News

Knight-Swift Transportation’s 2023 outlook comes in as expected, potentially establishing a higher earnings trough for the carrier.

Debuting in 1936, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was created as a marketing device and to transport the company spokesman. The unique transportation method went on to symbolize the meat brand and 21st century Americana.

After three years in operation, FMCSA’s drug clearinghouse is ‘a great source of truth’ despite alarming trends, asserts a trucking regulatory expert.

In this issue of the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? newsletter: Final mile fails, LEGO HQ moves to Boston, Tesla’s new SEMI and Cybertruck plant

American Airlines generated strong cargo sales in 2022 even as market conditions deteriorated.

Companies should utilize social media and content marketing for recruitment efforts to stay ahead.

Companies in need of supply chain visibility can now leverage FourKites data through their existing internal platforms.

Covenant Logistics Group is hopeful this cycle won’t bring a material earnings decline, which was the norm in prior downturns.

A report published Wednesday by Morgan Stanley Research highlights demand expectations and how carriers and brokers are hungry for freight.

Marten Transport had a mostly steady quarter, with some improvements and some softness.

Current battery-charging cycles could compromise LTL network efficiency, according to the president of AAA Cooper Transportation.

Authorities in Mexico reported more than 8,000 incidents of stolen cargo trucks and trailers in 2022.

Like the other Class I railroads, CSX is bracing for macroeconomic headwinds in 2023. But continuing service improvements will lend support to the company, executives said during CSX’s fourth-quarter earnings call.

Volvo Group set a fourth-quarter record for deliveries, but the OEM said supply chain disruptions and energy costs would impact business.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all scenario. We can sit down with any merchant of any size, with any kind of commodity and really understand their needs and how both the technology and our carrier network can get that customer delivery experience they are looking for,” said Brad Noble, Passport’s new head of business development.

FreightWaves has named David Bradford to the role of chief content officer.

FreightTech startup Freightos is raising money through a public offering rather than seeking venture capital.

Covenant Logistics Group missed fourth-quarter expectations even when excluding expenses incurred onboarding equipment.

Speculation is swirling on how the end of a global container shipping alliance will affect ocean carriers and cargo shippers.

Nikola coined HYLA as the brand for its hydrogen business, and Biagi Brothers will make early fuel cell truck runs for Anheuser-Busch.

Inflation and other macroeconomic headwinds figure into Norfolk Southern’s projections for 2023. Volume growth is also a big unknown, executives said during NS’ fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call Wednesday.

A survey of nearly 1,000 drivers found that carriers generally allow them to return home whenever they want, or not to return home at all.

“Terminal and infrastructure investments are a crucial element of our strategic agenda and India is one of our key growth markets,” Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said.

FitzMark announced Wednesday it has completed its seventh acquisition in the last four years.

Ondemand on WTT: 2M Alliance breakup; used truck bubble burst; scary robot yard dogs; how layoffs impact your team and more

1994: Those involved in response to the 600,000-gallon spill reflect on their efforts.

By the end of the week, Convoy carriers will be able to receive instant bid feedback on 98% of company-sourced loads.

To address the ongoing climate crisis and slow global warming, governments, corporations and organizations across the globe have set their sights on a greener future.

Air Canada is sticking with a Canadian, Jon Turner, as cargo chief after two Americans in that position left in recent years.

CN will adjust its operating plan to run faster and potentially shorter trains and concentrate on courting customers where network capacity is available, executives said on the railway’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call.

Shipping services around the globe will be reconfigured after the top two carriers end their vessel-sharing agreement.

On Union Pacific’s list of resolutions for 2023 are plans to improve rail service, enhance quality of life for craft employees and achieve productivity gains, according to executives on the railroad’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call Tuesday.

Tesla announced it is investing $3.6 billion to build two new factories in Nevada, including a facility to mass produce its all-electric Class 8 Semi truck.

Bipartisan legislation would provide new funding for truck drivers and truck parking while exempting ag haulers from hours-of-service rules.

Get your “easy button” with a modern, SaaS-based TMS!   A next-gen TMS helps streamline operations and automate the quote-to-cash cycle for freight transactions. But there’s other benefits too. Investing in […]

Amazon is still investing in its air cargo network despite cost cuts elsewhere in the company. Next up: India.

For just $5 per month, Prime members can choose from 52 eligible medications and have them delivered to their doorstep, free of charge.

FreightWaves has announced that its TRAC spot rates have been integrated into FreightFriend, a truckload procurement platform.

“It’s just not going to be a very fun year, and truckers need to be a little bit more realistic about it,” says Reliance Partners’ Thom Albrecht.

Paccar Inc. posted record revenue and profits across the board in the fourth quarter, belying predictions of an economic slowdown.

A new contract for pilots at Hawaiian Airlines is setting the bar for all-cargo carriers above traditional industry leaders even though the carrier has never flown freighters before.

“We are proud to be part of this first-in-history interoperability launch between eBOL platforms,” said CargoX founder and CEO Stefan Kukman.

An online auction on Tuesday will sell the assets of family-owned Art Mulder & Sons Trucking of Holland, Michigan, two months after the refrigerated LTL carrier ceased operations after 50 years.

Uber Freight is cutting about 3% of its workforce, all of the jobs coming out of its digital brokerage activities.

Steel, crude oil and refrigerated shipments rose as ports in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama recorded increased freight volumes in 2022.

Demand remains too unsteady to support multiple rate jumps, according to less-than-truckload executives.

Are falling commodity shipping spot rates the result of normal seasonality or a symptom of global economic malaise?

Three defendants who pleaded guilty in the Louisiana staged accident scam will get probation, not jail time.

After months of downward moves, used truck prices ended the year closer to pre-pandemic levels than anytime since COVID hit.

As part of Amazon’s some 18,000 job cuts, a “significant number” of employees at several drone delivery facilities reportedly were laid off.

Ondemand on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?
CNBC’s Lori Ann LaRocco
Echo’s Chris Mayberry
Traveler’s Scott Cornell
Patriot Freight Group’s Andrew Salazar

Temperature-controlled carrier R.E. Garrison Trucking announced it has acquired produce hauler Boaty’s Transport.

A letter of intent for 100 of its fuel cell trucks in Germany boosts Nikola’s global zero-emission aspirations.

Less-than-truckload carrier Pitt Ohio announced it has sped up service on numerous lanes in and out of the state of New York.

The first freight sentiment indexes in 2023 show eroded near-term freight market expectations but signs of a more balanced landscape on the way.

The government opposed a new trial for Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton, dismissing his allegations of juror misconduct.

The CFO of contract logistics firm GXO Logistics says labor costs are cooling but U.S. warehouse space remains tight.

This week in Borderlands: Houston’s MacroFab raises $42M to capitalize on nearshoring shift; Tesla expected to begin production of Cybertruck in Texas in 2023; Nike to open a major logistics center in Dallas; and Dana Inc. to open a new factory in Mexico.

Inventory growth in December is not a great sign for carriers who are expecting the market to bottom this winter.

James Reed is the new COO at autonomous truck startup Kodiak Robotics, possessing tech credentials unrivaled among trucking executives.

Imagine drowning in a flood of molasses that entombed you as it hardened. That’s what 21 people suffered in 1919 when the storage of molasses in Boston went awry.

Eight U.S. representatives from Iowa and Minnesota want the Surface Transportation Board to require Union Pacific to fix service issues and lift weather-related embargoes in the region.

BNSF has set a $3.96 billion capital expenditures budget for 2023.

Union Pacific’s proposed testing of one-person crews is on hold because the program can’t proceed without negotiations between the railroad and affected union members.

White House economic adviser Brian Deese points to supply chain improvements while new pressures loom overseas.

American imports remain a tale of two coasts, with continued strength in container volumes headed to Atlantic ports.

As an energy industry logistics provider, Filamar Energy’s goal is to continue to set new carbon neutral CleanMile® benchmarks that reduce lifecycle emissions and CO2 levels while bringing positive impactful change to the planet without sacrificing efficiency. 

The world’s first allogeneic T-cell therapy — a type of universal immunotherapy treatment that relies on donor blood — was approved in Europe earlier this month. This is a game changer for medicine. It is also a game changer for the logistics industry.

Ondemand on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?: Kodiak Robotics new COO James Reed; Reliance Partners Thom Albrecht; Project K-9 Hero’s Jason Johnson; FreightWaves Donny Gilbert

As valuations of SPAC-backed startups plummet, one autonomous trucking developer that avoided the FOMO and stayed private is thriving.

“Terminal49’s automation has saved us thousands of dollars a year, but more importantly it’s helped improve customer trust,” said Trade XCelerators’ Spencer Strader.

Declines expected after reaching multiyear highs in the first half of 2022.

United Airlines saw cargo revenue dip but exceeded financial expectations in the fourth quarter.

The 9,133,657 twenty-foot equivalent units the Port of Long Beach handled in 2022 were only 2.7% off the record-setting 2021.

Walmart’s hiring initiative, which began with recruiting supply chain workers, is broadened to include all associates within a 50-mile radius of hiring offices.

Trailer manufacturers took in 57,300 orders in December, the second-highest monthly total since tracking began in 1996.

Newly hired CPO Jenny Abernathy is out to change the game for CRST The Transportation Solution Inc.

South Carolina Ports moved nearly 2.8 million TEUs in 2022, the most in the state’s history.

Annual volumes at the Nova Scotia port exceeded 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent units for the first time in its history.

RoadOne IntermodaLogistics has acquired The Transporter Inc., an intermodal service provider with facilities in Houston, Dallas and Laredo, Texas.

Some 20% of Russia’s GDP comes from its Arctic region. Climate change means Russia can extract and ship fossil fuels more easily from the once perpetually frozen landscape.

Prologis says warehouse rents will step higher again in 2023.

2023 was a banner year for the Port of Virginia, with annual volumes higher year over year as more traffic went to East Coast ports.

BoxC’s data-sharing initiative with the FDA showcases the growing need for government regulators to work with supply chains to fix operational inefficiencies.

“It was a challenging year, but collaborative effort across Georgia’s supply chain ensured cargo movement remained fluid,” Executive Director Griff Lynch said.

Massachusetts-based RailState, founded by two rail industry veterans, seeks to provide customers with insights on where trains are located and a line segment’s performance over time.

Colorado startup Outrider, which transforms distribution yards into automated operations, has raised $73 million in a Series C round.

Management from J.B. Hunt sees the potential for a rebound in freight markets by the back half of 2023.

Growing evidence of ‘shopper rebellion’ Elasticities, or the negative change in sales volume in response to rising prices, has been one of the main topics in the CPG industry in […]

NASA hauls the longest heavy cargo delivery; Reefers run food to the Bahamas; Submarine cables connect the Virgin Islands.

Ryder System Inc. is set to lay off 801 employees after losing work at an Applied Materials semiconductor plant in Austin, Texas.

J.B. Hunt recorded a huge headline miss in the fourth quarter. However, excluding what may be a nonrecurring claims expense, the result was more subdued.

Mexico averaged 39 cargo thefts a day in November

Mexico exported 157,522 heavy-duty trucks to the U.S. in 2022, an 18% year-over-year increase.

Bank of America analyst Ken Hoexter now has a buy rating on most of the truckload carriers he follows.

The benchmark diesel price for most fuel surcharges continues to fall even as other key numbers are rising before a ban on some Russian imports.

XPO announced Tuesday it has hired Wall Street analyst Ali Faghri to head its strategy initiatives.

FTR Transportation Intelligence expects a competitive truck market and port activity shift to put pressure on rail intermodal in 2023.

ClearFlame’s model removes diesel from diesel engines through heavy-duty compression ignition engine modification, allowing trucks to run on a wide range of clean-burning, plant-based renewable fuels.

Truck-as-a-service startup Forum Mobility enters a $400 million joint venture to establish electric drayage truck charging sites.