The domino effects are just starting to hit. Plus: FedEx dethroned UPS, Mexico truck production plunges, another $26M AI supply chain raise, and more.
Freight margins are razor-thin. The brokerages surviving it built nearshore teams that actually work.
Flatbed rejections hit a record 48.7%, broker numbers stop falling, and diesel jumps 30 cents overnight.
Can you guess how many accounts Truckstop's fraud prevention system has denied access to in 2023?
Good Friday Morning. The damaging impact of recent weather events continues to play out at the Panama Canal and in our Southeast region. We've got updates on Hurricane Idalia's destruction and the holdups at the canal. Overhaul and Truckstop are stepping up to prevent fraud and theft in the trucking industry, but how much of a difference is it making? Meanwhile, East and Gulf Coast ports solidify their dominance over West Coast ports amidst a subdued peak season.
Question of the Day: Can you guess how many accounts Truckstop's fraud prevention system has denied access to in 2023? Scroll through the newsletter to find out.
In today's email:
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🐔 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT
🗽 Port of NY and NJ Wins as US Port Dynamics Shift. A shift in post-COVID US port trends seems solidified, with the West Coast ports witnessing a decline in containerized imports. June 2023 data showcased a 22% drop for the West Coast from the previous year, while the East and Gulf Coasts surged with a 17% rise from June 2019 levels. Further supporting this trend, the Port of New York and New Jersey reported an impressive 725,479 TEUs processed in July, marking its highest since October 2022. As trade dynamics evolve, the East and Gulf Coast ports are clearly emerging as the new favorites in US trade.
🚢 Panama Canal Drought: Future Implications. The Panama Canal's drought dilemma intensified, now worsened by the El Nino weather phenomenon. The 32-daily ship limit has exacerbated trade bottlenecks, affecting a canal route responsible for 46% of northeastern Asia to U.S. container movements. The backlog has risen sharply: as of mid-August, 264 ships await passage, marking a 16% increase from last year. Experts hint at the situation influencing 2024-25 contract negotiations, suggesting traders may consider alternative routes. Questions swirl as to the future viability of the canal as climate challenges increase.
🌀 Hurricane Idalia Update: Hurricane Idalia, making landfall as a Category 3 storm, dealt a heavy blow to Florida's west coast, amplifying demand for logistics amidst significant infrastructural damage. The storm left over 254,000 North Florida residents without power. Meanwhile, St. Petersburg faced intense flooding, with St. Pete Beach submerged under 3-4 feet of water. These obstacles will likely lead to shipping delays and route diversions. Expect higher freight rates due to the destruction and a surge in reconstruction supplies demand. Governor Ron DeStantis relaxes commercial driver rules and waives service hours until September 25.
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In a story straight out of an action-packed heist movie, Overhaul sprang into action and saved the day when a full truckload of high-end electronics worth $200,000 vanished in Chillicothe, OH.
On August 28, after setting out from Greensboro, the fully loaded truck of valuable electronics journeyed nearly 400 miles. However, signs indicated that it was being followed. Around 5 p.m., the truck stopped in Chillicothe, where it was left unattended. Opportunistic thieves saw their chance and nabbed the load.
When notified of the theft, Overhaul's Law Enforcement (LE) Connect team, and the Ohio State Police joined forces. The tractor was found without its trailer. Clues from Overhaul's Risk Monitoring platform located the stolen cargo at a different truck stop nearby in Frankfort, OH. The chase was on.
The LE Connect team traced the trailer and provided images to assist responding officers. The thieves targeted a fairly distinctive trailer, and their poor attempts to cover logos and identifying numbers were useless.
Despite the sea of trailers surrounding the stolen cargo, the target was easily found.
Overhaul has improved law enforcement's ability to act rapidly in cargo theft cases by providing real-time details and a dedicated Intelligence and Response team.
While the company's interventions have made an impact, the landscape of cargo theft has been alarmingly active lately.
Here are some recent headlines.
Fraudulent pickups at warehouses also saw a surge last year.
Source: Overhaul, a supply chain risk management and logistics visibility company that provides Intelligence as a Service to enhance supply chain visibility and risk insights.
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AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB
🔒 Truckstop Builds Trust with Release of Blocked Accounts. Since the start of 2023, the platform has blocked a whopping 7,155 accounts for suspicions of fraud, marking the company's commitment to fraud prevention.
🐝 Bee Alert. A load of FIVE million bees fell off a truck in Burlington, Ontario, prompting an alert from local police warning motorists to steer clear and keep windows shut tight.
🚢 Subdued Shipping Peak in Charts from WSJ. Usually a busy time for shippers, this year's peak season arrives quietly with inventory hangovers from Covid-19 and sagging freight rates.
📉 Best Buy Sees Sales Drop. Despite its size, Best Buy grapples with a 7.2% sales drop and a slew of uninviting market trends, pushing the retailer to think innovatively.
⛽ Diesel Keeps Rising. For the sixth week straight, diesel prices climbed, hitting $4.475 per gallon, almost mirroring last year's rates and affecting trucking industry wallets.
🚛 Trucking Shortage or Flood? U.S. trucking authorities seem to be overflowing to 2030 levels. But while there's a surplus in trucking capacity, there's an anomaly in driver numbers, with @Dooner asserting that trucking isn't short 80K drivers; the industry actually has 60K too many.
FREIGHT FEST IN HOUSTON, TX
Don't miss the biggest transportation and logistics conference of the year: Freight Fest, taking place in Houston, TX from September 28th to October 1st. Join industry experts, network with peers, and discover the latest in transportation and logistics.
Use our code, FC15, to receive a 15% discount on your ticket today. Learn more by going to FreightFest.com.
FREIGHT MEME OF THE DAY
The FreightCaviar Podcast: Listen to this week’s podcast on Spotify, & Apple Podcasts.
The domino effects are just starting to hit. Plus: FedEx dethroned UPS, Mexico truck production plunges, another $26M AI supply chain raise, and more.
Flatbed rejections hit a record 48.7%, broker numbers stop falling, and diesel jumps 30 cents overnight.
Congress is moving to put driverless 80,000-lb trucks on public roads. Plus: 13,000 California CDLs get cancelled, diesel hits a 32-year record, Florida wants $50K to get your truck back, and more.
Ryan Schreiber breaks down everything about strategy, relationships, mindset, and AI in logistics.
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