News

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.

The shipbuilding campaign has the “potential to exceed 100 new LNG carriers over the next decade,” Qatar’s minister of state for energy affairs said.

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Martha Barcena Coqui on Monday said the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s pioneering labor reforms shouldn’t be taken for granted.

U.S. unveils new strategy in response to increasing investments by Russia and China.

The San Francisco-based fleet management platform for the trucking industry reportedly has a valuation of $1.2 billion following the latest funding round.

Online retailer ramps up warehousing and ocean freight presence as part of meeting tight delivery window demanded by customers.

The funds will go toward expanding services in Louisiana and Virginia and supporting the development of a new service in New York.

The trucking technology provider will use the funds to ramp up hiring, hardware investments, new  partnerships and advancements in machine learning.

The truck is the first of 10 the companies will deploy as part of the ZANZEFF project to haul cargo received at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Jae-hoon Bae also will meet with employees, shippers and the head of the IMO during a visit to Europe less than a month after becoming head of the South Korean […]

Chris Henry, Program Manager, TCA Profitability Program It’s been 15 months since we published the original “Nine Traits” article. That article turned in into a series of presentations that my […]

FMC REVIEWS EIGHT OTI LICENSE APPLICATIONS

Individuals knowing of any reason why an applicant should not receive a license or amendment are urged to contact the Office of Transportation Intermediaries in Washington, D.C.

Individuals knowing of any reason why an applicant should not receive an OTI license or amendment are urged to contact the Office of Transportation Intermediaries.

Container ship owner sees good demand balance with better rates on post-panamax vessels.

Pay hike include Port of Vancouver drivers, who went on strike five years ago.

The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) is planning to buy the manufacturing arm of American Railcar Industries as a way to increase its North American presence.

Saudis and UAE are on board with filling in the gap from lost Iranian oil exports.

Chattanooga, Tennessee-based U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. announced on April 22 it has created a new division, U.S. Xpress Ventures, and has appointed Cameron Ramsdell as president.

The funds will be used to scale its warehouse robotics system, as well as expand sales and marketing in North America and internationally.

Company accelerates re-purchases as it had planned.

The Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) EXPO kicked off today with a pre show unveiling of Toyota and Kenworth’s first jointly-developed fuel cell electric heavy-duty trucks.

Market expert Jim Blaze looks at how rail freight volume has changed over the years and what the outlook is for the next decade. Learn what he thinks will happen to the railroad industry in its long-term competition with trucking to carry freight.

Volvo Trucks North America recalled 14,009 2018-2020 VNL and VNX heavy-duty trucks because the adhesive bond between the glass and hinge of the sleeper bunk window may detach and fall from the vehicle.

Add Ohio and Washington state to the list of states where leaders are debating whether to require freight railroads to have at least two crew members per train. Ohio and Washington state legislators have introduced bills this spring mandating a minimum crew size for freight trains. Washington state’s bill takes the debate one step further by also defining how many crew members should be operating a train that’s carrying crude oil.

Donald Broughton, FreightWaves’ chief market strategist, explains the problems he has with surveys based on ‘sentiment’ – except for the Institute for Supply Management survey. Read why he believes in its results.

Cathy Morrow Roberson explains what makes Miami International Airport (MIA) special, and what the airport, airlines and air cargo companies are doing at that particular facility to facilitate cargo. Learn more about MIA in this article.

Your weekly snapshot of how the markets are doing.

Amazon.com, Inc.’s volumes are so immense that the company has pitched tents to support its deliveries.

Fleets are rapidly deploying video solutions, finally convinced of their benefits, and Trimble is one of the companies benefiting from this.

Nikola Motor Company founder & CEO Trevor Milton admits that he is smart enough to know that there are smarter people than him in the world, and he wanted to leverage that expertise when building his new truck. Enter the industry’s top suppliers.

The BIS and Census Bureau are preparing to release proposals to harmonize the Export Administration Regulations’ and Foreign Trade Regulations’ definitions.

The Class I railroad’s $2.9 billion capital investment plan in 2019 also includes nearly $600 million to be invested across five other states.

FreightWaves adds air temperature information as well as new fleet count data.

The Japanese shipping company announced plans to install the system on 21 very large crude oil carriers it operates.

The report said the very large ore carrier, which sank in March 2017 with 22 crew members presumed deceased, suffered “catastrophic structural failure” to the ship’s hull.

European shippers and forwarders help advance standard framework for measuring the impact of logistics on emissions.

Lighter loads through Panama Canal and schedule reliability are two effects hitting ocean freight; ‘We should not underestimate weather.’

Jointly owned Diamond Gas Sakura will transport LNG from Louisiana as part of a long-term time-charter contract.

The maximum award size is $25 million and no more than $90 million can be given to a single state.

(PHOTO: JIM ALLEN/FREIGHTWAVES) by Ray Haight, TPP retention coach Here we are at the end of this series on tackling driver retention. If you were to follow the steps laid […]

The “e-Commerce Revolution” is the hot topic for the upcoming CNS Partnership Conference next month in Miami. FreightWaves interviews CNS President Michael (Mike) White for an inside look at the e-commerce challenge for the air cargo industry and how the conference will tackle it.

Nikola Motor introduced its hydrogen-electric truck to the world, and it has a few big supporters, including Anheuser-Busch.

The inbound container flows had a big impact to freight volumes in the port cities of Savannah and Los Angeles this past year.

Down Under Trucking: electric Aussies invade U.S; LNG trucking underway in Western Australia; police crackdown on dodgy waterfront truck drivers; new logistics park for Northline; Australian truck rollovers – roads full of chaos, mayhem and… pig manure.

Markets are tightening. Full implementation of sanctions on Iranian oil could make them tighter.

Ottawa aims to protect domestic businesses from high costs of tit-for-tat trade dispute with Washington.

Feds have exempted Wing Aviation from a block of regulations clearing way for an operating permit.

What the Truck is going on in all things freight this week? Weekly Market Update: J.B. Hunt misses analysts’ first quarter earnings and revenue estimates. Truckload carriers’ first quarter results don’t appear to be in jeopardy after the J.B. Hunt report. Marten Transport reports best-ever net increase of more than 30 percent in first quarter of 2019. What gets hauled to Vegas, stays in Vegas.And then on to the freight tech headlines of the week.

Coretex supplies fleet management solutions. Known for its refrigerated trailing monitoring capabilities, the company has recently expanded more into the cab with a new ELD and other services.

Peterbilt Motor Company has pledged at least $25,000 in support of the Women in Trucking Association (WIT), becoming the organization’s newest gold member and expanding the existing partnership between the two.

Plus: Carbon offset accounting errors, food stamp recipients qualify for online delivery and Clarks overhauls its supply chain.

Volumes are flat year-over-year, and after a brief period of disruption the freight market has stabilized. Container volumes that have fueled the port cities freight, may be due to soften in the coming months.

An overview of blank sailing and how it can affect your shipments.

A power play between local governments and state regulators threatens legal cannabis delivery in California.

Australia’s import, export and logistics industries are in dismay at a massively escalating series of surcharges that are being unilaterally charged to truckers and shippers by the nation’s main box terminal operators. There have been hikes in surcharges of hundreds of percentage points. And, in one case, an imposed surcharge was literally increased over a couple of years by 2,372 percent. Industry executives are furious.

Simulators to benefit training standards in Mexico and the U.S.

There has been a steep drop in the volume of box traffic handled at Hong Kong, one of the world’s busiest box ports. Containerized throughput at Hong Kong took a dive in the first three months of 2019 when compared to the first quarter of 2018, according to preliminary figures from the Hong Kong Marine Department. Box traffic was down, on average, by 10.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the first quarter of 2018.

A total of 140 cargo theft incidents were reported — a 22 percent year-over-year decrease — for an estimated total loss of $12.8 million, according to CargoNet.

Shippers and freight forwarders believe that they can reduce costs and emissions, fighting waste and climate change at the same time, putting them in the same movement as climate activists.

FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye provided an update on her agency’s ongoing detention and demurrage investigation.

Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins led the funding round, which increased the Atlanta-based warehousing and distribution startup’s capital raised to $15 million.

American Shipper will take an in-depth look at the new trade agreement in a webinar on Thursday.

The Dutch shipbuilder said “its financial situation stems from a sustained period of difficulty in a number of maritime sectors and investments it has made in its future.”

The Commerce Department initiated the antidumping investigation after receiving a petition March 28 from three companies.

Ashley Coker MERRITT PARKWAY IN CONNECTICUT / IMAGE: STATE OF CONNECTICUT Truck drivers who enter state parkways while traveling through Connecticut may soon be hit with a $500 fine, five […]

The European Commission considers list of U.S. exports that could be subject to billions of dollars in tariffs in response to the aircraft subsidy dispute before the WTO.

D.C. to Baltimore in 15 minutes could help advance hyperloop technology for cargo.

Changing distribution patterns could spell trouble for intermodal, report says.

Utilities aim to meet ambitious goals of reducing emissions across western U.S., but technology and financing remain big hurdles.

Marc Bédard, founder and president of Lion Electric, discusses the Canadian-made Class 8 and its promises of winter performance.

Wintrust’s working capital lines of credit leave brokerages with more control than equity raises and have lower cost-of-capital than factoring.

Retail sales rebounded in March, rising by the largest amount in over a year. Growth was brod-based during the month, with most areas in the sector seeing rising sales.

Demand softened while supply caught up, firm says.

Broberg wants to drive operational excellence throughout the company as it accelerates product development.

Thor Trucks announced it is changing its name to XOS on April 18 after settling a trademark infringement lawsuit with the maker of recreational vehicles with a similar name, Thor Industries Inc., in January.

Datapace is the latest company to join the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Learn more about Datapace and BiTA in this article.

Nikola Motor Company formally introduced its hydrogen-electric tractors, the Nikola Two and Nikola Tre (for Europe) at Nikola World 2019. Here are some photos from the event.

The updated service creates the first direct link between North Vietnam and the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada, ONE said.

The U.S. is proposing $11 billion in tariffs on European Union goods because of allegations that Airbus received that amount of subsidies when it launched the Airbus 380, thereby harming U.S. interests. Read Jesse Cohen’s explanation of the articles proposed for tariffs and what the tariffs might do to the air cargo and maritime industries.

American Waterways Operators elects officers and Heartland Barge Management hires sales and leasing manager.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLD) announced a first quarter 2019 profit of $0.21 per share, which was $0.02 ahead of analysts’ estimates.

Amazon bowing out of China; U.S. doubles oil exports in 2018; electric scooters bite into dockless bike sharing market.

The lowest adoption rate for TMS software is among single truck owner-operators.

Accolades also go to Bahri, NYK, Old Dominion Freight Line, Pelican BioThermal, a Landstar agent and the RLS Logistics general manager.

In partnership with Reliance Partners …Distracted driving in the U.S. is a bigger cause for accidents than driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This could be prevented if fleets take responsibility and educate drivers on safe driving and also by remotely monitoring driving behavior.

Nel Hydrogen and Nikola Motor are working together to ensure that as Nikola begins deployment of its hydrogen-electric trucks, there is hydrogen fueling stations in place to support them.

Union Pacific’s (NYSE: UNP) first quarter net profit rose 6 percent amid company efforts to rationalize or reorganize existing assets to streamline operations under precision scheduled railroading (PSR).

Uber is planning to sell 14 percent stake on its autonomous driving division for $1 billion to investment firm Softbank, automaker Toyota, and auto parts manufacturer Denso.

FreightWaves puts Singapore, the world’s second-busiest box port, under the microscope –  examining box throughput, general cargo, bulk oil, non-bulk oil and ship registries.

The acquisition is the German logistics services provider’s sixth since November.

The founding of Nikola Motor Company did not happen overnight; it actually dates back to a time when a six-year-old boy was bothering his railroad-working father and was sent to see a train engineer.