Surface

Crime-tracking CargoNet expects a surge in freight theft in the U.S. over the Labor Day weekend, and reports cargo crime is rising in 2015.

FESCO, one of Russia’s largest privately-owned transportation and logistics companies, posted significant declines in container volumes in the first half but believes that its future is bright.

The acquisition of three companies over the past year, the latest being Stagecoach Cartage in El Paso, gives Roadrunner Transportation Systems greater access to freight on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.

Transcontainer, Russia’s leading intermodal freight transporter, saw its revenue plummet 64 percent in the first half to $15 million, compared to $41.4 million in the first-half of 2014, as the decline in Russian trade makes itself felt in companies’ bottom lines.

As peak season nears, U.S. domestic intermodal spot rates last month fell to their lowest point since September 2012, a result of intense competition from the over-the-road sector and weaker than usual demand, according to third-party logistics provider IDS.

A GT Nexus, YouGov consumer survey finds many shoppers complain of stock-outs even as retailers see inventory levels surge, a sign of increasing supply-chain complexity and low "visibility."

Truckers buying diesel fuel in the U.S. must think they've entered a timewarp, with the average U.S. diesel price tumbling by $1.30 per gallon over the past year to $2.51 per gallon, a price not seen since 2009. Oil markets proved volatile this week, but experts say oversupply is likely to keep a cap on crude and fuel prices for some time to come.

Truckers serving Conley Container Terminal at the port of Boston can use a newly-launched app to find out when containers are ready to be picked up, another sign of how technology is being tapped to improve port productivity

Harbor truckers in Los Angeles-Long Beach sincerely want terminal operators to succeed in their ground-breaking plan to develop a system of appointments throughout the harbor. But they fear that the logistics involved in coordinating as many as a dozen stand-alone trucker appointment systems will be very difficult to arrange.

Preliminary highway safety data showing deaths caused by U.S. traffic accidents spiked 9.5 percent year-over-year in the first quarter and rose 30 percent over the course of 2014 could add pressure on Congress to hold firm on or even tighten regulation affecting truck and overall highway safety.

Demand for transportation and warehouse workers remained strong in June, as the economy grew faster than expected. U.S. data show employers kept more of the workers they hired as well.

The return of company founder C.L. Werner as chairman and CEO will help the fifth-largest U.S. truckload carrier map a long-term route, as president and COO Derek Leathers is groomed for a bigger role.

The brewer of Budweiser is greening its St. Louis-based truck fleet, replacing diesel models with CNG-powered tractors that will haul 31 million cases of beer this fall. The fleet conversion is part of a long-term plan to cut logistics-related carbon emissions 15 percent by 2017.

Mixed economic messages and political uncertainty put shippers and truckers on a bumpy road in the second half of 2015, speakers said during a JOC webinar. Although truck capacity is "relatively abundant" and fuel is cheap, truck rates are still rising, and shippers are eyeing new safety rules that could tighten truck capacity. It all depends on the economy.

Russian railway monopoly RZD plans to build a $30 million inland hub aimed at reducing congestion at the nearby St. Petersburg port and handling transshipped cargo from the country’s largest container gateway.

In a high-risk, possibly high-reward attempt to manage truck flow and reduce congestion, 10 of the 13 container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach on Thursday adopted a trucker appointment system action plan with the goal of establishing a system of appointments throughout the harbor beginning in 2016.

Lower fuel prices are putting more trucks on the road, helping to keep a cap on spot market truck rates, DAT Solutions said. Van rates dropped in the last week, while refrigerated and flatbed rates remained the same.

A new 110-door terminal in Grand Rapids, Michigan is one step in a plan to speed freight flow system-wide at YRC Worldwide subsidiary Holland. The regional carrier is also developing new cross-dock technology to better blend digital data and physical freight.

Last week U.S. intermodal volume growth hit its fastest pace in roughly two months.

The number of trucks crossing the U.S. border is on the rise, as Laredo, Texas, set a new record for truck crossings in the second quarter. Slower economic growth in the U.S., however, masks some of the gains.

R+L Carriers is expanding its time critical expedited services throughout Canada through its partner, New Brunswick-based Day & Ross Freight.

The American Trucking Associations wants Congress to allow carriers to use hair-follicle testing as an alternative to urinalysis, but labor group oppose the change.

China and Kazakhstan are working to more than double containerized rail traffic bound for Europe via the launch of the Trans-Caspian international transport route connecting China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

Con-way Freight workers in Portland, Oregon voted not to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters last week, marking the seventh outright defeat for the union in its attempt to organize workers at the second-largest stand-alone U.S. less-than-truckload carrier.

U.S. retailers and manufacturers are slicing into inventories they built up during the West Coast port labor dispute, contributing to what's reported to be a softer third-quarter freight market. Stronger consumer spending may help shippers balance inventories as peak season demand picks up.

Workers who pack and ship goods for the Google Express same-day delivery service voted to unionize, the latest victory for the Teamsters union in its drive to organize Silicon Valley contract employees.

Averitt Express joined the ranks of trucking companies boosting pay and benefits to secure more truck drivers. Despite slower economic growth than a year ago, driver demand remains a key factor in truck pricing.

The Port of Oakland “strongly supports” its marine terminals’ plans for Saturday truck gate operations but has two big concerns,Chris Lytle, port executive director, told the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is calling for a national coalition to address a nationwide parking shortage for truck drivers, just another factor that has been contributing to rising transportation costs and ever-tightening capacity in the sector.

Despite flatlining train speeds and persisting service issues, U.S. intermodal volumes have increased to their highest level in more than two months.

Duisburg boosted container traffic by 10 percent in the first half of the year, shrugging off German rail freight strikes and China’s economic slowdown, to consolidate its position as the world’s biggest inland port.

Oakland port terminals plan to subsidize Saturday operation of truck gates by imposing a weekday gate fee modeled on one pioneered by the decade-old PierPass program in Southern California.

Cargo Chief's Abtin Hamidi says shippers can find truck capacity at the right price, if they know where to look. Web-based and mobile technology can hand them the keys.

Several compressed natural gas fueling stations for trucks and other vehicles across the U.S. opened over the past few weeks, a sign that lower diesel prices may have slowed but not stopped the conversion of truck fleets to the alternative fuel.

Trucking executives generally back a federal governmental push to reduce emissions from heavy-duty trucks, but California regulators want even stricter rules to reduce health risks and global warming from truck pollution.

The spot truckload market softened in July, typically a weaker month for freight shipping. A drop in volumes and pricing also signal gains by contract carriers as shippers lock down capacity.

U.S. truckload rates continued to rise in July and domestic intermodal pricing dropped, as shippers continued to find it more and more difficult to justify converting business from highway to rail, according to Cass Information Systems and Avondale Partners.

U.S. truck tonnage increased at its strongest rate year-over-year since January, rising 3.7 percent in July and 2.8 percent from June. High inventories levels could set limits on future tonnage growth, unless those inventories are drawn down this fall.

Whether released on Sept. 30 or later, the electronic logbook regulation, along with a related rule penalizing carriers, shippers and third-parties for coercing drivers to violate federal truck safety laws, has the potential to reshape the trucking and shipping business in a big way.

A review of federal safety data show the number of citations roadside inspectors handed to truckers for violating hours-of-service rules declined significantly from 2011 through 2014, especially for driving beyond the daily 11-hour limit. However, there was an uptick in some logbook violations, including falsified logs, in fiscal 2014.