Archive for June, 2020

Airlines seek government help to survive winter doldrums

Airlines need more government help dealing with the fallout from the coronavirus if they are to get through the winter doldrums, when revenues tend to wane, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Tuesday. The key to survival during the winter is schedule flexibility at large airports and for that airlines say they need relief […]

Port Houston: ‘Worst should be behind us’

Executive Director Roger Guenther believes Port Houston has turned a corner. “We had nine blank sailings in the month of May,” Guenther said. “But the worst should be behind us. We are aware of seven blank — or canceled — sailings to Houston in June and only three for the month of July.” Container volume […]

Large wildfires forcing Arizona road closures

The Arizona Department of Transportation has closed some state routes east of Phoenix as the Bush Fire rages, almost doubling in size since Wednesday morning. State Route (SR) 87 is closed from Payson (milepost 251) to Bush Highway. SR 188 is closed between SR 87 (milepost 276) and Roosevelt Lake (milepost 243). In addition, SR […]

US Borders With Mexico, Canada to Stay Closed, Except for Essential Traffic

Officials in Washington, Ottawa and Mexico City say the border closings to nonessential travel between the U.S. and its northern and southern neighbors will remain in place for at least another month. The borders have been closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. However, as has been the case since March, when the borders […]

FMCSA issues intermodal chassis inspection waiver

Regulators are giving intermodal chassis providers a three-month reprieve from required annual inspections for recently expired equipment to help alleviate disruptions caused by COVID-19. The waiver, issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on June 1, was granted to the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) on behalf of ocean carriers, railroads, leasing […]

AAR: US carloads down 22.8%; Intermodal down 7.3% for the week ended June 13

The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 13, 2020. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 449,291 carloads and intermodal units, down 14.9% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending June 13 were 198,437 carloads, down 22.8% compared with […]

FMCSA cancels HOS exemption for food, fuel, raw materials

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has extended its national emergency exemption for hours of service (HOS) to July 14 but has excluded grocery restocking, fuel, and precursor raw materials from the extension. The HOS national exemption, initially issued on March 13 and most recently extended on May 13, was scheduled to expire on June […]

What the New Normal for Trucking Will Be Remains a Question

Trucking companies continue to navigate the coronavirus pandemic, but what the new normal will be remains a mystery. “We’ve survived for a hundred years because we’ve been capable of adapting to customer requirements,” Scott Perry, president of moving and logistics at Suddath, told Transport Topics. “We’re really focused on what is that next level of […]

Diesel Increases by a Penny; Gas Climbs Back Above $2

The nationwide average price of a gallon of diesel increased by one cent to $2.396, according to the weekly report from the government’s Energy Information Administration on June 8. Still, the trucking industry’s main fuel is 70.9 cents a gallon less expensive than the same week last year. Gasoline, meanwhile, marched back above $2 with […]

BNSF checks for track damage, Norfolk Southern prepares to resume traffic

U.S. freight railroads are watching how tropical depression Cristobal might affect operations as it moves inland. They have also been waiting for the floodgates in New Orleans so that rail operations can resume. The storm made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, late Sunday evening and is expected to travel up the Mississippi River. Area flooding as the […]