Surface

Forces have been set in motion that will slowly, but inexorably, change the supply chain status quo in myriad ways, most notably where freight is coming from and where it is going.

A refrigerated rail service sold by Union Pacific Railroad to shippers has shut down amid the COVID-19 downturn in volumes and competition from rival BNSF Railway and other large IMCs.

With tensions on the rise, groups representing ocean carriers and truck companies are open to meeting to resolve their differences on chassis.

JOC’s Spot Intermodal Savings Index hit an 14-month low in a preliminary April reading, the first snapshot of how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the math on how much money intermodal can save a shipper.

The recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has erased years of trucking employment gains, bringing payroll headcounts below 2006 levels, US data shows.

Brokerage solutions maker Trucker Tools will pull parking data into an app-based platform to aid truck drivers searching for available spaces.

A 9 percent boost in organic last-mile revenue signals more consumers are purchasing goods, including heavy goods, at home, a trend XPO’s CEO thinks could be permanent.

A survey by two US trucking organizations reveals a shift in capacity to shorter haul lanes as the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changes trucking markets and the mix of freight.

Efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Europe shut down demand for non-essential consumer goods overnight, erasing a core business channel for smaller truck operators.

The largest US logistics provider is prioritizing technology spending as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates why more automation and digitization is needed.

Many US shippers and truckload carriers are putting off contract talks after the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted them in mid-stride.

Norfolk Southern Railway insists that no matter how far truck rates fall, it will not chase the market down by providing unsustainable rates to shippers, but rather focus on innovative ideas such as mixed trains.

When the economy begins to recover, shippers will face higher prices, fewer options, and shortages of capacity due to a large reduction in truck drivers and motor carrier operators.

The COVID-19 pandemic has flipped UPS’s business, with nearly 70 percent of package volume now residential. That means more mileage, more stops, and more costs.

Trucking companies large and small are focused on getting through the next month or two, after which they hope freight volumes will begin to recover. But that recovery may be a long one.

A new international distribution center in Houston blends US trucking and containerized imports as less-than-truckload carrier Averitt reaches deeper into US consumer markets.

Venture capital investment is beginning to flow toward logistics providers that ease the freight and trade compliance burdens on US-Mexico cross-border shippers.

North American intermodal volume may plunge as much as 25 percent in the second quarter, so railroads believe the right strategy is to focus on cost-cutting while providing reliable service.

Freight visibility provider Overhaul, fresh off a $17.5 million funding round in March, is partnering with Schneider’s broker division.

An American Transportation Research Institute analysis of vehicle location data across six states shows trucking activity plummeting 8 to 10 percent in April as the COVID-19 lockdown spread across the US.

Daimler and Volvo will combine efforts to develop hydrogen fuel-cell technology for heavy electric trucks to meet future emissions and shipper sustainability targets.

Job losses, damage to small business shippers, and diminished expectations for a fast restart for truck freight push pandemic recovery into 2021.

An updated forecast from Coyote Logistics pushes a significant uptick in US truckload spot rates off until 2021, just when the US economy and shippers are expected to be recovering from recession.

XPO Logistics CEO Bradley S. Jacobs believes the US and global economies will recover in “fits and starts” in the second half of 2020, and supply chains will become more resilient.

Detention is a problem for truckers in the best of times. It’s worse amid the pandemic as shippers handle high volumes with fewer dock and warehouse workers available.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services acknowledges a rough second quarter is ahead, while there’s much unknown about how severe the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on business conditions will be.

Although some hope for a strong restart for trucking within months, others believe a long, staggered recovery is more likely, thanks to layoffs and small business bankruptcies.

Widespread business shutdowns will plunge third-party logistics providers and truck freight brokers into “trench warfare” over pricing, and contribute to bankruptcies that could threaten capacity.

Even in a situation as bad as the COVID-19 lockdown, there may be opportunity for domestic intermodal if the US Class I railroads can seize it — as they did following the Great Recession.

YRC Worldwide can breathe easier as its creditors waive restrictions on EBITDA, cash payments. An activist investor, however, wants to force change at the company.

Intermodal volume last week was the weakest in a nearly a decade as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has wreaked havoc on the railroads, which an industry analyst believes could cost Class I railroads $9 billion dollars.

Freight and rates in the spot market are starting to fall after shooting up in March, as the shutdown of a large swathe of the US economy sidelines shipping.

With much of the air freight capacity limited on routes to and from China, and more than 30 percent of the ocean capacity canceled, shippers are making greater use of rail services amid pandemic-related supply chain disruptions.

Regional carrier A. Duie Pyle is cutting wages from the top and asking for volunteers to take temporary furloughs as COVID-19 ravages freight volumes in the Northeast.

Trucking companies need plans to keep their drivers healthy, financially whole, and on the road amid the coronavirus outbreak. They need plans for when they get sick, too.

The 50 largest US trucking operators in the United States saw revenue growth throttle back considerably in 2019, but 2020 is shaping up to be even worse.

The pandemic adds impetus to the rush to develop more sophisticated tools that can give shippers better insight into future truck rates, and eventually “forward-looking visibility.”

With freight volumes expected to plunge over the next six months as the US falls into recession, shippers should remember their strategic trucking carriers and work together to weather the storm.

BCOs and drayage truckers need to document unreasonable detention and demurrage charges, but also not contribute to the problem, speakers toldl a JOC.com webcast.

US trucking companies are preparing to brake hard once the current surge of essential freight fades. The loss of demand and capacity will complicate the eventual recovery.