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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.

When it comes to truck driver safety, one might assume that the majority of injuries are the result of vehicle crashes, but this is not always the case.

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.

Phoenix and Denver are both seeing an uptick in outbound volumes days after the holiday drop, and capacity in Elizabeth, New Jersey, handles the increased port volume.

On demand on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?
How clean fuels and EVs are reshaping the rest stop, plus market breakdown, TDAW and more

Boa Logistics aims to “create heavier densities heading in the same direction, ultimately making a more efficient revolving supply chain for the carriers in our network.”

Management teams from a couple of the nation’s largest fleets share their thoughts on peak season and rates during an investor conference.

Cloostermans, a Belgium-based mechatronics company, was bought by Amazon to work alongside its European Innovation Lab in Italy.

How is it that California, the world’s fifth-largest economy and the state most autonomous trucking startups call home, refuses to allow commercial testing of the technology?

More than a year after he was indicted on criminal fraud charges, Nikola founder Trevor Milton will go on trial Monday.

The airfreight sector remains chaotic, but a better-than-expected August is spurring optimism for solid results during the busy shipping season.

The modern warehouse needs to accommodate many transportation types, but it also must be equipped with business intelligence to improve real-time performance.

Updated cybersecurity best practices for cars and trucks warn against OEMs monopolizing vehicle repair and maintenance services.

In this issue of the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? newsletter, truckers honking for kids; a season of no peak; iPhone 14 adds crash rescue feature; surgery performed via EV; and more.

With Teamsters contract talks looming, UPS is loath to step into a fight where a carrier is at odds with its drivers.

Containerized imports to Savannah were increasing before the holiday, and rejection rates out of Dallas fell 100 basis points since Monday.

A new headquarters and a growing team have kept Reliance Partners on the rise.

Retailers are grappling with a “sonic boom of inventory” — and they have no idea what this year’s Christmas shopping season will look like.

The Association of American Railroads estimates that a nationwide strike could cost about $2 billion each day, while shippers groups rally Congress to intervene in the event a strike seems imminent.

Protecting drivers with TVC Pro-Driver.

In a Q&A with FreightWaves, Shifl CEO Shabsie Levy says of current general rate increase global shipping practices: “It essentially incentivizes chaos and disruption but yet doesn’t play in anyone’s favor.”

Unpredictable markets, fluctuating demand, and a space shortage are making the case for why AI robotics are a must for warehouse operations.

More signs of slowing in the less-than-truckload industry appeared Thursday when ArcBest provided a third-quarter update.

In a Thursday conference call with analysts, U.S. Xpress CEO Eric Fuller turned his focus away from the Variant initiative and toward a return to basics for the truckload carrier.

“Inflation has spiked aggressively, you have rising fuel costs as well and we recognize that sometimes two days or longer may still be too long to wait,” says Convoy co-founder Grant Goodale.

Omar Singh details the shipper TMS integrations and partnerships that have taken Surge to end-to-end automation.

After piloting driverless delivery with Motional in the spring, Uber Eats signs a multiyear deal with one of the biggest names in autonomy.Autonomous delivery to begin this fall in Texas, California

JD.com, the China-based mega e-commerce retailer, has begun operating its own cargo flights as part of its diversification into global logistics services.

Truckload carrier U.S. Xpress announced staff cutbacks, capex reductions and reorganization of its operating units.

Container and dry bulk shares soared last year, leaving tanker stocks behind. This pattern has now reversed.

The estimated 100,000 seasonal workers UPS plans to hire is about the same as the past two peak periods.

Werner Enterprises is sure enough of the Cummins hydrogen-powered X15H internal combustion engine engine that it ordered 500 of them.

Two top officials from Universal Logistics used the occasion of a Wall Street conference to defend its AB5-related Southern California deal with the Teamsters union.

Nashville, Tennessee’s, rejection rates have crashed to their lowest values since April 2020, putting downward pressure on spot rates, but in Kansas City, Missouri, rejections and rates are both rising.

FreightWaves’ Alan Adler chats with NFI’s Bill Bleim and Schneider’s Rob Reich about the first deployments of battery-electric truck fleets.

XPO Logistics announced that Jamie Harris will become the CFO of freight broker RXO following a planned separation in the fourth quarter.

Gretchen McCarthy will run all of Target’s global transport, logistics and supply chain management businesses.

Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO at Waabi, talks about changing the way the industry tests self-driving capabilities.

Pablo Koziner, Nikola’s president of energy, talks about the Inflation Reduction Act and how his company is working to produce and sell the fuel for long-distance trucks in North America.

J. Michael Taylor, general manager-global powertrain integration at Cummins, discusses ways his company is adding value to autonomous vehicle manufacturers through powertrain integration solutions.

Now on demand WTT is live from FreightWaves Autonomous & Electric Vehicle summit with guests from Kodiak, Plus, Locomation, Voltera and Torc

Ree Automotive uses “corner technology,” in which all the wheels are individually controlled.

Thomas Wasson and Shawn Kerrigan, co-founder of Plus, discussed the company’s future strategy at FreightWaves’ virtual Autonomous and Electric Vehicles Summit on Wednesday.

FreightWaves’ Alan Adler sits down with the co-founder and CEO of Kodiak Technologies to discuss autonomy in trucking.

Third-quarter updates from less-than-truckload carriers highlight a freight market that continues to slow.

Kimberly-Clark was chosen as a Shipper of Choice — an award that recognizes retailers and distributors that value their carrier relationships.

In the pursuit of a clean-energy freight industry, Lightning eMotors is working to make carbon-neutral operations possible.

KCS has sites in the southern U.S. and in Mexico that are primed for the construction of warehouses and manufacturing facilities.

Wing has made more than 250,000 global drone deliveries, but the company remains in the early stages of its evolution.

Daimler Truck North America is working toward a carbon-neutral industry by advancing the technology of medium- and heavy-duty truck charging.

Truck drivers from around the world will soon be eligible for participation in Canada’s Express Entry immigration program.

A slowing eurozone may pull ocean container rates down further.

With day traders and sports bettors piling into SPACs, valuations of young companies became the stuff of fantasy.

Uber Freight executive Olivia Hu joins chat about the advancement of the autonomous trucking industry during FreightWaves’ Autonomous and Electric Vehicles Summit.

ACT Research’s Ann Rundle discusses policy implications for autonomous and electric trucks at FreightWaves’ one-day summit.

As the freight cycle shifts to a lower gear, deal flow throughout the industry remains hot.

Truck manufacturers began to fill build slots for the first quarter of 2023 in August but pent-up demand for equipment remains unstated.

The benchmark number used for most diesel surcharges declined slightly but lags bigger drops in futures and wholesale prices.

A survey sent to FedEx Ground’s contractors asks if they have faith in CEO John Smith’s ability to lead the unit.

(UPDATED: Lufthansa announced Sept. 12 that it finalized a contract with pilots that will carry through the end of June 2023. And dnata announced Sept. 8, 2022, that had reached […]

The rate at which carriers are rejecting freight out of LA is pushing spot market rates upward, while the opposite is happening in Detroit.

Federal regulators release new data and ask for public comment to help determine whether to end the nationwide trucking hours-of-service waiver.

IMC Companies says its SmartStacks app increases driver productivity and eliminates unnecessary container lifts.

Though often overlooked, improving truck driver behavior packs a punch when it comes to maximizing fuel efficiency. Research shows up to 30% of fuel consumption comes from decisions drivers make on the road.

The Georgia Ports Authority says the Navis system “eliminates data silos, improves velocity across our terminals and enables us to more easily integrate with our customers to provide the data and insights they need.”

Supply chain data released Tuesday showed further loosening in transportation capacity while warehousing metrics tightened further.

A Texas court has reversed a $7.4M gross negligence verdict against a trucking company and its driver.

A new Berkshire Grey survey found that most supply chain executives believe automation is necessary to counter a shrinking workforce.

Odyssey Logistics, a 3PL that specializes in metals and chemicals, had its debt rating upgraded by Moody’s.

While the focus is on Gatik’s self-driving technology, plenty of work goes on behind the scenes to secure state approvals for on-road operation.

Thanks to a federal grant, the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University will be working with four other colleges to develop climate-resiliency strategies and tools for U.S. freight and passenger railroads.

Cummins Inc. is recalling 12,196 engines across 28 manufacturers with a defect in the engine control module that can lead to stalling.

Hood trim pieces on Western Star vocational trucks are coming unglued, similar to an earlier recall for side intake covers falling off.

Container vessels are expected to use auxiliary engines while in port this week to help California’s struggling electric system cope with extreme heat.

This week in Borderlands: Texas-Mexico trade expected to top $1.5 trillion by 2050; fast growing logistics firm expands in Laredo; Phoenix distribution center sells for $92 million; and Dallas last-mile provider shuts down.

The second FreightWaves Autonomous and Electric Vehicles Summit will feature leaders in autonomy and all things electrification.

Two more unions, whose membership totals about 6,000 freight rail employees, have tentatively agreed to a new labor contract that calls for substantial wage increases.

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.

Former contractor Spencer Patton’s interlocking business structure allows him to keep profiting from FedEx Ground, even if he no longer drives for the company.

At the start of September, outbound volumes in Indianapolis dropped 4.5% overnight. Meanwhile, in Greenville, South Carolina, they increased 14.5% overnight.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ruled — again — that UPS has not shown it can maintain safety levels if it were exempted from new driver-training requirements.

A 3D printed generator; ups and downs of selling on Amazon; supply chain hidden gems and right to repair on demand on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

How did fuel costs decline over almost 10 years at a rate far greater than the decline of retail diesel prices?

Cathay Pacific Cargo, a bellwether for trade in Asia, says slowing consumer demand and Chinese exports point to a less busy peak shipping season.

The warehousing and storage sector continues to see declines in employment.

As Fernish has grown, it continues to evolve its logistics strategy.

Rusty Rush not only operates more truck dealerships than anyone on the planet, he also knows technology. And he has opinions on just about everything. So, buckle up. It’s Rush hour. 

There’s a battle brewing in Amazon’s warehouses, and the massive marketplace is losing traction. A federal labor official with the National Labor Relations Board’s Arizona office on Thursday recommended that […]

Peak harvest season begins in the U.S. soon, and grain shippers are hoping rail service will be able to meet market demand.

Ryder has bought the rest of Baton, a logistics software startup that already had received funding from Ryder Ventures.

Third-party logistics provider Atlas Logistics has acquired Progressive Transportation Inc., a provider of over-the-road pad-wrap transportation.

Reliance Partners’ Brian Runnels describes what it takes to be crowned a champion driver.

Citation management that helps trucking companies improve driver safety.

Salt Lake City is seeing increased outbound volume to start September, while Denver continues to experience a decline.

A 24-hour strike by Lufthansa cockpit crews will shut down the company’s freighters. Logistics providers worry future union actions could be more serious.