All air cargo, all the time — Midday Market Update

It’s the final episode of Midday Market Update and Kaylee Nix and Michael Vincent are going out with a good one all about airfreight. MMU will be replaced with a new show, FreightWaves NOW, that airs every weekday at 9 a.m. 

Starting off with headlines, they discuss how 3PLs are struggling to fill broker vacancies, why an Illinois trucking company is being forced into bankruptcy, Yellow Corp.’s first-quarter earnings shortfalls and the Biden administration’s plans for independent contractor classifications. 

Zach Strickland provides a freight market update, and Anthony Smith explains how initial jobless claims fell to their lowest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic began over a year ago. 

Vincent and Nix welcome FreightWaves Air Cargo Editor Eric Kulisch to the show to talk about how signs of optimism from the airlines are not what they seem; domestic travel is back but international flights are still struggling.

For one airport, that trend is not the case; airfreight is booming at Columbus Regional Airport and Bryan Schreiber, director of business development for the CRA Authority, explains why. 

Schreiber says CRA is well equipped to handle the increase in freight volumes because standard operating procedures at the airport are different than at larger passenger airports in the area. CRA has been able to keep running freight on schedule and is even performing better than competitors like Chicago O’Hare.

You can find more Midday Market Update episodes and recaps for all our live podcasts here.