Nearly a month after reaching a tentative labor agreement, the possibility of a rail strike is back on the table, as the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union announced on Oct. 10 the rejection of its deal with the freight rail lines. Union members voted in […]
BNSF Railway is thinking of a master plan. The Class I freight railroad announced on Oct. 1 its plans to invest more than $1.5 billion into a master-planned inland facility in Southern California. Named Barstow International Gateway, BNSF’s new hub location will be approximately 135 miles northeast from the Ports of Long Beach and Los […]
Shipments of iron and steel, coke, and scrap metal on the St. Lawrence Seaway System were robust in the first eight months of this year, according to the latest figures released by the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership. Steel shipments on the Seaway were up 3.92% from the same period of 2021, reaching 1.282 million metric […]
On the heels of a lengthy arbitration period, union negotiators and the major rail companies have settled on a tentative labor agreement to further avoid a strike. A statement made on Sept. 15 by the US Department of Labor noted, “Moments ago, following 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at the Department of Labor, rail companies […]
East coast ports are currently battling crippling congestion, a problem that will likely not wane as we approach peak cargo season. To avoid west coast congestion, many importers have diverted shipments eastward. Unfortunately, the same challenges followed. As excess containers stack up, the port of New York and New Jersey has resolved to implement a […]
Austal USA has been contracted to build two more towing, salvage, and rescue ships (T-ATS) for the US Navy. The latest contract for the Mobile, Ala.-based shipbuilder, valued at $156 million, is in addition to two other T-ATS contracts awarded to the company last year. The T-ATSs support the Navy fleet operations with ocean-going tug, […]
Houston-area coil importers may be searching urgently for more storage space in coming weeks. Watco Texas Terminals at the Port of Houston have experienced decreased capacity in recent months due to a drop in outgoing shipments. Sources say some importers have had to find alternatives for material that has already hit the docks. But that’s […]
TA Services has opened a new location on the site of Nucor Steel Hertford in Cofield, N.C., providing immediate access to truckload capacity for plate products produced at the mill. The logistics provider broke ground on the mill site in January of this year. The Nucor Steel Hertford mill, with an annual capacity of 1.7 […]
Austal USA has won another contract with the US Navy. This latest design and construction contract is valued at $128 million. Austal will build a medium auxiliary floating dry dock for the US Navy at its shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Ala. The dry dock will have an overall length of 694 feet, an overall pontoon […]
Shipbuilder Austal USA has officially opened its new steel manufacturing line to build steel ships for the US Navy and Coast Guard. The ultra-modern steel shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Ala., enables the simultaneous production of both aluminium and steel hulled ships, the company said. Known for its construction of aluminum vessels, the shipbuilder’s new 118-throusand-square-foot […]
Fuel surcharges continue to march higher along with increased steel prices and ballooning costs for raw materials such as ferrous scrap and pig iron. Case in point: Wheeling-Nippon Steel’s fuel surcharge will increase to 24% effective with shipments on Monday, April 4. “The surcharge will continue to be added to the freight on all invoices […]
The Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) reached an agreement to enter binding arbitration and return to work today, averting a widespread rail shutdown that threatened to aggravate North America’s supply-chain woes. With a structured shutdown in effect following a 72-hour lockout notice issued on March 17, CP trains […]
Canadian Pacific is engaged in a “structured shutdown” of its train operations across Canada after negotiations between the company and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) soured. Each side blamed the other for the work stoppage. “The TCRC is well aware of the damage this reckless action will cause to the Canadian supply chain,” CP […]
North American’s supply-chain problems may be further complicated by a work stoppage of Canadian railway workers beginning Monday. The Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) issued a 72-hour lockout notice to Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents more than 3,000 engineers, conductors and other personnel, in the event the two sides can’t reach a negotiated […]
In a letter to the White House on Thursday, the American Trucking Associations called on the Biden administration to boost domestic energy production and take other steps to provide relief at the pump for truckers and other motorists. Fuel is the second largest operating expense for trucking fleets, and surging diesel prices threaten to decimate […]
The Port of Los Angeles reported its busiest January ever, and data from port operations suggests the backup of container ships off the coast may be easing. The port processed 865,595 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in January, a 3.6% increase compared to last year. It was the highest volume in the port’s 115-year history and […]
The Ports of Indiana handled more than 11.2 million tons of cargo in 2021, resulting in a 33.6% increase from 2020. Steel and steelmaking materials made up a big chunk of the increase. Major cargo increases last year for the Ports of Indiana overall included a rebound in coal (213%), salt (141%), steel (40%), grain (39%), minerals (23%), oils […]
BNSF Railway union members have taken steps towards a work stoppage over a new attendance policy introduced during national negotiations by the railroad company. Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation union (SMART-TD) – who collectively represent […]
SSAB Americas will supply the Mobile, Ala.-based shipbuilder Austal USA with steel for the construction of new U.S. Navy ships. The supplier partnership with the Alabama-based steelmaker follows Austal’s award from the U.S. Navy to build steel-hulled Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ships (T-ATS). The Navajo-class ships will be built in new steel shipbuilding facilities that […]
For the fifth year in a row, the driver shortage topped the list of trucking industry concerns, as ranked by the American Transportation Research Institute in its 17th annual Top Industry Issues report released this week. The driver shortage garnered more than four times as many first-place votes as the number two issue, driver retention. Further […]
Tonnage moved across the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway has risen significantly thanks to a strong showing from vessels carrying iron ore and steel. Total cargo stood at 22.8 million tons (20.7 million metric tonnes) through the end of August – the midpoint of the Great Lakes shipping season – up more than 5% from 21.7 […]
A new North American railway network may soon become reality after a months-long saga. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) initially agreed to a merger agreement in March that would establish the first railway network spanning Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The deal was put on hold, however, after Canadian National Railway […]
Container ships are stacking up all around the U.S. as the ports are overwhelmed by surging imports of all types of goods. Delays at the ports may further extend the already-long lead times for the growing orders of foreign steel. Imports of all types of products from Asia, for example, increased 32.4% in the first […]
Shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a design contract to build a new ship for the U.S. Navy. The agreement, valued at $3.6 million, is for the functional design and construction of the new 80-meter (252.5 foot) Navajo-class Steel Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS). This follows recent news of Austral USA’s new steel manufacturing […]
American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear gave a blunt and passionate testimony to the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee on May 11, calling for bipartisan support for infrastructure legislation. “Infrastructure is NOT partisan. If anyone in Congress believes that roads and bridges are political, you haven’t been driving on them. But they […]
Port of Montreal dockworkers were back to work on Saturday after the Canadian Parliament passed legislation forcing an end to the five-day strike. Quick passage of Bill C-29 was lauded by the Port Authority, but union officials called it a “shameful day for Canadians.” The back-to-work legislation requires the union and Maritime Employers Association to […]
Longshore workers at the Port of Montreal began on Monday what is hoped to be a short-term strike. All port operations ceased at Canada’s second busiest port except for liquid bulk, Oceanex service and the Vittera grain terminal. Dock workers will continue to handle COVID-19-related medical supplies if the boxes are so marked, said Michel […]
The U.S. trucking industry is straining to keep up with demand as imports and retail shipping vie with construction and manufacturing for limited truck capacity. Imports fell as the coronavirus took hold last March, but surged to 2.1 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units) in August 2020 as global economies reopened. The August record was subsequently […]
Southern steel producers and distributors will have a new customer in 2022. Shipbuilder Austal USA, located in Mobile, Ala., broke ground last week on a steel manufacturing line to build steel ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. Austal USA is known for its construction of aluminum vessels, delivering 24 ships to the Navy […]
A railway network spanning Canada, the U.S. and Mexico is in the planning by Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Railways. The two companies have entered into a merger agreement in which CP will acquire KCS for $29 billion and assume $3.8 billion of KCS debt. If approved by the Surface Transportation Board, it will […]