News

Also on this week’s show: the tremendous rise in diesel inventories.

This week the carriers gain some pricing power on the back of surging volumes. Tender rejections are beginning to show signs of life and spot rates are up in most markets.

Pharmaceutical supply chains are becoming increasingly complex as the path from production to consumption isn’t as linear as one may think.

As car manufacturers resume production, the trickle-down effect may breathe new life into the hard-hit auto hauling industry.

Lineage Logistics’ bid for food service distributor Maines expected to save 850 jobs.

Port of LA chief promotes nationwide port optimization system to enhance visibility and improve execution

Ford reopens Dearborn and Chicago facilities; U.S. GDP predicted to slide by 40% in three months to June; Target saw sales rise by 10.8% last quarter.

Digital freight matching has pushed the industry to adapt.

Abduvosit Razikov, chief executive of DM World, who was individually named in the breach-of-contract lawsuit, isn’t new to the trucking industry, having started at least four companies in Florida since 2008.

U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner Rebecca Dye said Fact Finding 29’s work will help the American ocean shipping industry better prepare the supply chain for the post-virus economic recovery.

Late season snowfall may slow down truckers this weekend heading through Northwest mountains.

At least two governments, Australia and New Zealand, are helping to correct distortions in the airfreight market.

The Class I railroads are hoping that the restart of U.S. automotive production will be one of the first significant steps towards growing rail volumes. Automakers are resuming production as weekly U.S. carloads tumble 30% year-over-year, the widest decline since 1988.

The word of the day: deep clean. Except for picking up trash, cleaning airplanes before the coronavirus happened mostly after a long day of flying. Now cleanliness is a top priority. Planes and terminals are being cleaned throughout the day, and much more thoroughly.

FourKites has announced several new features, including paperless document transfer and communication tools, to enhance worker safety, improve shipment tracking, and speed payment processes.

The most recent court filings are part of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware hearings for trucking company Celadon Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 9.

Expanded services come as the coronavirus outbreak accelerates demand for e-commerce fulfillment

Funds from the Paycheck Protection Program has allowed some fleets to remain in business despite low rates, but as the program ends, some companies may not survive and capacity will tighten as a result and rates will rise.

Agriculture Transportation Coalition hears pandemic’s effect on global movement of goods

TravelCenters of America is focusing on franchise growth to close the gap in travel center locations with its larger competitors Pilot Co. and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores.

Tanker owners increasingly point to upside to come after floating storage unloads.

The fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021 might be when the intermodal sector will see some volume growth. But truck capacity, fuel pricing and pandemic uncertainties make a recovery hard to pin down.

Fleet management solutions provider also raises $400 million in equity to help sustain operations during coronavirus downturn

One manufacturer’s decision to erase 10,000 Class 8 trucks from its build plan threw the industry into negative territory in April; experts expect scant improvement in May.

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission finds sufficient credibility in Lake Carriers’ Association petition to support invoking rarely used 1920 Merchant Marine Act investigative authority.

In some states, companies are now allowed to bring their employees back into the building. That process may end up being far more complex than anticipated.

Recently, a longtime employee of a local car dealership was terminated, allegedly due to a dispute with a co-worker and a subsequent failure to appear at work, showing once again that employers should be careful in handling employment termination decisions which effect those in a protected class.

At Wolfe conference, Home Depot said it is still counting on the carrier

FMCSA plans to “leverage technology” to conduct off-site compliance reviews during pandemic emergency.

Zach Strickland breaks down rejections in the Carrier Update presented by PowerFleet, Luke Falasca talks to brokers about where tender rejections are rising in the Broker Update, and Andrew Cox […]

Latest Canada Border Services Agency data shows uptick in commercial vehicle traffic in a good sign for cross-border freight.

Covenant Transportation Group provides an update on the ‘strategic plan,’ announced breakeven results in April during first quarter conference call.

Airline watchers need to pump the brakes on optimism for an industry recovery just because some preliminary figures show an uptick in bookings and fewer cancellations, says Delta’s CFO.

“We are anticipating an historic high water level.” Michigan governor commenting on dam failures and flooding.

High sea surface temperatures and a lack of wind shear will encourage storm formation.

Jim Blaze writes about the advantages to the railroads of rebuilding locomotives instead of buying new ones.

Salesforce Labs has launched the Supplyforce Bot on Salesforce AppExchange to improve real-time communication within the supply chain. (Photo: Salesforce)

Heavy rain, potential road closures may delay freight flows between large markets of Columbus and Charlotte.

Recent stabilization in truckload markets with a recovery expected later in the year were some of the takeaways from Wolfe Research’s investor conference.

Chris McMillin of AIT Worldwide Logistics addresses how advanced technology can deliver supply chain solutions.

Airbus expands manufacturing capability in the U.S. with a new assembly line.

A surge in domestic inventory could spur demand for U.S. logistics warehousing space as businesses reshore their overseas manufacturing and ongoing social distancing behavior by U.S. consumers continues to drive […]

Tonnage slipped 12% during April at Port Houston, declining due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

The partnership could help Microsoft usher in a new era of retail.

Kriska looks beyond its cross-border bread and butter as it buys small drayage business from Wills Transfer

FMCSA’s Mullen scheduled to meet with White House officials, according to source.

An exclusive interview with Deutsche Bank’s Amit Mehrotra on what COVID-19 means to transport stocks.

Covenant Transportation Group sees a breakeven April and noted that May trends have “stabilized” as it moves forward with restructuring efforts.

Pandemic-caused shortages put spotlight on importance of cargo moved through California ports

Driegert said that shipper expectations for technology and speed of execution have irrevocably shifted.

Wallbox, a smart EV charging company headquartered in Spain, closes second round of series A funding as it expands into the United States

William Driegert Cofounder and Head of Operations at Uber Freigh and more on today’s Coronavirus Freight Market Update.

Interoperability between host and tenant railroads nears 60% at the end of the first quarter, up from 48% in December.

Brian Aoaeh provides statistics and insight into how freight and shipping professionals are working during the pandemic.

Supply chain management solutions provider project44 said it has shippers covered no matter where and how their cargo is transported throughout the world.

Alberta-based trucking and crane provider blames COVID-19 and the collapse of the oil sector as it looks to sell off its businesses in Canada and the United States.

The more sailings cancelled, the more risk to companies leasing container ships to carriers.

Airlines know 2020 will be financially bleak but are seeing some green shoots of customer activity as encouraging.

Echo Global Logistics is adding truck parking reservation service TruckPark to its EchoDrive Preferred platform, allowing drivers to easily reserve parking spaces through the web portal or app.

The FreightWaves Quarterly Shipper Rate Report is crafted with contributions from US Bank, Recon Logistics and Blume Global.

Actions by the Surface Transportation Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada show both agencies exploring whether there is a need to modify existing regulations.

Heavy rain, freight flow delays likely between two large markets of Columbus and Charlotte.

Analysts reached their conclusion after discussions with head of TCA Profitability Program

Bulkloads.com has rolled out the first phase of a planned TMS system to ease document transfer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, ports see container declines, diesel prices fall again and Ikea looking at buying malls.

Warehouse operations have also been affected by COVID-19. Here are some suggestions that may help increase efficiency of operations.

Walmart bested analyst expectations as grocery and household items drive comparison sales 10% higher and ecommerce accelerates 74%.

As various parts of the nation and the world begin to open up, there will be logistical and supply chain issues. Darren Prokop explores those issues.

Reversing course for the third time, Mexican officials said auto plants could open before June 1 as long as manufacturers follow adequate safety measures.

Nine carriers in the Digital Container Shipping Association say eliminating paper from transactions will improve all aspects of the process.

These two industry leaders discuss the partnership with FreightWaves, cyber security malware, and more from the virtual event of the year.

NCBFAA President Janet Fields has knowledge and skills to lead industry through worst of times, former association President Amy Magnus says.

Major truck manufacturers are using digital tools for ordering parts, repairing equipment faster and transporting trucks for service because of staff shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Good news: Vaccine shows promise. Bad news: Floating storage economics vanish.

Northwest Seaport Alliance reports 39 canceled sailings in first four months of 2020.

Trucking Freight Futures ended the week on a down note across the board Friday as uncertainty in the market continues to weigh. Friday’s downturn mostly wiped out a recovery in the futures markets week-over-week.

Comcar, Hertz, and Uber all facing financial woes. Dooner and The Dude explore on today’s episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

Face masks and other personal protective equipment are worth their weight in gold these days, and German authorities are protecting shipments accordingly.  Lufthansa Airlines (FWB: LHA) on Monday opened a […]

Opendock’s data aggregation shows beer distributors seeing strong sales during pandemic.

Zach Strickland expands on how volumes are growing since mid-March in the Carrier Update sponsored by PowerFleet, and then Anthony Smith and Mike Baudendistel discuss how falling imports foreshadow intermodal […]

Unlike many other bankruptcies, this one looks like jobs are being kept

Growth at Uber Freight took a pause in Q1 while the digital brokerage trimmed losses.

Cyclone Amphan being called a potential “nightmare scenario” for millions of people in Bangladesh and India.

The coronavirus pandemic caught the world off guard, and it has ratcheted up the pressure on 3PLs and brokers to quickly adapt and employ new technologies.

Futuristic mobility company HyperloopTT uses virtual collaboration platform Workplace to seamlessly connect all of its spread-out employees.

Israel’s flagship carrier El Al is struggling to hold on financially during the COVID-19 pandemic and is looking to the government for a lifeline.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission says an amendment to the Puerto Nuevo Terminals Agreement poses no anticompetitive concern.

Fullbay, the heavy-duty repair software provider, has launched Fullbay Cares, making a donation to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada each time a repair shop signs on to the Fullbay platform in May. Plus, Texas DOT hacked, dynamic route planning takes hold, and the new COVID reality

Rain changes to heavy snowfall today in the Sierra Nevada. Freight flow delays are possible on Interstate 80.

Carriers shift to road experience as entry-level applications drop off.

Buyers are considered “stalking horses” under section 363 of bankruptcy law,

Manitoba carrier Paul’s Hauling credited with helping avoid wider spread from terminal thanks to proactive siloing of employees and close collaboration with health authorities.

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Cross-border trade is key for economic growth; US-Mexico truck crossings declined 8% through April 2020; transportation software firm moving to Texas; and Laredo CBP finds $11 million worth of meth inside shipment of flooring.

Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Volume Index– USA SONAR: OTVI.USA After experiencing one of the most volatile periods in history over the past two months, freight market volumes have recovered to […]

Be Prepared to Stop is a few years old but still highly relevant,

Travel bans, shelter-in-place orders and virtually no demand for rental cars created a domino effect that is hammering the auto industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Korean Air is the latest airline to get government aid and raise capital to increase its cash position.

Sese Logistics said it worked several weeks and “incurred $152,433 in fees and expenses in obtaining the release” of the trailers.

Load volumes and rejections improve this week

Box import volumes may be falling fast, but there are glimmers of hope.

Workflow automation technology company RPA Labs has landed its first round of capital, netting $1.2 million in a pre-seed round. Schematic Ventures led the round, along with PSA UnBoxed (Port […]