The Port of Oakland and a coalition of 20 partners have applied for federal funding to Port of Oakland transforms to 100% zero-emission cargo handling operationsThe port authority made the announcement on May 29. The coalition is applying for $417 million in grant funding through the Environmental Protection Agency Clean Port Program: Zero Emissions Technology Adoption Competition. The proposed projects include replacing approximately 762 pieces of equipment with zero-emission equipment (battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell). The port authority said the projects could cost up to $586 million.
American Trucking Associations (ATA) seasonally adjusted The revenue truckload index fell 1.2% in April after declining 2.2% in March.ATA officials made the announcement May 21. “The truckload market continued to weaken in April as seasonally adjusted truckload volumes declined for the second consecutive month,” ATA chief economist Bob Costello said. “With a recovery in volumes still far from sight, the industry will likely face a shortage of additional trucking capacity as the market weakness continues.”
FTR The Shippers’ Sentiment Index (SCI) improved to 1.2 in March from -1.4 in February.“After a negative February, which was heavily impacted by fuel costs, the SCI moved back into slightly positive territory in March,” Avery Vice, FTR’s vice president of trucking, said May 28. “Though conditions remain favorable for shippers over the next few months, we expect the index to trend neutral to slightly negative by the second half of the year as utilization rates increase slightly and freight rates become less favorable.”
of Cass Freight Index shipments fell 1.3% from the previous month. Cass Information Systems executives announced on May 14 that April orders were down compared to the same period last year, due to “continued weakness in overall contract demand.” The seasonally adjusted decline was 1.6% from the previous month, bringing orders back to the cycle low for the second half of 2023. “The Lunar New Year period and the Baltimore Bridge may have temporarily impacted the April data, but at this rate, second-quarter orders growth may be sluggish,” the executives said.
“May 9th, The activists suffered their first loss in a proxy war after winning four, losing none and drawing one in the first five proxy wars of this century.The winners have been, in order, CSX, Canadian Pacific, CSX again, a draw with CN, and most recently Union Pacific. These fights are certainly entertaining and almost always boost profits, but they are at best a distraction and at worst disruptive to relations between shippers, workers and regulators.” — independent transportation analyst Tony Hatch wrote in a May column for ProgressiveRailroading.com.
The Port of Los Angeles handled 770,337 containers in April. A 12% increase compared to April 2023 totalThe port authority made the announcement May 20. Through the first four months of the year, the port handled 3,150,841 TEUs across Los Angeles’ marine terminals, an increase of about 25% compared to the same period in 2023. “All of the Port of Los Angeles’ vital operational statistics are at or above pre-COVID levels,” said Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director.
Through April, the Port of Houston handled 1,394,094 TEUs. A 12% increase compared to the same period in 2023The port authority said on May 20 that April volume was 324,177 TEU, up 5% from April 2023’s total. Loaded imports increased 4% in April and 12% in the first four months of 2024, while loaded exports increased 8% in April and 14% in the first four months of the year, the authority added. “The increase in export volume was driven by demand for locally produced automobiles, furniture, cotton and plastic resin products,” the port authority said.
On May 31, Hitachi announced that it had acquired Thales’ global ground transportation systems business unit into Hitachi Rail. Corporate value is €1.66 billionThe Thales division, which employs around 9,000 people, develops railway signalling and train control systems, communication and monitoring systems and fare collection solutions.
