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Surface

News and analysis of surface transportation including rail, trucking, intermodal, less-than-truckload, full truckload, drayage, transload

The latest Surface News & Analysis

UP shippers facing delays on key Chicago-LA corridor

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor | Mar 24, 2023, 9:56 AM EDT

Intermodal providers say they are struggling to bring 53-foot containers into UP’s terminals in Chicago and nearby Joliet, causing delays of several days to move cargo to the West Coast.
Intermodal providersNorth-American rail

Knight-Swift to buy truckload carrier U.S. Xpress for $808 million 

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 21, 2023, 12:54 PM EDT

Knight-Swift, the largest US truckload provider, will substantially expand its reach and scalability for shippers with the purchase of U.S. Xpress, the country’s ninth-largest truckload carrier.
SurfaceTruckingTruckload

FedEx Freight cuts costs but improves profit as US LTL volumes shrink

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 20, 2023, 4:58 PM EDT

With ‘every dollar under scrutiny,’ FedEx Freight is squeezing its trucking division, gaining financial improvements that better position the carrier for the next economic rebound. 
SurfaceTruckingLTL

CP-KCS could benefit from rising tide of cross-border freight from Mexico

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 16, 2023, 4:43 PM EDT

The combined railroad has an opportunity to divert more than 64,000 truck shipments to intermodal rail, according to S&P Global, but that’s only the crest of a wave of US imports from Mexico. 
SurfaceTruckingRailInternational railIntermodal providers

Shipwell arms ‘underserved’ smaller shippers with automated bidding tool

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Mar 16, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT

Shippers that often use spreadsheets and small transportation teams to bid and execute freight shipments are the target of a new software tool from technology provider Shipwell.
Logistics technologyTruckingTruckloadLTLTruck brokers

US truckload rates drop sharply in February, but not LTL pricing: PPIs

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 15, 2023, 4:13 PM EDT

Trucking is a tale of two sectors in early 2023, with truckload carriers making more significant contract rate concessions than less-than-truckload companies, according to the US producer price index.
TruckingTruckloadLTL

US regulators approve CP-KCS merger to form first US-Canada-Mexico rail

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor | Mar 15, 2023, 2:31 PM EDT

In approving the $31 billion merger, the Surface Transportation Board rejected arguments from the FMC and competing railroads that the deal would harm US ports and shippers.
North-American railNorth American portsSurfaceTransport, trade and regulation

US trucking, warehousing firms shed jobs, but still have more than a year ago

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 14, 2023, 12:35 PM EDT

Most of the transportation job losses reported for February were due to seasonal cuts rather than economic contraction, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Supply ChainSurfaceTruckingLast mile

US chassis market nearing ‘equilibrium’ after disruptive shortages

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor | Mar 13, 2023, 1:37 PM EDT

Chassis providers believe the equipment shortages that bogged down inland supply chains in 2021 and 2022 will soon no longer be an issue for shippers, allowing the industry to return to a more typical supply/demand balance.
Container shippingTruckingIntermodal providers

Intermodal share data point to opportunities: analyst

Larry Gross, president and founder, Gross Transportation Consulting; and JOC analyst | Mar 13, 2023, 11:05 AM EDT

It stands to reason that the more miles one spends on low-cost rail, the better the comparative economics versus truck should be, but that’s not what happens in the real world, writes analyst Larry Gross.
SurfaceTruckingIntermodal providersNorth-American rail

OCEMA appeals chassis ruling to FMC commissioners

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor | Mar 10, 2023, 3:49 PM EST

The Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association says the FMC’s chief administrative judge erred in issuing a summary judgement against the group because key facts are still in dispute.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer linesNorth American portsTrucking

Drayage tech provider PortPro targeting shippers with new tracking tools

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Mar 10, 2023, 2:05 PM EST

Drayage software vendor PortPro is attempting to narrow the gap between the tools that port truckers and their shipper customers use with a new container milestone tracking product it has launched.
Logistics technologyNorth American portsDrayageTrucking

New NS Norfolk-Memphis service aims to grab East Coast cargo shift

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor | Mar 9, 2023, 3:40 PM EST

Norfolk Southern and the Port of Virginia are not only targeting importers using trans-Atlantic services from Europe and Asia, but also exporters moving goods through Memphis, such as the cotton industry.
North American portsTrans-PacificTrans-AtlanticNorth-American rail

Shippers committed to digital investments in logistics: S&P Global

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Mar 9, 2023, 12:53 PM EST

Shippers are showing “healthy adoption” of a wide variety of digital transformation projects, according to new research from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Logistics technologyContainer shippingPortsTruckingSupply Chain

Southern California volume declines cause truck, rail rates to plunge

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor | Mar 8, 2023, 12:23 PM EST

Trucking and intermodal providers are offering discounts to secure freight in Southern California, where volumes are declining as imports from Asia fall.
SurfaceTrans-PacificNorth American portsTruckingIntermodal providers

Maersk shifts detention billing to consignees ahead of FMC regulation

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Mar 8, 2023, 9:50 AM EST

The move by the carrier comes as the FMC is in the midst of a rulemaking process around detention and demurrage billing mandated by the passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 last June.
DrayageContainer shippingContainer linesNorth American portsTruckingTransport, trade and regulation

Trucker group opposes Biden’s labor secretary pick over AB5 support

Teri Errico Griffis | Mar 7, 2023, 12:34 PM EST

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association says Julie Su’s support of AB5 while California’s labor secretary showed a lack of understanding of the owner-operator trucking model.
SurfaceTrucking

Investors back Overhaul’s hybrid risk management–visibility strategy

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Mar 7, 2023, 9:00 AM EST

Supply chain risk-focused technology provider Overhaul has channeled demand for reducing exposure to cargo theft into a $38 million funding round just a few weeks after acquiring competitor SensiGuard.
Logistics technologyContainer shippingTruckingRail

US startup eyes street turn tech expansion throughout North America

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Mar 6, 2023, 10:00 AM EST

Technology startup Qualle is trying to overcome drayage industry inertia around matching empty import boxes with export loads outside of ports by using early-stage funding to serve every North American port market.
Logistics technologyPortsMarine terminalsNorth American portsDrayageTrucking

More US shippers finding LTL savings, but no ‘price war’ 

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 3, 2023, 3:49 PM EST

Several US shippers tell the Journal of Commerce they are getting rate concessions from their less-than-truckload carriers, but the price cuts are far from universal and may depend on how shippers bid.
SurfaceTruckingLTL