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Landstar System and Echo Global Logistics reported lower second-quarter earnings, while 3PLS are uncertain whether the malaise will linger through the end of this year.

The driver shortage has diminished, but not disappeared, the American Trucking Associations says. Demographics, freight demand, and pay are the key issues.

Norfolk Southern Railway believes the intermodal market has hit bottom and expects shippers to move more containers in the second half of 2019.

With rates and freight demand low, smaller trucking operators may be increasingly up for grabs.

Maryland and the Port of Baltimore will have to find $103 million in funds for the $466 million Howard Street Tunnel project after the federal government awarded only $125 million, just over half of the $228 million requested.

Negotiations this week will attempt to cool the tensions building among freelance truckers in Brazil, who are unhappy with new minimum rates the government attempted to implement.

Freight marketplaces are all the rage, but the problem of tapping into latent trucking capacity is particularly acute in India, where start-up technology provider Lobb believes it can double the number of days drivers are on the road.

Truckers in Mexico will soon be able to sign a single agreement that will set out common rules for equipment exchange with all signatory providers, creating a simpler, more reliable process.

Kansas City Southern’s cross-border intermodal rail volumes increased in the second quarter amid truck delays, but the railroad’s intermodal business as a whole struggled to compete with a lower-priced trucking sector.

IHS Markit data shows LTL pricing and rate hikes declining at a slower pace than truckload pricing.

A new truck rate benchmarking program designed to give Mexican shippers their first scientifically-created rate comparisons will be available next month, compiled by Chainalytics and a Mexican partner.

Shippers own the US freight market in mid-2019, but they are finding the cost of poor or inconsistent trucking service can outweigh the savings of lower rates.

CSX Transportation lowered its guidance for 2019 after offering a grimmer view of the freight market than J.B. Hunt had a day earlier, warning investors that the second half of the year could be worse than the first.

Uncertainty clouds the freight outlook beyond August, as spot truck rates cool in July after rising in June and US inventories remain high.

Attempts to increase rail’s market share in Europe are being hampered by added costs involved in the modal shift, which Belgium’s transport lobbies believe can be solved by government subsidies.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services believes the intermodal market has hit rock bottom, expressing confidence that shippers will move excess inventory in the second half of 2019, though volume will still be less than last year.

Shippers benefit from logistics systems integrations, some of which they don’t even see, as 3PLs and software vendors develop embedded pricing and visibility functionality.

Cross-border truck traffic between Mexico and the United States is rising, and shipping costs are likely to increase as delays tighten border capacity.

Heavy truck orders are in steep decline, but production backlogs are falling and new trucks are hitting US highways, adding to excess capacity and preserving shipper pricing leverage.

Shippers “don’t need to panic” over two recent bankruptcies, an LTL expert says, but they do need to vet transportation providers more carefully, and look for signs of trouble before a bankruptcy.

Analysts expect more of a negative outlook from railroads in second-quarter earnings calls, as shippers have not sent as much on intermodal as they have anticipated in 2019.

Finding rail freight routes around the closed section of the North Sea-Med Corridor is not easy, as the line is a key link between France and Italy.

YRC Worldwide is not merging any of its carriers, but is consolidating back-office functions by closing its New Penn headquarters, and plans to eliminate 'duplicate' terminals.

Although intermodal service was better in the second quarter, according to shippers, a survey from Cowen & Co. finds fewer customers are converting freight to rail because trucks are cheap and available.

While the current perception is that there is an ongoing shift of cargo occurring from the West Coast to the East and Gulf coasts, data shows that is not necessarily the case.

Truckers continue to battle turns of more than an hour at times in BNSF’s Lot 16 outside Chicago, where the railroad has instructed all empty containers to be returned. This means drivers complete fewer jobs per day and shippers have to wait longer for service.

DHL Supply Chain Research finds businesses of all types struggling to keep up with the pace of e-commerce as they work to realign supply chain and transportation networks.

With trucking employment rising, there are few signs excess US truck capacity will be reduced soon, keeping pricing power in the grasp of shippers.

All rail traffic along a busy route connecting the French city of Lyon and Turin in Italy has been suspended, forcing rail operators to re-route.

Union Pacific Railroad will begin charging truckers and logistics providers for missed appointments for intermodal terminals and tighten free storage time for demurrage to 24 hours in all terminals beginning this autumn.

A large share of US-bound Mexican freight is shoved through an increasingly tight funnel of truck lanes vulnerable to freight surges, migration crises, and trade disputes.

The intermodal peak season is expected to be a manageable one with domestic volumes continuing to be weak and abundant container capacity, while international loads will increase at a slower pace than a year ago. Industry stakeholders believe intermodal service will be good in the peak season.

There has been progress in finding a solution to the chassis woes plaguing the containerized shipping industry, but those advancements have been very slow coming. Larger solutions will take years and face many hurdles along the way.

The typical retail-based truck freight rebound came later this year and is likely to be shorter as trade tensions with China and Mexico ease.

Monterrey-based aluminum manufacturer Riisa wants to increase exports to the US but must deal with local capacity shortages and logistics challenges in Laredo, the largest US truck border crossing.

Despite huge growth in container volume transported by rail between China and Europe, the journey time is decreasing as services become more efficient.

TRAC and DCLI have reached an interoperability agreement for the BNSF terminal outside of Dallas, which could lower the likelihood of chassis shortages. Open choice advocates worry this "duopoly" will spread to other Gulf Coast markets and limit trucker choice.

In a disaster-prone era, LTL carrier ODFL finds preparing for any event is better than reacting to one.

The eighth-largest US trucking operator adds an intermodal option in Indianapolis, making service between the US Midwest and Northeast more competitive with trucks.

CMA CGM’s latest rail investment in India continues to tap into the country’s emerging inland market.