FreightWaves Classics

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore wasn’t the first time a bridge crumbled after being struck by a ship or boat.

The Sisters of the Road photo collection highlights female truckers’ struggles and improvements needed for industry equality.

While visiting Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, Lori Ann LaRocco and daughter Abby Wallace learned about families who were enslaved at the site.

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

After President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, his body toured the United States in a funeral procession by train as the country mourned the loss.

In 1986, the Federal Maritime Commission put a stop to a six-month legal case against a Singaporean shipping line after it decided there was nothing to the case.

After World War I, veterans took up farming and provided food supplies and wheat to Western Australia. But when emus began to threaten that supply chain, another war broke out. The emus won.

This article from American Shipper’s archives gives a detailed look at “the business of disaster” in maritime in the 1980s, including marine salvage and issues surrounding liability.

American Shipper magazine has an extensive history of monthly printed issues. We’ve compiled a gallery of our favorite covers from the 1990s.

The Shipping Act of 1984 changed the game for shippers and carriers.

In the age of social media, rumors are rampant in the shipping industry. But this article from the archives of American Shipper examines how rumors also plagued logistics in the 1980s, pre-social media.

Amelia Earhart’s achievements go beyond aviation, and the pilot has done much more than she is given credit for. This museum gives insight into her impressive career and contributions to the industry and beyond.

Find out how more than 100 patriots pulled off dumping so much tea into Boston Harbor in this week’s episode of Tracks Through Time.

FreightWaves Classics aims to highlight the most interesting and sometimes unique stories throughout the history of transportation and freight. This year we found so many compelling stories; here are some of the most read from 2023.

Tracks Through Time spent all year sharing some of the most captivating stories in the history of logistics. See the favorites from the year here.

The shipper container was one of the biggest game changers for the ocean freight industry, and its origins come from a true inventor.

Filing documents electronically is the norm for businesses today. A 1982 article from American Shipper recalls when the industry first embraced this technology.

Choosing the perfect holiday tree for Rockefeller Plaza isn’t easy, but it’s a lot easier than getting it there.

The Wright brothers are famous for their contributions to the aviation industry, but one man is responsible for the engine that powered them.

In 1981, longshore and shipyard union members had to fight to keep the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act intact, after rampant abuse of an amendment.

The U.S. Postal Service has been in action for centuries. Throughout the years, it has adopted all kinds of methods of transportation to deliver the mail.

A flashback article from the archives of American Shipper highlights unique insurance claims.

Benjamin Franklin became the first postmaster general in 1775 and changed the United States Postal Service forever.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has gotten bigger and bigger every year since 1924, but how can such a big logistics program be pulled off year after year? Brielle Jaekel and Mary O’Connell dive into how it has worked throughout the years.

Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 and caused serious damage to the Pacific Northwest. But one dredge in particular made quick work of clearing the debris in the channel because of its unique history with the port.

Some of the most important jobs in the military are handling logistics, as shown in photographs compiled in honor of Veterans Day.

In 1980, maritime workers became enraged by the maritime omnibus bill, resulting in the Boilermakers’ international president threatening to stop building ships in the United States.

In 1979, South Korea — officially the Republic of Korea — imposed a law reserving 100% of cargo in the country for Korean-only vessels. The decree sparked protests organized by U.S. shippers nervous that the monopoly would raise freight rates.

Mail delivery by airplane started in 1918, if you can believe it. It was dangerous work but cut down delivery time by a day.

Take a look at some of the daring and interesting ways mail was delivered by air in the early 20th century.

American Shipper magazine has an extensive history of monthly printed issues, each with interesting cover designs. We’ve compiled a gallery of our favorite covers from the 1980s.

Twelve people died and 42 were injured in 1990 after a sudden fog enveloped a section of Interstate 75 in Tennessee.

An article from the archives of American Shipper in 1979 details the climax of a long-awaited signature from President Jimmy Carter to help tamp down rampant rebating in the maritime shipping industry, which was vehemently condemned by the FMC.

Deputy Editor Brielle Jaekel and 3PL expert Mary O’Connell tell stories of haunted highways to celebrate Halloween on the latest episode of Tracks Through Time.

Aspects of freight and transportation are prominent as some of the most-loved horror classics. We polled the FreightWaves’ staff to see what their favorites are.

During testimony at hearings on the Federal Maritime Commission’s regulatory functions in 1978, a former FMC chairman called out his successor on a lack of communication within the organization.

During the past century, hundreds of ships in the U.S. merchant marine have been named after colleges and their football teams.

After World War I, veterans took up farming and provided food supplies and wheat to Western Australia. But when emus began to threaten that supply chain, another war broke out. The emus won.

In 1978, when paper was king, a persistent error cost one company hundreds of thousands in extra charges. But who was responsible for the mistake?

Motorcycles had a two-decade run at the U.S. Postal Service, but that helped push the industry into new ways of mail delivery.

In this chilling episode of Tracks Through Time, we delve into the never-solved 1995 disappearance of truck driver Devin Williams, who vanished without a trace in the heart of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest.

An article from 1978 in American Shipper showed that the efficiency of the Panama Canal was an important factor in shipping — something that resonates today with the drought that has created a water level crisis in the canal.

American Shipper magazine has an extensive history of monthly printed issues, each with interesting cover designs. We’ve compiled a gallery of our favorite covers from the 1970s.

The U.S. government at the start of World War I looked to concrete vessel hulls to counter severe steel shortages when the country entered the war.

In an article published in 1981 in American Shipper magazine, a Bethlehem Shipyard case focuses attention on a maritime problem as old as the “master’s gratuity,” according to a former company official who was charged with bribery at the time.

In 1965 a truck driver sacrificed himself to save others as his brakes failed on a steep hill while he was transporting bananas. The compelling story became the subject of a folk song by Harry Chapin almost 10 years later.

: In 1947, tragedy struck the port in Texas City, Texas, where a French ship carrying highly flammable fertilizer caught fire and caused devastation to the port town. But the lessons learned from the disaster likely saved lives in the years following, according to the latest episode of Tracks Through Time.

A dockworker strike in 1977 caused major losses to container lines at the time. Their response was to impose a 10% surcharge. But shippers did not take it lying down.

Transcontinental mail in the United States began on Sept. 15, 1858, when the Overland Mail Service began after it won a contract to connect St. Louis to the Pacific Coast by mail within 25 days.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association started out of necessity. Read more about the story of its beginning.

Truck driver Tim Philmon, along with millions of Americans, marked the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Monday by remembering the nearly 3,000 people who died that day.

Oil spills, groundings and collisions were the subject of continuous news coverage in 1976 and 1977. There were so many maritime disasters that it piqued Americans’ interest in foreign maritime dealings.

In December 1945, five U.S. Navy Avenger bombers took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a routine training mission known as Flight 19. They were to navigate to various points in the Atlantic Ocean and return to base. But as Tracks Through Time explores, the seemingly mundane exercise turned into one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history.

While there is debate over the actual founder of Labor Day, it cannot be denied that its history laid the groundwork for the better conditions for laborers today, even if we still have some room to grow.

Today’s refrigeration systems in transportation are extremely sophisticated, rooted in a history that reaches back nearly 150 years.

In 1976, an investigation into rate rebating and malpractice by carriers did not put a similar spotlight on freight forwarders. An article in American Shipper at the time questioned whether that was fair.

FreightWaves covers some of the most interesting stories of the history of transportation and freight.

To view more FreightWaves infographics, click here

A story from 1976 shows a battle between a shoe manufacturer and a shipper over what the former believed was an “unreasonable rate.” The company-versus-company drama exhibits the complexity of international trade.

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.

A fatal flaw in West Virginia’s Silver Bridge caused the death of 46 people. Fifty-five years later, many lives have been saved thanks to greater safety procedures put in place following the tragedy.

In March 1976, the Mississippi River was logjammed for eight straight days, causing massive shipping losses with an estimated 100 towboats and 900 barges stuck by the riverbank. The event spurred serious reform for operation on this vital route.

A story reported in the January 1976 issue of American Shipper tells of a prepaid shipment headed for Bordeaux, France, that ended up stuck in Jacksonville, Florida, causing the fertilizer cargo to rot.

This episode of Tracks Through Time takes a look at how a loophole kept a supply chain of ingredients for bootleg and bathtub gin legal during the Prohibition era.

snapshot of ports in 1991 reveals the importance of a new radio-frequency technology launch at the time, when a terminal in Honolulu first received the tech.

Less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp. closed the gates Sunday and ceased all operations.

In an article published in 1992, American Shipper details the first use of barcodes for shipping Chrysler vehicles.

This episode of Tracks Through Time focuses on the crisis over the Suez Canal that put Egypt at odds with France, Britain and Israel. The story has surprising twists and unexpected secret motives. Find out how this shaped the future of shipping routes and globalization.

One route during the Han Dynasty connected Europe and Asia and was the start of trade and supply chains as we know them today.

Pricing in ocean shipping was done much differently in the 1970s compared to today. To simplify things, a group of executives created a game around the concept for workers to play.

Did you know there was a system of tubes under New York City that used to carry the mail?

This episode of Tracks Through Time explores how Kate Shelley became a hero at 17 years old when she took extreme measures to save a passenger train from certain disaster in 1881.

The famous Norwegian Cruise Line of today got its start transporting ice and coal between Norway and Great Britain. This article from American Shipper in 1975 describes the company’s beginnings and its success in the cruise industry at the time.

The rail industry has taken steps to prevent another Lac-Mégantic derailment, but more needs to be done, said the chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

To view more FreightWaves infographics, click here

ZIP codes are a big reason our postal system works today, but it took years and a cartoon for the system to actually be adopted. Where did the coding system come from and why was it introduced?

In 1872 the British brigantine Mary Celeste was discovered adrift in the Atlantic Ocean without any damage but missing its crew. Author Valerie Martin discusses some of the theories behind what happened and her research into “The Ghost of the Mary Celeste,” a nonfiction book about the case, on this episode of Tracks Through Time.

Two ships in 1975 traveled between Mediterranean and U.S. ports on a fixed 14-day schedule. But they also caught attention because they were able to carry different types of cargo, including containers as well as liquids.

One shipment of grapefruit to Japan threatened the future of the Florida citrus industry after Caribbean fruit fly larvae were discovered. Japan enacted an embargo on all Florida citrus to protect its own citrus groves in the southern islands. The embargo was lifted after Florida’s sector worked tirelessly to eradicate the larvae.

In 1933, 75 U.S. Navy members died when the airship USS Akron crashed and sank into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey. Naval History and Heritage Command’s Caroline Johnson tells the story.

In 1975, the shipping industry was grappling with the growth of rebating, an illegal strategy that could upend fair competition. Ultimately, one carrier created newspaper ads saying the practice had become the norm and another faced a lawsuit.

The history of trucking in the U.S. is filled with great stories, interesting facts and fascinating inventions. But do you know the most important facts of trucking history? Test your knowledge here.

In 1975, a dredge capsized in the Miami Harbor with 3,600 barrels of oil onboard. But the fast-acting employees of the port allowed it to reopen within 11 hours and prevent what could have been an ecological disaster.

For truckers and 1970s country, the C.W. McCall hit “Convoy” shares a fun look into CB radio terminology.

Growing interest in containerization drove speed and optimization in the transport industry and overtook previous methods of shipping over time. In 1975, United States Lines resumed containerized cargo service, reducing transit time between Savannah, Georgia, and Northern Europe to just eight days.

An ambitious train robbery goes off virtually without a hitch. But one little mistake leads to the downfall of this daring gang.

The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 brought about the first transcontinental railroad. Check out the photographs and illustrations that depict what it was like to work on the railroad at the time.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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 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.