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Borderlands Mexico: A. Duie Pyle expands into cross-border LTL market 

Borderlands Mexico is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: A. Duie Pyle expands into cross-border LTL market; Mexico’s heavy-duty truck industry braces for slowdown and Maersk opens new Dallas-Fort Worth freight hub.

A. Duie Pyle expands into cross-border LTL market 

A. Duie Pyle, one of the nation’s oldest family-owned carriers, is expanding its less-than-truckload (LTL) operations beyond the Northeast with a cross-border service connecting Mexico and the U.S.

The expansion is a direct response to customer demand and the rapid reshaping of North American supply chains, according to Frank Granieri, A. Duie Pyle’s chief operating officer of supply chain solutions.

“Our loyal customers rely on A. Duie Pyle to adapt to their evolving needs,” Granieri told FreightWaves. “Cross-border solutions emerged as a growing priority in our quarterly business reviews. Given recent industry developments and heightened customer demand, we recognized this as the ideal time to proactively address these needs with a solution that leverages Pyle’s core strengths in reliable and efficient logistics.”

By entering the U.S.–Mexico market, Pyle aims to provide service reliability, technology integration, and customer visibility to one of the fastest-growing trade corridors in North America, Granieri said.

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End-to-end visibility from the border to the Northeast

A. Duie Pyle is a privately held freight transportation and logistics company based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1924 and has grown into one of the largest regional LTL carriers in the Northeast.

The company’s core business is LTL freight, with a dense service footprint across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Southeast. The carrier operates more than 30 service centers, enabling next-day and two-day coverage across some of the busiest freight corridors in the country.

A. Duie Pyle’s new cross-border service links cross-dock operations at key border gateways like Laredo and El Paso, Texas, aiming to provide tracking and flexible billing options. 

Shippers can choose between segmented or consolidated invoices, giving them control over operational and financial processes, Granieri said.

“This strategy enables us to integrate our technology platform with cross-dock operators on the U.S. side of the border, resulting in faster transit times and lower claims ratios compared to traditional national LTL carriers,” he said. “The model uses close partnerships with cross-dock operators and vetted truckload carriers that provide consistent reliability to the Northeast, where it is processed and delivered on Pyle assets.”

Granieri said demand for direct, reliable access from the border has grown sharply in recent quarters, particularly among automotive, manufacturing, and consumer goods customers that ship to and from the Northeast.

“This demand is creating new opportunities for us to enhance our service offering,” he said. “Our customers want to efficiently navigate the complexities of cross-border logistics while maintaining their supply chain visibility.”

 A. Duie Pyle’s new LTL service connects key gateways in Laredo and El Paso, Texas, to the company’s dense Northeast U.S. network. (Photo: A. Duie Pyle)

A tale of two LTL markets

The U.S. less-than-truckload market is predicted to be a $114 billion business in 2025, according to Mordor Intelligence. Some of the largest LTL providers in the U.S. include FedEx Freight, Old Dominion, XPO, Estes, Saia, ABF, Averitt and A. Duie Pyle. 

By contrast, Mexico’s LTL segment is smaller and more fragmented, built around partnerships and cross-dock consolidation rather than dense terminal networks. Major domestic providers include Estafeta, Paquetexpress, Castores and Tresguerras. 

While hard revenue figures are scarce, Mexico’s overall freight and logistics market totals about $124 billion in 2025, and LTL is among its fastest-growing segments —  to expand roughly 6% annually through 2029 as e-commerce and nearshoring drive demand for smaller, more frequent shipments.

Partnerships and process control

Rather than build its own network in Mexico, A. Duie Pyle will leverage partnerships with established Mexican carriers and customs brokers, while cooperating on regulatory compliance and drayage operations on both sides of the border.

“We’re collaborating with experienced customs brokers to ensure all shipments meet requirements,” Granieri said. “By partnering with trusted drayage providers on both sides, we can keep freight moving swiftly and maintain reliability for our customers.”

Granieri also sees long-term momentum in Mexico’s manufacturing sector, fueled by nearshoring trends and the trade stability brought by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

“As nearshoring continues to develop, manufacturers and suppliers will seek more streamlined transportation solutions to meet the increasing need for cost-effective, timely deliveries,” Granieri said. “Pyle’s cross-border service, with its focus on end-to-end visibility and transit time reductions, positions us to capitalize on this demand and expand our footprint in the cross-border LTL space.”

Mexico’s heavy-duty truck industry braces for slowdown

Mexico’s heavy-duty truck manufacturing sector is facing one of its steepest downturns in recent years, as production, exports, and sales continue to fall sharply amid economic headwinds and tariff uncertainty tied to the U.S., industry stakeholders said.

Mexico’s National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor-Trailer Producers (Anpact) and the Mexican Association of Automobile Dealers (AMDA) reported that cargo truck production dropped 59.3% in September compared to a year earlier, reaching just 6,857 units — the lowest monthly figure since 2018.

Exports of heavy-duty trucks fell 58.3% year-over-year to 5,196 units in September, while domestic sales fell 34.5% to 3,358 units.

Anpact now projects the market will close 2025 with about 40,200 units sold, down from its earlier forecast of 43,600 in June and well below the 50,000 projected at the start of the year.

ANPACT President Rogelio Arzate described the situation as “very complex” during a news conference on Thursday, citing reduced U.S. demand, along with used truck imports that continue to pressure domestic sales.

Arzate said there is also uncertainty surrounding the potential 25% U.S. tariff on Mexican-built heavy trucks. 

Maersk opens new Dallas-Fort Worth freight hub

Global shipping giant Maersk has opened a 100,000-square-foot integrated station and linehaul hub in Coppell, Texas, just five miles from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, according to a news release.

The facility expands its U.S. logistics footprint ahead of the peak holiday shipping season and it replaces the company’s nearby station in Irving.

Maersk recently opened a 100,000-square-foot logistics facility in Coppell, Texas, just ahead of the holiday rush. (Photo: Maersk)

The Coppell hub is designed to process thousands of shipments weekly, serving both local and national networks. It combines pickup, delivery, and long-haul operations under one roof to increase speed and efficiency across business-to-business and business-to-consumer segments, Maersk said.

With seven stations across Texas and more than 65 facilities in North America, Maersk said the Coppell hub will support growing demand for less-than-truckload, full truckload, and last-mile services while aiming to improve reliability.


Spot rates climb but lack support

Chart of the Week:  National Truckload Index, Outbound Tender Rejection Index – USA SONAR: NTI.USA, OTRI.USA

The National Truckload Index (NTI) — a measure of dry van spot rates — rose 2% last week, climbing from $2.31 to $2.36 per mile. While this increase isn’t alarming on its own, the lack of seasonal support and the muted response in truckload tender rejections — a measure of contract carrier compliance — (OTRI) make it a more significant development for assessing the health of the trucking sector.

The NTI has increased more than 2% in a single week seven times so far in 2025. Aside from an anomaly in February, tender rejection rates rose either before or around each of those jumps in spot rates. Typically, non-seasonal increases in spot rates are preceded by a rise in tender rejections, but there are occasions when the spot market reacts first and the contract market adjusts afterward.

Last week’s disruption appears to have been driven by reports of crackdowns on illegal immigration targeting the trucking industry. A Serbian immigration lawyer reportedly advised many foreign born operators to stay off the roads due to heightened risks of detention. 

According to government data, about 18% of the driver population were foreign born as of 2021. Roughly 60% of those drivers are Latino from the Americas, with the remaining 40% primarily from Eastern Europe and India. Many foreign drivers, especially those with temporary status, tend to work for smaller fleets or as owner-operators, as they often reside in the U.S. only part-time and send earnings back home to support their families. Larger fleets generally prefer year-round availability and are also more risk-averse due to language proficiency requirements and safety concerns.

For these reasons, larger carriers — which dominate contract freight and heavily influence tender data — are less affected by recent immigration crackdowns.

The spot market, on the other hand, is dominated by smaller carriers and owner-operators. It’s also where brokers tend to find the best opportunities to expand or protect margins by working with lower-cost providers. This is why the spot market was much more sensitive to the recent enforcement activity.

The spot market accounts for an estimated 15–20% of total domestic freight volume. Without support from the much larger contracted segment, it’s difficult to say whether this represents a true inflection point or simply a short-term disruption similar to Roadcheck Week.

Regardless of how this event develops, it highlights a deeper issue in the truckload sector. Both spot and rejection rates have remained relatively stable despite weakening freight demand.

Truckload tender volumes (OTVI) fell another 3% last week, while rejection rates held steady. The market has become increasingly reactive to capacity disruptions — such as holidays and this latest crackdown.

Over the longer term, tender volumes are down roughly 20% year over year, while rejection rates are flat. Normally, rejection rates fall alongside demand. The current stability suggests that capacity is exiting the market at roughly the same pace demand is declining, leaving networks less buffered and less flexible. Low freight rates also discourage long stretches of empty or non-revenue miles. 

Capacity has been eroding for nearly three years due to persistently difficult conditions.

Since October 2023, the market has averaged a net loss of 264 carriers per week, though it often takes a year or more for these exits to become official, making this data slow or lagging for exits. The truckload market’s fragility is growing, even as the decline in demand continues to conceal its underlying vulnerability.

About the Chart of the Week

The FreightWaves Chart of the Week is a chart selection from SONAR that provides an interesting data point to describe the state of the freight markets. A chart is chosen from thousands of potential charts on SONAR to help participants visualize the freight market in real time. Each week a Market Expert will post a chart, along with commentary, live on the front page. After that, the Chart of the Week will be archived on FreightWaves.com for future reference.

SONAR aggregates data from hundreds of sources, presenting the data in charts and maps and providing commentary on what freight market experts want to know about the industry in real time.

The FreightWaves data science and product teams are releasing new datasets each week and enhancing the client experience.

U.S. Postal Service crime blotter

Side view of a blue USPS post box on a sidewalk.

Every week federal and local law enforcement authorities share news about the arrest, indictment or sentencing of people who assaulted mail carriers, stole mail, used the postal service as a conduit for smuggling and committed a host of other crimes involving the mail system. At the same time, the U.S. Postal Service is often the target of fraud by employees or other people.

The editors of PostalMag have compiled a few recent cases that USPS fans might find interesting because of the amount of money involved or the brazenness of the crime.

USPS overbilled for repair services

The owner of an Atlanta-based company that provided repair services to Postal Service facilities in five southern states was recently sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay restitution for defrauding the U.S. Postal Service. 

Investigators for the organization’s Office of Inspector General found suspicious billing patterns from a subsidiary of Emcor Facilities Services, one of the Postal Service’s largest contractors. The USPS paid the subsidiary, GLR Group, more than $2.9 million for almost 2,450 work orders. Special agents found the subsidiary used subcontractors for a large part of the work and paid them lower rates than it reported on the invoices. It directed employees to doctor invoices to hide the outsourcing and inflate the cost of every job by about 25%, while falsely certifying it self-performed all the work. Some invoices were marked up by 40%. 

Under normal rules, suppliers can mark up subcontractor invoices up to 10%.

Gregory Rehberg, owner of GLR Group, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for overbilling by nearly $739,000. U.S. attorneys reached a settlement agreement ordering the company to pay triple damages. Almost $3 million was returned directly to the U.S. Postal Service, according to summaries of the case posted by the OIG.

Postal Service employee stuffs checks in her pants

Two Alabama residents were sentenced earlier this year for a massive counterfeit check fraud scheme targeting the U.S. mail. 

According to court documents, Brian Christopher Williams III, 25, and Kalaijha Tomeco Ranier Lewis, 29, schemed to defraud various federally insured banks and credit unions between November 2021 and June 2023. To carry out the fraud scheme, Williams recruited Lewis, who worked at a post office Mobile, to steal hundreds of high-value business checks and sell them to Williams. In turn, Williams and other coconspirators sold the stolen checks via an illicit online marketplace hosted on a Telegram channel called “Work Related.” 

Fraudsters who purchased the stolen checks later counterfeited and negotiated many of them, causing substantial financial losses to multiple victims. In total, the value of the stolen checks posted to the “Work Related” channel exceeded $17 million.

In June 2023, U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigators began surveillance at the Saint Joseph Street post office in Mobile. On several occasions, agents saw Lewis manipulating the windowed envelopes of checks to see the amounts listed inside while she sorted mail. On June 23, 2023, agents confronted Lewis after capturing her on video stuffing a large stack of stolen checks into her pants before the end of her work shift. Lewis confessed that for several months, she stole business checks for Williams, who paid her $2,000 to $3,000 for each stack of stolen checks that she brought him.

That same day, agents arrested Williams at a gas station in Mobile, where he had arrived to purchase the stolen checks from Lewis. Agents seized more than $10,000 in cash from Williams’s pocket, which Williams admitted was proceeds of his fraud scheme. Agents also searched Williams’s car, seizing a loaded .40 caliber Glock pistol equipped with an extended magazine, ammunition, marijuana, and stolen checks valued at more than $417,000. Williams confessed to selling stolen checks to a coconspirator in Birmingham who marketed the checks for sale on Telegram.

Agents executed warrants to search cell phones and social media accounts belonging to Williams and Lewis, each of which contained extensive communications regarding the scheme. For example, on June 1, 2023, Williams messaged Lewis, “I need a load today!!!!!,” to which Lewis responded, “I done seen 7 [checks] since 6am.” Days later, Williams messaged Lewis about meeting up to purchase high-value stolen checks, emphasizing, “I need like 20k, 15k, 30k and up, majority of this whole damn load low asf, 1000-1600 are lows.”

Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock sentenced Williams and Lewis to serve 100 months and 60 months in federal prison, respectively. Following their release from prison, Williams and Lewis will each serve five-year terms of supervised release, during which time they will receive mental health evaluation and treatment, and will be subject to credit restrictions. 

The court did not impose a fine, but Chief Judge Beaverstock ordered the defendants to pay $234,246.63 in victim restitution and a total of $300 in special assessments. The court also forfeited $10,773.53 in cash seized from Williams to the United States.

Mail handler steals mail, banking information

Vincent Anthony Gailliard Jr., 41, of Sumter, South Carolina has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a Sept. 5 OIG news release.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that between April 2022 and May 2023, Gailliard was employed as a mail handler at the USPS Processing and Distribution Center in Columbia. Gailliard would steal mail containing bank checks that had been mailed by individuals and businesses and take pictures of these checks with his personal cell phone. He would offer to sell an image of the check online that included the account and routing numbers. The buyer could then use the stolen information to create false and fraudulent checks which could be used in obtaining and attempting to obtain money, goods and services.

A judge ordered Gailliard to 30 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. Gailliard was ordered to pay $149,692.14 in restitution.

The Coin Collector

A Beaumont, Texas, woman was sentenced in March to 37 months in federal prison for stealing mail, but she didn’t still any ordinary mail.

According to information presented in court, in April 2020, postal inspectors began receiving complaints that a series of parcels containing valuable coins, totaling $400,000 in value, were missing after being placed in the post office for delivery. Federal agents conducted surveillance and identified a postal employee, Pamela Jo Rosas, as a subject involved in the theft after viewing her handling packages in a suspicious manner.  Agents stopped her on her way home from work and when they searched her car they found over $8,000 in cash, multiple cell phones, and about 85 collectable coins, including the ones she had stolen that night.

She said she hoarded many stolen goods at home and gave some away, including coins that were later sold to fine jewelers and other sellers. The recipients of those items, she said, were innocent as she never told them they were stolen.

When investigators searched her home, they found piles of loot: over 600 valuable collectible coins; brand-name laptops, smartphones, and wearable devices; gaming equipment and small household appliances; gift cards and luxury retail items; a 1 oz. gold bar and more cash; and over 6,000 U.S. Forever stamps and a sack-full of unopened packages.

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

US Postal Service mail carrier shot by driver delivering Amazon packages

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Hike brings U.S. tariffs on China container cranes to as much as 270%

The United States Trade Representative late Friday announced massive tariff hikes on Chinese-made container cranes and other measures in response to China’s use of unfair trade practices to build a leading position in shipping and shipbuilding.

The crane levies, effective Nov. 9, come after President Donald Trump set new 100% tariffs on all China imports starting Nov. 1, firing back after Beijing announced new export controls on rare earth minerals. 

The USTR at the same time announced 100% tariffs on Chinese-made intermodal chassis, also effective Nov. 9, in addition to an existing countervailing duty of about 44.32% due to subsidies on Chinese chassis and an anti-dumping duty of 188.05%, applied five years ago.

Trump’s response brings U.S. levies on China exports to 130% as the trade partners ratchet up measures prior to a meeting of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump at a global economic conference in South Korea later this month.

The USTR’s changes include 100% tariffs on ship-to-shore container cranes, and 150% on rubber-tired gantry cranes manufactured in China, which claims 65-70% of the global crane market and 80% in the U.S., mostly through builder ZPMC. Adding the original 25% tariff on cranes and other retaliatory charges could bring stacked levies to between 125-270%, according to law firm White & Case.  

Cranes made in China capable of working the largest container ships can cost from $14 million to $20 million.

The USTR first proposed crane tariffs and port fees on Chinese ships in April before announcing changes in June following public comments. The measures are aimed at helping rejuvenate American shipbuilding. China this week announced punitive port fees on American ships that mirror U.S. charges. 

The USTR on Friday also set a fee of $46 per net ton on foreign-built vehicle carriers calling U.S. ports; previously those ships were to be charged $150 on a per-vehicle basis. The trade office eliminated a provision permitting the suspension of liquid natural gas (LNG) export licenses over the use of foreign-built vessels, and added a carve-out from fees for ethane and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) carriers under long-term charter.

The USTR said payment of some fees may be deferred through Dec. 10 while it evaluates public comments on the new proposals. The deadline to submit written comments is Nov. 12.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

China retaliates with new fees on U.S. shipping

Maersk ‘closely’ monitoring Red Sea for eventual return to Suez Canal, says diplomat

Tariffs cause some China imports to crash 44% in September

U.S. imports seen well below average for rest of 2025 

Trump’s 100% tariff on China threatens new supply chain shock

President Donald Trump announced Friday that the U.S. could impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from China by Nov. 1, marking an escalation in the U.S.–China trade conflict and raising uncertainty across global supply chains.

In a Truth Social post Friday, Trump said the tariffs were retaliation for China’s new export controls announced a day earlier on rare earth minerals and related technologies.

Many U.S. companies that rely on Chinese manufacturing could face soaring costs and shipment delays as they scramble to reroute orders or find alternative suppliers in Mexico, India, or Southeast Asia. Containerized imports from China—roughly 40% of all U.S. inbound freight—could plummet, triggering blank sailings, idle vessel capacity, and rate volatility.

Freight forwarders said shippers need to be proactive when dealing with tariffs.

“Whether it’s this announcement or the additions under Section 232 a couple of weeks ago, it’s clear tariffs are here to stay,” Ben Bidwell, senior director of customs and compliance at C.H. Robinson.

“The current environment may feel unpredictable to some, but businesses can be proactive versus reactive by building resilient supply chains: consider establishing a sourcing hierarchy, leveraging dual sourcing, exploring bonded warehouses or free trade zones, and other strategies. These are conversations we’ve had with customers for years but the current trade landscape has accelerated the occurrences, and many of our customers’ timelines.”

China remains a major U.S. trade partner and is the largest supplier of goods to the U.S., but it ranks behind Mexico and Canada in total trade volume.

The U.S. has exchanged roughly $420 billion to $440 billion in goods with China year-to-date, down from more than $465 billion during the same period in 2024, according to Census Bureau data.

The leading U.S. imports include electronics, machinery, furniture, and consumer goods, while top exports to China are agricultural products, aircraft, and semiconductors.

Canada Post workers to resume mail delivery, switch to rotating strikes

Rear view of red/blue Canada Post vans lined up in parking lot.

Mail carriers will shift from a nationwide strike action to local rotating strikes, beginning Saturday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said, marking the fourth time since May the union has changed the way it has withheld work to pressure Canada Post into a collective bargaining agreement. 

Local delivery units will be notified close to their scheduled shifts whether they will stay at home, the CUPW announced Thursday night.

But Canada Post said mail delivery won’t restart until next week as it plans for the orderly restart of national operations. All service guarantees for mail and parcels will be suspended because the rotating strikes will make it difficult to provide reliable service to customers.

Union officials characterized the move as a compromise that allows the restart of mail and parcels after a two-week shutdown of the national postal service, while it continues to press the case for better contract terms for its members. Mail carriers have been working for nearly two years since their last contract expired. 

CUPW’s 50,000 members went on strike after the Canadian government instructed Canada Post to close some rural post offices, transition to community boxes instead of home delivery, and reduce delivery frequency as part of a broader transformation aimed at restoring financial stability following years of losses. Canada Post subsequently said it planned to rollback its previous contract proposal and cut thousands of jobs, through attrition and other means. 

“We did not take the decision to move to a nation-wide strike lightly. . . Yet, we could not stand by as the government announced its plans to allow Canada Post to gut our postal service and slash thousands of our jobs. Contract after contract, this employer has sought to chip away at postal services, worker rights and good jobs, and its latest offers are an outright attack on public service,” CUPW National President Jan Simpson said in a statement.

Critics say Canada Post hasn’t adapted its operations to reflect the secular decline in mail volumes during the digital age and rising competition from private parcel carriers that are proving cheaper and more reliable. The postal operator says it needs the union to agree to changes in work rules, such as allowing adjustable routes and work levels, rather than fixed assignments, hiring part-time workers and weekend parcel delivery.

Mail carriers went on strike for 32 days late last year, before the government intervened and commissioned a study on Canada Post’s structural problems. In May, the union declined to work overtime and last month switched to a ban on carrying mass market mail. 

“This prolonged period of instability . . . has significantly impacted Canadians and Canadian businesses, often without warning. As a result, they have moved to other carriers or are avoiding Canada Post altogether. The move to a different form of strike activity will not change that,” Canada Post said in a statement Friday afternoon. “The impact on the company’s already dire financial position is significant and mounting. With continued uncertainty and the expiry of collective agreements, Canada Post will be required to adjust operations to its current business realities moving forward.”   

Mail carriers, who are seeking a 19% pay increase over four years versus Canada Post’s 13.6% offer, say their pay isn’t keeping up with the rising cost of living. Many people don’t realize what is actually involved in delivering the mail and that mail carriers take great pride in their jobs, they add.

“Most of us are at the depots or post offices to sort our mail before the sun rises. While many postal workers are done delivering the mail by noon, they’ve already been working for seven hours at that point. We wish that when it was raining outside or there were three feet of snow on the ground and two inches of ice, that we could just turn around and say, ‘I don’t feel like working today!’ That’s not how our job works,” a Canada Post worker said in an email correspondence. 

Union raises complaints with government ministers

Also on Thursday, union leaders met with Joël Lightbound, minister of government transformation, public works and procurement, and his staff to raise concerns about the government’s planned cutbacks and their impact on service levels. Lightbound has oversight of Canada Post.

They complained that many of Canada Post’s troubles are the result of management mistakes that workers shouldn’t pay the price for. CUPW, for example, argued that Canada Post has added hundreds of supervisory positions over the last five years, while cutting maintenance, sorting and delivery jobs, resulting in a top-heavy organization. 

The union also said it suspects management has been funneling parcels to Purolator, its overnight express subsidiary, which is contributing to Canada Post’s revenue declines and allowing the company to bypass new legislation banning the use of replacement workers during strikes or lockouts. The legislation was a source of contention earlier this year when workers at DHL Express Canada went on strike. 

Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers protest at a Purolator depot. (Photo: Victor Pivovarov)

CUPW also said Canada Post appears to be using “deceptive” data to show parcel volumes have dropped by more than 50% this year because of the ongoing labor uncertainty and that the company’s share of the parcel market is down by a similar amount since 2019. Officials urged Lightbound to conduct a full public comment period before implementing any major changes at the postal operator. 

The mail carriers’ fight for better working conditions and middle-class living standards hasn’t generated a large amount of public sympathy so far, with citizens upset about being cut off from mail service and merchants facing few options for sending parcels to customers.

Some parcel sector professionals have scolded CUPW for unrealistic demands considering the downward spiral in Canada Post volumes and finances.

“For several years now, I have been questioning the viability of postal service in Canada. Rates have gone way up, finding places to purchase stamps is a crap shoot at best, the amount of junk mail I receive is ridiculous,” a Canada Post residential customer said in an email to FreightWaves. “I realize the service is doomed and will probably soon be replaced by private firms for parcel delivery. It is time for CUPW to open their eyes and try working harder to justify their jobs rather than continue to hold their customers for ransom.”

Meanwhile, Simpson, CUPW’s president, complained to Minister of Labor Patti Hajdu that the government’s repeated interventions have helped Canada Post avoid serious bargaining, undermining the collective bargaining process.

“Over the course of these negotiations, there has been a repeated and troubling pattern of political intervention that has delayed, disrupted, and ultimately disrespected the bargaining process. Instead of fostering genuine dialogue and progress, the Liberal government and Canada Post have made a mockery of collective bargaining, an institution meant to protect the rights of workers and ensure fair outcomes,” she said in a letter on Wednesday.

Canada Post’s revised proposal is “based on Minister Lightbound’s unilateral implementation of the Kaplan Report [the government ordered study] — with no consultation with the union or the public. This is not bargaining. It is stalling. It is a deliberate attempt to frustrate and demoralize workers while misleading the public into blaming postal workers, all to shield the corporation from accountability for its mismanagement and refusal to bargain in good faith,” Simpson said.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Canada Post reduces contract offer to striking workers, warns of job cuts

Striking Canada Post workers ‘endanger’ future parcel business, execs say

Canadian government to end home delivery in Canada Post reform

US Cold Storage’s AI leap: What it means for logistics

United States Cold Storage has introduced automated appointment scheduling through the use of FourKites’ AI agent, “Alan”. US Cold Storage, which operates 38 facilities nationwide, has long struggled with the complexities of coordinating inbound deliveries and outbound dispatch in a highly regulated, sensitive environment. 

The company identified appointment scheduling as one of the biggest efficiency drains; logistics teams spend hours juggling emails, phone calls, portal logins, and constant back-and-forth to secure delivery windows. Recognizing that automation could free staff to focus on higher-value work, US Cold Storage turned to FourKites.

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Over an eight-week pilot, Alan demonstrated what many assumed was impossible. The AI agent achieved an 87% success rate in booking appointments and secured 96% accuracy in obtaining customers’ requested delivery dates. In handling over 600 shipments, the digital agent effectively compressed work that would have taken dozens of human hours into real time, estimating a productivity boost equivalent to 36–40 hours during the test period. Alan operated around the clock and processed more than 150 scheduling requests simultaneously, versus the sequential pace typical of human staff.

“The first individuals who interacted with the agent were actually amazed and very intrigued by this product and the idea of a digital agent and how—through utilizing technology—an appointment was just made with no human interaction,” said Keith Mowery, Executive Vice President, Logistics & West Region, United States Cold Storage. “The group was very excited by how easy it was to use.”

Alan differs from traditional robotic process automation (RPA) by relying less on rigid scripts and more on context-aware intelligence. Rather than requiring custom programming for each variation in retailer rules or portal quirks, it adapts in real time to email workflows, web interfaces, and phone interactions, all while maintaining audit trails and status visibility. 

This success builds on a long-standing relationship between US Cold Storage and FourKites, which began with shipment tracking and visibility services. The deployment highlights FourKites’ modular philosophy: start with one use case, validate value, then expand deeper AI capabilities across operations. For US Cold Storage, that means not just smarter scheduling, but the potential to layer autonomous decisioning across the full logistics stack.

FourKites frames Alan as more than an automation tool; it lives within its Intelligent Control Tower, a platform already processing over 3.2 million supply chain events daily. That network intelligence gives Alan awareness of the broader supply chain context, something standalone automation tools lack. 

In and beyond cold storage, scheduling appointments has long been a manual choke point across logistics industries, costing time and resources. But as Alan proves, agents grounded in real-time visibility and AI reasoning may be poised to take over the work once left to legions of coordinators.

For US Cold Storage, the reward isn’t just efficiency, but differentiation. With smoother operations and leaner staffing, the company is now positioned to elevate the customer experience while containing costs. And for FourKites, the success adds momentum to its vision of AI becoming a ubiquitous presence in supply chain control towers, not just as a back-end assistant but as a working partner in execution.

Fear of high premiums keeps cargo theft underreported

truck with "theft" superimposed

WASHINGTON — Much of the nation’s cargo theft problem may be hidden from sight – kept off the books intentionally by trucking companies attempting to control costs.

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New data from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) reveals that more than two-thirds of all motor carrier cargo theft incidents are valued below $50,000, meaning a significant share falls below typical deductibles.

This financial threshold, combined with the fear of escalating premiums, leads over 40% of motor carriers to avoid reporting all theft incidents to their insurance carriers.

“Unfortunately, we’ve reached a point where cargo theft has become a standard cost of doing business for trucking companies, with consumers ultimately footing the bill for many billions of dollars in losses,” said Ben Banks, president of trucking and logistics company TCW, in a press statement.

Insurance rates per mile (combined liability and cargo) Source: ATRI

“Something must be done to stop these costly crimes. ATRI’s new research on cargo theft puts real-world numbers to the issue and will hopefully motivate stakeholders to act quickly on solutions.”

Recent data on losses due to cargo theft across freight modes has been pegged at $15 billion to $35 billion annually. But ATRI’s report, based on survey responses from 95 for-hire motor carriers representing a total of nearly 90,000 trucks, as well as 28 logistics companies, focused specifically on for-hire trucking.

The survey results found that annual direct costs of cargo stolen from motor carriers in the U.S. ranged from $456.7 million to $937.4 million, with an average loss per incident of $29,108 and loss per registered truck $383.60.

Trucking company cargo loss from theft in 2023. Note: Does not include straight trucks or smaller commercial vehicles. Source: ATRI

A plurality (31%) of respondents that experienced theft indicated that their insurance deductible for cargo theft ranged from $10,000 to $49,999, with 20% indicating deductibles in the range of $5,000 to $9,999.

“Given that 69.9% of carriers reported an average value per theft of less than $50,000, a significant share of theft incidents are below carriers’ deductibles and thus uncovered by insurance,” according to the report.

“Ultimately, with insurance costs rising, trucking companies will implement any available measure to stabilize or reduce these costs. Such measures include not reporting a cargo theft incident, particularly when it is a lower-value theft or can be handled without insurance company involvement.”

Action items

ATRI summarized research participants’ suggestions on steps needed to address cargo theft, converting them into three “action items”:

Foster “Security Culture” across the Supply Chain

  • Train drivers in theft prevention and situational awareness.
  • Promote awareness and accountability to all staff.
  • Provide support for driver vigilance, including tools for verifying authenticity of documents and reporting suspicious activity.
  • Create a company-wide security mindset or “security culture” across the supply chain.

Enact Model State Legislation

Legislative provisions would include:

  • Designating Cargo Theft as a Distinct Crime
  • Graduated Sentencing for Cargo Theft
  • State Task Force/Advisory Board

Develop a Federal-Level Centralized Reporting Agency

Oversight and responsibilities to include:

  • Data Collection and Management. A nationwide system for collecting accurate, timely cargo theft information from all levels of law enforcement and private sector stakeholders; and a system that manages and updates the collected data in a quickly accessible and secure database.
  • Data Analysis. Methods must be developed for continually analyzing these data to identify evolving trends, risk calculations, and cargo theft performance metrics
  • Cross-Jurisdictional Cargo Theft Information Sharing. A method for automatically informing all relevant law enforcement jurisdictions in near-real time of cargo thefts.
  • Dissemination of Intelligence. This same program or agency could develop and distribute dashboards, guidelines, trends, patterns and hot spots in real time to all supply chain supply chain stakeholders.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.

China retaliates with new fees on U.S. shipping

China is firing back in the U.S. trade war with retaliatory fees on U.S. ships calling its ports.

The tonnage fees announced by China’s Ministry of Transportation go into effect Oct. 14 and mirror the levies set by the U.S. Trade Representative and also scheduled to go into effect on that same date. 

The Trump administration in April announced the fees under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that grants the USTR the authority to investigate and respond to unfair foreign trade practices that harm U.S. commerce. They follow the results of a USTR probe begun during the Biden administration that found China leveraged subsidies, central controls and other unfair practices to build a dominant position in global shipping and shipbuilding. 

The ship fees are among several trade measures by Beijing ahead of a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea at the end of October. 

China’s fees apply to U.S.-flag and -built vessels, as well as ships owned or operated by U.S. entities, the last two if more than 25% of the ownership, voting rights or board seats of the entity are based in the U.S.

The fees start at $56 per net ton at current exchange rates compared to the $50 USTR fee, and escalate to $90 ($80 USTR) as of April 17, 2026; $123 ($110) as of April 17, 2027 and $157 ($140) from April 17, 2028.

Like the USTR charges, the fees apply only for the first call of a China port on a voyage with multiple calls, and a maximum of five times per year.

At present the fees would hit U.S.-flag lines Matson (NYSE: MATX), Maersk Line Limited, a subsidiary of Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk (OTC: AMKBY) and APL, a unit of CMA CGM of France.

“Matson has no plans to make any changes to our service schedule,” the carrier said in a customer advisory Friday. “We remain fully committed to providing the fastest, most reliable service offerings from China and the trans-Pacific market to the U.S. We look forward to continuing to serve our customers into the future and will not implement a new surcharge relative to this fee.”

The fees would likely also apply to Israel’s Zim (NYSE: ZIM) as more than 25% of the shares seems to presently be owned by U.S. entities, wrote shipping consultant Lars Jensen in a LInkedIn post. Seaspan, which owns 100 vessels chartered by major container lines and recently shifted its base from Hong Kong to Singapore, could also be affected as it is controlled by Poseidon, with just over 25% U.S. ownership, Jensen said.

The effect on the U.S. lines has yet to be determined but won’t approach the expense to Cosco, the world’s fifth-largest container carrier, or its subsidiary OOCL, estimated by HBSC at $2.1 billion in 2026.

This article was updated Oct. 10 to add information on Matson’s customer advisory.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Maersk ‘closely’ monitoring Red Sea for eventual return to Suez Canal, says diplomat

Tariffs cause some China imports to crash 44% in September

U.S. imports seen well below average for rest of 2025 

Surprise move by China carriers ahead of U.S. port fees

Amazon putting huge fulfillment centers in Oregon and Indiana

Backside of an Amazon warehouse with name on the side.

Amazon is opening its largest fulfillment center in the Pacific Northwest and building another large e-commerce distribution center in Indiana.

The new facility in Woodburn, Oregon, outside of Portland, covers 3.8 million square feet — four times the size of the nearby international airport’s terminals — and will store millions of products, according to KGW News and other local media outlets. It is outfitted with advanced scanners, conveyor technology and robots that can automatically retrieve and sort inbound and outbound orders and deliver them to where needed.

Amazon plans to initially hire 3,000 people to run the facility.

Among the dignitaries at the grand opening was Democratic Congresswoman Andrea Salinas.

In related news, the retail giant plans to build a large, automated fulfillment center in Greenfield, Indiana, to meet rising customer demand in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, Chain Store Age and Supply Chain Dive reported.

Amazon already operates 11 fulfillment and sortation centers in Indiana.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

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