Topic: News

April shipments—at 1,126,970—saw a 13% annual increase, well ahead of March’s -10% reading, and on a year-to-date basis through March, U.S.-bound shipments—at 3,836,078—were off 1.6% compared to the same period a year ago, an improvement over the -6.8% year-to-date drop through March. Even though there was clear improvement in April shipments, Panjiva reported containerized shipments lagged, down 5.1% annually in April to 2,243,208 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) and down 5.2% year-to-date through April, to 8,715,993.

Falling 0.008 cents, this week’s average came in at $2.386, following a 0.005-cent one week ago, to $2.394. This was preceded by a 3.8-cent decline to $2.399 and a 4.3-cent decline the week of April 27.

As COVID-19 remains prevalent around the world, terminals have had to adapt their business strategies to meet the challenges brought on by the pandemic, according to industry research done by Navis,

Two global companies with household names—freight transportation and logistics bellwether FedEx and software and technology services giant Microsoft—announced they have partnered up for a multiyear collaboration, with an emphasis on meshing their respective key elements, including the FedEx global digital and logistics network, with Microsoft’s intelligent cloud power.

With United States-bound imports seeing still seeing major declines, due to the ongoing COVID-19, or coronavirus, pandemic, the subsequent impact it has had on intermodal transportation has been apparent. And, now, with some states focusing on re-opening their respective economies, things are expected to be generally chaotic and scattered, as it relates to what may happen next. Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Larry Gross, president of Gross Transportation Consulting, to talk about the current state...

As the USNS Mercy departed the Port of Los Angeles today for its home port of San Diego, City of Los Angeles officials praised her crew and frontline staff for boosting the city’s preparedness combatting the COVID-19 pandemic over the last seven weeks.

While its predecessor report, which was released in December, issued a positive 2020 growth outlook for the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, the new edition of the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Semiannual Economic Forecast, which was issued today, tells a much different story, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Commerce reported that total April retail sales—at $403.9 billion—fell 16.4% sequentially, and 21.6% annually, following March’s $483.5 billion tally, which marked an 8.3% annual decline. This two-month stretch marks the largest decline for two consecutive months on record, with each month setting new records for lowest monthly sales. What’s more, it outdid the 18.5% decline recorded in May 1938 and the 15.1% annual decline in February 1981.

Rail carloads—at 185,144—fell 28.4%, annually, and intermodal containers and trailers—at 227,405 units—saw a 16% annual decline.

California could lose up to $20 billion in transportation revenue over the next 10 years following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research released by the Mineta Transportation Institute.

FMCSA Acting Administrator Jim Mullen explained that this ruling is the result of listening to all industry stakeholders, including the motor carrier industry, truckers, safety advocates, law enforcement, and state partners.

April shipments—at 0.923—dropped 22.7% annually and trailed March by 15.1%, and expenditures——at 2.379—saw an 18.2% decline and were off 10.3% compared to May.

Armstrong & Associates has announced the release of its latest report, "Increasingly Strategic: Trends in 3PL/Customer Relationships.”

The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the playbook, in some ways, for how global transportation and logistics bellwether FedEx is approaching capacity and management for its SmartPost offering, its last mile delivery service partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The first economic shock waves of the COVID-19 pandemic have started to wash across the first quarter earnings reports of the leading publicly held less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, with more bad news coming later in the year.

As the California Governor’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery begins to address the state’s economic recovery, transport industry leaders are urging its members to also consider the economic and job challenges facing its ports.

Total April POLA volume—at 688,999 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—saw a 6.45% annual decline, and total April POLB volume—at 519,730 TEU—were off 17.3% annually compared to POLB’s busiest April on record

DAT said that its DAT Truckload Volume Index, which reflects the change in the number of loads with a pickup date during that month, with the actual index number normalized each month to accommodate any new data sources without distortion, with a baseline of 100 equal to the number of loads moved in January 2015, fell 19% from March to April and was off 8% annually.

Falling 0.005 cents, this week’s average is $2.394, following a 3.8-cent decline to $2.399 last week, a 4.3-cent decline the week of April 27 and a 4.1-cent decline the week of April 20, and declines of 4.1 cents, 3.8-cent, 7.3-cents, and 8.1-cents, respectively, over the four-week stretch prior to that.

YRC earned $4.3 million on $1.15 billion revenue in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $49.1 million on $1.18 billion revenue in the year-ago quarter. Without the asset sales, however, YRC would have suffered a $35 million pre-tax loss.