A preliminary hearing has been set for March 7 for a mother and son charged with swindling more than $600,000 from the Minnesota-based freight brokerage where they both worked.
This week in Borderlands: Nearshoring creates booming demand for border logistics facilities; Ascend reserves capacity in Volvo’s autonomous lane in Texas; ZF Group announces $250M expansion in Mexico; and Port of Brownsville posts record cargo volumes in 2022.
Last year’s peak retail season stands apart from previous years in that there wasn’t much of a “peak” at all.
The former safety manager of two California trucking companies was sentenced to three years of probation for his role in an illegal cargo tank repair conspiracy.
Shippers and carriers alike have been forced to deal with the financial fallout of a global pandemic, war, rising fuel costs and the looming threat of an economic recession.
On Tuesday, FreightWaves Research released survey data suggesting declining freight conditions are impacting owner-operators especially hard. An important takeaway is the potential for many more owner-operators to leave the industry if conditions do not improve.
“When you work in the automotive industry, there’s an inherent pressure and stress that comes with moving these shipments,” said Gregory Grimes, the owner and managing partner of West Central Motor Freight.
“We knew the port terminals, we understood their operations, but mostly we understood their systems and data. We thought we could be the bridge that wasn’t created before that could speak both parties’ languages and get containers in and out,” said BlueCargo co-founder and CEO Alexandra Griffon.
Big names like C.H. Robinson, Uber Freight and Convoy have all cut staff in recent months. Here’s what’s driving the freight brokerage layoffs.
Rosemary Coates of the Reshoring Institute discusses supply chain strategy during FreightWaves’ Global Supply Chain Week.
When asked to select statements that applied to them, 35% of self-identified owner-operators checked, “If the market does not rebound materially by the end of 2023, I will leave the industry.”
Experts predict more nearshoring of manufacturing to Mexico in 2023, especially for supplies of components used in green technologies.
This week in Borderlands: Exports of Mexican-built Class 8 trucks hit 15,221 in January; railroad cargo thefts drop 21% year over year across Mexico; fuel and lubricants distributor expands into South Texas; and rare insect intercepted in shipment at Otay Mesa port of entry.
When trucking capacity tightens and rates increase, intermodal shipping by rail becomes more attractive in general. That does not appear to have happened during the pandemic years.
Lawmakers in Iowa and Florida are considering bills to curb nuclear verdicts against trucking companies.
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The American Transportation Research Institute is again investigating the safety and other impacts on the trucking industry of state-level marijuana legalization — as well as additional questions the issue raises.
On Thursday, according to a news release, BP Products North America Inc., a subsidiary of BP, reached an agreement to purchase TravelCenters of America for $1.3 billion in cash. The purchase of TA is expected to add around 280 travel centers and double BP’s global convenience gross margin.
Austin, Texas-based Overhaul has acquired SensiGuard in a deal aimed at increasing the supply chain security firm’s global footprint.
