Intermodal Volume Up 10% as Trucking Rates Push Shippers to Rail
Rail intermodal traffic jumped 10% year-over-year in the week ending May 30, driven by shippers fleeing soaring truckload rates and tender rejections.
Tess Crawford
Markets, Rates, Fuel & Carrier Business
Tess Crawford tracks the money flowing through trucking, spot and contract rates, diesel and crude markets, fuel surcharges, lane capacity, freight demand, LTL tonnage and yield, plus the carrier-business side: bankruptcies, M&A, layoffs, and insurance pricing. She writes for the dispatcher checking the load board between calls and the small-fleet owner reading the P&L over coffee.
Seven Carriers File Bankruptcy in One Week Despite Freight Volumes Up 43%
Sparhawk Trucking warns 146 drivers of closure. HelloFresh, GEODIS, FedEx cut 600-plus logistics jobs as small fleets fold under margin pressure.
Brent Crude Falls $2.42 to $95.39 as Iran War Developments Ease
Oil prices dropped June 4 on Iran war developments. U.S. crude fell $2.30 to $93.72. Diesel relief could follow in 10 to 14 days.
Refiners Shift to Diesel, Jet Fuel, Gasoline Supply May Tighten
Oil trader Vitol warns gasoline output is falling as refiners prioritize diesel and jet fuel. What a supply crunch means for fuel costs.
XPO May Tonnage Up 0.5%, Carrier on Track to Beat Q2 Forecast
Daily shipments rose 3.3% year-over-year in May as XPO's push into small-business freight lifts volume ahead of guidance.
Industrial Production Drives Freight Recovery as PMI Hits 54.0
ISM manufacturing index climbs to highest level since May 2022. New orders at 56.8 signal rising freight volumes ahead for small fleets.
RPS Turned FedEx Ground Into a Parcel Giant, Then Paid for LTL
The 1998 Caliber deal brought RPS and unwanted Viking Freight. Now FedEx spins off the LTL network RPS forced it to buy.
Brent Crude Jumps $2.22 to $98.22, Up 10% This Week
Oil prices climbed 10% this week after a two-week retreat as U.S. and Iran trade attacks. Brent hit $98.22 per barrel June 3.
Transportation Prices Hit Record Growth Rate in May, Index at 96
Logistics Managers' Index logged a 96 reading for transportation prices in May, the fastest growth rate in the 10-year dataset, as capacity contracted and…
Towing Bills Are Draining Small Fleets $50 a Day Over State Caps
80% of carriers paid inflated recovery fees. Most never checked state rate ceilings or audited the invoice.
Fuel Cards, Dashcams Cut Costs When Diesel Swings, Three ROI Plays
Fuel analytics, video telematics, and ELD automation deliver measurable savings on the three biggest line items: fuel, insurance, and compliance fines.
Diesel Drops 17 Cents to $5.35/Gal, Lowest Since March
Benchmark fuel price falls to pre-surge level as Hormuz reopening talk pushes futures down 67 cents in two weeks.