Weather and Critical Events

First significant group of storms and tornadoes for 2018.

February weather is going to be volatile, cold, and stormy as the Polar Vortex returns to North America. Plan accordingly!

Mudslides and a dead Pacific Northwest are contributing to high northbound rates coming out of Los Angeles, while extreme winter weather in the Northeast and freight backbuilds are keeping Chicago hot.

Uberization has been a hot term to describe digital transactional brokerage. But a bigger, untapped opportunity might be available in the market 

1.4 million returns on National Returns Day, Jan. 3, a fifth consecutive annual record, up 8% from prior year.

A weather bomb hit the East Coast over the past two days and it has left a mark that will take shippers several days from which to recover.

An unstable Polar Vortex first warmed the Great Lakes and then brought Siberian temperatures to the region, creating disruptive snowfalls and historically low end-of-year temperatures. These weather events only add to numerous factors keeping spot rates sky-high.

Total accepted loads from LA to Seattle have dropped 60% in a week; spot rates in and out of Los Angeles are up by as much as 35% in seven days.

Riskpulse predicts a somewhat colder, wetter winter for the western and northwestern US; warmer, drier conditions should prevail in the southeast and eastern seaboard.

Riskpulse, the leader in providing weather risk analytics for supply chains, has issued a retrospective report discussing how they advised their customers during the historic 2017 hurricane season.

Winter is coming. The National Weather Service is call for several inches of snow to blanket Minnesota, Wisconsin, and parts of the Dakotas this weekend, with over 90% confidence.

The deadly wildfires raging in Northern California regained their vigor on Wednesday as winds picked up and helped spread fires, threatening historic Sonoma County wineries. The fires have left at least 17 people dead and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed. They are also impacting shipping in the region.

Hurricane Nate came ashore late Saturday night and by this morning had been downgraded to tropical storm with winds of 45 mph gusting to 55 mph at times as it moves toward the north-northeast at more than 25 mph.

Tropical Storm Nate is expected to strengthen overnight and through the day tomorrow as it continues to track toward the Gulf Coast across warmer waters. As a result, the National Weather Service has issued a hurricane warning for Grand Isle, LA, to the Alabama/Florida border for Tropical Storm Nate. The storm is expected to make landfall late Saturday or early Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center is warning about potential weekend impacts from Tropical Storm Nate anywhere from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana. Assets in the Mobile, AL; Baton Rouge, LA; and New Orleans, LA, areas currently showing the most risk, according to supply chain risk analysis firm Riskpulse.

Just as the nation turned its attention away from tropical weather, another threat is now looming for the Gulf Coast and Florida this weekend. Tropical Depression Sixteen is official and on the radar of the National Hurricane Center (NHC), and it has eyes for Louisiana and Florida this weekend.

A relic of a protectionist period in US history made the damage caused by Maria so much worse. Combined with a lack of logistics infrastructure and you have the making of an American made catastrophe.

While it appears the East Coast dodged a bullet with Hurricane Jose, the next 10 days look to be a busy time for transportation interests along the coast as Hurricane Maria’s track remains uncertain and there is still potential impacts from that storm early next week.

The East Coast could see two back-to-back hurricanes hit over the next ten days. With an already-steteched national supply-chain, it will test our logistics infrastructure. 

Few people get to experience what the journey of a global container goes through and what its like being on a ship as it makes the trip. With over 90% of global cargo moving via ship, its an important part of our world economy. See what you are missing.