News

As of late yesterday the Canadian dollar volatility began trending poorly throughout the night and into today, and the short-lived support fell.

Railroads have raked in profits while service deteriorated, posting record operating ratios as network velocities reached 10 year lows. Pressure from regulators, though, may have finally pushed them to raise capex.

The U.S. trade tariffs on Chinese exports is due to come into force on July 6, with U.S. businesses looking for different manufacturing options in South Asia to adapt their supply chains around the new reality.

U.S. shale oil production is fast-growing, but pipeline bottlenecks at the Permian basin could mean that it can’t completely fill the gap being created by the drop in Venezuelan oil production.

Maersk Container Industries will consolidate production of refrigerated and dry containers in China.

Millennials are helping drive the current economic cycle, which is showing no sighs of slowing down.

The American Institute for International Steel reports a 12.1 percent year-over-year increase in April to 3.76 million net tons of imported steel.

Rates to the West Coast tumbled 6.8 percent since last week, while rates to the East Coast fell 5 percent.

The $982 million budget includes funding for the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement and the Middle Harbor Terminal redevelopment.

Third-party logistics revenues grew 8.1 percent in 2017, according to the supply chain research and consulting firm Armstrong & Associates.

The leader of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America takes on everything from cargo manifest data to trade statistics.

Berkshire Hathaway-owned railway cites interoperability delays with other railroads.

Steady loaded import container volumes in May were offset by an 8.3 percent drop in loaded exports.

Projects in Alberta and Quebec are part of a C$3.4 billion capital program for 2018.

University of Maine, Rutgers and Penn State will split more than $7.7 million to support their transportation research and technology programs.

U.S. Xpress overhauled its management and its capitalization to get to the public markets.

The economy remains strong, and capacity tight, although buffeted by some headwinds.

A class-action lawsuit against J.B. Hunt will head to trial this September after the Supreme Court refused to review the transportation giant’s appeal to overturn a ruling issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

U.S. Xpress goes public; retail sales numbers explode for May; BNSF seeks positive train control delay; Brussels airport goes to blockchain for air cargo management; American LNG exports expected to benefit the entire economy.

Retail sales rose 0.8% in May, beating economist estimates of 0.4% and showing that economic growth still has some room to expand.

Shippabo is a cloud-based supply chain management startup that is helping businesses connect with freight forwarders and carriers, while consolidating their data in one place.

There is now a bill in both the House and Senate that would repeal the 12% excise tax on new trucks and trailers.

Capstone Logistics, which has historically focused on warehouse management services and distribution center efficiency, bought LoadDelivered, the Chicago-based brokerage, and Logistical Labs, its SaaS spinoff.

Sponsored by Reliance Partners…One of his specific points of focus for improving driving retention has to do with compensation packages. Compensation packages have become more sophisticated in recent years, but there is room for improvement.

Council’s letter asserts “unjustified” fees violate agreement to end price signaling.

AFN national account manager explains how shippers, trucking carriers and 3PLs can work together to boost supply chain efficiency.

The Western Mediterranean-Middle East ME2 service is the second new call to the French port of Marseilles Fos by Maersk in as many weeks.

Premium service pioneered on routes to U.S. will be offered on cargo bound for Europe.

Hyundai Merchant Marine, APL and Evergreen will participate.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding will help ensure deepening of Port of Charleston’s harbor to 52 feet stays on schedule.

The international freight forwarder is expanding its global perishables network with the acquisition of Newport Cargo, which handles 24,000 tons of airfreight exports per year.

Carrier adding 40-foot reefers and 45-foot containers to its equipment fleet.

DNB Markets has partnered with ocean freight rate benchmarking platform Xeneta to develop a “crystal ball” for carrier financials.

Uncertainty remains whether recent changes will set lines on a profitable course.

U.S. Xpress is profitable on an operating basis, but a heavy debt burden will be reduced in the recapitalization of the company.

Forward Air Corporation’s Board of Directors elected a new company president and chief executive officer as part of its succession planning process this week.

After leveling off in April, pricing in the trucking industry rose again in May, with local trucking prices posting their largest month-over-month gain in the post-recession era with a 1.7% increase, according to May Producer Price Index.

Fleets that run without an ELD could get into a lot of trouble with the inspectors, insurance companies, and customers, who can access the CSA data with regard to crash incidents and violation details.

Canadian National is making good on its promises to fix some of their deteriorated infrastructure and ramp up in response to being challenged on their ability to handle surging freight volumes. The Fed is expected to raise rates while trucking companies invest in the future.

Six times per year, professors from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno collaborate with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) to collate data from professionals in the logistics industry, “identifying trends and developments in the logistics industry over time,” according to the Logistics Manager’s Index (LMI).

Efforts are being made to exempt livestock and certain agricultural haulers from ELD and hour-of-service rules, but a trucking group and safety advocacy organization are fighting back.

Geotab, a global leader in IoT and connected transportation, today announced the acquisition of clean-tech solution provider, FleetCarma.

Expanding operations in Mexico and increased collaboration between power players Mexico and the United States are changing the way goods are moved both between Mexico and Asia and throughout North America.

The Air Cargo Advance Screening program requires cargo data to be submitted to Customs and Border Protection before being loaded onto aircraft.

Jeffrey Kessler and two International Trade Commission nominees discussed their views on trade remedies that would fall in their would-be agencies’ jurisdictions, including duty and Section 337 investigations.

Northwest Seaport Alliance deepening channels, improving terminals to handle bigger ships.

The fast-growing containership owner and operator has completed a private placement of 7.25 million new shares at a fixed subscription price of 54 Norwegian krone (U.S. $6.75) per share.

Demand among carriers and shippers for this passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans shows no sign of abating.

The subsidiary of German auto manufacturer Daimler AG hopes to put two fully electric-powered commercial trucks into production in 2021.

“Tactical decision” made to limit the flow of empty containers during the project.

Autonomous vehicle startup secures an additional $7.5 million in seed funding.

Five employees of a Russian freight forwarder were indicted by the U.S. government on Tuesday for their role in violating U.S. economic sanctions by shipping jet fuel to Syria.

The American Institute for International Steel warns a brewing tariff battle with Canada and Mexico could significantly dampen exports.

Shuffling of alliance services in San Pedro Bay blamed for 3.4 decline in number of TEUs handled.

U.S.-made components made their way to Russia without required State Department licenses.

Sauder Manufacturing says that imports of convertible couches made by a Canadian company are infringing its intellectual property rights and is asking for a limited exclusion order on those imports.

Zach Strickland, the “Sultan of SONAR,” curates the weekly market update.

Shippers have plenty of carriers seeking their business. A panel at TMSA talks about what it takes to get chosen.

Indian logistics industry is undergoing a technological evolution, and is looking to improve visibility and traceability into its supply chain, while also working on increasing capacity to handle its volume explosion.

The new Trucker Path whitepaper finds that 70% of truckers have had to violate HOS, and 96% have parked in areas not designated for trucks. 48% spend an hour or more to find safe truck parking, driving time that does not translate into fleet revenues.

The summer surge of freight hit the West Coast ports and is working its way through the national network. Now it’s Dallas’ turn to blow up: its outbound tender rejection index is outperforming the national average by 60% over the past three months.

The volume of used trucks going to auction continued to be lower than expected in May due to heightened demand.

Harbor-deepening project receives Army Corps approval.

“We’re still in a little bit of wait and see mode in terms of detail, but I think the outcome is pretty positive in my mind,” said Clive McDonnell, the Singapore-based head of emerging market equity strategy at Standard Chartered Bank.

SpotSee, the global leader in shock and vibration monitoring through low-cost connectivity and data, is joining the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) to help develop the standards for blockchain in the transportation market.

Cashflow Corner presented by TriumphPay …Starting your own trucking company takes time and planning, but it takes more than just buying a truck and choosing a load.

The value of commodity indexes has grown about twice as fast as equities indexes in 2018 so far, prompting a wave of capital expenditure in timber, mining, and oil extraction and keeping demand for truckload miles hot.

Two largest containership carriers making moves to improve schedule reliability.

After spending its first year focused on empowering independent owner-operators, Uber’s cargo spinoff is shifting to multi-truck carriers.

The Energy and Water Development Appropriations legislation makes use of revenues from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.

FreightWaves raises $13 million from venture capital investors from San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC, and New York to continue scaling the freight market analytics platform.

The transportation management systems provider adds Trucker Tools’ freight-matching application to its offering to streamline the process of finding and securing truck capacity.

IFM Investors and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. buy pieces of Global Container Terminals from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Chinese trade war would economically damage California and Washington economies, says port leader.

Canada’s largest Class I railway earmarks C$470 million for its rail networks in British Columbia and Manitoba.

The self-driving truck startup selected the Matrix HPC storage system to provide flash-based parallel file storage capabilities.

Michael Noone is appointed president of TOTE Puerto Rico; Grace Green will take over as leader of TOTE Maritime Alaska.

The nonprofit Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation is working on modernizing the country’s customs bonding system.

DeMarco hired as chief commercial officer for Florida port; Wagoner tapped to head sales and marketing in western United States and Canada.

Ground handlers operating at U.S. airports are overwhelmed by increased cargo flows.

For the first half of the year thus far, coal exports are up nearly 24% over the same period last year.

A Ruan communications exec told an industry meeting how her team was involved in the initiative.

FreightWaves is now offering the services of their analysts as a value-add to their SaaS Sonar service.

RevUnit, a digital strategy and product studio with clients in the logistics space, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) to help industry leaders work toward common blockchain standards.

Rhode Island begins tolling trucks today; SCOTUS rejects review request by JB Hunt on California case; Rolls-Royce engine problems spread; transportation companies fret over tariffs; Waymo to buy up to 62,000 Chrysler Pacificas.

Dale Huang, the CTO of COSCO Network e-Logistics spoke about the importance of blockchain in the logistics and shipping world and how he expects the technology to gain centerstage in the near future.

Ag haulers are not only dealing with ELDs and hour-of-service uncertainty, but tariff talk is clouding the future outlook as well.

On Monday, June 11th, 2018, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will officially begin tolling “tractor-trailers to pass two locations on Interstate 95,” as reported by the Providence Journal.

The company is adding 200,000 square feet of warehousing space near the New Jersey/New York ports and 200,000 square feet in Maryland over the next 18 months.

The second-highest month of container traffic in the port’s history is logged in the midst of infrastructure improvements and wharf modernization project.

Knight is named general counsel; Tanggaard is first male member of Norwegian group promoting female participation in maritime industry.

Sandler Travis trade attorney Michael Cerny said during a conference on Friday that the White House Office of Management and Budget is expected to pass the regulation back to CBP […]

The lumber markets have not cooled off since we last covered them in March: futures prices are still breaking records because of a Canadian rail capacity crunch, and flatbed rates in the Southeast are climbing right along with them.

A heavy influx of short-term rentals has its roots in YRC’s long-term problems.

Daimler Trucks of North America reveals 2 new services that take a very datacentric approach. One of them will improve the driver experience.

Plug Power in association with Workhorse Group has developed a hydrogen-powered delivery van that is one of the first of its kind to be deployed on a standard delivery route for the FedEx facility.

Large food shippers are citing rapidly inflating freight costs as headwinds to their earnings, including Smuckers, Kraft Heinz, Tyson, Hershey, and General Mills. We round up the impacts to their businesses here, based on earnings call transcripts.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations addressed the potential for hot button ELD exemptions in the report language of its fiscal year 2019 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) bill, but the issue was not tackled in the bill itself.

The supply chain keeps throwing out news reports that should concern anybody worried about inflation.

Unable to attend Demo Day at Transparency18? Don’t fret. You can now watch each presentation on our website.