Insights

Volumes did see some growth ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, though not nearly enough to bust out the champagne and sparklers.

Merchant mariners during WWII were an integral part of war efforts, despite being lesser known. They saw the most casualties and were responsible for transporting all of the supplies throughout the war, a crucial part of the Allies’ success.

Rail has been featured in movies, television, radio and all forms of entertainment since the beginning of trains. We collaborated to narrow down a list of some of our favorite movies that are related to trains.

LASH carriers were the predecessors to today’s container ships. In 1974, soon after they hit the scene, a record number of the ships were built.

The benchmark price used for setting most diesel fuel surcharges is down for the 16th time in 17 weeks.

So as not to bury the lede, this week’s lack of change in the PPI might ultimately prove to be the most exciting stability in quite some time.

Black women in the U.S. Army during WWII made up the 6888 battalion, whose sole job was to handle the mail for American soldiers. Their story has been largely ignored for decades – until now. Hear their story and learn about their impossible feats from a historian close to the project.

The second part of this account of Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones includes a dramatic battle on the seas and how Catherine the Great and Benjamin Franklin fit into the story.

AxleHire CEO Adam Bryant says the most significant impact on the carbon footprint will come from the ability to drive more efficient utilization and aggregation processes in last-mile delivery.

The diesel benchmark price for most fuel surcharges declined for the 14th time in 15 weeks Monday, but signs suggest further declines may not materialize.

Companies are still trying to get their margins back to pre-pandemic levels with price increases on finished goods. This will continue to put freight demand at risk in the second half of the year.

AskWaves looks at how cross-border LTL demand may change as supply chain maps are redrawn.

The Wright Brothers are two of the most influential people in history, changing not only transportation but the entire world with their flying machine. Take a look at some of the glass plate negatives of photographs of their work and personal lives taken between 1898 and 1911.

Despite expectations for seasonal growth in the second quarter, the health of the American consumer has continued to become more precarious, stirring headwinds for even once-reliable sources of freight.

In light of Gordon Lightfoot’s passing, FreightWaves Classics looks at the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy, as well as whether Lightfoot’s song about the incident is historically accurate

Naval officer John Paul Jones’ story sounds like a scene from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” but the true story of the “Father of the American Navy” includes its share of amusing twists and turns.

TravelCenters of America shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed sale to BP.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges is now less than $4 a gallon for the first time since early 2022.

Flatbed capacity tends to be as erratic as its demand, making it harder to secure in general.

The war has stoked fears of global shortfalls of wheat, corn and fertilizers, but the flexibility of shipping trades has limited the risk.

The history of the semi truck can be traced back to the Mack brothers.

Alaskan trucking companies are betting that six-figure salaries could lure truck drivers to haul freight in the frigid Arctic.

While the Panama Canal has played a crucial role in maritime shipping, its construction was fraught with problems. This episode of Tracks Through Time takes a look back on the 119th anniversary of the start of construction.

In the wake of the East Palestine train derailment, Congress is poised to take action to improve rail safety. Here’s how they can do it.

In 1975, two identical ore/bulk/oil (O/B/O) ships underwent efficiency experiments. During one of these experiments, a new propeller concept broke midjourney, but the ship continued its duty with no changes in performance and the crew had no idea until it reached its destination.

Only UPS and Teamster rivals benefit when the bargaining leaves the table and becomes a verbal war, Jindel says.

The weekly DOE/EIA diesel price benchmark is almost at the sub-$4 mark, where it has not been since February 2022.

At least six people are dead and dozens more injured after a dust storm caused several pileups on Interstate 55 in Illinois on Monday.

After over a year of declining volumes and rates, trucking spot rates have leveled and demand has just witnessed an unseasonable jump.

A collision on the seas involving an American shipping company sparked a heated letter exchange about who was responsible. This fight surprisingly led to the mending of U.S. and China maritime trade.

The impact of the movement of trade to the East Coast and Gulf ports can no longer be denied in the railroad data.

Volumes are just beginning to tick up at the tail end of April, but freight demand in the quarter has been mostly flat and thus grossly unseasonable.

The California Air Resources Board has passed a regulation that compels freight and locomotive operators in California to adopt technologies to reduce locomotive emissions and phase out diesel locomotives.

The endless stories that make up the history of transportation and freight are chronicled in some of the most riveting nonfiction books, but they almost read like novels. Here are the five favorites for the FreightWaves Classics team.

Nothing is normal in logistics and the power shift in the game of supply and demand has shifted back to the shipper.

American Shipper in May 1974 took a look at charges for the handling of freight, which were largely unrecorded if they existed at all before the Civil War.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges declined Monday, continuing a trend that goes back six months.

The pandemic may have exposed long-term weakness to the railroads’ intermodal growth plans.

FreightWaves has won a top award for commentary journalism in the 2023 Jesse H. Neal Awards.

The Silver Bridge collapse has a unique folklore, but it also completely changed how we look at safety regulations for bridges. Hear about the collapse and the stories surrounding it. Then get an inside look with West Virginia DOT’s Tracy W. Brown, a state bridge engineer.

Link Logistics’ customers will be able to do a better job of managing energy consumption under a collaboration with Carrier Global Corp., the companies said.

A page from American Shipper’s archives exhibits how shippers felt in 1978 through an eye-catching speech.

There is a lot more competition waiting to take a UPS parcel if workers go on strike, consultant Satish Jindel says.

As negotiations get underway between UPS and the Teamsters, here are key considerations for shippers navigating a period of uncertainty.

FedEx celebrates its golden anniversary of operations with its most intense few years in decades ahead of it.

The benchmark used for most diesel surcharges rose for the first time in 10 weeks, but the market is not otherwise looking strong.

AskWaves: Can landlords look beyond the money and understand what warehouse workers want?

Southern California markets were flush with transportation activity during the pandemic. That has eroded and then some. This has not only left transportation networks exposed operationally but also created pricing gaps.

Today, automation can mean launching a fleet of autonomous robots that can unload shipping containers without human intervention. In 1974, a remote-controlled “bow boat” was considered a major launch.

Small-package shippers should consider stepping outside the norm to modernize their logistics strategy by evaluating alternative carriers.

The latest episode of Tracks Through Time looks at the disappearance of a giant British merchant ship and the long investigation.

In 1977, news of the looming threat of a strike by a union of dockworkers was prevalent in the pages of American Shipper magazine. The publisher at the time ended the April issue that year with an opinion piece discussing the threat.

The price benchmark used for most fuel surcharges has fallen to a level less than where it was when Russia invaded Ukraine.

What do historically low rejection rates mean for the truckload industry?

In 1975, American Shipper originally covered the launch of the “catamaran-tug,” which completed its maiden voyage to Port Everglades with a 42,000-ton cargo of gasoline for Shell Oil Co.

While ocean carriers are not facing the same risks as their domestic trucking counterparts, given their consolidation and enormous war chests, ocean’s weakness in demand will continue to trickle down into truckload markets.

American shipping magnate believed in efficiency and economies of scale in operating the world’s largest ships.

Increasingly volatile weather threatens safety and efficiency throughout transportation. Tomorrow.io’s weather intelligence is finally allowing teams to focus on drivers, not manual weather monitoring.

In 1990, Martin Scorsese directed acclaimed gangster flick “Goodfellas,” captivating audiences with the story of a famous heist. The movie was loosely based on the 1978 heist of a Lufthansa airplane’s cargo, and the true story is even more unbelievable than the script.

The DOE/EIA benchmark diesel price declined for a ninth consecutive week, but developments in the oil market point higher.

AskWaves checks in on AAPA’s port industry panel for its take on ocean shipping’s short-term prospects.

Surging costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be a taste of things to come as shipping transitions to more expensive “green” fuels.

Despite seeing slight seasonal growth, truckload markets are showing a continued soft patch.

toB wants to capture more of the fleet card market by focusing on trucking fleets, owner-operators, last-mile operators and auto rental companies.

For railroads to increase market share and grow volume, it will require new services and a very different mentality on service performance.

The benchmark price used for most diesel surcharges moved down for the eighth consecutive week.

Convenience store chain Arko has been identified as the previously unknown bidder for TravelCenters of America.

AskWaves takes a look at the trade group that sets freight classifications for the less-than-truckload industry and where it’s headed.

AskWaves looks at some of the stranger loads drivers have had to transport over the road.

The gap between current levels of freight demand and those of 2019 is narrowing, casting doubt on the market’s ability to sustain growth.

The DOE/EIA benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges has dropped seven weeks in a row and 16 out of the past 19.

“To get ahead of the curve on stringent climate disclosure requirements proposed by the SEC and [the ISSB], shippers need to transition from manual data gathering and estimations of their scope 3 carbon footprint to tools that efficiently and accurately provide emissions reports in real time,” said Convoy Corporate Sustainability Analyst Kiana van Waes.

Abundant land, population growth and access to reasonably priced labor are just several factors that make the Dallas/Fort Worth market different from the rest, says David Eseke of Cushman & Wakefield.

The consumer will be key to resolving the present tension in freight demand’s future, but consumers continue to be predictably unpredictable.

Dog food has become an inflation safe haven for packaged-food giants — because pet owners won’t trade down categories for their “fur babies.”

Quarterly net losses could be around the corner for container lines, but EBITDA will stay high even if carriers dip into the red.

The legend of Casey Jones remains alive today in music and pop culture. But the real story is about a serious crash and an act of heroism.

Hyzon has some clouds on the near horizon, but at CERAWeek, its CEO detailed the growth the company hopes to achieve.

More than 130,000 civil and public servants who are part of the Public and Commercial Services Union will walk out in what it is calling the largest strike in civil service in decades. 

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges declined for the sixth consecutive week.

View a collection of photos throughout the history of Love’s Travel Stops and the family to celebrate Tom Love’s life.

Market conditions will likely become a bit more favorable before they get much worse.

The first woman to command an American merchant ship did so when her husband was too sick to captain in 1856. She was 19 and four months pregnant.

Weather has a significant impact on retailers, but most still rely on manual forecasting. Tomorrow.io’s advanced weather intelligence is changing the game.

At a leading energy industry conference in Houston on Monday, hydrogen was the star of the show.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges has declined for five consecutive weeks.

Daylight saving time was enacted on Feb. 9, 1942. Some believe the reasoning behind it is no longer relevant and the practice should be discontinued, but how did it start in the first place?

While recruiters are always searching for skilled truck drivers — using sign-on bonuses and paying incentives to attract drivers to come work for their trucking companies — there’s little mention of who pays if the driver dies while under a load.

Strangely enough, tender volumes are abiding by seasonal trends.

Early U.S. railroad history can thank B&O Railroad for many of its strides forward.

The U.S. Postal Service has enlisted Ford as part of a push to add more than 66,000 electric delivery vehicles to its fleet by 2028.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges was down for the fourth week in a row.

Perhaps the biggest question of 2023 for domestic trucking is when will the surplus of capacity fade to a point that prices stop falling. One data point provides deeper insight than simply a count of drivers or tractors.

As Black History Month comes to a close, FreightWaves celebrates some of the most important African American figures in the transportation industry.

The leading hydrogen expert at S&P Global Commodity Insights reviews the state of the hydrogen supply chain and where it might be headed.

One area of the supply chain that held together without much disruption during the pandemic was fuel. Gary Bevers talks about how that happened.

FreightWaves and bp pulse fleet President Vic Shao break down the present and future of electric infrastructure.

David Fialkov, a key government affairs representative for two retailer outlets, sees a mixed bag of government regulations and their impact on diesel supply.

Benchmark price for most fuel surcharges fell again, but diesel futures turned higher on news regarding Russian sanctions by the European Union.

Big fleets can afford them, but are electric trucks a solution for 3PLs? Uber Freight and WattEV are working together to find out.