News

The state of autonomous trucking; what you need to know about ocean freight in Q1; NIMBYs vs truckers and more on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

Reducing costs and shifting supply chain conditions were among the reasons why rail car manufacturer Greenbrier is ceasing production at its longtime Portland, Oregon, facility.

Truckload carriers nearly auto-accepted load requests during the holidays. While this may look like a blessing to shippers, the implications are not great.

This week in Borderlands: Canada remains top US trading partner ahead of Mexico; Texas group acquires heavy-haul carrier United Vision Logistics; GM plans to expand electric vehicle production in Mexico; and Chinese manufacturer announces first plant in Mexico.

This week: J.B. Hunt is inducted into the philanthropic society of a Texas cancer center, NFI helps Girl Scouts earn their Transportation Badge and Werner continues to wear red to support a military nonprofit.

AskWaves looks at how recent changes requiring disclosure of supply chain finance programs could impact shippers.

Amanda May, 36, of Whitesville, Kentucky, has filed a motion to intervene in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by her mother’s partner, Spangle The Clown, against Lala Trucking Inc. and one of its drivers.

Remaining queues of waiting ships are dwindling, another sign that supply chain pressure is winding down.

Alliance Ground International has agreed to give a major union access to workers at its O’Hare airport cargo facilities, averting a potential suspension of operating rights.

FedEx Freight Direct now offers returns of big and bulky items.

Reliance Partners’ Robert Kaferle stresses the importance of continual training because no one knows everything — no matter how long you’ve been in the industry.

Four Class I railroads have asked the Surface Transportation Board and U.S. appeals courts to review an order that seeks to resolve small rate disputes through voluntary arbitration.

The “doomsday clock” ticking on ocean contracts
Rise of AI in supply chain
Candy Land review
Starting a fleet in ’23 need to knows
How tech is expediting LTL and more

For all intents and purposes, the month of December has only three weeks of freight activity, as the final week from Christmas to New Year’s is effectively null. In years prior, freight demand has fallen throughout the month before bottoming out in that final week. So far, December looks to be following seasonal trends, which is to say that, while shippers’ activity is winding down, this movement is not alarming by itself. Rather, the gap in freight demand between 2022 and ’21 (or even ’20) is the main symptom of current ailments.

See how Walmart — quickly becoming one of the biggest names in drone delivery — and its network fared in 2022.

Port Houston plans to begin implementing fees for long-dwell containers beginning Feb. 1.

1992: 2-D bar codes provide an almost infinite variety of codes, which could prove especially useful in international shipping.

Autonomous trucking language can be a little off-putting to the uninitiated. One exception may be the term “feature complete.”

The number of truck transportation jobs rose in December, but following revisions of the earlier months, the fourth-quarter gain was minimal.

Jason Berry was key to getting Air Canada’s new-and-improved cargo unit off the ground but isn’t sticking around to see it reach cruising altitude.

NOVA Infrastructure has announced it added another port drayage provider serving the Port of Charleston to its portfolio.

Planned Battery Plant Capacity in North America by 2030

Less-than-truckload provider Roadrunner has announced its “biggest-ever transit improvements.”

Uber Freight’s Frank McGuigan, who played a key role in selling Transplace to the digital brokerage company, is leaving at the end of the month.

In this issue of the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? newsletter spot rates hit high, C.H. Robinson fallout; a new trucking movie and more.

The top 10 liner operators hiked aggregate capacity by 13% in 2000-22 and continue to control 85% of the global fleet.

Meadow Lark boasts diversity efforts and driver benefits in an unstable labor market.

Flexport is hiring top tech talent to scale up its digital logistics platform.

Capacity investments and slowing online demand helped carriers hit their peak-season delivery targets, according to ShipMatrix.

Class 8 truck backlogs enter 2023 in healthy shape despite three consecutive months of lower orders after a record September.

Electric vehicle fleet provider Lightning eMotors has introduced a new tool to help operators get the most out of their EV fleets.

U.S. freight railroads moved fewer volumes in 2022 than 2021 amid declines in intermodal traffic, according to recent industry data.

Locus is expanding its workforce and solution offerings for Mexico’s booming e-commerce market.

Ditat’s load planning board lets carriers view and manage all their load planning necessities in one place. It’s also a powerful recruiting tool.

E-commerce giant Amazon will lay off over 18,000 workers during its current round of job cuts, first reported in November.

Analysts waxed pessimistic about C.H. Robinson’s near-term outlook, arguing that the company’s culture needs to change.

Forward Air announced it will buy fellow expedited less-than-truckload provider Land Air Express in a $56.5 million transaction.

You don’t have to tackle your safety goals alone. Partner with a safety expert that can develop a plan with realistic and attainable objectives.

Microsoft Corp. is reportedly near an investment in Gatik, the middle-mile autonomous trucking startup.

Regulators are modifying financial requirements and penalties for brokers, freight forwarders and surety bond issuers.

Fall out from C.H. Robinson firing CEO; a containership powered by sails; top-5 tips to get paid as a driver and more on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

Shopper engagement services provider Relationshop acquired grocery e-commerce firm Stor.ai for more than $50 million.

Bestpass and Drivewyze have come together in a collaboration aimed at an expansion of using tolling data to aid drivers.

Food delivery app DoorDash gets into parcels with its new Package Pickup feature.

The city of Chicago is pressuring cargo agents at O’Hare airport to make a deal with a powerful union. If they don’t, significant cargo backlogs could occur.

As cars gained popularity, ships were converted and built specifically for transporting vehicles overseas.

Specialized freighters with nose cones that open are helping National Airlines and its sister logistics company capture more oversize business.

New details have emerged about United Furniture’s financial health and why its lender, Wells Fargo Bank, filed a petition on Friday to force the furniture company into Chapter 7 proceedings after its abrupt shutdown.

The benchmark DOE/EIA diesel price used for most fuel surcharges moved higher Tuesday for the first time since early November.

The Surface Transportation Board wants Union Pacific to address service hiccups at California’s Foster Farms. Also, CN reports rail traffic controllers have ratified a new collective agreement.

The predicted boost to tanker rates from Russian crude disruptions has yet to materialize. Instead, rates have declined.

So much of the history of the United States can be traced back to Route 66, including major growth in the trucking industry.

Supply chain visibility leaders provide insight on their decisions in 2022 and what’s in store for the FreightTech segment in 2023.

Not all that long ago, real-time, end-to-end visibility was considered a perk. Over the past few years, however, on-demand visibility has become a consistent expectation.

Cepton’s Vista-X120 Plus is billed as the world’s slimmest software definable, top-end automotive lidar solution.

Transportation prices fell at the fastest pace on record, according to the December Logistics Managers’ Index.

Third-party logistics provider and freight brokerage giant C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. said Tuesday morning that President and CEO Bob Biesterfeld has stepped down. The resignation was effective as of Saturday.

“Everyone was so welcoming at TAB, and you could tell they loved being there. This is a top-notch company, with a top-notch facility and an atmosphere that is second to none,” Baker said.

An active Surface Transportation Board and ongoing issues to fully restore rail network capacity are among the issues that industry stakeholders are eyeing in the new year.

Deal flow slowed in 2022, but there were still a number of transactions that changed trucking’s landscape during the year.

Liability concerns for drivers who are deaf or hard of hearing are unfounded, according to federal regulators.

Demand for 3PL services to handle last-mile shipments of heavy goods will grow by double digits annually through 2025, according to a report by Armstrong & Associates and the National Home Delivery Association.

This week in Borderlands: Xometry CEO predicts expanded manufacturing in US; Costa Rica pushes to join USMCA trade pact; Texas port in negotiations for large-scale green ammonia plant; and $900K in meth seized at Laredo port of entry.

Bankruptcies, freight demand, trucking legislation and more dominated the headlines this year.

2022 brought a recession in the trucking industry, but few large trucking companies declared bankruptcy.

Just as the pandemic wound down, another market-altering event for shipping — the Ukraine-Russia war — ramped up.

The carrier will not let peak-season delivery levies fall away in mid-January as it has always done.

For a series of convoluted reasons, a ratings agency has changed its outlook on flatbed operator Daseke.

Rail service, an active Surface Transportation Board and continued M&A activity were among 2022’s news highlights.

Making money was more difficult for the air logistics sector in 2022, but the future remains bright.

Container shipping lines are gradually getting their services back on schedule, but they still have a long way to go.

Ryder rolls out warehouse automation that fits your profile.

Isometric Technologies offers the supply chain’s first logistics performance intelligence platform that ensures the reliability of third-party performance data.

In partnership with Parade, McLeod Software’s digital freight matching API equips brokers with best-in-class capacity management.

This year, FreightWaves Classics took a look back at some of history’s most interesting stories in freight, logistics and supply chains. These are the articles that readers found most engaging.

Freight forwarder MTM Logix recently received a private equity investment aimed at capitalizing on companies nearshoring to the Americas.

Tesla, GM, Chevy and other EV makers may see early volume before revised tax credit provisions’ full criteria take effect.

Robust marketplace offers more than connectivity for shippers and carriers.

As FetchGoat began to grow, co-founder and CEO Bill Hale had one strategic investor in mind.

TriumphPay’s Emily Meyers notes that it’s tougher for carriers to predict their cash flow and expenditures while facing such long payment cycles.

Nineteen states plus the District of Columbia are supporting Ohio’s request for the Supreme Court to take up the issue of whether states have the regulatory authority to regulate railroad traffic, particularly when it comes to blocked crossings.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s report on precision scheduled railroading serves as a broad overview of how the freight rail industry has changed over the past decade.

Congress and the Biden administration will aim to advance trucking policy despite the potential gridlock of divided government.

The Fed’s actions will not cool off rent growth, which is a byproduct of the supply-demand scale.

Electric vehicle maker Workhorse announced that it escaped action from the Securities and Exchange Commission related to fraud accusations.

The U.K.’s largest sunken merchant ship met a dramatic end. But no one knew what actually happened until 20 years after the disaster, thanks to the families of the crew who fought hard for answers.

For the fourth time this year, grocery delivery platform Instacart has cut its valuation, despite hints of an IPO.

Is the US ready for more arctic shipping?

The benchmark DOE/EIA diesel price dropped for the seventh consecutive week, falling by more than 80 cents during that time.

Trans-Pacific spot rates fell first. Trans-Atlantic spot rates and Asia-U.S. contract rates look like they’re next in line.

A key freight rail bridge near the Port of New York and New Jersey is getting a replacement after 120 years.

A $240,000 incentive from California plus other subsidies could bring parity between a Nikola fuel cell truck and a diesel rig.

In yet another drone-related patent filing, Ford is looking at flying within aerial corridors above roads.

China’s COVID problem and the impact on the supply chain are not going away anytime soon.

2000: World container port throughput increased 7.8% last year to about 201 million TEUs — the first time volume exceeded 200 million TEUs.

“Getting involved in state and national organizations is a great way to make an impact and make your voice heard,” said Reliance Partners’ Robert Kaferle.

The e-commerce giant’s long-awaited drone delivery service finally got off the ground on Christmas Eve.

Trade between the U.S. and Mexico will continue to expand in 2023 as more factories and logistics operations move south of the border.

Elmhurst University is offering a top-of-the-line, flexible degree to aspiring supply chain leaders.

The number of employees working for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads rose 4.4% year over year in November. But some of the employment data submitted to the board should be provided in a more user-friendly way, an attorney representing several unions said.