News

Manufacturing supply chains must deal with counterfeit parts. One company is hoping that its blockchain-based tracking solution can help solve that while also providing transparency in the freight supply chain.

Originally planned as an outlet mall, lot to get new lease on life as industrial property

A humiliating defeat in Parliament on the Government’s European Union withdrawal deal has left the European freight industry in chaos as the road ahead is uncertain. The Government now faces a vote of confidence, but without an extension to Article 50 the UK could crash out of the EU.

Shippers aren’t shy about moving contract rates down in RFP negotiations, and even brokers are surprised at how cheap capacity has become.

FreightWaves will highlight the top 25 shippers in America for its inaugural Shipper of Choice awards. The award will rate qualities such as flexibility and detention on a five-point scale, with the winner announced at Transparency19.

A snowstorm is blasting through the Sierras right now. Here’s how much snow to expect and the impact it will have on transportation in the area.

Storm to dump several feet of snow in northern Sierras. Blizzard conditions, dangerous travel.

Cohen, a 30 year air cargo veteran of United Airlines and Etihad Airlines has been appointed as FreightWaves Market Expert, Air Cargo. In this role he will be providing analytics and commentary about the air cargo market and will be working with data partners in the air cargo space.

Theresa May’s Government is facing a defeat of substantial proportions in Parliament for the European Union withdrawal deal that it has negotiated with the EU. If the Government is defeated the margin of defeat may decide the next steps in the long running Brexit saga.

New Prime v. Oliveira tests use of arbitration in disputes in effort to avoid more costly and lengthier court hearings.

Data on producer prices shows that overall inflation pressure calmed further in December, weighed down again by declines in energy prices. Industry detail showed that trucking rates continued to surge, however, driven by another large gain in long-distance trucking rates.

The TCA Profitability Program, or TPP, is an exclusive performance benchmarking initiative. The program’s aim is to help member carriers improve performance and profitability.

The market for lumber slowed considerably in the second half of 2018 as the Chinese economy lost momentum and trade disputes with the U.S. persisted.

Toyota’s Concept-i Ride vehicle is designed to help people navigate life, especially those that may have mobility issues.

The SureFly is just one of the products that Workhorse is working on. Additional projects include electric delivery vans and electric pickups.

Evergreen has added a second and third ultra-large container ship to its China, Europe and Mediterranean service, adding around 6,000 TEU of capacity to the service per week.

The Quadrobot is a modular design autonomous delivery vehicle, launching this year in both China and the U.S.

Ford will build vans and midsize pickups under an alliance formed with Volkswagen, while tapping into VW’s autonomous and electric expertise.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer indicated in a letter that ongoing trade talks will play a role in whether the Trump administration eventually will establish an exclusion process.

The carrier will use the Belgium-based service to approve the triangulation of containers in the United States and Canada.

Port of Houston faces choice as to which ships to prioritize; U.K. Parliament turmoil leaves Brexit deal in doubt.

The Port of Rotterdam, which ranks 10th worldwide in terms of total throughput, can transport goods to a consumer base of about 40 million people.

The Volvo XC40 is part of a subscription-based car service the company offers, hoping to attract new customers not interested in a long-term lease or purchase option.

Plus: AVs shrouded in secrecy; Puget Sound congestion relief

“Excepted personnel will ensure USTR continues to conduct operations, including trade negotiations and enforcement.”

Appointments are made and new leaders take the helm in the United States, Europe and South America.

The union says truck drivers will be prevented from waiving their rights through private arbitration agreements; the decision may spark class action lawsuits against owner-operator fleets.

Ashley Coker (PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK) A truck hauling frozen chicken crashed in rural Alabama last week, spilling tenders onto the highway. The local sheriff’s office had to warn people against stopping […]

Auto shows are a great place for vehicle introductions, and when a new Mustang is being introduced, it will often overshadow some of its competitors.

The North American International Auto Show, also known as the Detroit Auto Show, opened its doors to the global press on Monday. Here is a sneak peak at some of the vehicles on display.

State, local officials have harsh words for FedEx Ground. Unit fires back.

A current rail attorney who was with the STB for many years wonders whether it has ever broken free of the changes envisioned by the Staggers Act.

DOT chief Elaine Chao today called on manufacturers and Silicon Valley to help instill public confidence in the safety of autonomous vehicle technology.

Another member of Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has resigned as Britain awaits the outcome of the meaningful vote which is due to take place tomorrow evening in the UK. Credit

Rapid cargo handling is the secret behind Denmark’s Trailer Cat roll-on/roll-off freight ferry design that will reduce the levels of carbon dioxide emissions compared to a conventional ferry and compete with road and rail for cargo.

“We’re doing this with real commercial shippers and real cargo,”

Volkswagen announced today that it would expand its Chattanooga assembly plant to build the next generation of electric vehicles.

Eric Kirchner, the former CEO of UTi Worldwide, will offer strategic advice as GlobalTranz expands into new geographies and types of transactions.

Off late, electric scooter company Lime has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Batteries burning up, bike vandalism, fragile bikes breaking down, and the latest – abrupt braking issues.

An overview of which jobs are being impacted by the government shutdown.

The Nissan IMs electric vehicle concept drew raves from those in attendance at the Detroit Auto Show, but it is only one of several concept electric vehicles on display.

Saturday pick-ups to be processed the same day; arrivals come a day earlier

Parts of California to get pounded with heavy rain, snow, wind this week. Treacherous travel and delayed loads likely.

Ram’s redesigned heavy-duty pickups feature towing capacity up to 35,000 pounds and payload capacity of over 7,600 pounds, making them ideal workhorses for commercial customers.

Because of the now record-breaking partial government shutdown, the U.S. aviation industry is beginning to feel the consequences of lapsed federal funding.

Dry van rates hit air-pocket last month and lose altitude; but other indicators of freight economy still looking up.

January’s World Economic Forum (WEF) white paper identified 16 factories that are leading the world economy in manufacturing technology. The United States has only one of these “lighthouse” facilities – Fast Radius’s Chicago factory, located in the city’s West Loop.

The rise of ecommerce has brought it a lot more last-mile vehicles to the urban streets, making them an integral part of the traffic congestion problems that cities face. But there are initiatives that the city administration can work on to alleviate this situation.

New car sales should remain strong next year, said the National Automobile Dealers Association, but one group is warning of trouble on the horizon.

Drivers most often commented on equipment issues, logistics, people, pay, and communication on the WorkHound platform in 2018. The platform compiles anonymous driver comments.

But the outlook for 2019 is muddled by the U.S.-China trade war.

Now the Airbnb-like startup with an online marketplace serving shippers, truckers and logistics companies has secured a partnership with ITS ConGlobal.

The 15,262-TEU containership was heavily damaged in a March 2018 fire that killed five crewmen.

Modules added within the last year to TruckHub’s cloud-based TMS is helping customers automate dispatch and delivery, as well as boosting driver recruitment and improving service.

The objectives, released Friday, largely mirror separate objectives released ahead of Japan and NAFTA talks.

Economic and freight indicators are mixed, with some suggesting a downturn is coming, but others pointing to continued growth.

Everyone knew the quarter was weaker than it had been. The question is how much. Stock prices have reflected a significant slowdown.

U.S. technology developers warn the Commerce agency not to take broad, heavy-handed approach to controlling new technologies for national security purposes.

Auto parts imports could take a hit as vehicle sales slow; Japan makes its own play for African port supremacy.

Overall import growth mean more freight all around, but high drayage costs and better service bringing more boxes to rail.

Restrictions on material from Bulgaria and China will remain in place until January 2024.

Ashley Coker (PHOTO: JIM ALLEN/FREIGHTWAVES) The Wyoming Department of Transportation is embarking on a mission to improve safety conditions on a stretch of Interstate 80 that is prone to brutal […]

Chief executive officer appointed and board of directors elected.

Potential for road closures and power outages across southern California this week. Heavy snow, strong winds, localized flooding.

Fleets are increasingly turning to video to help exonerate drivers of wrongdoing and finding that a side benefit is the coaching opportunity video provides to improve risky driving behaviors.

The government shutdown is forcing the U.S. Coast Guard to work without pay which could begin affecting freight operations.

The falling Purchasing Managers Index tends to be correlated with the general freight market, the Cass Freight Shipment Index illustrates this. Is it time for carriers to pull back?

Sorting through emails, listening to endless phone calls: these are part of the information overload that the Smart Capacity platform seeks to address.

There are signs pointing to fundamental weakness in the market but prices roared ahead on the back of several factors.

Will Amazon take more boxes at the expense of FedEx, UPS, USPS?

The snow storm over the weekend pretty much panned out like meteorologists across the country had predicted – large amounts of snow from the nation’s heartland to the nation’s capital, […]

Asset-based carriers think contract rates are going up; brokers think they’re going down.

In addition to overseeing FreightWaves’ legal and compliance elements, Martin will serve as Market Expert for compliance and legal aspects of the freight industry

Major weekend storm still on track to dump snow, ice from Plains to mid-Atlantic. Potential for road closures, power outages.

Sponsored by Redwood LogisticsNo book can accurately define what “company culture” really is. It’s as much feel as it is philosophy. What experts do agree on, though, is that it needs to permeate all facets of the company.

Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier announced earlier this week that European nations were ready to build the necessary infrastructure to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. At this time, Europe has 28 ‘regasification’ import terminals.

Australian livestock haulers will greatly benefit from a programme of livestock-haulage related road upgrades in Northern Australia. Road investment decisions have been informed a massive transport research and simulation project by the national scientific research agency.

Zim and the 2M Alliance have signed a secind vessel sharing agreement in the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades. The deal significantly boosts Zim’s service offerings while 2M says the new deal offers mutual benefits and efficiencies.

Delivery robots, shifting supply chains due to trade wars, and automation slowing productivity in ports

TriumphPay presented its product to a room of 1,000 transportation, technology and finance executives at MarktWaves18 in Dallas, Texas.

Storing real-time data from aircraft and sea vessels on the cloud has been subject to a lot of debate, as the data that gets transmitted could be hacked in by people with nefarious motives. Blockchain could be a respite.

Downhill driving presents particular safety risks to truck driving. Australian law requires truckers to shift to a lower gear and not use the primary brake for the descent. National telematics body Transport Certification Australia has launched a new app that records the details of the descent for the purposes of improving safety and creating an audit trail. (Photo: Shutterstock).

But Harbor Trucking Association says the union is misrepresenting California labor decisions.

Penalty will make congestion and air pollution worse, say truckers and shippers.

The EU trade commissioner said on Thursday that Europe would not agree to accept U.S. quotas on automotive imports as part of any potential bilateral trade agreement.

Trade ministers from the three countries met in Washington on Wednesday as the governments continue efforts to reinvigorate the WTO.

“You don’t want to start a trade war with China for the same reason you don’t fight a land war with Russia: They will ‘out-suffer’ you.”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue made several remarks about U.S. trade policy during and after his State of American Business address Thursday.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed a class action lawsuit against the Indiana government to roll back the Oct. 5 imposition of a toll road fee hike.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin met with House leaders in a classified briefing to defend the decision to remove sanctions against three Russian companies.

Owner of car carrier that caught fire on New Year’s Eve says the cause of the fire still is undetermined.

Ashley Coker (PHOTO: DELDOT) Delaware’s newest toll road, dubbed the U.S. 301 mainline, opened to traffic earlier this week. The existing U.S. 301 has been converted to a local roadway, […]

Seko shifts from agency relationship to in-house operation.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce president Tom Donohue threw down $25,000 for ideas on how to pay for infrastructure. And told Washington to open back up.

FedEx promises fast action to fix FedEx Express’ TNT Express network.

Weekend winter storm to pack a wallop in parts of Plains, Midwest, and Southeast. Treacherous travel. Power outages possible.

Hours of sleep are critical to truck driver safety and to driver retention. The “science of sleep’“ in the context of truck drivers is examined in this article.

The U.S. – China trade war continues to disrupt freight movements into the new year.

Trains are getting longer and the U.S. Government Accountability Office is looking into it.

Proposed bill would exempt electric scooters from requiring brake lights and turn signals; oil prices drop 1 percent over U.S.-China trade talks; CES2019 is showcasing the future of transportation.