the past year, airlines have operated thousands of passenger aircraft as mini-freighters. Who are the industry leaders?

Changes in customer demand and rising expectations are helping force the transportation industry to evolve in order to meet the growth of this market.

XGen has launched a platform that connects to e-commerce sites, providing shoppers with a more personalized experience with relevant recommendations and other interactions.

In the midst of vehicle electrification, Terminal Investment Corp. is enlisting the help of Volvo Penta and Cummins to create its first terminal tractor with an electric powertrain.

VIP Rail and Procor announce partnership that provides Procor’s railcar repair and cleaning services to VIP Rail customers in Ontario, while Navis Rail develops a workforce management system.

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

‘We pulled it off!’ says salvage company Boskalis after freeing the container ship.

Wind gusts reaching 70 mph Monday will impact truckers in more than a dozen states (with forecast video).

Every day, over 30,000 people play trucking simulation games on Steam.

Digging and pulling haven’t freed the giant Ever Given vessel that has stopped traffic in the Suez Canal. The next step might be to lighten the vessel by removing cargo.

Miss one of our podcasts this week? Get caught up here!

By and large, trucks from Canada and Mexico can’t move domestic loads within the U.S. But things get a little more complicated in the nitty-gritty of federal cabotage regulations.

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: KCS expands Mexico rail service to Port of Veracruz; furniture maker leases space in Laredo, PGT Trucking opens new terminals in Arizona and Arkansas; and CBP seizes $1.4 million in drugs in Laredo.

Transportation rates continue to climb while service is at an all-time low. Shippers will have to be aggressive in devising new strategies to keep costs under control.

Largely spared the automotive industry impact from semiconductor shortages, truck manufacturers are starting to take downtime.

The automotive writer who tracked down Ford’s long-lost turbine semi-truck, ‘Big Red,’ says, “There is more to come.”

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.

In today’s edition, we highlight the sentencing of a former trucking CFO for wire fraud, investigate potential cabotage rules violations and more

Tender rejections return to all-time high.

Forward Air announces its “largest-ever” rate increase to capacity providers.

Officials say a sandstorm caused the Ever Given container ship to become lodged in the Suez Canal.

The longer the Suez saga continues, the greater the container, tanker and dry bulk shipping impacts. There could be big losers — and winners.

On this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, Dooner and The Dude continue the conversation about the Suez Canal blockage and hear the founding story of Convoy.

The stimulus is providing a huge boost to Americans, who by and large, still remain unable to spend on big-ticket services like concerts, sporting events or amusement parks. The recent stimulus has created the strongest spending gains in furniture, online electronics and clothing.

Welcome aboard, freight customers. You’re now flying CMA CGM to the U.S. East Coast instead of taking a container ship.

Amazon is reversing course and dropping plans to monitor drivers for mask wearing compliance in its branded vehicles.

“With insurance costs and driver turnover skyrocketing over the past several years, our mission is to help fleets overcome these challenges and create a safety culture that is not only valued by their drivers but also their insurance providers,” said co-CEO of Idelic.

Trade is bottled up around the world and part of the problem is the difficulty in getting seafarers and pilots back and forth across borders.

February rail service issues are still being felt in March, raising concerns about the Canadian rail network’s ability to handle increased grain volumes in future years.

Additional dredgers have been brought in to help dig out the 20,000-TEU Evergreen Marine container ship.

Ramifications from the Suez Canal backup will last for weeks. Steve Ferreira breaks down what you need to know to deal with the downstream effects on this episode of Navigate B2B.

As consumers become accustomed to same-day delivery, retailers and their delivery partners are facing increased pressure to improve the overall experience.

Former CFO Nicky Osborne of shuttered Bison Global Logistics was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and ordered to pay back nearly $8 million in fraud and tax evasion scheme.

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.

Investor-led climate change initiative Climate Action 100+ assessed 159 corporations that contribute most to global industrial GHG emissions to evaluate progress.

Sahej Singh steps through Reliance Partners’ usage-based and API insurance offerings for the transportation and logistics industry.

Wind gusts exceeding 50 mph Friday will impact truckers heading to leading freight markets in the Northeast (with forecast video).

In today’s edition, we highlight a virtual ride-along in a Waymo Via autonomous truck, a ransomware attack that underscores freight communications vulnerabilities and more.

Trucking companies in the United States and Mexico are violating cabotage rules by misusing Mexican B-1 visa drivers, allege stakeholders in Texas and Mexico.

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

The U.S. secretary of transportation testifies before Congress on the Biden administration’s infrastructure priorities.

Air Transport Services Group is riding the e-commerce wave. It’s expanding its fleet to meet demand from Amazon and other customers.

Kaylee Nix and Michael Vincent look at the latest updates on company mergers and container ship problems on this episode of Midday Market Update.

The pandemic slashed ride volumes for medical transportation providers that brought patients to appointments. Now, some want to bring drugs and supplies to patients.

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

Also on the podcast: Why retail diesel prices don’t drop as fast as declines in wholesale.

The Maersk Eureka is 650 miles off the coast of Alaska awaiting repairs

Union Pacific and logistics company Savage Services are constructing Idaho’s first-ever intermodal terminal at UP’s rail yard in Pocatello.

Increased use of micro-fulfillment centers and more efficient vehicles and routing can reduce carbon emissions by 25% in urban environments, according to Accenture.

In 2020, J.B. Hunt reported more than 1.2 million loads were processed through its platform, exceeding $1.4 billion in transactions.

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.

In this week’s episode of the Taking The Hire Road podcast, Jeremy Reymer, founder and CEO of DriverReach, and Brad Vaughn, VP of recruitment for Maverick Transportation, discuss more modern and unconventional ways to successfully attract drivers.

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.

DHL Express was pleased with a trial of nine Lightning eMotors electric Ford Transit vans and is now ordering an additional 89 units to deploy in New York and California.

The truckload market is looking very strong this year and freight brokers are riding high.

Cargo Cove is the latest logistics company to move toward automation in its warehouse, adding AI-powered software and eventually autonomous robots to its Jacksonville facility.

CSX must again file its plans to acquire New England short line Pan Am Railways as a “significant” transaction.

On this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Dooner and The Dude spend eight rounds talking to people from every corner of the freight industry about the roles they play in keeping things moving.

Through its partnership with Convoy, Ardagh Group saved 34,632 pounds of CO2 in the past year by maximizing efficiency and eliminating empty miles

Truckers should stay very weather aware Thursday. A severe storm outbreak is likely to hit the South (with forecast video).

The TWIC program provides drivers with government identification cards, like a driver’s license, to access secured maritime facilities and vessels. U.S. citizens and certain immigration categories can apply for the program.

In today’s edition, we highlight TuSimple’s plans to become a public company, the Postal Service’s plan for the next 10 years and more.

Lured by the promise of better pay and the American dream, some foreign drivers found themselves trapped in an alleged human-trafficking scheme.

Back in the Aristotle Onassis era, a Suez Canal closure was a tanker game changer. Today, tanker upside from the canal accident is limited.

Strong e-commerce demand, tight supply and higher construction materials costs are a challenging brew for occupiers, CBRE says.

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

“Detention is a very sticky subject. … Using [visibility] technology you have the data to determine the legitimacy of that request,” TruckerCloud CEO Sam Powers tells Grace Sharkey during the FreightWaves 3PL Summit.

Working with carriers, adapting to their needs and appreciating them are essential strategies in a freight market with tight capacity, NFI and BlueGrace executives say during a fireside chat at FreightWaves’ 3PL Summit.

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

Chad Eichelberger and Emily Chiarizia discuss the best approaches for insurance requirements and vetting carriers.

What’s hot in FreighTech? Several companies showcased the best of the best during the FreightWaves 3PL Summit.

No matter where truckers go in the U.S., they can find fun roadside attractions offering plenty of parking.

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.

“Strong winds” are blamed for causing the 20,000-TEU Ever Given to get stuck and block Suez Canal traffic in both directions.

Nolan Transportation Group President Geoff Kelley chats with FreightWaves Chief Strategy Officer JT Engstrom about how the logistics industry can move forward with lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

K-Ratio’s Lintner says 3PLs facing being “underwater” need to have a conversation with the shipper, to benefit both.

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

Being the biggest or best company in an industry only appeals to customers if you explain how it benefits them, Lee Salz, CEO and author, said during the FreightWaves 3PL Summit.

With a 148% increase in e-commerce returns in 2020 over 2019, the need for online brands to better manage the customer experience is increasing, making end-to-end solutions a necessity.

Digital transactions are necessary as air cargo volumes grow, but setting up those IT links can be tedious. The International Air Transport Association has a new tool to make that process much easier.

Workplace efficiency, whether in an office or at a desk at home, benefits from spending less time sorting emails..

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.

ArcBest’s Danny Loe, head of asset-light logistics and chief yield officer, joins George Abernathy, president of FreightWaves, to chat about the new normal for procuring capacity during the 3PL Summit.

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.

“Human-centered design is at the heart of what we do,” Transfix CEO Lily Shen tells Andrew Cox during an episode of Point of Sale aired as part of FreightWaves’ 3PL Summit.

RPG has acquired a 200,000-square-foot San Diego industrial facility with plans to redevelop it to accommodate e-commerce warehousing and distribution.

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.

Stimulus checks and the timing of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout are seen as factors in a lower number of searches for driver jobs.

Anne Reinke provides insight on current concerns and future opportunities as the president and CEO of TIA in keynote address.

FedEx Corp. unveiled plans to reach carbon neutrality across its global delivery network by 2040 with a fully electrified surface transport fleet.

Truckers will have to be on their toes in the South as the risk of severe weather increases (with forecast video).

In today’s edition, we highlight the shake-up at UPS by CEO Carol Tomé, MyCarrier’s round of funding, the 73 top women in transportation and more.

Uber’s decision to upgrade the status of its U.K. drivers puts added pressure on the company in the U.S. to do the same, even though experts say it has no legal impact on this side of the Atlantic.