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This week in Borderlands: Tesla proposes $375M lithium refinery for EV batteries in Texas; PGT Trucking expands border operations; Lineage Logistics signs lease at Houston ColdPort; and Otay Mesa port of entry receives $150M federal grant.

Outbound truckload tender volumes spiked this week out of Southern California, while intermodal volumes dipped due to a brief embargo. Could this be a result of shippers preparing for a potential strike?

Some companies are misleading consumers when it comes to sustainability. How do companies making real progress avoid it?

This week: A Georgia driver fighting for more women in the industry receives a renovated cab from Transfix, and a safety nonprofit teaches pedestrians and drivers about the dangers of trespassing onto train tracks.

FedEx says weak international demand was the issue behind its fiscal first quarter pre-announcement. But the signs point to company-specific deficiencies.

Executive Director Mario Cordero says the Port of Long Beach is “making great strides in reducing the number of ships queuing to enter the San Pedro Bay ports complex and quickly moving imports and empty containers out of the terminals.”

Outbound tender volumes are down in the last couple of days to their lowest levels since the start of the summer, and the record breaking levels in Detroit are over — for now.

On demand on WHAT THE TRUCK?!? J.B. Hunt’s Shelley Simpson on the road to becoming president, rail strike and more. Plus, Redwood, FreightVana, OneRail

Statement: ‘Protecting these workers from unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practices is a priority’

Since the pandemic started, many shippers found their existing contracts unable to ensure carrier compliance. Supply and demand were especially volatile, and so spot rates, which are more sensitive to changing market conditions, handily outpaced contract rates.

Logistics fintech platform Axle Payments announced Thursday a rebranding to Denim after disclosing it has finished its $126 million Series B funding round.

Former Celadon executives that are being sued by TA Dispatch have won a request to have the case moved to Delaware.

The great chassis squeeze in intermodal transport is not done yet, according to a panel of executives at the annual IANA meeting.

A Nikola whistleblower collected $600,000 from a short seller of the company’s stock and could be in line for a bigger payday from the SEC.

OneRail’s Bill Catania sees better asset utilization as a key to improving last-mile delivery capacity constraints.

Boeing must soon decide on what to do about developing a next-generation medium freighter. The leading candidate now appears to be the 787.

Drivers and trucking companies seeking flexibility from work rules can expect full attention from federal regulators.

FedEx has pulled its guidance a week before releasing first-quarter results. The company reported a $572 million year-on-year decline in FedEx Express’ operating income as macro weakness and higher costs took a toll.

Western U.S. truckload carrier Super T Transport announced it has been sold to Austrian transportation and logistics provider Berger Logistik.

U.S. containerized imports are still near record highs, but not in Los Angeles, where they’ve fallen sharply.

Diesel futures prices in recent days have plummeted almost 40 cents in just a few trading days, declining far faster than crude.

In a Q&A, FreightWaves chats with Joseph R. Hinrichs, CSX’s incoming president and CEO, in the wake of the announcement that current CEO Jim Foote is retiring at the end of month.

Platform helps to streamline and automate driver recruitment and retention efforts.

Outbound volume in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is booming, raising its market share to 3%. Flatbed market experiences a significant decrease in rejections.

China’s share of all trade growth will drop to 13% over the next five years from 26% over the past six years, a new report from DHL and NYU’s Stern School of Business predicts.

Veeqo is Amazon’s new multichannel shipping software that finds customers the lowest rates based on size and weight.

Freight railroads are attempting to rapidly resume normal operations now that a deal has been reached to avoid a strike on Friday.

With its fleet of electric vehicles, GoBolt will offer same- and next-day delivery of small parcels in the U.S. and Canada.

Reliance Partners’ Robert Kaferle explains why it’s important to bring your driver and dispatcher together more often.

Rail workers haven’t seen the new tentative agreement that delayed their strike plans, but currently known details aren’t promising for some.

A federal appellate court has upheld the conviction of ex-Roadrunner Transportation Systems CFO Peter Armbruster for his role in a securities and accounting fraud scheme that cost shareholders $245 million.

Locus Robotics announced that its autonomous mobile robots have now picked 1 billion items around the globe.

Senior executive says “strategic assets along the supply chain are a key part of Hapag-Lloyd’s Strategy 2023.”

A nationwide rail strike has been averted as the railroads and unions have reached a deal.

USA Truck said Thursday it has been sold to German 3PL DB Schenker.

A payout from the bipartisan infrastructure law nets $37.6 million for facilities in Florida and Tennessee.

“Right now, shipping companies around the world are looking at this and scratching their heads,” says sanctions expert Bruce Paulsen.

AB5 was the topic of an IANA panel discussion, with compliance through brokerage seen as a leading option for trucking companies.

In the unlikely event of a legislative settlement, rail workers could attempt to gain leverage through a risky walkout.

Labor actions are creating great uncertainty for rail shippers in the U.S. and for air and sea cargo in Europe.

Billions in trade between the U.S. and Mexico could be affected by a railway strike that could begin Friday.

With a Friday deadline looming for some rail unions and management to make a deal, a shutdown is looking more and more possible.

Ahead of a strike that could occur after midnight Friday, U.S. freight railroads are winding down operations and the White House is preparing contingency plans.

Ontario, California, makes a full recovery of outbound volume, and the spread between rates to import to the East and West coasts increases.

FedEx Corp. announces most U.S. shipments must be tendered by Dec. 14, one day earlier than last year’s deadline, if they are going to arrive in time for Christmas.

Cass data shows freight volumes reached a more than four-year high in August. But linehaul rates slid for the third straight month.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, whose ranks total nearly 5,000 members, has voted to reject the tentative labor agreement between it and the Class I railroads. But two unions voted to ratify their agreements.

On demand on the podcast: what a rail strike means for freight and you; Truck Driver Appreciation Week; surviving CDL school and more

Billionaire Zara founder Amancio Ortega snapped up five U.S. warehouses for $722 million.

Cameron Eastman, a software-as-a-service veteran, has joined supply chain digital ecosystem Transflo as its new CFO to lead its next stage of product development.

Just two years after acquiring Kuebix in a $200 million deal, Trimble announced it will entirely shut down the TMS provider by the end of 2025.

Less than 6% of all truckload shipments in the U.S. are currently being rejected.

FreightWaves’ FreightTech 100 looks to recognize some of the most highly innovative freight technology companies.

At IANA, the CEO of Parallel, the autonomous rail startup, describes the landscape he sees for the company’s product.

The MerQube FreightWaves Supply Chain Tech Index is introduced.

Does a comfy ride that resembles what they drive off duty keep a truck driver happier? OEMs seem to think so.

The parents of a woman killed last month after a trucker crashed into an overpass on Interstate 25 in Colorado have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the towing company and the driver.

Federal regulators are proposing a “burden-shifting regime” aimed at helping importers and exporters secure container space on ships.

Amazon will spend $450 million over the next 12 months to fund rate increases for contractors, provide tuition reimbursement for drivers, and support a newly formed retirement plan.

Tanker stocks are proving to be a shelter from the Wall Street storm as demand grows for ships that transport oil and natural gas.

Opening statements in Trevor Milton’s fraud trial paint a picture of greed contrasted by tales of tweets and corporate betrayal.

“This new funding will help us accelerate development of our platform and add even more data sets to enrich our expert industry analyses to further drive transparency in the market,” says Xeneta co-founder and CEO Patrik Berglund.

FreightWaves has partnered with MerQube to bring the first index to track the performance of the supply chain and logistics industry. National outbound volume levels out while rejection rates continue their decline.

Beyond impacts to the supply chain, one national security expert contends a rail strike could pose a threat to national security.

A Pitney Bowes survey finds that 41% of respondents believe Sunday service is important. But three-quarters don’t think it will happen.

Settlement legislation introduced in the Senate may not be enough to avoid a rail strike or lockout on Friday.

The Georgia Ports Authority is on track to move a record-setting 6 million twenty-foot equivalent units this fiscal year.

DHL Supply Chain provides visibility across the entire supply chain with top-notch transparency and easy-to-understand performance-tracking tools.

The Freightliner M2 and SD Plus medium-duty trucks coming in 2023 draw a family resemblance to their Class 8 sibling Cascadia.

Nine out of 12 labor unions have reached tentative agreements with the railroads, up from five last week.

TeraWatt secured $1 billion to accelerate the buildout of its charging infrastructure and expand its team.

Less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp. sees tonnage fall by mid-teen percentages in the first two months of the third quarter as it implements the first phase of its restructuring.

Disaggregation, or a shift toward smaller, faster, more flexible forms of freight transport, can help decarbonize the freight industry, remove logistics bottlenecks and increase resilience of domestic supply chains.

Congress must prevent a rail shutdown. Otherwise, factories will close, food and fuel supplies will dwindle and inflation will soar.

While drones have received plenty of hoopla, there are many questions that need to be answered. Efficient ground transport, though, is a viable and sustainable model for package delivery.

Many of the pandemic-fueled headwinds that have plagued the logistics industry over the past two years are beginning to subside, but U.S. ports are still being slammed with more volume than they can handle on a daily basis.

The MerQube FreightWaves Supply Chain Tech Index is introduced.

MyCarrier, a freight shipping platform for small and midsize shippers, has raised $22 million in a Series B funding round.

Government watchdogs have found that maritime regulators are unable to effectively track how shipments of military supplies and food aid are transported overseas.

The benchmark DOE/EIA diesel price, used as the basis for most fuel surcharges, has now fallen 10 of the past 11 weeks.

After a full day of questioning potential jurors, a panel was seated for Nikola founder Trevor Milton’s trial on federal fraud charges.

Ethiopian Airlines is adding Boeing 767 freighters in a transaction with Atlas Air Worldwide.

SONAR data for Sept. 12 shows reefer volumes in Memphis are heating up, while the larger reefer market of Milwaukee is seeing a decrease.

Spot container rates for U.S.-bound cargoes are falling fast, yet import numbers at U.S. ports remain near their peak.

Less-than-truckload provider Forward Air continues to register notable revenue growth more than one year into freight swap.

With strong backing from major players within the Southeast Asia port community and ecosystem, Haulio is the leading first-mile player in container logistics.

What the CHIPS Act means for Port of Baltimore and America; will rail strike?; deep dive on College Hype’s apparel; headlines and more on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

Peak season is becoming more of a black box every year, and the U.S. Postal Service is buckling up.

A new Descartes survey found that a majority of consumers will favor longer delivery times when it is better for the environment.

After months of regulatory delay a new U.K. aerospace company can now go to market with a partial passenger-to-freighter conversion.

Nikola founder Trevor Milton’s fraud trial begins Monday, Sept. 12, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Bringg has joined forces with Uber Eats in France to provide retail delivery services through Uber Direct.

Mexico is discriminating against U.S. companies and homegrown startups through a monopoly in the country’s credit card payments industry.

Three more railroad unions have reached tentative agreements with Class I railroads on new labor contracts.

This week in Borderlands: Mexico’s auto production rises 31% in August; Mission Produce and NatureSweet enter 3PL partnership; Automated bookkeeper for trucking gets backing from Google; and CBP makes largest meth seizure in Del Rio’s history.

This week: Logistics companies, trailer manufacturers and trucking nonprofits prepare to celebrate drivers for National Truck Driver Appreciation week.

Uncertainties over whether union members will go on strike next Friday are causing the U.S. Class I railroads to embargo certain shipments and tell customers to expect delays.

Shipping volumes are weakening in and out of China. Is this a temporary pullback or a sign of more serious trouble ahead?

The CEOs of Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern anticipate rail volumes to grow amid service improvements and despite macroeconomic uncertainties, according to their comments at an investor conference this week.

Flatbed operator Daseke saw its debt rating upgraded by S&P Global Ratings.