Friday, October 01, 2010

Soon after less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation service providers YRC Worldwide and ABF Freight System announced matching 5.9 percent general rate increases, FedEx Freight said this week it is upping its GRI a bit higher at 6.9 percent, effective November 1.

While news that half a dozen major international freight forwarders have plead guilty to price-fixing, there may be more collateral damage to come.

Another week, another 2010 record for intermodal volumes. That seems to be the case these days, according to data released this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was up 18.8 percent in July 2010 compared to July 2009, increasing to $61.3 billion, according to data released by the United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Following news earlier this week that less-than-truckload transportation services provider YRC Worldwide (YRCW) won another round of concessions from the Teamsters Union, the company announced on September 29 that its board of directors has approved a tentative agreement with the Teamsters.

If some experts are correct, the Panama Canal expansion will transform global shipping and sourcing for generations to come.

Earlier today, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) formally denied a request made in July by the United States Postal Service (USPS) for an average 5.6 percent rate increase. PRC officials said that the request was turned down, because the USPS “failed to justify rate increases in excess of its statutory CPI price cap.”

Despite overall economic conditions being better than they were a year ago, third-party logistics (3PL) CEO’s are still indicating business conditions have a ways to go before things fully turn around, according to the results of the 17th Annual Survey of Third-Party Logistics Providers.

Truck tonnage continued its path on an uneven road, with August volumes seeing a sequential decline for the third time in four months, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Following faster than expected recovery in global trade flows so far in 2010, World Trade Organization economists have revised their projection for world trade growth in 2010 upwards to 13.5 percent.