News

This week in Borderlands: Mexico won’t prohibit double tractor-trailers; Mexican government delays ban on genetically modified corn; Arizona border port of entry project receives $8M; and B.I.G. Logistics acquires Mexican customs broker and 3PL.

About 15% of deliveries scheduled for Friday and Saturday will not make it by Christmas, ShipMatrix says.

The nation’s top truck safety regulator argues her hands are tied when it comes to approving a drug-test exemption.

California’s ABC test was a key reason why a decade-long misclassification case against Hub Group settled.

Economy improvements in low-MPG vehicles yield the greatest savings

Drivers who paid top dollar for a used truck in the past year are probably kicking themselves, if not just taking the hit and walking away.

FedEx Express is looking to trim fat at the largest cargo airline in the world and lean on rental fleets to fill in needs.

Major U.S. railroads have pushed for years to eliminate the in-cab conductor role. But unions think the cost-cutting rule could undermine safety.

A few weeks ago, First Star announced its newest addition to its aggressive five-year growth plan, specifically for experienced freight broker agents. The company calls it a “90 for 90” promotion, 90% commission for 90 days.

While trucking is attracting plenty of attention from hopeful entrants, breaking into a new industry can be difficult. That is where Truckstaff Solutions comes in.

With so many truckers but so few parking spaces, TruckParkingClub.com has found a way to create more of the latter.

From a Netflix-worthy docudrama at TuSimple to dueling technology announcements, autonomous trucking took steps toward commercialization.

1974: They may be the last hurdles in the way of renewed trade between the
United States and Cuba. An embargo failed to work and indirect business
has begun.

A new survey of gig workers found that a majority have no plans to leave the industry, despite concerns of income stability and health benefits.

Miki Shifman, co-founder and chief technology officer for Israeli company Cylus, discusses the cybersecurity landscape for freight and passenger rail operations worldwide.

Backers of a shipping regulation that begins Jan. 1 believe it will reduce carbon emissions. Critics warn it could backfire and increase them.

Triumph Financial’s shares are cut to a sell level at Wells Fargo on a still lengthy wait for a payoff at TriumphPay.

Cox Transportation announced Wednesday the acquisition of Outwest Express and its fleet of more than 400 tractors and 1,200 trailers.

TuSimple cut 25% of its workforce that grew too fast following the company’s public debut in 2021.

FedEx must convince stakeholders that it will stay the course on cost reductions.

Over the past five years, Port X Logistics has grown from a startup to a major player in the drayage, transloading and trucking worlds. This level of growth — especially in the midst of a pandemic — has required serious planning, hard work and commitment.

First, the company popularized two-day shipping. Then, Amazon Relay was created to help fill growing capacity needs. This paved the way for further innovation, including Amazon Freight for shippers and Amazon Freight Partner for carriers.

Debate on whether we are in a freight recession has been raging since the first quarter of 2022. The conclusion is now obvious: Freight volumes have collapsed this year, dragging down spot rates with them.

The Warehouse Worker Protection Act is designed to provide transparency and worker protections to warehouse employees in the state of New York, which has seen several skirmishes over working conditions at Amazon facilities.

Operating a successful business requires pinpointing — and meeting — customer expectations. XPO services thousands of customers daily, and doing that well means finding out what each of those customers needs.

The holidays are quickly approaching, and shoppers are checking off their gift lists. This year, however, the festive frenzy has not been strong enough to create a traditional peak season effect.

Pennsylvania has awarded $26 million to 24 freight rail improvement projects, while technology provider RailState completes coverage of the Canadian rail network and Alterra IOS acquires industrial facilities for $86 million.

By the start of the 1900s, about 40 U.S.-flag ships were operated by the country’s lumber titans, proving to the industry at the time that marine transport was more efficient than rail.

Several airlines have tapped software interfaces to allow electronic bookings for their cargo capacity.

Soaring diesel costs plus sinking volumes made trucking conditions especially challenging in October and November. 

The EPA’s new tailpipe emissions standard raises implementation concerns from engine makers — and cost concerns from truckers.

Auto imports, crude oil and petroleum shipments rose as ports in Houston, Corpus Christi and New Orleans recorded mixed freight volumes in November.

FedEx’s 2023 second-quarter results proved its ability to quickly slash costs but also showed the damage a demand slowdown is inflicting on its top line.

The spending bill to keep the federal government running through fiscal 2023 includes updated measures for trucking and maritime sectors.

Estes Forwarding Worldwide and project44 have developed a rating API that provides expedited quotes for LTL shippers.

Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple will be on the hook for $15 million in cash severance if it ousts CEO Cheng Lu a second time.

Lineage’s second big equity raise this year will support a 7% increase in the company’s global real estate capacity.

American Eagle’s logistics arm has partnered with JLL to open fulfillment centers with a rent-as-a-percentage-of-revenue payment model.

The Postal Service said it will double its EV investment from its July forecast.

Dec. 17 marked 119 years since the Wright brothers first successfully flew a man-powered airplane, paving the way for continuous innovation in the flying world.

The STB has rendered decisions on two rules aimed at helping the railroads and shippers resolve small rate disputes.

CEO and founder Don Burnette says “2022 stood as the year that Kodiak really built momentum and gained the trust of the industry.”

An appellate court that will determine whether the Prop 22 gig worker vote in California is constitutional recently heard arguments.

Lazer Logistics said Tuesday it has acquired the yard shuttling operations from Colorado-based Preferred Cartage Trucking Services.

Echo Global Logistics’ contractual sourcing and continuous movement programs are helping owner-operators stay the course amid market volatility.

The holidays are quickly approaching, and shoppers are checking off their gift lists. This year, however, the festive frenzy has not been strong enough to create a traditional peak season effect.

This partnership has produced an extra layer of security for fleet owners with Ditat’s Secure Code. This feature, managed through Ditat’s TMS, requires a unique four-digit code to be entered for each purchase.

US Freight Railroads are the Best Rail Network Since the Staggers Act of 1980

Air Canada is beefing up ground infrastructure as it develops a new fleet of freighters able to raise transport reliability for logistics customers.

Even though the final piece of XPO’s breakup has been put on hold, the company’s bullish growth ambitions for less-than-truckload have not changed.

Several trucking companies, logistics firms and cold storage facilities are collectively owed millions of dollars after an Iowa-based meat importer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection recently.

Diesel prices at the pump still have a ways to go to catch up with earlier declines in wholesale and futures prices.

Each carrier will come in below the other on certain services, but the net effect will be a wash, TransImpact says

Reliance Partners’ Brian Runnels adds a few steps to your pre-trip inspection to combat harsh winter weather.

The U.S. could seek forfeiture of the MSC Gayane, a large ship involved in an infamous smuggling operation, says Bloomberg Businessweek.

“To get the most out of your technology, you have to have the right processes. And to get the most out of your processes and technology, you have to have the right people.”

Following last week’s hearing on embargoes before the Surface Transportation Board, Union Pacific has decided to pause the program. Meanwhile, the board is considering what it can do to encourage rail volume growth.

McLeod enhances its rate index calculator with high-frequency spot rate data.

Delivery management platform Locus has added a new option for retailers to better optimize last-mile delivery while optimizing capacity and business needs.

Knight-Swift is the first carrier to put its own driver behind the wheel of a tractor embedded with autonomous software from Embark Trucks.

Amazon launches driver tipping feature

Like all previous maritime boom cycles, things are starting to turn down. That reshaping of trade is creating a misleading message on demand.

This week in Borderlands: Production, exports of Mexican-made trucks soar in November; Penske Logistics to open major facility in Houston; ShipMonk opens e-commerce fulfillment center in North Texas; and $100M worth of meth seized at border checkpoint.

Since this isn’t 1997, UPS will stay open because it wants to keep business in a changed world for parcel delivery.

Truckload carriers are providing the best contract compliance since COVID started during a traditionally chaotic time. What does this mean for 2023?

Autonomous trucking developer TuSimple appointed three independent directors to right its ship after a month of boardroom drama.

Even as the economy shows signs of slowing, trailer manufacturers see strong demand and few cancellations.

Trevor Milton is seeking a new trial, claiming that a juror lied about using social media. Ironically, lying on social media helped convict the Nikola founder.

The German national railway is looking to sell off its DB Schenker logistics business if it can get a good price.

On the last WHAT THE TRUCK?!? of the year we celebrate the season with offices across the industry

Union Pacific has been recognized for sustainability practices. Commtrex and Railinc are working together to develop a product aimed at using data to simplify rail movements.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla will reportedly soon announce its first automotive assembly plant in Mexico.

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.

Walmart and DroneUp continued to expand their drone delivery footprint this week with launches in three new states.

3PL Neovia has a higher debt rating from S&P but it still has a significant debt load.

Professional truck drivers key to the development and growth of PlusDrive highly automated driving solution

Uber Freight and Volvo Autonomous Solutions are stressing patience over hype in working to digitally schedule loads for the truckmaker’s one-stop shop for all things autonomy.

Reliance Partners’ Mark Barlar provides a crash course on the DataQs process.

Amazon has made the returns process easy and convenient for customers, but many retailers have yet to master the art of the return. Spencer Kieboom, founder of Pollen Returns, talks about the role technology can play in the process.

Driver wellness is a critical safety issue. In an industry where driver wellness is consistently listed as a key concern, companies like Rolling Strong are important.

An Indiana trucking company owner claims his office manager of over 20 years — along with her husband — stole more than $600,000 from his affiliated companies over a five-year period.

Ocean carrier CMA CGM’s new cargo airline made the unusual decision to stop serving U.S. customers and lease planes to other carriers for a short period.

Amazon has shifted middle-mile parcel deliveries to UPS and last-mile deliveries to the U.S. Postal Service, Jindel says.

Foreign-flagged vessels working in the U.S. offshore energy sector would face new restrictions under a proposal before Congress.

The Federal Railroad Administration heard starkly different opinions from some railroads and unions about whether the agency should mandate freight train crews of at least two people.

Cargo traffic for Cathay Pacific fell in November, weighed down by weak demand for Chinese exports. The small bump it enjoyed in October was short lived.

In this issue of the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? newsletter: freight story of the year; trucker crashes during livestream; Arizona’s container wall; trucking Christmas gifts and more

Major auto hauler United Road saw its already-low debt rating affirmed, but the outlook was cut to negative as it continues to generate negative free cash flow.

Higher borrowing costs will cut all real estate asset values by 5% to 7%, according to CBRE’s 2023 outlook.

Inflation has famously slammed the price of food and gasoline this year, but televisions and smartphones are historically cheap. What gives?

Founded roughly six years ago, Knoxville, Tennessee-based Konexial is a trucking technology company dedicated to meeting the needs of companies in the industry by creating state-of-the-art technology that helps improve day-to-day operations.

Safety training was once largely considered a one-size-fits-all endeavor, often consisting of in-person classes. That is no longer the case.

Meeting consumer demands is a team effort that involves shippers, carriers, retailers and technology providers.

Hydrogen provider Plug Power will buy 75 Nikola fuel cell trucks while processing hydrogen Nikola will purchase.

Texas has set up state-run checkpoints to stop and inspect random commercial vehicles coming from Mexico.

Less-than-truckload carriers are hopeful a recent round of general rate increases stick on the downside of the cycle.

A tax code throat punch promises to make gig work and online selling as fun as a trip to the morgue and as profitable as the average Mega Millions ticket.

An analysis of supply chain job postings has found that, despite interest in automation technology, many companies are not seeking candidates with technological experience.

U.S. lawmakers are proposing a requirement that restrooms at commercial buildings and ports be available to truck drivers.

Building on partnerships with Motional, Serve Robotics and Nuro, Uber Eats announced a collaboration with self-driving vehicle maker Cartken.