Road

Friday, May 24, 2013

   A bridge on Interstate-5, the major U.S. West Coast highway, collapsed into the Skagit River on Thursday evening.    The bridge, north of Seattle, is the major artery for vehicles moving to and from Vancouver and other locations in Western Canada.    The Seattle Times reported the bridge is used by an average 70,000 vehicles per day, 12 percent of which are trucks . Sean McNally, press secretary for the American Trucking Associations, said those appeared to be 2007 estima...

Friday, May 24, 2013

   Truckload linehaul rates rose 2 percent in April, continuing a slow but steady price increase seen the beginning of the year, according to Cass Information Systems.    Intermodal only showed a slight bump of 0.3 percent in per-mile costs.    Linehaul rates started the year with a 2.4-percent rise, which grew to 3.3 percent in February. Rates were up 2.2 percent in March. While rates are going up, the climb isn’t as steep at the increases seen from February to April l...

Thursday, May 23, 2013

   Maritime industry officials in Hampton Roads are discussing how to take advantage of the large military presence in the area to attract people leaving for civilian life to become truck drivers and help the Port of Virginia move containers to and from the docks.    The Norfolk area is home to the world's largest naval base, which supports the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The complex also includes a major naval air station. Oceana Naval Air Station is located nearby in Virginia Beach, and th...

Thursday, May 23, 2013

   Loaded inbound volumes at seven West Coast ports will see a 0.9-percent, year over year, decline during the second quarter of the year, ending the period at 2.8 million TEUs, according to Global Port Tracker.    In the third quarter, though, volume will increase by 2 percent to 2.99 million TEUs, followed by a 6.6-percent jump, year over year, in the fourth quarter. During the first three months of 2014, volumes are expected to rise by 7.2 percent to 2.75 million TEUs.   ...

Thursday, May 23, 2013

   Joseph Gallick , one of the primary public faces of Penske Logistics as senior vice president of sales since 1999, has left to become vice president of dedicated services for NationaLease, the Downers Grove, Ill.-based truck leasing firm.    NationaLease has more than 100,000 trucks, tractors and trailers in its rental fleet, but is expanding into dedicated logistics services, including transportation and warehousing. Gallick is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Pr...

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

   Based on data gathered by the American Trucking Associations' members, domestic tonnage fell in April after seeing a rise in March.    The ATA’s seasonally adjusted tonnage index ended last month, down 0.2 percent after being up 0.9 percent in March.    Compared to last April, the tonnage index rose 4.3 percent, the largest year-over-year gain since January’s 4.7 percent result. In the first four months of the year, truck tonnage is up 4 percent.     ...

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

   Con-way Freight is planning to break ground on an $8 million, 47,000-square-foot service center in Fond du Lac, Wis., in June.    The facility, which will replace a current 27-year-old facility, is expected to deliver by March 2014.    The 21-acre property in the city’s Fox Ridge Business Park will feature 96 dock doors, a vast expansion over the 25 in its current Fond du Lac facility. When needed, the development can expand to 120 dock doors.    While Con-way’...

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

   A 7 percent wage reduction, but no major cuts to health or pension benefits are amid the details of the tentative contract between less-than-truckload carrier ABF and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters released in anticipation of a union-wide vote on the proposal.    The IBT negotiating committee has approved the deal, but union members will receive contract ballots on June 3.    The two parties reached a five-year agreement in early May after two, month-long con...

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

   The Truckload Carriers Association and Truckers Against Trafficking have teamed up to educate and train truckers on how to recognize and report sex trafficking, a crime that has been reported in every U.S. state.     TCA will now start giving tests to truckers around the country so they can become a Certified Trucker Against Trafficking. The test is being given without any costs to the trucker and is based on a video viewable here .    The organization will also pro...

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Va. Gov. McDonnell signs landmark transportation bill.    Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell last week signed the breakthrough transportation funding bill passed by the General Assembly in March.    The "Virginia's Road to the Future" bill, the first comprehensive transportation funding plan in 27 years, provides an additional $3.5 billion in funding by 2018 for new road and bridge construction, mass transit, rail and other needs, along with several reforms to improve project development. &...

Friday, May 17, 2013

   UPS today announced a new app for the iPad to let users easily track packages, find UPS shipping locations, and access UPS My Choice, all with enhanced mapping features.    The UPS app for iPad enables customers to track packages and find locations where they can send shipments. Additionally, the app allows users of UPS My Choice to access all of the features of the service including the ability to reroute or reschedule delivery. UPS My Choice Premium members can also view their d...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

   Governments in Belize, Central America and the Dominican Republic should create an environment that embraces an integrated, intermodal sea-land network, according to a recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).    A stronger supply-chain network would help push global trade forward and would also encourage trade exchanges between the countries in the region.    The two authors of the study, Amar Ramudhin and Don Ratliff, posit that a number of initiative...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

   With the impending deadline for the Federal Motor Carrier Service Administration’s new hours-of-service regulations less than two months away, the outcome of the American Trucking Association’s legal challenge against the rule is still not clear.    The ATA argued against the HOS change before a three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., on March 15, but unless a ruling comes down before July 1, carriers will nonetheless have to comply with the new law before knowing if it will be str...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

   DHL Supply Chain will invest 10 million euros ($12.9 million) in Vietnam over the next two years, hiring new staff, upgrading current infrastructure and building a new facility in North Vietnam.    The integrator began operations in the country in 2001.    DHL plans to hire 1,400 new workers in Vietnam, increasing its workforce by 170 percent. This new influx of employees will be added to an employment base that has already expanded by 800 workers in the past there years...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

   C.R. England, one of North America's largest trucking companies, has appointed Sam Scott and Tracy Brown as new division presidents.    Scott has become president of the National and Regional Divisions, and Brown will assume the role of president of the Dedicated Division.    Scott has been with C.R. England since 2003, serving in various capacities at the manager, director and vice president levels in the company. In his most recent position, first as director, then vice...

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

   After a year-long review of substance-impaired driving in the trucking industry, the National Transportation Safety Board has issued recommendations for reducing the legal alcohol driving limit; ramping up the use of interlock devices; and beefing up penalties for non-compliance.    According to a NTSB report, the new legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers should drop from .08 to .05.    While the American Trucking Associations commended the progress on these measure...

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

   Old Dominion Freight Line expects daily tonnage to grow by 4.5 percent to 5 percent, year over year, during the second quarter, an affirmation of previous predictions.    Revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, should rise by between 1.5 percent and 2 percent in the same time period, the less-than-truckload carrier said.    In the first quarter, Old Dominion saw total tonnage rise by 3.5 percent to 1,717 tons on 1.6-percent fewer working days. Revenue per h...

Monday, May 13, 2013

   YRC's proposal to acquire ABF in the middle of union negotiations is "unconscionable," according to James P. Hoffa, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.    The two parties reached a tentative, five-year contract agreement earlier this month after negotiating since early January, but no firm details of the contract have been officially released. According to the Teamsters for a Democratic Union, ABF was looking for a 6.5-percent wage cut and reductions i...

Friday, May 10, 2013

   Earlier this year, YRC approach Arkansas Best about the possibility of a acquiring ABF Freight System, according to a recently released U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing , but was turned down by the smaller less-than-containerload carrier.    After receiving the proposal, details of which have not been disclosed, ABF officials told the other carrier “that considering a proposal was not appropriate at that time” due to ongoing labor negotiations, accordi...

Friday, May 10, 2013

   IAS Logistics will expand its Texas hub-and-spoke trucking operation to Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.    No timeline for the expansion has been released.    The carrier's services currently operate from Texas' biggest airports, and in each new city, IAS will focus on building out from major airports. From the new city offerings, the IAS team will provide truck charter, integrated bonded trucking and storage, and a fleet capable of handling shipper-built ...

Thursday, May 09, 2013

   While the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has put what a local union calls “a tight lid” on information about a proposed five-year contract deal with ABF, analysts are trying to figure out what a new agreement would look like.    ABF and the Teamsters started negotiations for a new contract in January and finally reached an agreement early this month. Local unions had said during the negotiations that ABF was looking for a 6.5-percent wage cut, among other concessions. The a...

Thursday, May 09, 2013

   DHL Global Forwarding has added daily intermodal services from Shanghai and a weekly service from Chengdu to the European border.    The offerings will use a combination of rail and truck transportation.    According to DHL officials, customers will see faster shipments of up to 21 days compared with ocean shipments and lower transportation costs.    This service offers the option of booking variable capacity — "ranging from a single container to a whole t...

Thursday, May 09, 2013

   EXL Service, a business processs solutions company, has released Rev-Lift, a solution that identifies weaknesses and errors in backoffice processes that lose carriers money.    Though only introduced recently, the program has been in place with a North American less-than-truckload carrier for the past few years, and EXL has saved the firm $80 million in revenue by improving its data capture processes.     Pradeep Vachani, EXL's vice president, said even though ...

Thursday, May 09, 2013

   XRS Corp. has realized a net income to common shareholders of $0.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, digging itself out from under a $2.1 million loss to shareholders from the same period last year.    Total revenue for the quarter declined, year over year, from $15.9 million to $14.5 million. Mobile software revenue grew 27 percent, year over year, to $11.6 million; software accounts for 80 percent of revenue, up from 74 percent in the second quarter of 2012. &nb...

Thursday, May 09, 2013

   Two former employees of a Marine Corps logistics base in Albany, Ga., have pleaded guilty to taking bribes totaling nearly $750,000 over a three-year period to provide local carriers with business from the base, according to the U.S. Justice Department.    The two men — Mitchell D. Potts and Jeffrey S. Philpot — face maximum prison sentences of 15 years and fines. They have already paid back the bribes and restitution to the Defense Department.    During the scheme, ...

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

   XPO Logistics recently purchased Salt Lake City-based Interide Logistics, a $28 million company, for $3.7 million in cash and stock.    The company will keep Interride’s boss, Sean Snow, at the helm and will help him scale up operations at the firm’s other locations in Minneapolis and Louisville.    In February, XPO purchased Covered Logistics and Transportation for $11 million in cash and stock. Two weeks earlier, it inked a deal to take over East Coast Air Charter for ...

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

   National Retail Systems is adding transloading to the suite of logistics services it performs for Pep Boys, a large automotive aftermarket service and retail parts chain.    NRS said Tuesday it will deconsolidate ocean containers at its Pooler cross-dock facility four miles from the Port of Savannah and repack them into larger, 53-foot containers for the trip to Pep Boys' distribution center in Atlanta.    The third-party logistics provider currently handles domesti...

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

   C.R. England has promoted Brandon Harrison and Zach England to the position of chief operating officers.    Harrison will oversee the trucking company’s national, regional, and Mexico divisions and safety, while Zach England will manage dedicated and intermodal operations and serve as chairman of the England Logistics board, a third-party logistics company and subsidiary of C.R. England.    Harrison, who joined the company in 2003, was most recently president of the...

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

   The logistics transportation management services provider Transplace said Monday that Philadelphia-based PaperWorks Industries, a North American packaging company, will use its transportation management system (TMS) to manage shipments in North America.    The TMS will be used for outbound shipments from two PaperWorks mills to customers located throughout the country, as well as select inbound shipments from the manufacturer’s fiber supplier network. The company’s paperboard...

Monday, May 06, 2013

   ABF and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have reached a tentative, five-year contract agreement.    Details of the contract have not been released because local unions have not decided whether to endorse it.    Word of a potential agreement reached local unions last week, and they were subsequently directed to not take a strike vote.    ABF and the Teamsters began talks toward a new contract in January, with the carrier demanding a 6.5-percent wage re...

Friday, May 03, 2013

   U.S. freight volume fell by 3.5 percent and freight expenditures dropped by 1.6 percent in April on a month-to-month basis, according to the Cass Freight Index Report .    Compared to April 2012, shipments were down by 1.3 percent, and expenditures declined by 0.5 percent. While both shipments and expenditures have fallen below the same-month levels from last year, shipment activity is even lower than in April 2011.     According to the report, the declines in activ...

Friday, May 03, 2013

   Uncertainty reigns supreme in the Ontario trucking market despite a recent uptick in volumes, according to the Ontario Trucking Association’s second-quarter business conditions survey.    According to carriers who filled out the April survey, freight volumes in lane segments covering traffic inside Ontario, between the provinces, and northbound from the United States all increased. The only lane that didn’t show a traffic increase was U.S. southbound. Northbound U.S. traffic ...

Friday, May 03, 2013

   YRC Worldwide reported a $58.7 million increase in operating income during the first quarter, with income rising from a $48.8 million loss to a gain of $9.9 million.    The result marks YRC’s first positive operating income in six years.    Operating revenue dropped 2.7 percent to $1.62 billion, year over year, but adjusted before-tax earnings increased by $45.4 million to $60.7 million.    "These results are due to a rational pricing environment for both YRC F...

Friday, May 03, 2013

   Con-way’s first quarter results came in below expectations, with the carrier turning in net income of $14 million, an $11.6-million decline compared to the first quarter of 2012.    Revenue dropped from $1.37 billion to $1.34 billion, and operating income was down by more than $24 million.     Douglas W. Stotlar, the carrier’s president and chief executive officer, called the results disappointing, but also said the company’s margins are moving in the right directio...

Thursday, May 02, 2013

   Sweden-based Greencarrier Freight Services has acquired the Swedish logistics firm Trana Spedition for an undisclosed amount.    Trana, which had 2011 revenues of SEK 72 million, will continue operating under its current name, and the firm’s management will stay with the company. Kenneth Sankala, Trana Spedition’s former chief executive officer, will now serve as managing director of operations.    “Trana Spedition recognizes the many opportunities this acquisition will ...

Thursday, May 02, 2013

   Kenco, a provider of logistics, real estate services and material handling equipment, has appointed Todd A. Johnson to senior vice president of operations for Kenco Logistic Services.    Johnson has 29 years of experience in the supply chain industry, including stints at UPS, Exel, and Trammell Crow. Most recently, he was with Menlo Worldwide Logistics for 15 years.    AIT Worldwide Logistics has hired Myung Kim as business development director.    Kim come...

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

   Despite a nearly $80 million boost in revenues, year over year, and a 4.2-percent rise in tonnage, Arkansas Best turned in a first-quarter net loss of $13.4 million.    The result, however, was an improvement over 2012’s first-quarter net loss of $18.2 million.    ABF officials pointed to the less-than-truckload carrier’s high cost structure as an impact on results. The company recently entered a second month-long contract extension while it strives to achieve a lon...

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

   President Obama has named Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to succeed Ray LaHood as secretary of transportation.    Foxx must now be confirmed by the Senate before taking his post.    LaHood, who has served as transportation secretary since 2009, announced in late January that he would resign his post as soon as a successor was confirmed. In a letter to DOT employees at the time, LaHood noted his successes over the previous four years. The contentious pilot fatigue rulin...

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

   U.S. producers ramped up biodiesel generation in February, finishing the month at 68 million gallons, a slight increase from January's total of 66 million gallons, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.    Nearly 75 percent of the February production, which came from 110 plants that can generate up to 2.1 billion gallons per year, originated in the Midwest. Soybean oil was the most common feedstock, followed by corn oil, yellow grease and canola oil.   &...

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

   Two members of Congress from Southern California are urging the City of Los Angeles and BNSF Railway to take further steps to mitigate the environmental effects of a planned intermodal container transfer facility to protect the health of Long Beach residents who live close by.    The Southern California International Gateway is planned for construction on property owned by the Port of Los Angeles a few miles from the marine terminals. It is designed to shorten the drive for trucker...

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

   Due to the death of Chief Executive Officer Wayne Cederholm earlier this month, C.R. England has reorganized its senior leadership.    Chad England, who formerly served as chief operating officer, will take over as CEO, and Dan England has been promoted from president to co-chairman. Chief Financial Officer Josh England will also serve as president.    "While Wayne Cederholm's passing was certainly unexpected, the company has always had in place a strong plan for leaders...

Monday, April 29, 2013

   The automotive supplier division of the U.S. conglomerate Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against its long-time freight payment and audit vendor, TransVantage Solutions.    The lawsuit, filed April 8 in New Jersey, alleges that TransVantage had failed to make $17 million in payments to Johnson Control’s transportation providers, and the company had been systematically hiding its misuse of the funds it handled on Johnson Controls’ behalf. &nbs...

Monday, April 29, 2013

   Cargo theft in North America stayed flat, year over year, in 2012 as European theft rates rose by 24 percent, according to FreightWatch International.    Cargo theft in Asia also increased.    According to the company, however, the greatest theft threats still exist in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Last year, about 6,800 thefts were reported in Sao Paulo, and more than 6,000 Mexican thefts occurred in 2012.    Pharmaceutical thefts are on the rise in Europe, ...

Friday, April 26, 2013

   UPS has reached a tentative agreement for new five-year contracts with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters covering its small package and freight businesses.    The new contracts must now be approved by UPS’ union employees. The current contract, which covers 250,000 UPS employees, expires July 31.    "These agreements are a 'win-win-win' for our people, customers and shareholders,” UPS’ chief executive officer, Scott Davis, said in a statement.  "The fact th...

Friday, April 26, 2013

   Old Dominion generated $532.6 million in revenue during the first quarter, a 7.1-percent increase, year over year.    Net income rose by 30.4 percent to $40.6 million for the North Carolina-based less-than-truckload company.    These strong financial results are rooted in operational growth. Old Dominion experienced a 3.5-percent increase in total tonnage to 1,717 tons and a 2.6-percent uptick in total shipments. Revenue per shipment increased by 3.9 percent, year over y...

Friday, April 26, 2013

   Industry leaders concurred during testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the freight transportation industry is doing a lot to make fleets greener, but said Congress could help reduce air pollution by making it easier to adopt clean energy systems and get infrastructure projects completed that reduce congestion.     Fred Smith, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of FedEx Corp., suggested a reduction in corporate tax rates would help companies ad...

Friday, April 26, 2013

   The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ordered Royal Transport, Nationwide, Freight and Midwest  — all trucking companies based in Olathe, Kan. — to cease operations.    The agency claims the four carriers served as chameleons for a company that had previously been shut down.    The four carriers had been operating under common operating and control — using the same drivers and vehicles — so they could skirt compliance rules, according to a FMCSA s...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

   UPS has acquired Budapest-based pharmaceutical logistics firm CEMELOG, a move that will help expand the integrator’s growing healthcare arm, for an undisclosed amount.    Officials expect to close the deal in the second quarter.    The 14-year-old European company boasts a number of large healthcare brands as clients and will help UPS gain a foothold in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a UPS release. The acquisition adds three distribution facilities, for&nb...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

   The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has awarded a $743.3 million contract to a joint venture of Skanska Koch and Kiewit Infrastructure Co. as part of a $1.29 billion program to increase the navigational clearance of the Bayonne Bridge.    The project will raise clearance below the bridge, or "air draft," from 151 feet to 215 feet, so larger ships can call at container terminals in Newark and Elizabeth, N.J., and on Staten Island, N.Y.    The contract ...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

   The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday notified the public of the fifth round of funding availability for the popular TIGER grant program , which is aimed at multi-modal transportation projects that have a high benefit-cost ratio and don't normally get funded through traditional highway aid to states.    There is $474 million available for the next round, with applications due by June 3. Decisions are expected by late summer or early fall, according to DOT officials....

Thursday, April 25, 2013

   Pivotal LNG announced it will build liquefied natural gas fueling stations for UPS Freight's heavy-duty tractor fleet at its Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn., terminals.    Earlier this week UPS said it will buy 700 LNG Class 8 trucks to replace diesel tractors and build four refueling stations by the end of 2014 after operating 112 tractor-trailers between Ontario, Calif., Las Vegas, Phoenix and Salt Lake City for the past two years.     The other UPS LNG statio...

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

   U.S. Bank and FuelQuest have teamed up to provide extended payment terms for rack-based fuel purchases and accelerated supplier payments by providing greater access to credit through the U.S. Bank Fuel Financing program.    The financing tool is currently only available on a select basis.     The new service will give buyers improved cash flow with expanded payment terms, increased purchasing on one line of credit, greater growth opportunities and lower financing co...

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

   Pacer International/Ocean World Lines has appointed Al Benki to senior vice president of international logistics in the United States and Europe.    He formerly served as the company’s senior vice president of international logistics for Asia and Europe.    Taking Benki’s place in Asia is Danny Yang, who will serve as managing director for Asia.    Benson Chua has become Pacer International/OWL’s managing director in China, while Andrew Luk continues to manage t...

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

   UPS will buy 700 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles and build four refueling stations by the end of next year, accelerating its planned growth into alternative fuel.    The new stations will be built in Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and Dallas at a cost of more than $18 million.    The integrator currently boasts more than 1,000 LNG vehicles worldwide, and its alternative-fuel fleet is now composed of more than 2,600 vehicles. UPS’ only self-owned LNG fu...

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

   Swift Transportation turned in operating revenue of $856.8 million during the first three months of the year, a result the company is touting as record first quarter revenue.    Strong operational performance contributed to Swift’s successful quarter. In truckload, loaded miles per truck per week ramped up by 3.2 percent, year over year, and total loaded miles for the truckload and dedicated segments rose by 1 percent. Officials are also expanding the company’s intermodal segment,...

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

   Old Dominion Freight Line on Monday opened a new container drayage facility to serve rail heads, container yards and ports in the Birmingham, Ala. area.    The Birmingham center is the third container drayage facility for Old Dominion in Alabama and offers pick-up and delivery to any point in the continental United States.    “Co-located with our Birmingham Service Center, the new site will strengthen our network in Alabama, which includes container drayage facilities in...

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

   The U.S. State Department recently issued a presidential permit to the state of Michigan to build a new bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.    The State Department approves new international border crossings after reviewing whether they are in the national interest.     Local and national officials in Canada and the United States for many years have been developing plans for a second bridge to relieve congestion on the privately-held Ambassador Bridg...

Monday, April 22, 2013

   ABF Freight Systems and the Teamsters, who were unable to agree to a long-term contract, have hammered out a contract extension through May 31.    The carrier had been striving for cost reductions, and though the Teamsters recognized publicly the need to reduce costs, the union representatives have not accepted any of the carrier’s offers.    “We have taken a balanced approach to the negotiations and have specifically avoided proposing the meat-axe wage and benefit ...

Friday, April 19, 2013

   DSV Road Ltd. will launch a daily groupage service from its German hub in early May.    The program will cover 32 European countries and operate in addition to any existing routes, increasing frequency and improving transit times.    The new service will include daily pickups and departures, on-time deliveries and online bookings. DSV will support the program from its Schwieberdingen facility.    According to the company's managing director, René Falch Olesen, ...

Friday, April 19, 2013

   The U.S. Transportation Department has set aside $8.9 million to repair roads and bridges on federal and tribal land in Arkansas, Minnesota and New Jersey that have been damaged by natural disasters.    The money comes from the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads program. The Army Corps of Engineers will be given $4.9 million to repair flood-damaged roads near Little Rock, Ark. The Bureau of Indian Affairs will get $2 million to build a...