Newsletters

Thomas Wasson Friday, January 14, 2022

Loaded and Rolling: Supreme Court COVID ruling; Freight costs climb; Consumer confidence climbs

Supreme Court blocks COVID vaccine mandate for large businesses On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that blocked enforcement for vaccine or testing requirements for large private companies over 100 employees. Prior to the decision, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued new guidance, stating the vaccine mandate rule would not apply […]

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Thomas Wasson Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Loaded and Rolling: Top 500 For-Hire Carriers; New trucking company; Tender rejections defy seasonality

FreightWaves’ Top 500 Largest For-Hire Carriers list FreightWaves just released the inaugural Top 500 list of the largest for-hire trucking fleets in the U.S. The ranking is based on tractor count and provides information on fleet size regardless of segment. For example, there is not a distinction between flatbed, LTL or dry van carriers; instead, […]

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Tim Ingram Sunday, January 2, 2022

2021 has been a year of epic challenges

2021 — This year had several highs and lows with mixed results in almost every industry. The most reported news centered on the supply chain and it has been fraught with challenges. The interruptions from port to dock have consumed media outlets. Normally supply chain was an industry topic and rarely covered by worldwide media. We’ve […]

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Thomas Wasson Thursday, December 30, 2021

Loaded and Rolling: Fleet availability; autonomous truck testing; driver employment data

Struggling for capacity: A briefing on fleet availability The holiday season in trucking traditionally sees lower driver activity due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The driver’s home time and geographic location pose a unique challenge to carriers, as larger fleets have drivers domiciled in locations that may be far from their primary high-volume […]

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Tim Ingram Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Omicron is the Scrooge

Omicron sweeps across the nation — 73% of United States COVID-19 cases. Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., federal health officials said Monday. Coronavirus is disrupting the Christmas holiday — As people start to travel for the holidays, doctors warn the surge in Covid-19 cases could continue thanks […]

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Thomas Wasson Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Loaded and Rolling: Capacity crunch, transportation M&A, Cass Index spending records

Capacity crunch: Competition for carriers brings rising costs, new opportunities Continued freight demand and limited truckload supply are allowing trucking companies to be selective with which loads to take, causing greater competition among shippers. Customer characteristics are playing a key role in contract and spot rate negotiations with carriers reevaluating their customer mix based on […]

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Thomas Wasson Thursday, December 16, 2021

Loaded and Rolling: Truck tech, component shortages, trucking bottlenecks

In today’s newsletter: Enterprise carriers race to innovate; Component shortage delays electric vehicles; ATRI top truck bottlenecks of 2021. Enterprise carriers race to innovate by embracing new technologies and partnerships Trucking companies are racing to catch up to the technological disruption brought by digital load boards and freight tech offerings. For large enterprise carriers, there […]

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Wednesday, December 15, 2021

NZC Newsletter: A low carbon fuels love story

TLDR: In which the author’s heart is broken and put back together again over sustainable fuels. Or, the bull case for renewable natural gas (RNG) in transportation. Low carbon fuels: A love story Last week, RNG producer Opal Fuels LLC merged with the SPAC ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. II at a valuation of roughly $2 […]

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Tim Ingram Wednesday, December 15, 2021

What is value in the health care supply chain?

Value statements, or Value propositions Each have different definitions and objectives, but they are relatively the same within various industries. And then there’s the health care supply chain. What’s the value proposition? Pinpointing the priorities: Supply chain in health care has many competing value statements within any given organization. The elasticity and influence of the […]

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