News

Shippers have rebounded in Q4 2023 to once again be the most positive segment. Carriers and brokers have lost some of the steam that led to relative optimism in Q3.

The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded $16.4 billion to 25 passenger rail projects, many of which are in the busy Northeast corridor. Freight rail may also benefit from the projects.

The union representing East and Gulf Coast dockworkers warned members to prepare for a possible strike starting Oct. 1, 2024.

The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling denying a driver’s request to allow him to operate a smaller vehicle with a softer suspension.

An online auction is slated for Tuesday to sell the assets of Minnesota-based Twin Express Inc., which had more than 70 power units, after the trucking company defaulted on a $19 million loan.

EFW said Monday it has closed on the acquisition of Superior Brokerage Services, which doubles its revenue and warehousing capacity.

A 13% decline in total revenues dented BNSF’s net profit for the third quarter.

A white paper by factoring company OTR Solutions highlights risks it sees from the combination of 3PL bankruptcies and asset-based lending.

FreightWaves is hosting its biggest event yet, F3: Future of Freight Festival, Nov. 7-9, packed with world-renowned speakers, educational sessions, music and more.

FedEx pilots are experiencing significant pay decreases because there isn’t enough flying to go around. The company is pushing cockpit crews to take jobs at a regional passenger airline.

Trucking bloodbath expands to lenders as industry experiences one of the sharpest downturns in history.

Fleets waited two years for back-ordered Class 8 trucks. Now largely met, demand has shifted to replacement needs.

This week in Borderlands: Three Texas seaports are awarded a combined $37 million in federal upgrade grants; Arcadia Cold Storage opens a Phoenix-area facility; an investment firm acquires California-based Source Logistics; and Fictiv opens a facility in Monterrey.

The overall freight transportation market may be soft but the natural imbalance in the flow of freight is still able to create pockets of tightness.

Approximately 65 employees for Pittsburgh-based Elite Transit Solutions were laid off via Microsoft Teams on Friday. This is the second round of job cuts the freight brokerage has experienced over the past month; about 20 employees were let go on Oct. 20 because of the “current economic situation,” according to sources familiar with the layoffs.

Military veterans are closer to gaining more access to a CDL with the passage of legislation aimed at cutting GI Bill red tape.

By providing door-to-door visibility capabilities — and paving the way for stronger connections between industry players — project44 can help shippers and logistics service providers more from reactive to proactive.

It is crucial for shippers to build flexibility into their transportation plans. This ongoing volatile environment has created an opportunity — and a necessity — for companies to take another look at how they move freight.

Jeremy Reymer, founder of DriverReach, is joined by industry friend and ally Yvonne Glover, director of operations at Tyler Technologies, an organization that builds solutions aimed at helping the public sector operate more efficiently.

Domestic manufacturers fail to inspire optimism, since they foresee major headwinds on output in the first half of 2024.

Now on demand on WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Dooner is joined by Tyler Robertson; Beth Flippo; Jay Silva; KJ McMasters

In 1979, South Korea — officially the Republic of Korea — imposed a law reserving 100% of cargo in the country for Korean-only vessels. The decree sparked protests organized by U.S. shippers nervous that the monopoly would raise freight rates.

Total employed in the sector now more than 30,000 fewer than at May peak

Improper cargo securement can result in out-of-service violations and fines. Further, unsecured cargo can fall onto the road, causing significant risk of injury or even death to motorists.

Innovation in freight goes beyond technology. While many major FreightTech companies have gone bankrupt, it does not mean that innovation is lacking or that every tech company is doomed to fail.

Who is leading, following, emerging or out of the game in autonomous trucking? Here’s an assessment of shifts among the players.

The family who founded Pilot Travel Centers and sold 80% of it to Berkshire Hathaway has filed suit over valuing the final 20%.

This monthly report analyzes the current state of the freight market based on critical insights from our SONAR platform.

“This is not a diet. This is a resetting of the baseline,” said Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc on his company’s job cuts.

The Utah Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division released a report on how drones, electric air taxis and other new aircraft may fit into the state’s skies.

Teamsters union leadership may be willing to accept lost rank-and-file jobs in return for increases in new positions, a labor expert says.

Trucks are featured heavily in projects reaping $653 million worth of port infrastructure grants announced Friday by the Biden administration.

Online sales are expected to grow between 7% and 9% over 2022 levels, the National Retail Federation says.

Mail delivery by airplane started in 1918, if you can believe it. It was dangerous work but cut down delivery time by a day.

The Convoy saga has taken another turn as venture-backed freight forwarder Flexport announced Wednesday that it has acquired Convoy’s technology stack for an undisclosed sum. This comes after Convoy, which was valued at $3.8 billion from its final funding round 18 months ago, shuttered operations on Oct. 19.

Zipline is growing its presence in the medical space, enabling patients to get their prescriptions delivered by drone.

Logixboard’s best-in-class customer experience allows freight forwarders and logistics service providers to tie their internal systems into a single easy-to-navigate platform.

Lufthansa Cargo didn’t make a profit in the third quarter as revenues fell more than 40% from last year.

Schneider National missed third-quarter estimates Thursday and cut its outlook for the year by more than 20%.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance has created a tip sheet and reporting guide to root out fraudulent carriers in the trucking industry.

Nikola’s recall cost burden and lack of production lead to a dismal Q3 earnings report but the company sees light ahead.

Last-mile delivery is complicated. Technology can make it more efficient, but the key is successfully integrating multiple systems.

CRST is making its first acquisition since 2020 by buying BCB Transport.

After the Great Shopping Spree of 2021, tens of thousands of truck companies will have to shut down to restabilize the industry.

Cummins Inc. reported higher profits and sales in the third quarter as it generated record working cash but foresees Q4 pullback.

A look at U.S. Class I rail employment data shows that head count for train and engine crews grew when comparing averages in 2023 with 2020 — but employment totals for those maintaining equipment and stores appeared to fall.

Werner Enterprises reported a worse-than-expected result for the third quarter as margins in both its trucking and logistics segments deteriorated from the second quarter.

3PL C.H. Robinson had a weak third quarter, as expected, but the late trading in its stock liked what it heard.

Take a look at some of the daring and interesting ways mail was delivered by air in the early 20th century.

The water crisis at the Panama Canal is getting worse and will force more ships to take much longer routes.

Flexport’s acquisition comes weeks after the venture-funded trucking startup closed down. Convoy has some 400,000 truck drivers in its network.

Aurora Innovation opened its Interstate 45 autonomous trucking route between Dallas and Houston as unease and criticism grow.

Supply chain technology provider Trimble posted impressive Q3 results but said transportation revenue could slow down in the next quarter.

Now on demand on WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Dooner is joined by Will Jenkins; Rachel Premack; Justin Martin

As large e-commerce businesses have raised consumer expectations, midsize and smaller logistics companies must keep up and provide the same on-time delivery, visibility and experience. When something goes wrong — and it often does — they must figure out how to adjust quickly by leveraging data from their supply chain.

The freighter conversion business is slowing down, but there remains residual momentum from carriers such as IndiGo.

When it comes to fleets’ electrification at scale, charging infrastructure is the hardest part, and power procurement is a particular challenge. Voltera faces the same challenges a fleet would, but […]

Southwire’s strategic road map focused on FreightTech, strategic partnerships, RFPs, carrier scorecards and freight analytics.

As the industry recovers, keeping a “do more with less” mindset can enhance a company’s growth and help it prepare for the next downturn.

The November 2023 “State of the Industry Report” — presented in affiliation with Ryder — shares an in-depth overview across the trucking, maritime and intermodal markets, as well as what […]

Shared warehousing, distribution and fulfillment services are making it possible for companies to adapt to fluctuations in demand, providing the same functional benefits of an owned warehouse, distribution or fulfillment center without the upfront investment and risk.

Omni Logistics is asking a Delaware court to make Forward Air close on a planned merger between the two companies.

Truck drivers are pressing regulators to require brokers to pay them for time lost waiting to pick up or drop off loads.

Profits being reported by container shipping lines are down from the stratosphere but many still surpass pre-COVID returns.

Forward Air will primarily focus on less-than-truckload opportunities moving forward as it tries to exit a burdensome merger agreement.

Voltera is removing obstacles to electrification for fleets by reducing the risks of developing and operating charging sites.

FreightWaves’ F3: Future of Freight Festival is next week. Here are some of the companies that will be coming.

XPO Executive Chairman Brad Jacobs is the featured keynote speaker for this year’s F3: Future of Freight Festival, hosted by FreightWaves, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Greenscreens.ai’s Matthew Silver said with Capacity On Tap, “brokers get all their capacity sources in a single pane of glass without having to reenter data.”

In recent years, the logistics industry has poured unprecedented amounts of time, effort, and money into revolutionizing and optimizing the way goods move through the supply chain. This has changed […]

Oil prices, including the benchmark used for most fuel surcharges, are below or close to Oct. 7 levels.

Rail electrification and locomotives powered by green hydrogen are two goals that the rail industry and federal and state leaders should adopt, according to the Sierra Club’s revised statement on how to encourage clean transportation for the railroads.

Air Canada said it is taking a slower approach to adding cargo jets because there isn’t enough demand now to justify the investment.

Electric trucks are expensive, so Mack Trucks figures avoiders might go for a monthly subscription fee and pay by the mile.

Forward Air said it would accelerate a strategic review of its assets after missing third-quarter consensus and providing a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter outlook.

FreightWaves CEO Fuller talks Convoy collapse and why things aren’t improving for carriers.

Third-quarter earnings reports show how Yellow Corp.’s market share was redistributed across the less-than-truckload industry.

Tough freight market hits Echo’s debt ratings, down a notch at S&P.

XPO said Monday it plans to increase capital spending to respond to a tightening capacity dynamic following Yellow’s closure.

Now that port labor unrest is over, West Coast container terminals are starting to claw back some of their lost volumes.

A source wonders if UPS’ new offering is a reconstituted version of an earlier stab at quick delivery.

Now on demand on WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Dooner is joined by Sal Mercogliano; Reed Loustalot; Charles Gracey; Rust Belt Kid; Justin Martin

Car hauler Jack Cooper Transport has been rumored to be behind a bid for Yellow Corp. just four years removed from its own bankruptcy.

XPO reported a third-quarter-earnings beat on Monday as fallout from a competitor’s closure overshadowed a soft macroeconomic environment.

Hawaiian Airlines is finally on its way to positive cash flow from its new Amazon Air contract after spending money to launch freighter operations.

Natural gas has long been a bit player in a diesel-driven engine world. That may change with Cummins’ beefier 15-liter offering.

This week in Borderlands: The U.S. mulls terminating a tomato trade agreement with Mexico; Walmart opens a fulfillment center near Dallas; Saddle Creek Logistics is opening a distribution center in Arizona; and layoffs hit GulfMark Energy’s operations in Texas.

The return of intermodal shipping could accelerate truckload capacity’s exodus.

ArcBest’s less-than-truckload operation saw a meaningful step up in profitability in the third quarter as it remains selective on market share opportunities.

American Shipper magazine has an extensive history of monthly printed issues, each with interesting cover designs. We’ve compiled a gallery of our favorite covers from the 1980s.

A threat to Mack Trucks’ primary business exists as long as brinksmanship with the striking UAW continues.

A bankruptcy judge said Friday that Yellow Corp. can move forward with a plan to use liquidators to dispose of rolling stock.

Saia posted across-the-board gains but its operating ratio worsened as it absorbed higher-than-expected costs.

Universal Logistics Holdings released its third-quarter financial results on Friday, reporting year-over-year decreases in its trucking, intermodal and brokerage segments.