The North Carolina Department of Transportation says not to travel in or to the state; Walmart grabs a 200K square foot foothold in NYC; the IMF says British economy will contract if no deal on Brexit; Freightos raises $45M; global seaborne coal trade grows 4%; Tesla’s having a hard time delivering cars.
It may no longer be a hurricane, but Florence is still expected to exact a toll on the Carolinas and then further inland over the next several days as the slow-moving storm drops rain measured in feet rather than inches across a wide swath of area.
Hurricane Florence bears down on the Carolinas. Freight markets are reacting before the first rain drops have fallen.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for all the state’s counties earlier today due to the threat of heavy rainfall and windy conditions.
Bulk trailers, including walking floor and end dumps, are commonly used for cleanup following hurricanes. The timing of Florence could create a capacity issue in the southeast for ag products as owners of these types of trailers shift to cleanup efforts.
FEMA stands ready to address the aftermath of Hurricane Florence and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has now issued a “Regional Emergency Declaration” for 13 states and the District of Columbia as the southeast braces for the historic storm.
Models predicting Hurricane Florence’s track are shifting the storm southward after it makes landfall, where it will hug the South Carolina coast and unleash extreme rainfall on the Carolinas.
With all the talk of the impact from Hurricane Florence as she comes ashore, likely in the Wilmington, NC, area on Thursday, much of the impact will take place for days and even weeks after the storm is long gone.
Storm surge and hurricane watches remain in effect for parts of the U.S. east coast, from Edisto Beach, South Carolina northward to the North Carolina-Virginia border.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to 140 mph with higher gusts, and Florence is now a category 4 hurricane and expected to worsen.
Latest update from the National Hurricane Center sees the storm reaching major hurricane status later today.
The North Carolina coast is especially vulnerable to hurricanes. FreightWaves spoke to executives at Lync America, a Chattanooga-based freight brokerage, about the trucking activity they’re seeing related to disaster preparedness.
