News

Is US airfreight due for a resurgence after 20-year hibernation?

Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) expects to have the next stage of its new operating plan in place by the end of July. In this next stage, which Norfolk Southern dubs “TOP 21,” the railroad will seek to run heavier trains and have them run faster along some routes.

The company’s net income in the first quarter was $37.1 million, or $0.98 cents per diluted share, up 76.6 percent compared to net income of $21 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2018. This exceeded analysts’ expectations of $0.88 per share for the first quarter of 2019.

Knight-Swift Transportation reported adjusted earnings per share that were ahead of analysts’ expectations. FreightWaves was able to speak with David A. Jackson, Knight-Swift Transportation’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

CEO Paul Svindland calls settlement “milestone” in path to stability after hit from financial scandal.

Winds close to 150 mph, major storm surge about to slam parts of Africa never hit by a cyclone in modern times.

World’s largest ocean freight forwarder sees volume growth thanks to Asian export markets and its niche plays in pharma and healthcare.

Sluggish demand in the export trades from Asia to Europe has seen carriers blank nine sailings for the month of May 2019, taking out 115,000TEU in capacity, in an effort to bolster rates against slow growth.

Port Logistics Group, one of the nation’s leading providers of omnichannel logistics services, announced its acquisition of Whiplash Merchandising, Inc. on April 24, effective immediately.

CIT Group provides revolving credit line to the feeder ship company and shareholders vote to authorize additional shares.

Bottom line comes in light. Investors wary to unimpressed.

The expanded Neopanamax locks of the Panama Canal, which debuted in June 2016, have been a boon for many shipping sectors, but they were specifically designed with container shipping in mind. Lock capacity is measured in twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU).

Ford invests $500M in electric pickup maker; plus U.S. may be pulling freight from trucking, India seeks logistics technology upgrades, and scientists call for unity on electric vehicles.

Intermodal business surges from acquisitions made during 2018.

Landstar’s President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Gattoni said that he is “comfortable” with the current full-year consensus EPS estimate of $6.41.

FreightWaves’ kick-ass Transparency19 will take place May 6-8 in Atlanta. New opportunities for SONAR and Trucking Freight Futures are available; learn how to register and take part!

As GasLog Partners reported its quarterly earnings, its CEO commented on prospects for both spot and long-term charter markets. He optimistically believes current spot weakness will be short-lived, and that rates will be driven higher by the wave of new liquefaction projects coming onstream.

Retail rebounded from a disappointing February in March, with the growth rate climbing from 2.2 percent to 3.6 percent year-over-year. It was one of the strongest rebounds seen in the retail sector since mid-2017.

Roper Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ROP) reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.30 in the first quarter of 2019, up from $2.61 in the same quarter last year.

In partnership with Reliance Partners …

Truckers often are under a lot of stress due to being away from their family for days at end, erratic sleep cycles, and other issues while they haul freight. Communicating with their dispatchers and retrospecting stress-related incidents are key to reducing stress.

The company issued soft second quarter guidance, expecting organic net sales to range anywhere from flat to down 2.5 percent from the second quarter of 2018. The company also expects adjusted EPS to fall next quarter.

Kyocera Corporation will celebrate its 60th anniversary and its second consecutive year of record sales by paying out shares to its employees and confidently predicts a third year of record sales with further mergers and acquisitions to come.

CEO Gantt lowered capex guidance by $10 million to $480 million, likely reflecting top line headwinds, but we’re waiting to hear updated revenue guidance in the conference call.

In the second-part of its series on the Panama Canal, FreightWaves interviews a canal authority executive on trends for container-ship transits and expectations for ship size growth in the years ahead.

After languishing for years, tanker stocks are rising in 2019. Investors are seeking to get in early on the belief that the turnaround in rates is nigh. They’ve been wrong before — will their bets pay off this time?

Despite its takeover by ocean carrier, Swiss freight forwarder keeping it multi-modal with introduction of rail service from China to Europe.

Eric Johnson is hired as executive director and John-Kaare Aune is named managing director.

President Trump is reportedly considering granting Puerto Rico a 10-year waiver that will allow the island to receive U.S.-origin LNG exports on board foreign-flag vessels.

Ashley Coker IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK The amount of capacity that has flooded the market in 2019 has put downward pressure on rates. Rates for long distance trucking declined for the third […]

The committee guides the Transportation secretary on matters relating to marine transportation.

Air assets and a European Maritime Safety Agency satellite team will continue to monitor the area to ensure the long-term absence of oil spills.

Kenny Rocker, EVP of sales and marketing, said the rollout of the company’s Unified Plan 2020 is complete, which helped the Class I railroad overcome first-quarter challenges.

The project  is part of the $50 million grant the Port of Long Beach received from the California Air Resources Board’s Zero and Near Zero Emission Freight Facility (ZANZEFF) program.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) reported strong first quarter 2019 revenues of nearly $1.34 billion on April 24, up 8.7 percent from $1.24 billion compared with the previous year.

Canadian firm’s transportation segment shines as oil services shows signs of recovery.

Landstar System, Inc. reported first quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.58, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 and $0.21 higher than the 2018 first quarter.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) badly missed analysts’ earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2019. The company reported an adjusted loss per share of $2.90, much worse than analysts’ estimated loss per share of $0.69.

Despite higher operating income, Trinity Industries’ (NYSE: TRN) first quarter 2019 net profit fell 24 percent to $30.6 million from $40.2 million in the first quarter of 2018. TRN consists of three business segments: a rail group that includes the manufacturing of rail parts and tanks; a leasing group; and a highway products and logistics service.

Forty ships detained in 2018 as federal inspectors begin exposing U.S.-flag safety data.

Kenworth will increase the size its Chillicothe, Ohio, manufacturing plant by nearly 25 percent once a new paint facility comes online in early 2021, the company said at a groundbreaking for the $140-million, 120,000-square-foot building.

Centers set for redesign for different inventory.

A top executive of the Panama Canal Authority outlines the prospects for LNG, LPG and crude/product tanker transits through the larger locks of the waterway.

Despite a crash in truckload spot prices (approximately 50% of ECHO revenue), the freight brokerage beat analyst expectations.

Today on FreightWaves Now, Texas is under a storm siege. Intermodal rates are high even while volumes are slightly low. And a deep dive evaluation of what is happening with fuel?

Women In Trucking Association (WIT) named Judy R. McReynolds, chairman, president and chief executive officer of ArcBest, the winner of the fifth annual Women In Trucking Association’s Distinguished Woman in Logistics Award (DWLA).

Theresa May has survived another attempt to oust from her role as Prime Minister, but her position remains precarious with support from her own party having declined substantially since March 2019.

According to Penske, these are the first DC fast charging stations in the U.S. designed specifically for heavy-duty commercial electric vehicles.

Temperatures will top 100° in some Southwest towns the rest of the week. Record could be broken.

In a keynote speech delivered this morning at ACTEXPO, CEO Roger Nielsen declared battery-electric vehicles as the solution to achieve emissions-free commercial transportation in North America.

Backbench MPs fail to reach an agreement on rule changes that will cancel the one year vote of confidence regulation allowing them to challenge Theresa May as her popularity falls and her Brexit policy stalls.

Technology is disrupting the logistics industry at a breakneck pace, and brokerages are not exempt from the changes. While new technologies are intended to help companies run smoother, the implementation process can be riddled with challenges.

After two deadly crashes involving its 737 MAX rattled the company, Boeing (NYSE: BA) is expected to report its earnings Wednesday, highlighting the financial toll of the flawed aircraft.  

Nick Brown, head of marine at classification society Lloyd’s Register, is at the front lines of ocean shipping’s technological evolution. He explains how he sees this transformation playing out.

East Coast Warehouse and the Global Cold Chain Alliance also announce appointments.

CEO Alain Bédard says acquisition will invigorate Canadian firm’s U.S. last-mile business.

According to Lytx data, the following Illinois roads are no stranger to accidents.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: KNX) reported first quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $0.55 per share compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.52 per share.

Recent shipping trends reflect a slowdown in user demand across the air, rail, maritime and truckload modes of transport. Those trends seem to have passed by the $42 billion per […]

Heavy-duty equipment maker tops estimates largely due to one-time tax gain, but the mining business does show better growth.

GATX’s (NYSE: GATX) first quarter profit fell 46 percent to $41.5 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, from $76.3 million, or $1.98 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2018. Chicago-based GATX is a railcar lessor, providing railcars and boxcars to freight railroads and shippers.

In the wake of the 737 MAX crashes and subsequent worldwide grounding of the aircraft, Boeing reports its earnings, which are down for the quarter.

The company posted an operating ratio (OR) of 66 percent, improving on its fourth quarter 2018 OR of 67.8 percent and setting a first quarter record.

Swedish company says market outlook remains positive in North America as order book remains full.

Waymo is setting up the world’s first production facility in Detroit that manufactures Level 4 autonomous vehicles.

Manhattan Associates, Inc. held a call with investors to discuss its first quarter 2019 earnings results which were ahead of analysts’ forecasts on an adjusted basis.

The six awards were handed out to public and private fleets that demonstrate leadership in clean transportation.

The Phoenix Jamnagar will be operated by Phoenix Tankers and primarily will transport crude oil to India.

The agreement to buy the South American companies, which export perishables to the U.S., Europe and Asia, extends the Swiss freight forwarder’s perishables network.

SAP posted impressive growth in cloud revenue while avoiding a concomitant drop in licenses.

It’s a game of several parts as Drewry Shipping Consultants’ World Container Index indicates that rates are marginally down by 0.3 percent compared to the previous week. But the index is massively up, by 12.8 percent, compared with the same period last year. A flattening market can be perceived as “good news” given there have been a couple of weeks of slump.

The meeting, which also will involve Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, reportedly is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Korea’s only remaining container ship line may want to go beyond its slot sharing deal, but Western carriers wary on subsidized shipping.

State, Treasury and Commerce add five enterprises to the Cuba Restricted List for their connection to previously sanctioned Cuban government entities or individuals.

The companies will increase the number of services on which Hyundai Merchant Marine shares space from one to three.

The committee advises the office of the BIS assistant secretary for export administration on technical questions affecting levels of export controls.

Chartworld Shipping, Nederland Shipping and the Nederland Reefer chief engineer were charged with falsifying oil records and not reporting a hull breach to the Coast Guard.

Ashley Coker IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK The economy lost some momentum in the first quarter of 2019, and freight movements were not spared from the softening. However, there are a handful of […]

The number of employees working for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads rose by nearly 1 percent in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the same period last year, according to data collected by the Surface Transportation Board.

ATA points out that the proposal, to be officially unveiled on Capitol Hill this week, makes several wrong assumptions.

Company was solid parcel player in the Northeast for decades.

Fleet owners are being fed data through a fire hose and need better tools and support  to make sense of it all, agreed a panel of experts during a connectivity solutions forum held at ACTEXPO this morning.   

Commonwealth tries to bring more skilled techs into the logistics, warehouse fold.

Numbers usually don’t lie, and they show that tornadoes are increasingly becoming a way of life in the South.

The executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition discusses port congestion, demurrage and detention fees, and ongoing China tariffs on agricultural goods.

Canadian transportation company reports strong performance across businesses following record 2018.

“This past winter was one of the most challenging in my railroading career,” Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) president and chief executive officer Keith Creel said. “I applaud our employees for their resiliency in overcoming loss and pushing through extraordinary conditions and challenges throughout February and March. Our commitment to precision scheduled railroading [PSR] enabled a strong recovery, and gives us a solid foundation moving forward.”

Manhattan Associates, Inc. reported adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.41, $0.04 better year-over-year.

Green shoots: reefer capacity is tightening in south Florida, south Texas, and southern California.

Garage becomes another 21st century delivery node.

Our gauge of high performance is primarily profitability.

Conservative Party backbenchers hope to change the rules on leadership challenges so that they can oust Theresa May, following last December’s failed bid. Members in local associations are also resuming the battle to remove the party leader.

The White House on Monday announced its intent to end sanction waivers to countries still importing revenue-generating oil from Iran.

In his first FreightWaves article, market expert Brian Aoaeh writes about logistics network optimization. He explains how new technology, venture capital money and changing market conditions have converged to open up new opportunities across the global supply chain.

It’s time for your weekly fuel report. More information available exclusively for SONAR users.

FreightWaves Radio’s ninth national show was broadcast on Saturday, April 20 on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Channel 146.

Elon Musk has stated that Tesla would be launching fully autonomous cars by the end of this year, and that he expects to see one million autonomous Tesla cars on the road by 2020.

The company issued a soft outlook, predicting fiscal year 2019 all-in sales growth from in-line to up 1 percent versus 2018, including a negative impact of 3 to 4 percentage points from the combination of negative foreign exchange and a modest positive impact from acquisitions and divestitures.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) reported first quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22 compared with $1.11 in the first quarter of 2018, and an adjusted EPS of $1.20 compared to $1.17 last year, defying analyst expectations.

Three states and several utilities will study the needs of electric trucks along the I-5 corridor to make long-haul electric trucks a reality. Plus, the future of Cummins, flex fuels, and are the Chinese taking our railway jobs?

The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association and longshoremen oppose the plan by the Oakland Athletics to build a ballpark on Port of Oakland property.