News

FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller and associate editor JP Hampstead recap the week in freight.

Trucking market keeps rising against easy comparisons

Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden said that for the past year, positive unit economics has been Bird’s top priority for a sustainable long-term business. This is an ideology that departs from that of many startups and emerging companies whose focus seems to be on top line growth and revenue building.

A $455,000 settlement has been reached in a case involving a Tennessee-based trucking company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) following an investigation centered around the carrier’s former owner, who also served as its chief financial officer, and the company’s former ESOP trustee.

Three heavy hitters to take the stage at FreightWaves LIVE next month in Chicago.

Sunset Transportation, a St. Louis-based third-party logistics (3PL) provider, recently opened a new customs brokerage office and warehouse facility at the U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas. The new Laredo branch […]

PepsiCo is introducing 15 Tesla Semi electric trucks at its Frito-Lay manufacturing site in Modesto, California.

National futures forward curve points to potential economic trouble ahead.

Walmart graduates first class from in-DC supply chain academy

Four of six major truck makers are reducing production line speed and/or laying off manufacturing workers. Market leader Daimler Trucks North America will cut 900 jobs in North Carolina on Oct. 14.

Traxens says the new standard will facilitate growth in smart container usage.

The outlook for the global economy has deteriorated significantly due to escalation in the U.S.-China trade war, according to Fitch Ratings’ Global Economic Outlook (GEO). The credit rating agency forecasts […]

Self-driving cars from a U.K. startup Oxbotica took to Stratford’s streets earlier this week, successfully wading through traffic and proving itself safe to navigate in an urban setting.

Five to 10 inches of Friday snow for mountains in the northern Rockies. Slush, light snow in the valleys.

The Government Accountability Office found that Treasury, State and Commerce agencies, which administer U.S. economic sanctions, lack the ability to definitively measure their effectiveness.

Image: Jim Allen/FreightWaves by FreightWaves’ Lincoln Duff Hello and welcome to another edition of Lincoln’s Logs, where I call out some of my favorite data in SONAR that can empower […]

“Your body is your engine” and needs routine maintenance to prevent a breakdown.

NTSB asserts added flexibility could increase risk of crashes

Unable to raise cash to continue operating, Slovenia’s flag carrier has ceased operations

The Baltic Exchange has been unrivaled in its creation of indices for dry freight futures. That may be about to change.

Enter Uber Works – an app that connects shift-workers with shift jobs. The app officially launched in Chicago on October 2.

Plus: Silicon Valley parents skeptical of AVs; London completes first self-driving pilot.

The transfer of production out of China to avoid U.S. tariffs of up to 25% is having a tangible impact on global trade flows.

Two very different discussions about the same topic – drivers – will be featured this weekend on FreightWaves Radio. Steve Iskander of DriverReach will chat with co-hosts John Kingston and […]

Spain’s road transport sector faces a “profound” shortfall in drivers, says IRU

UPS is adding infrastructure capacity for its airline to keep up with demand for Next-Day air volume.

Company insists contractors are held to “high standards.”

The United Auto Workers union strike against General Motors (GM) has forced GM to stop production at more factories across Mexico. General Motors announced it was shutting down its auto […]

Canadian third-party logistics provider purchases asset-based firms in Calgary specializing in large-format deliveries of consumer goods.

The forward curve inches lower.

Gur Kimchi talks about Amazon’s approach to delivering packages to your doorstep via drone.

Preliminary September orders for Class 8 trucks improved over August but remained stagnant as fleets delayed booking new equipment in the face of ongoing trade tensions slowing swaths of the manufacturing economy.

FreightWaves’ Chief Analytics Officer Dean Croke (who also has been a professional truck driver), reviews the newest Freightliner Cascadia.

Canadian auto parts firm’s shares plunge by more than 10% after it warns of earnings hit from a slowdown in General Motors orders.

The consultants Drewry and supply chain software company CyberLogitec say technology could help small and medium shippers by reducing volatile spot rates.

A Minnesota-based trucking company has agreed to pay $22,500 to settle a federal lawsuit stemming from allegations it required a truck driver to pay fees to have his certified service dog ride in the truck with him.

Deepscale’s focus on computer vision to give cars “sight” is different from light detection and ranging (LIDAR).

Freight Futures mostly unchanged in quiet trading session on Wednesday.

“We don’t know where the bridge went. We do know it went down, most of the middle sections did go down to the south.”

TriumphPay announced that it has entered into a new partnership with U.S. Xpress to provide the company with real-time visibility into its brokerage payment services.

Looking to specify your next Class 8 truck to maximize uptime? Here’s what you need to know.

The 2019 Top Companies for Women to Work in Transportation also were recognized at the Women In Trucking conference.

More downpours add to flood threat in parts of Desert Southwest hit hard yesterday. New spots of flooding also likely.

Ruth Lopez receives award at the Women In Trucking Association’s annual conference this week.

The urgency to get zero-emissions trucks into testing in climate-conscious California continues with Penske Truck Leasing’s purchase of a Kalmar Ottawa battery-electric model.

The Netherlands is closing down its Groningen gas field by 2022; the U.S. economy might be inching towards recession; electric vehicles will be the future of mobility.

File this one under the category of “be careful what you wish for.” In a letter to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) filed as part of a […]

High driver turnover rates have been common in the trucking industry for several decades. Improving the quality of discussions between fleet management and drivers might help reduce the churn.

The new executives contributed greatly to CSX as the railroad made operational changes, the company said.

The introduction of new low-sulfur fuels, bearish demand and increased blanked sailings will bring more volatility to box markets in the coming months, says MSI.

Last Week’s Pricing Power Index: 35 (Shippers) The trucking industry operates in a market based on real-time demand and supply. When demand is higher than capacity, carriers gain negotiating power […]

New Jersey-based telematics provider PowerFleet, Inc., formerly I.D. Systems, announced on October 3 that it has completed its acquisition of Pointer Telocation.

“Items that likely would have been forfeited, slated for auction or destroyed as part of a final disposition are now going to help those in need,” CBP’s Miami International Airport port director said.

This Green New Deal for Freight Transport is a series of cost-effective practical steps, using existing technologies to achieve zero emission freight transport by 2050.

As two large companies in the freight industry announced they were eliminating or scaling back trucking services in Mexico last week, industry insiders say cross-border trade will continue to expand. […]

Companies file a flurry of lawsuits against the big four U.S. Class I railroads, alleging their fuel surcharge programs violated antitrust laws.

Dredging could begin in late 2020 after port finishes shoreside upgrades.

Crude tanker rates continue to surge, driven by geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, container rates remain weak.

For the past several years, the crash statistics for large trucks and buses have been getting worse. While this could be driven by many different factors, from the prevalence of cell phone use and distracted driving to the deteriorating nature of U.S. infrastructure, the trends simply cannot be ignored by the trucking industry.

Unionized Canadian drivers for CNTL approve four-year agreement that increases rates for wait times and mileage.

USPS faces big revenue, volume erosion from loss of big Parcel Select customers, ShipMatrix says

Heading into earnings season, the railroads clearly have a revenue headwind as carloads declined again in the latest week.

The rulemakings address cost of capital calculations and rail performance data for chemicals and plastics traffic; shippers also press Board to act on fuel surcharges.

Dan Doran suggests the industry should’ve focused on HOS revisions before discussing ELDs.

Anheuser-Busch is one of the biggest customers in line for hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric trucks from Nikola Corp., iNow, it is jumping into California’s electric truck demonstration race with 21 BYD battery-electric beer delivery trucks.

Groups say existing federal laws trump Illinois’ mandate on train crew size.

Energy markets appear to believe that capacity constraints will raise diesel prices next year.

Postmates just announced a partnership with Walgreens and Duane Read stores – all 174 of them – in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

WTO green-lights $7.5 billion of tariffs

Truck subsidiary of Volkswagen AG will split investment into electric vehicle and software development to speed introduction of alternative fuel and self-driving commercial vehicle options

Tel Aviv is the carrier’s latest destination

Officials with the McAllen Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) will soon take a second tour of China to look for new partnership opportunities in that country. Keith Patridge, president and chief […]

YRC merges terminals in northern Michigan in first step of network optimization plan since landing new financing

TCA Vice President of Government Affairs, Dave Heller and TCA Manager of Government Affairs, Kathryn Sanner For the past several years, the crash statistics for large trucks and buses have […]

After a lower contract roll, Freight Futures start looking to fundamentals.

Ontario-based firm acquires Trailwood Transport, an automotive specialist located near two Honda plants, and nearby Nexus Freight, which will bolster local capacity.

Maintaining strict emissions regulations and levying a carbon tax on freight movement will help reduce mortality rates due to air pollution.

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America will work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to develop the education program.

Only 5% of carriers are still using automatic onboard recording devices (AOBRDs), according to a FreightWaves survey conducted in conjunction with EROAD and CarrierLists.

[Editor’s Note: The photo has been updated to reflect a plane currently in service] Delta Air Lines’ [NYSE: DAL] cargo volume fell 10.5% in September to 167.8 million freight ton […]

The civil equipment industry is thriving in the face of an overall manufacturing and industrial slowdown with demand for 5G fiber-optic cable installations and state-funded infrastructure projects among the main reasons.

Deliveries of automated defibrillators by drone beat paramedics by seven minutes to simulated cardiac arrest patients during round of test flights in Canada.

Growing investment and consumer interest in laboratory-grown meat will change the dynamics of the industry.

Several Plains states will have wet, slushy or snowy roads today with flash flooding likely in some areas.

With Thomas Cook in liquidation, lucrative take-off and landing slots are highly prized

AvatarFleet is in the business of simplifying the process in which transportation companies find not just drivers, but safe drivers.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said three GE subsidiaries failed to use “reasonable care” by accepting payments from a Cuban entity associated with a Canadian customer.

Salesforce drew on three years of data from 4,500 e-commerce sites to generate its forecast.

ChemDirect, an online marketplace serving the chemical industry, announces it has joined the Blockchain in Transportation Alliance (BiTA), an organization dedicated to determining best practices and standards for blockchain in the transportation industry.

Along with serving bigger ships and longer trains, the port of Savannah is making truck fluidity a priority.

TruckPark offers drivers the chance to reserve a parking space at dozens of locations throughout the country. A new partnership with Storemytruck.com will expand those locations to eventually include more than 10,000 available spaces at more than 140 locations.

From Oct. 1 new low-sulfur fuel charges are being levied by some container lines with more to follow through Q4. Use of the fuels is not mandatory until January 1, 2020.

Truck drivers trying to make deliveries to and from cargo warehouses at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday could experience delays from labor protests scheduled to occupy portions of surrounding […]

Trucking companies can now register for the drug and alcohol clearinghouse being administered and operated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the agency announced on October 1.

Meritor, Inc. announced that it is laying off employees across the entire company in response to declining global truck and trailer demand.

Less-than-truckload volumes to continue to be pressured by weak September ISM report

The railway grappled with not only the potential for cold temperatures but also macro uncertainty in crafting plan.

U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian crude aboard Chinese ships ensnare Canadian-headquartered, New York-listed owner of Bahamas-flagged vessels carrying Russian cargoes via Arctic Sea.

Like Lyft, Uber is also decentralizing car-sharing in an effort to defy categories and shift user perception.

Export and import volumes falling well below earlier estimates as economy slows and trade tensions rise.