Stifel presented reasons why it doesn’t make sense for Home Depot to buy XPO Logistics, but they still think there’s a 31% upside on XPO Stock over twelve months.
The sharing economy is generally organized around a technology platform that facilitates the exchange of goods, assets, and services between people across a varied and dynamic collection of sectors.
Oil prices finished 2017 above $60 a barrel for crude, surpassing their highest level in more than two years. Delivery of light, sweet crude for February was up 1% to $60.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude was up 71 cents to $66.78 a barrel.
The latest weekly and monthly DAT Trucking Freight Barometers are continuing to surge strongly into even more positive territory, and proving our September prediction that “the ‘fall surge’ is happening for the first time since 2007,” has come to pass.
Tesla is now accepting orders for its Tesla Semi in three European countries. The different dynamics of the European freight market represent some different challenges for the company.
The Canadian province of Ontario has announced an electric truck rebate of 60% of the incremental purchase cost compared to an equivalent conventional fuel vehicle, up to a cap of CA$75,000 per vehicle, under the new Green Commercial Vehicle Program.
The Baltic Exchange is scheduled to end its freight futures exchange platform, Baltex, today.
SureFly re-invents the helicopter, making it safer, easier to fly and much more affordable than a conventional helicopter. Like a drone, its redundant design includes four propeller arms, two fixed contra-rotating propellers on each arm; and a backup lithium battery pack to drive the electric motors in the event of engine failure.
As the flagbearer of capitalism and a lynchpin example of consumerism, it is clearly understood where the growth of the U.S. economy lies. It is estimated that consumer-driven spending accounts for nearly 70% of all economic growth in the country.
WABCO and Nikola will accelerate the development of industry-leading safety technologies specifically designed for electric commercial vehicles, including electronic braking, traction control, and stability control. Nikola anticipates offering its fully electric Nikola Two day-cab truck (pictured here) for sale in the U.S. by 2021.
51% of all returns occur in January, when Americans will send back $30B of unwanted gifts. Reverse logistics represent a huge cost increasingly eaten by retailers, while 3PLs stand to make big margins.
With its ICO in mid-January, Shipchain is poised to present the transportation industry with a new way of doing business.
Access to quicker delivery options has boomed sales of perishable commodities like frozen pizza and ice cream, and that has led to a boom in refrigerated freight options.
It is estimated that international trade-related freight transport accounts for nearly one-third of the total emissions across the world. Such situations call for innovation in the freight industry that could help mitigate carbon footprint through optimizing fuel consumption and improving operational efficiency.
JP Morgan likes FedEx, Schneider, Canada Pacific, and JB Hunt–‘sells’ include Union Pacific, Knight-Swift, and CH Robinson.
In a strange twist, Tesla’s stock took a hit yesterday in spite of the apparent good news of e-trucks. Why?
TIRPORT, a startup from Istanbul, understands the Turkish freight market potential and believes it can bring change to a system that urgently needs a revamp to stay ahead of the times.
Mark Lavender, special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, awarded DAT’s Tami Hart with a “challenge coin” at the DAT User Conference in October for her efforts in helping the Bureau identify and track down hundreds of cases of false payments, cargo theft, and other transportation fraud.
Could the bitcoin bust be good for blockchain technology?
Over the years, it has become increasingly easier to create online storefronts, with the building blocks for essential infrastructure being made readily available to interested sellers. But for small sellers, shipping costs can make online shoppers unprofitable.
Is e-commerce hitting a ceiling? Or is brick and mortar back in style? In November, consumer spending at brick and mortar stores increased by 0.8%, exceeding economists’ expectations by 0.5%. These gains were also coupled with e-commerce growth, indicating Americans are simply spending more this holiday season.
When VW purchased Navistar the nation’s third-biggest seller of commercial trucks, it was vulnerable and had few options. Now, it’s on the rebound in a big way.
What began as an attempt to create a corridor from China to central Asia through infrastructure projects, has grown more ambitious and has encircled 65 countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe – all bearing China’s One Belt, One Road initiative.
When the U.S. Department of Transportation announced in August that it was abandoning a proposed rulemaking for sleep apnea, many in the industry were not pleased. While there is no mandate, sleep apnea remains a very treatable problem for drivers.
The failure of the venture capital sector to catch up to the innovations happening at break-neck speed might speed up its imminent demise with the involvement of blockchain-based start-up companies, claims a leading advocate of initial coin offerings.
While the holiday rush starts in North America a few weeks before Thanksgiving, there is a holiday rush going on already in China as well, and it impacts shipping.
Fleet execs are talking about the driver shortage as if it were the worst thing to happen in the industry, but they should be thankful. It keeps gives fleets pricing power.
If retailers can’t realize savings by wringing efficiencies out of their supply chain, they are doomed to smaller margins, and it could be apocalyptic if they significantly raised prices on customers.
XPO Logistics stock shot up to ~$90 on a rumored acquisition by Home Depot, and some analysts think the price will rise much, much higher.
Sometimes profound threats to the economy and to people can be brought about by something as small as a single miniscule crack.
Uber Freight has added two new features to its app that it believes will help truckers find loads quicker and reduce empty miles.
Just like everyone else who is familiar with the new regulation and the way that the trucking industry works, we expect that adoption of, and enforcement of, the ELD rule will initially lead to some constraints on trucking capacity. How big will that reduction be and how long will it last is yet to be seen.
Roads across the world have remained the same for generations, but that is slowly changing as research labs across the world are working on introducing electrically smart roads into the primitive niche.
Strong rates and healthy economic fundamentals will pose opportunities and challenges for trucking mergers & acquisitions in 2018.
Long Island Iced Tea Corp. today announced that the parent company is shifting its primary corporate focus towards the exploration of, and investment in, opportunities that leverage the benefits of blockchain technology.
TomTom Telematics North America has identified the top 5 most congested cities in the United States, and the cities on the list should be no surprise to truck drivers.
The massive tax cut passed by the GOP will benefit trucking companies large and small and will boost economic activity across many sectors.
Virgin Hyperloop One has established a new record for hyperloop technology, appointed Richard Branson chairman, and secured $50 million in new funding.
Thor describes themselves as a “transportation lab with a goal of tackling fleet management problems.”
Carriers continue to feel good about 2018, according to the latest Morgan Stanley survey, however, overall sentiment declined in the past two weeks and underperformed seasonality.
This afternoon FedEx announced its Q2 earnings for fiscal year 2018, which exceeded analyst expectations. FedEx cited higher base rates, volume growth, and cheap fuel as factors in the company’s performance.
Travel around the DuPont area of Washington remains snarled this morning as officials work to clear wreckage from the Amtrak derailment over Interstate 5, just south of Tacoma, that killed at least 3 people and injured dozens more.
The Dow Jones U.S. Trucking Index (DJUSTK) surged to an all-time high for trucking today, and ended up at growing to 4.39 for the day.
On Saturday, two days after taking medical leave from CSX, CEO Hunter Harrison died. Investors have serious concerns about the railroad’s commitment to executing Harrison’s vision, while some observers disagreed with his approach entirely.
World-renowned author, thought leader, speaker, educator and entrepreneur, Tony Seba, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at Freightwaves’ Transparency18 conference in Atlanta, Georgia, next May.
Nearly 17 years in the making since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration first attempted to require electronic logging devices (ELDs) on commercial vehicles, the day has finally arrived for most of the nation’s 3 million plus driver workforce to begin using the devices.
For many fleets, the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate presents a new variable in the regulatory landscape that must be carefully navigated. Following best practices will help fleet managers identify the most common mistakes and pitfalls that may result in a fine, expensive roadside delays or even worse, a business shutdown.
The ELD mandate has finally arrived, but lets stop pretending this is a safety issue. Its not. The ELD mandate is about money. If we wanted to talk safety, our attention should focus on the real-evil: Hours of Service rules.
With truck drivers across the country being required to have electronic logging devices in their vehicles as of Dec. 18, some have complained about the move to electronic recording of hours when paper logs work just fine. For BigRoad CEO Tony Lourakis, the rule presented an opportunity.
Everyone who is even remotely aware of the trucking industry in the U.S. knows that the ELD rule goes into effect on Monday. Time will tell, but if there are not massive numbers of trucks parked on the side of the road, and shippers are actually able to find trucks to move loads, we will not be surprised.
In 2009, Jason Schenker founded Prestige Economics, a top-ranked financial market research firm.
CSX Corp. CEO Hunter Harrison has taken a medical leave of absence from the railroad due to complications from a recent illness. Investors sold off the company stock, causing a 12% drop and $6 billion loss in company value in morning trading.
Go99, a digital freight-matching marketplace based out of Vancouver, Canada, has achieved a major revenue milestone and now it is setting its sights on expansion with the rest of Canada and busy lanes in the U.S. on its target.
Trains are easier to run with autonomous vehicle technology, so they should come before self-driving cars, right?
Target has made a massive investment in Shipt, a same-day grocery delivery service for online orders that relies on personal shoppers. Target hopes to challenge the rapid growth of Walmart’s online food sales and wants to offer same-day shipping for all of its products by the end of 2019.
While all projections point toward a big future for EVs, one big question remains—what type of battery will emerge as the winner?
Morgan Stanley and SIG see great prospects for truckload carrier stocks going into 2018. Large carriers’ valuations should benefit from both the ELD mandate and the GOP tax reform.
YRC Worldwide CEO James Welch announced he will retire in July 2018. Current YRC Freight President Darren Hawkins is expected to be named to succeed Welch by the Board of Directors at its July 2018 meeting, the company said in a release.
To get a more detailed look at the impact ELDs are having on the industry, FreightWaves talked with drivers and a fleet that has been running the devices, and each has reported different experiences, but in the end, the concern of all of them is that the devices simply work.
Sustainability initiatives are good for business, the long-term health of urban citizens, and the environment, but it will take long-term thinking and engaged problem-solving strategies. (Shutterstock)
The Fed has raised interest rates to 1.25%–rates on new loans, equipment leases, old variable debt, and factoring services will all go up.
The adoption rate for ELDs is slowly inching up as more fleets come into compliance with the law, which goes into effect on Dec. 18.
The enormity of the trucking industry can be realized by looking at the myriad of industries that depend on freight hauling for their sustenance and growth. Add the fracking industry to that list as frac sand has become a major commodity.
Weak workforce training, high corporate tax rates, poor road & rail infrastructure quality, and a lack of regulatory transparency are all hurting America’s competitiveness as a manufacturing location.
The Budweiser brewer says this is part of its strategy to reduce the company’s carbon emissions by 30% by 2025.
Dry van spot rates hit a 3-year monthly high in November, according to data compiled by DAT Solutions. The November rate was $2.07 per mile, the highest monthly average since December 2014, the firm said, and 5 cents above October levels.
The Rhode Island Trucking Association (RITA) has called out the Rhode Island Department of ansportation (RIDOT)’s allegedly inadequate environmental assessment (EA), hoping that the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) will reject the report.
More than 400,000 Freightliner and Western Star Trucks are being recalled by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) due to a potentially defective brake light.
Technology startup FR8 Revolution has received an investment from Sandhills Publishing as well as announced a new technology partnership with the company.
Recently, Mexico shifted into a supply-and-demand based pricing structure for its fuel markets, ditching the old system where the government set the fuel price through state-owned oil company Pemex as it seeks to attract more U.S. investment.
The demands of today’s marketplace are moving in one direction: giving us exactly what we want, when and where we want it. In his 2016 Ted Talk, Alan Amling reimagines the supply chain of the future. By integrating ideas from the past with today’s most promising technologies, he paints a surprising picture of how we might manufacture and move things in the years to come.
By the first week of December, the DAT weekly spot market price for dry-van loads had reached $2.09 (including fuel surcharge) or almost 30% higher in just 9 months. This is an extraordinary, but what is more extraordinary is the fact that the trucking marketplace is more than 3 times the size of the Bitcoin market capitalization, which has grown 22% in 12 months.
Last-minute efforts to delay or stop the electronic logging device rule (ELD) are continuing, but it may be too little, too late unless President Donald Trump throws a Hail Mary.
One of the questions many ask as the electric and autonomous vehicles are introduced to market is: What happens with the “last mile” delivery? It can be the most expensive leg of deliveries, especially in rural areas.
FedEx and UPS are squeezing e-commerce shippers with more expensive DIM pricing, accessorial fees, and tough rate negotiations.
Losses and debts can be a deadly combo for any shipping company to handle. In a report from the Wall Street Journal looking at so-called “zombie companies” in Europe, one logistics company stood out.
For millions of football fans, a trip to the Super Bowl is the ultimate bucket list item. For blue collar workers, though, attending the game is often out of reach with ticket prices reaching $5,000 and above on the secondary ticket market. For two lucky truck drivers that will change.
The out-of-control wildfires burning in California have had a dramatic impact on spot rates in the region.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has issued a letter to state attorneys general in all states asking them to review potential problems surrounding upcoming enforcement of the electronic logging device mandate.
The cleverness of the plan resides in the kind of “under-21 truckers” they’re talking about: only those with military driving experience.
Most carriers are currently coming to terms with the inevitability of the ELD mandate, and scrambling to get ready. Those carriers who are truly ELD-ready are in prime position to benefit.
Anheuser-Busch’s private fleet is among the leaders in the country when it comes to efforts to cut carbon emissions through alternative fuel use. The company is taking another step, announcing it has reserved 40 Tesla Semi electric tractors.
The growth in cargo volumes at London’s Heathrow Airport has created severe congestion across the region, which has the airport facing a dire situation due to long queues, which is increasing waiting times and thus delaying an already slow-moving air freight operation.
Following a Thanksgiving week that saw loads depressed, but not rates, the spot freight market was going full steam ahead last week with loads climbing 64% on the DAT network of load boards.
UPS has angered the Teamsters union after it implemented a longer workweek for package delivery drivers for the holidays.
As it stands, the tax bill, as it’s currently drafted, looks to benefit the industry in general, but what it means for the individual trucker is less clear.
Following on the footsteps of its European counterpart, Daimler Trucks North America will begin shipping 3D printed parts under a pilot program. Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz unit started a similar pilot in Europe last year.
Truck drivers are concerned with pay, but it’s not the most important topic on their mind when providing feedback to their employers. WorkHound compiled a list of topics drivers talked about the most, and pay only came in fourth. What was number one?
Eastern Europe’s infrastructure lags behind Western Europe, yet the logistics industry in that region has outperformed the remainder of Europe in the past year.
One of the largest elements of operational expenses in the freight hauling business is fuel, and yet there are a limited number of fleets that actively manage this cost effectively. Wisconsin-based Breakthrough Fuel is providing a way to effectively manage energy and reduce costs.
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz Vans brand has introduced its third-generation Sprinter van at an event in Stuttgart, Germany. The van features many of the iconic attributes it always has, but has added new connectivity to further improve its utilization.
Job application fraud is a serious and significant problem in all industries. But without the time and financial resources to properly vet candidates, especially in an industry such as trucking with is facing a shortage of some 50,000 drivers, bad employees get through.
Toyota announced it is building a megawatt Tri-Gen hydrogen plant in California. The plant will produce hydrogen using renewable sources and will provide fuel for its Project Portal Class 8 hydrogen truck.
Almost every freight flow is growing. Some are growing a little and some are growing a lot, and all of them are accelerating in their rates of growth. Transports are surging as the underlying strength in both the consumer and industrial goods flow continues to improve. We see this as extraordinarily bullish for the overall U.S. economy.
Natilus, a startup based out of California, is looking to provide a drone solution that allows it to transport freight multiple times faster than when it is shipped across the ocean, at half the price of regular air freight.
Embark, Ryder and Frigidaire are testing Embark’s semi-autonomous trucks on routes running from Texas to California.
Yesterday, the Small Business House Committee heard how forthcoming ELD regulations will stifle competition, and how it won’t actually provide safety benefits.
CMA CMG and MSC have entered orders for a total of 20 record-breaking 22,000 TEU ships, reflecting a long-term trend toward consolidation in larger vessels and growing confidence in maritime shipping rates.
FourKites has launched its own ELD certification program that operates on an open architecture platform to help shippers and 3PLs to assist carriers in choosing ELD solutions that offer visibility into location data.
Just as people are getting used to the concept of blockchain and Bitcoin, now we have something called initial coin offerings (ICOs), which use cryptocurrencies to raise money. Sometimes called token sales or TGEs, they are becoming a popular way for companies, especially startups, to raise funds.
