Trucking

Loaded and Rolling: Freight market downturn turns 1 year old

Freight market downturn turns 1 year old

(Source: FreightWaves SONAR)

It has been just over a year since Craig Fuller, CEO and founder of FreightWaves, wrote an article titled “Why I believe a freight recession is imminent,” published March 31, 2022, in which he predicted the U.S. trucking market was heading toward a significant downturn. 

Fuller noted the reaction in a follow-up article published Monday: “At first, there was a great deal of vitriol aimed at the FreightWaves analysis and also...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loaded-and-rolling-freight-market-downturn-turns-1-year-old

Virginia building fabricator, trucking firm folds amid economic uncertainty

DFI Systems Inc. President Marcus Gravely says soaring lumber prices, the costly decision to move the company headquarters during the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to find new investors was the perfect storm that forced it to shut down in late March.

About 90 employees, including six drivers, are owed two weeks’ pay after losing their jobs on March 24, when the Emporia-based company ceased operations.

DFI Systems specialized in designing, fabricating and installing wall panels, floor joists...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/virginia-building-fabricator-trucking-firm-folds-amid-economic-uncertainty

ArcBest names new CFO

Transportation and logistics provider ArcBest announced Thursday that finance veteran Matt Beasley will take over as chief financial officer on May 14. He will also retain his current role as the company’s treasurer.

Beasley has more than 20 years of experience in areas including investor relations, risk management and financial planning and analysis. Prior to joining ArcBest (NASDAQ: ARCB) a year ago, he held executive leadership positions in the energy infrastructure sector.

“Matt is a...

Malibu trailer theft reminder of vulnerability of carriers’ assets

The worst nightmare of every business owner became reality last December for one Malibu, California, homebuilder, “John”: His trailer and $300,000 worth of wood inside it were stolen from his garage.

While John had secured his trailer, that did not deter the persistent criminal, who busted the lock and sneaked away in the night with his haul.

Not only did the theft jeopardize John’s ability to do his job, but it also could have risked his reputation with his customer, and company as a whole.

“Trail...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/malibu-trailer-theft-reminder-of-vulnerability-of-carriers-assets

How execs view weather impact and what tech can do to help

When Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas in August 2017, it brought with it 152 mph winds, 5- to 10-foot storm surges and more than 50 inches of rainfall, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

But Harvey’s impact didn’t stop there — it also brought the region’s supply chain to a near screeching halt.

Damage to transportation infrastructure, shuttered factories and distribution centers, and halted oil production sent disruptive shockwaves throughout the logistics industry. The $125...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-execs-view-weather-impact-and-what-tech-can-do-to-help

‘Computer issues’ causing long wait times at Texas port of entry

Problems with customs systems on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border have caused delays for cargo truck drivers at the port of entry in El Paso, Texas.

Over the past several days, hundreds of commercial trucks have reported waiting in hours-long lines to cross the border from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez through El Paso’s Ysleta-Zaragoza International Bridge.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection has had intermittent computer issues over the last few days,” CBP spokesman Roger Maier told...

New trucking trade group has 1 focus: DOL’s independent contractor rule

There’s a new trucking-focused trade group in Washington and it is interested in one issue: independent contractor status.

The group is called Truckers Integral to our Economy (TIE) and its executive director is Scott Brenner, who is also an executive director at Crossroads Strategies, a Washington-area lobbying firm. Brenner told FreightWaves he worked in Congress for about 10 years on the Ways and Means and Transportation committees and also spent time at the Department of Transportation...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-trucking-trade-group-has-1-focus-dols-independent-contractor-rule

Walmart wants to beat Amazon at its own game

Well aware of the storm clouds brewing on the macroeconomic horizon, Walmart is doubling down on its supply chain-led transformation into an omnichannel retailer with an integrated, flexible and intelligent distribution and fulfillment network. For Walmart, leveraging its supply chain to unlock new margin gains is integral to “Everyday Low Cost,” which enables “Everyday Low Prices.” 

Walmart doesn’t expect to grow fast in 2023. For the year ending Dec. 31, 2022, (Walmart’s fiscal year 2023),...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/walmart-wants-to-beat-amazon-at-its-own-game

FedEx to combine all but LTL into 1 organization

In arguably one of the most important moves in its history, FedEx Corp. said Wednesday it will combine most of its operating units into one business known as Federal Express Corp.

The transition will bring FedEx’s air, ground parcel and other operating business under one umbrella, effective June 1, 2024. FedEx Freight, the company’s LTL operation, will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity within the new corporation.

FedEx Corp.’s CEO Raj Subramaniam will run the new enterprise, the company...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-to-combine-all-but-ltl-into-one-organization

March Class 8 truck orders reset to normalized demand

The ups and downs of Class 8 truck orders appear to be returning to a normalized pattern with manufacturers sitting on a healthy backlog of trucks to build.

Nearly all build slots are filled for 2023. That prompted slower order activity of 19,000 units in March, FTR Transportation Intelligence reported Tuesday.

Reduced order levels will continue through the summer, historically a weaker period for bookings. That normalcy was upended during the pandemic. Lower year-over-year orders in five of the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/march-class-8-truck-orders-reset-to-normalized-demand

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