News

Long-serving railroad man led BNSF through acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway.

Logistics company argues that it has improved conditions at warehouse one year after its purchase.

The debt rating agency sees some drawbacks to the process, but is otherwise strongly in support of the growing trend.

Rising driver wages and fuel costs pushed up the cost per mile to operate a commercial vehicle in 2017, according to an annual report released by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). The group said it cost $1.69 per mile to operate a truck last year, up 6% from 2016’s cost.

New Prime vs. Oliveira aims to settle who can arbitrate and who is a transportation worker under Federal Arbitration Act.

Residual fuels that have “undergone rigorous fit-for-use assessments” will comply with the International Maritime Organization’s low-sulfur cap.

CSX also will offer improved access to the Ohio rail hub from the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Intelligent automation is designed to make logistics operations safer and more productive.

Australia’s east coast grains industry suffers an ongoing drought causing severe shortfalls, and grains are being moved from West Australia to East Australia in record volumes to the point where the industry will have to consider importing grain from overseas.

Former senior vice president likes to “push the limits of the logistics and supply chain management industry.”

International nonprofit names members of advisory council and board of directors; payment, supply chain and logistics companies announce hires.

Expanded network will enable two-day delivery to 98 percent of the United States.

We take a look at the U.S. maritime industry in our latest infographic.

Search and rescue teams continue looking for survivors of last week’s earthquake and tsunami devastated Indonesia. Funds have been declared for recovery.

BNSF will use the CSX system to haul intermodal freight from the LA/Long Beach port, and service on the CSX system will be added from the New York/New Jersey port.

As peak season nears, EnVista’s Senior Project Manager Mark Taylor gave FUEL 2018 attendees his best tips to navigate the sea of surcharges that lies ahead.

Industry veteran Jeffery Barrie has been named CEO of DB Schenker USA, effective Nov. 1, 2018. Barrie will lead all operations in the U.S. and report directly to Philippe Gilbert, Region Americas CEO.

Tired truck drivers? That’s a big concern based on a new survey by the National Safety Council that found 97% of transportation employers are worried about employee fatigue.

In a time when consumers are opting to spend less time in the kitchen, restaurants and grocery stores, convenience is king and grocery delivery services are popping up everywhere.

FreightWaves adds additional risk management and compliance information in the most recent SONAR release.

The depreciating Indian rupee coupled with rising fuel prices have hit the Indian transportation corridor quite hard. The Indian government is now coming up with new regulations and innovative transportation practices to ease pressure.

Cashflow Corner presented by TriumphPay …There are numerous tips available on how truck drivers can save money on the road, and while not all will work for everyone, chances are you can benefit from something on this list.

Two of McLeod’s clients talk about how they use profitability analysis tools daily and how they drive better business decisions.

Even for small decisions you make, the computer is calculating millions of small permutations every time. If you do this thousands and thousands of times, the tool gets better and better.

Oil producer group reports in its annual outlook that it believes compliance will grow after 2020.

Capacity creator, waterfall tendering, and max buys based on near-time market rates should help make brokers even more productive.

It’s taken several years, but the eight biggest manufacturers of rear underride equipment now get the top grade from the IIHS.

Going into next year as steel demand from housing construction skews to a slower growth trajectory, Beijing is increasing its spending on infrastructure.

Japanese classification society says a large number of shipowners are planning ballast water treatment system installations in a narrow time window.

A quick round-up of what you need to know about maritime today, but didn’t have time to learn about, yet.

Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill that could speed up plans to build a new Oakland Athletics ballpark at Howard Terminal.

But the “big boys” like Walmart, Target and Best Buy are expected to be doing business in their stores and online.

New president leads domestic and international operations; French company appoints executive board; and Jamaican maritime leader chairs subcommittee.

With the explosion in tech over the past few years in transportation, it’s increasingly urgent to provide real solutions with systems integration capabilities that let drivers, carriers, accountants, managers, and brokers tap into innovation and information.

A roundup of economic data releases and events over the past month, and view of trends worth watching in October. Freight demand conditions remained generally solid during the month, though international trade and housing remain trouble areas. Supply within trucking looks to be expanding, and hires in the industry continued to climb

Atlas Van Lines conducted a survey asking 475 truckers what they like to eat/drink while on the road. Our latest infographic highlights some of their answers.

Atlas Van Lines conducted a survey asking 475 truckers what they like to eat/drink while on the road. Our latest infographic highlights some of their answers.

The drought-stricken Desert Southwest is getting too much rain at once, with reports of flooding already coming in. But in the long-term it might not be all bad news.

Start-up looks to spread adoption of more nimble APIs to replace legacy EDIs used widely in transportation industry.

Typhoon Trami slammed southern Japan on Sunday, killing at least two people and knocking out power to around a million others. The storm also stalled transportation for hours.

In a message to customers, FreshDirect CEO McInerney apologized for the rocky segue. The transition to the new Bronx facility “has not been as smooth as we planned,” McInerney told customers in the Friday morning email.

Smart cities end up producing millions of data points every minute. City administrations need to wake up to the potential of data analytics and think of a way to utilize data and reduce urban traffic congestion.

Tender volumes are taking many by surprise, but not those that understand what is happening with the use of ELD’s by small carriers, especially in the dry van segment.

An annual review of the logistics business gets published; dueling intermodal views; and a startup gets a big chunk of funding.

Concerns over a global trade war have eased this morning, as Canada agreed late Sunday to join a trade deal between the US and Mexico. The deal makes modest revisions to the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and clears up some of the uncertainty surrounding the trade environment.

The annual report by Infosys and others reflects an industry that is largely satisfied with the work that is being done, but with a recognition of areas that need improvement.

In the final run-up to the midnight deadline, Canadian and U.S. trade negotiators reached agreement on the language for a NAFTA replacement.

A response to an earlier piece discussing railroad attendance at IANA’s recent expo and the benefits of precision railroading.

Federal judge finds chemical manufacturer and NVOCC liable, not the shipowner or liner company.

Action targets XPO Logistics and NFI Industries operations over a wide area of Southern California.

Korean private equity firm’s purchase would add bulkers, tankers, gas carriers and breakbulk vessels.

JAXPORT has named Jacqueline Glass as its new director of procurement services. Glass has more than 25 years of experience as a supply chain professional focused on strategic sourcing and […]

China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported slowing growth pointing to weaker exports as the China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) dropped to 50.8 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous month to the second lowest reading in 12 months.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has downgraded its outlook for global trade this year and next, citing tighter credit market conditions and escalating trade tensions as the main drivers.

Since the ELD hard mandate went into effect, the trucking market has added 4% more truck capacity

There is incredible demand right now for frac sand in the Permian Basin. With the explosive growth in fracking, customers were demanding solutions faster than GE could build them.

In the latest BiTA webinar, we reviewed the state of blockchain with industry experts. Mitch Hixon, Executive Vice President of Membership Engagement, BiTA spoke with Rachel Parker Sealy, Partner, PwC Advisory and Kris Kersey, Director, PwC Advisory, providing insights from PwC’s 2018 Global Blockchain Survey of 600 executives from 15 territories.

The SEC announced that they have settled their lawsuit with the embattled Tesla CEO. Regardless of the outcome, shareholders win.

Under California law, drivers making their way through the Golden State are entitled to a 30-minute meal break for every five hours worked.

FMCSA Administrator Martinez and his officials listened to truck drivers and fleet owners as they asked for more flexibility in the hours of service. The usefulness of split sleeping and breaking up the mandatory 30 minute break were brought up most frequently.

We look at some of the details that make the Panama Canal such a useful tool in the shipping and freight world.

Health and safety are the main concerns as crews begin cleaning up from Hurricane Florence. Debris and hazardous substances have been washed into coastal waterways.

Hurricane Rosa could flood parts of the Southwest U.S. next week. The region has been stuck in a drought, but this will be too much rain at once.

Update: Latest labor action brings attention to drayage drivers as NFI says union is trying to “force” representation on drivers.

In partnership with Reliance Partners …It’s been a wild year, and while at times it may feel more like riding a bull than being “King of the Road,” just hang on a little longer. The times are changing and they’re changing fast.

Discussions around the topic of autonomous trucks would not be complete without it addressing three main concerns – job security of drivers, data privacy, and liability issues.

The US trade deficit in goods widened for the third consecutive month in August as another decline exports was paired with a modest increase in imports.  The total value of traded volume fell for the month, but remains generally strong relative to last year.

“We are genuinely saints and sinners,” said Judge Collier, “and what we see in this white collar crime is the duality.” When the court is asked to consider all the good, it must also consider the laws that he broke again and again over a period of half a decade.

“A well-spec’d long-hood conventional stands out in a crowd,” Kyle Cousins, vice president of operations of Fleenor Bros, said after receiving one of the first W990 model tractor from Kenworth.

On Thursday night at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kenworth Truck Co. introduced its newest long-hood tractor, the W990.

An unprecedented capacity crunch. Archaic processes badly in need of reinvention. New Uber-like technology entrants bent on cutting out the broker. How do brokers respond, transform and emerge on the other side as stronger competitive forces?

Livestock businesses are looking to secure farms from future hurricane calamities; Elon Musk is accused of fraud by the SEC; global trade expected to grow irrespective of the tariffs war.

European Commission asks for input as it looks at block exemption.

The popular electronic logging device (ELD) exemption for agricultural haulers is up for renewal before Sept. 30, but it’s longer-term fate may hang with Congress’ ability to pass a budget – or at least a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government open beyond Sunday.

Indonesian coal suppliers have increased their domestic coal production target by 4.5 percent from a previous 485 million tonnes to a massive 507 million tonnes in the current year. All the additional tonnage will be exported.

Commissioner Rebecca Dye will meet with interested parties in California and Florida in October.

Witnesses to appear before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation include the Federal Railroad Administration administrator.

ATA chairman outline group’s legislative priorities for this year.

The GDP of the Atlanta metro area is the same as what country?

Action that will be taken includes advance manifests for goods from China arriving in Canada and being trucked across the U.S. border.

It’s happening: the SEC has charged Elon Musk with issuing materially false and misleading statements intended to manipulate the price of Tesla stock.

The US Department of Agriculture has issued a Class 1 recall on 130,000 pounds of ground beef nationwide, according to a news release from the agency. The E. coli contamination is thought to have originated from a Cargill Meat Solutions facility in Fort Morgan, Colorado.

Total trailer net orders came in at over 38,000 units in August, representative of a 31 percent increase month-over-month and a staggering 142 percent increase year-over-year.

Largest U.S. intermodal rail carrier sees uptick in domestic containers and trailers as trucking capacity remains tight.

Japan is preparing for a direct strike from Typhoon Trami. People and ports are paying attention.

Yesterday Uber settled a lawsuit with all 50 states and the District of Columbia, agreeing to pay $148M for covering up a 2016 breach of driver and passenger data.

The lawsuit asserts that water “poured in through a gap in city levees,” and it says the gap was created by a railway underpass owned by CSX.

Home Depot is Uberizing same and next-day last mile delivery with two startups backed by UPS. It’s part of Home Depot’s $1.2B investment to makes its supply chains faster and more efficient.

Volvo Trucks will introduce an all-electric truck in California next year before making them commercial available in North America in 2020, the company said.

Military members looking to become truck drivers may have an easier time in doing so as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has authorized states to waive the commercial learner’s permit (CLP) knowledge test and driving skills tests.

Trimble Transportation CTO Mark Botticelli has been tasked with integrating all of the transportation technology companies under the Trimble umbrella into a single cloud-based exchange.

Amazon 4-star will open to the public today in the SoHo neighborhood of New York.

Factory orders for durable goods rose in August, driven by a large increase in commercial aircraft orders. Orders historically are a leading indicator of future shipments, and August’s results suggest that freight demand on the durable side of the economy should remain solid.

Germany has spent $580 billion towards renewable energy infrastructure, but still would fall woefully short of its emissions reduction goals of 2020. Andreas Kuhlmann, chairman of German Energy Agency explains why.

The higher cost of domestic steel already is saddling car manufacturers with “hundreds of millions of dollars in new, unplanned cost.”

How good is the technology and powertrains on modern tractors? A group of journalists driving similarly spec’d Mack Anthem sleeper models, achieved over 8 mpg – even as high as 10.5 for one day – with the trucks on a three-day run from Asheville, NC, to New Orleans.

The state’s 25,000 port truck drivers “routinely face wage theft and illegal pay deductions while hauling goods for the world’s biggest brands,” the bill’s sponsor said.

China imposed a 25% import duty on US soybean imports in July and a domestic shortage of beans is now resulting in Chinese traders paying a higher price for Brazilian beans than what domestic crushers are paying, leading to speculation that China could again increase shipments from the US.

U.S. Wheat Associates did charge that practices in “clear violation” of a WTO agreement helped establish Turkey as the world’s leading flour exporter.