News

Traffic congestion is only getting worse. Our latest series of infographics will break down the ASCE’s Infrastructure Report Card.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted today, posting its biggest loss since May 29; meanwhile the S&P 500 is on a losing streak that hasn’t been matched in upwards of 2 years.

Now that major Hurricane Michael has made landfall, the focus will soon shift from preparedness to relief as aid and logistics organizations get ready to help.

Sears Holdings, once the nation’s largest retailer, now appears to be headed for bankruptcy, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company has struggled to adjust as e-commerce has gained share in the retail space, and has begun to hire bankruptcy advisers to prepare for filing as soon as next week.

As monster Hurricane Michael closes in on the Florida panhandle, many people have gone to approved shelters or evacuated. How will their homes handle the ferocious winds that are coming?

FreightWaves has been named to the 2018 CNBC Upstart 100 List, “a new original list of the brightest, most intriguing, young startups promising to become the great companies of tomorrow.”

Most of the hit is coming from an arbitration award with BNSF. Its conference call with investors is a change in its normal practice.

Hurricane Michael is forecast to make landfall as a strengthening Category 4; Sears may go bankrupt; retailers struggle to fill the hole left by Toys R Us; Cowen is bullish on Canadian Pacific; Seoul continues ploughing money into HMM to cover operations.

Data on producer prices shows that overall inflation pressure continued to stabilize at the end of the 3rd quarter, rising modestly in September.  Rates within trucking posted stronger growth during the month, led by big increases in LTL pricing.

Pensacola and Panama City ports are closed; FMCSA issues regional declaration for the transport of emergency supplies.

As if Hurricane Michael couldn’t become more dangerous, it got stronger overnight. Now a CAT 4 just hours from landfall in north Florida, all people can do is brace themselves.

Loadsmart, a logistics technology company that uses data analytics to provide instant quotes and capacity, has raised its Series A financing led by Maersk Growth.

Chairman of the board elected to lead railway; managing director hired in Singapore.

Major Hurricane Michael forces more closings as storm gets closer to north Florida. Waters beginning to rise.

“Best-in-class shipping experience” will include visibility during the entire freight journey.

Volumes still strong in run-up to tariffs, as retailers ramp up imports.

Major Hurricane Michael is less than 24 hours from landfall in north Florida. Transportation and offices are shutting down during final preparations.

Ports remain open, but plans to ride out storm must be made.

Gains in rates will moderate in coming quarters, but underlying issues of driver availability will keep market tight.

Norfolk Southern has control over a small connector railroad in the Hampton Roads port area, and CSX says it is using that control to block CSX from launching significant intermodal service there.

BoxLock- The Lost Package Problem

Michael is quickly becoming a potentially life-threatening hurricane, heading toward the Gulf coast of Florida. Crews are hurrying to prepare and keep people safe.

Hurricane Michael’s forecasted track will take it right over the primary cotton producing region in Georgia and South Carolina, and heavy rain could threaten the harvest of the crop, now in its most vulnerable phase.

The deal marks Transplace’s eighth acquisition in seven years, according to Transplace CEO Frank McGuigan.

Hurricane Michael could cause widespread, long-lasting damage on Florida’s Gulf coast. Flooding and destructive winds.

FreightWaves triples the lanes available for the tender rejection indices along with diesel price and volume data. Highly regarded Institute for Supply Management indices have also been added to deepen the macro-economic section.

It’s a wide range of opinions that are expressed in FMCSA’s call for comments on changes in the HOS rule.

Tri-state Truck Center in Memphis is part of a family-owned dealership chain. The Memphis location has historical significance, as it was built on the site of Martin’s Stadium, home of the Memphis Red Sox Negro League team for decades.

Shipwell, a freight shipping platform that makes shipping a seamless experience for SMEs, has raised $10 million in its Series A financing round, led by Fifth Wall VC.

In Today’s Pickup: Michael is headed toward the Gulf, a quote by Hunter Harrison and a not-complimentary look at the job of a truck driver.

Cashflow Corner presented by TriumphPay …Branding. It’s a word that you probably don’t associate with your trucking company, but one that can help you win business, if it’s done right.

Potentially devastating hurricane forecast to make landfall Wednesday

Two high school friends, one from Access America and one from JB Hunt, founded a successful brokerage in Knoxville full of supply chain management grads. And they love SONAR.

Howard Green is best on fights between the serial CEO and his boards, activist investors, and proxy wars, but there’s a lot in the book for railroad buffs who want to know more about Harrison’s signature philosophy, precision scheduled railroading.

Container shipping giant is expanding beyond maritime transportation.

TMS provider says the purchase means its customers will be better able to take advantage of intermodal.

Oil spill reported after accident between passenger/roll-on, roll-off vessel and containership.

Production has begun in China for the order that includes 2,000 controlled-atmosphere containers.

As Hurricane Michael gains strength and speeds up, people are being evacuated from Florida.

Major drayage operator at U.S. busiest port complex looks to all-electric truck to hit emissions reduction goal.

The master agreement was ratified with less than 50% of the vote. Now it appears some of the local deals were as well.

Hurricane Michael could significantly flood and damage portions of the South this week.

Latest round of fuel surcharges aimed at guiding expectations on IMO 2020 costs.

Hurricane Michael to cause flooding, wind damage in the South. Snow and some ice out west.

Hyperloop is a technology that has been touted an exciting prospect in the transportation vertical. What is it about and how could it help improve the industry?

High spot market trucking rates have caused more carriers to move to that market, but the majority of carriers in a new Transporeon Group survey have remained loyal to their shippers.

Freight Alley expands with the addition of Grupo Sesé, Carrefour turns to blockchain, Airbus will name its new CEO, and more in Today’s Pickup.

EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS), a leading operations management and analytics company, today announced it has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

The company provides location-specific, short-term weather forecasts by utilizing hyper-sensing technologies like wireless communication networks instead of depending solely on government radar.

Scandinavia is getting a new railway network connecting Finland to a Norwegian Arctic port – a route that runs through reindeer pasture territory and could end up ruining the livelihood of the indigenous Sámi tribe.

Shippers, NVOCCs and ocean carriers all are at risk with legislation taking effect in California at the start of the year.

The company will begin employing the “marine fuel recovery” charge on Jan. 1, but the full effect will not be felt until late next year.

OFAC said the multimillion dollar fines resulted from improper screening and missed “red flags” involving an international airline billing program.

Census Bureau identifies 284,168 companies responsible for exporting $1.292 trillion in goods.

Washington D.C. metro topped the Canadian border and NYC as the least efficient places for a truck driver

Fatalities in all other types of accidents were down. Crashes involving large trucks were the only one moving the other way.

Trucking volumes have dropped by 6% since the beggining of the month of October. Is this an indication that the market is slowing or is it a normal seasonal pattern?

Differences remain in what is best path for drivers to follow, but all agree that port congestion is a problem that needs fixing.

The rank-and-file rejected the agreement, but the union says it didn’t meet a minimum level to not accept a deal. UPS appears baffled by all of this.

Dangerous waves this weekend for parts of New England, all because of a storm 1,000 miles away.

Wolfe Research downgraded several trucking stocks Friday after their analysts revealed concerns over spot rates, according to Seeking Alpha

A whopping 97 percent of the employers in the transportation industry feel fatigue impacts their business.

Drewry says futures indicate low-sulfur marine fuel prices may rise 55 percent when IMO 2020 mandate kicks in.

Intermodal has attracted more freight thanks to tight truck markets, but growth rates will moderate.

FreightWaves reached out to OOIDA for their perspective on the current state of affairs in trucking. We also want to engage in a dialog from the fragmented industry interests, seeking points of agreement, as well as naming points of contention.

Job growth stumbled in September as Hurricane Florence likely disrupted results during the month. Unemployment continued to trend down in the economy however, and labor market conditions remain generally tight. Hiring within trucking continued to advance during the month, growing for the 5th consecutive month.  

It’s been quite a few weeks in the discussions regarding precision railroading vs. not-precision, for lack of a better term. Also: OPEC pumping strong, Bangkok a growing intermodal hub

Indices are clearly signaling that the container volume coming in through the Long Beach/LA port is surging and bodes well for the holiday shopping season.

Additional container volumes coming into Vancouver will help spur growth as CP looks to existing assets for capacity.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official tells COAC members that export enforcement remains a top priority for the agency.

The paper application cost of a new ocean transportation intermediary license will increase from $1,055 to $1,962.

A CFO with a “different background” is taking over in Switzerland; a sales position is created and filled in the Netherlands.

RKG Mode, headquartered in Nevada, will assume management of truckload operations.

Venture capital-backed firm incorporates road, weather and hours-of-service data to providing real-time tracking.

Calgary got blasted with record-breaking early season snowfall earlier this week. Reinforcements were called to help clear roads. Travel, transportation delayed or stopped.

In addition to funding the FAA for the next five years, the bill includes language that could be used to further integrate unmanned aircraft systems, like drones, into the commercial landscape.

It’s still the peak part of the season for tropical cyclones, and right now four of them are churning over the oceans. One of them will likely hit areas just devastated by a typhoon less then a week ago.

FreightWaves spoke to IMSA CEO Corey Ranslem about the first install, the ARMS platform’s official launch at the end of October, and entering the cargo ship markets in 2019.

As part of a wide-ranging DOT initiative to prepare for driverless vehicles, FMCSA will address regulations that could be slowing the development of these technologies in the commercial vehicle space.

Saudi Arabia and Russia are looking to contain crude oil prices by increasing production by nearly half a million barrels per day; China’s U.S. oil exports have dried up completely; Amazon warehouse workers lose their bonus over the company’s minimum pay rise pledge.

In partnership with Reliance Partners …As we witness an open flow of IT information from vehicles of all kinds, it is critical to consider firewalls and anti-malware protection as well as cyber liability insurance coverage.

In her final conference call as CEO, PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi presented their third-quarter results, once more pointing to transportation costs that threatened to eat into profits.

North American Class 8 net orders came in around 42,800 units in September, according to preliminary data released by ACT Research.

GuardKnox, an Israeli vehicle cybersecurity startup is bringing in technology from the defense sector to make sure vehicles stay safe from data breach and cyberattacks.

Pantos Logistics, the leading logistics company in South Korea, has become the latest member to join the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

SambaSafety, powered by Vigillo, just announced the development of a new CSA scorecard utilizing item response theory methodology.

North American Class 8 net orders came in around 42,800 units in September, falling 19 percent from August’s 53,069 units, according to preliminary data released by ACT Research.

What do you get when you combine a last-mile delivery solution company with a semi? You get an autonomous truck startup that’s skipped a few steps ahead of the competition.

The president of the Baltimore-based manufacturer discusses how to navigate the tariff-heavy landscape as well as the benefits free trade agreements provide.

A concern is expressed over a potential lack of investment to get railroads ready for the future.

Drewry reports the latest round of U.S. tariffs means “eastbound transpacific flows could be hit with an opportunity cost of approximately 1 million TEU next year.”

But UNCTAD expresses concern “increased inward-looking policies” and rise in protectionism could stifle trade.

Legislation includes provisions to require advance electronic data for international postal shipments and to strengthen DOT’s alcohol and drug testing practices.

The FMC commissioner is meeting interested parties at ports around the country as part of the second phase of the Fact Finding 28 investigation.

Containership charterer describes the investment of up to $200 million in Swiber Holdings as “opportunistic.”

Oil Major Shell has announced upcoming availability its newly developed Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) ahead of the IMO 2020 – 0.50% global sulphur limit for marine fuels. FreightWaves has the charts.

UN trade and development body UNCTAD has outlined seven key challenges to maintain a positive momentum for the freight markets in global trade.

Senate passes legislation paving way for airport funding and streamlining certifications.

UNCTAD expects volumes across all maritime segments to grow in 2018. However, it warns that trade wars can disrupt the global trading system and there is a need to assess the implications of vertical integration within the industry, addressing any potential negative effects.