Free Republic

In a monumental labor dispute, approximately 45,000 dockworkers across the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts are threatening to go on strike on October 1, potentially shutting down 36 ports that handle nearly half of the nation’s cargo from ships. The International Longshoremen’s Union (ILA) is demanding higher wages and an outright ban on the automation of cranes, gates, and container movements used in the loading and unloading of freight. A strike of this scale could have far-reaching consequences for the U.S. economy, especially if it persists for more than a few weeks. CBS News reports how experts suggest that consumers...

A Delaware bankruptcy court provided some clarity late Friday regarding $6.5 billion in withdrawal liability claims against Yellow Corp. The total amount the bankrupt less-than-truckload company will actually pay, however, remains to be decided. The mere fact that the estate will have to make good on some portion of the claims sent Yellow’s stock spiraling. Shares of Yellow (OTC: YELLQ) fell 90% on Friday to 50 cents per share as stockholders realized their bet that the company’s asset value would exceed amounts owed to creditors may not come to fruition. MFN Partners, which acquired a more than 40% equity stake...

Postal contractor Midwest Transport Inc. is winding down... An Illinois-based trucking and logistics company, which contracted with the U.S. Postal Service to haul mail has notified over 650 employees, including more than 480 drivers, that the carrier is ceasing operations ... Former truck drivers for Midwest Transport Inc. (MTI), headquartered in Robinson, Illinois, told FreightWaves that they received telephone calls from their regional managers late Thursday notifying them the company was winding down operations. ... According to an email sent to MTI employees and drivers about the closing late Friday, which was obtained by FreightWaves, the company stated that postal...

Shipping giant Maersk said on Thursday that ongoing disruptions to global shipping that attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen have caused are making shipping increasingly expensive. Maersk’s update confirmed that its predictions in July of a “cascading impact” from the Houthi attacks, affecting far more than shipping lines that run through the Red Sea, have come true. As for the Red Sea shipping lane, Maersk cited data that conclude transits of the Suez Canal are down by 66 percent since Houthi attacks began prompting shippers to reroute their vessels around Africa. “These disruptions have led to service reconfigurations...

Both of Canada’s major freight railroads have come to a full stop because of a contract dispute with their workers, an impasse that could bring significant economic harm to businesses and consumers in Canada and the U.S. if the trains don’t resume running soon. Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Thursday passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that represents some 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers. ... All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the U.S. border have stopped... Billions of dollars of goods...

California’s top air quality regulator today urged the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency to “immediately” approve the state’s regulation phasing out diesel trucks. Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph was among more than 250 people who signed up to speak today at a virtual hearing focusing on whether the EPA should grant California a waiver that allows the state to enact its regulation. The hearing was expected to last 12 hours.

If the Houthis make good on their threats, it would be an escalation of their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. To date, they claim attacks have been limited to ships going to Israel or those with connections to Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom. The Pentagon disputes that claim and has said that the Houthis have targeted multinational ships. In at least one instance, the Houthis have targeted at least one Chinese ship, according to USNI News’ timeline of activity in the Red Sea. It is possible that the Houthis were...

Converting America’s medium- and heavy-duty trucks to electric vehicles (EV) in accordance with goals from the Biden administration would add massive costs to commercial trucking, according to a new analysis released Wednesday. The cost to switch over to light-duty EVs like a transit van would equate to a 5% increase in costs per year while switching over medium- and heavy-duty trucks would add up to 114% in costs per year to already struggling businesses, according to a report from transportation and logistics company Ryder Systems. The Biden administration, in an effort to facilitate a transition to EVs, finalized new emission...

The Biden administration hasn’t hesitated to rule by fiat, especially when it comes to environmental regulations. Separation of powers? Who cares? Why worry about constitutional processes when you can ramrod your agenda through the bureaucracy? Congressional Republicans are taking on the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest rule that seeks to govern greenhouse gas emissions for heavy-duty trucks. The rule is set to take effect on June 21. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) introduced a resolution in their respective chambers on Wednesday that would invoke the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to allow Congress to vote to nullify the...

Layoffs continue across the freight and logistics industry, with companies in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan and Texas announcing job reductions and facility closures over the past two weeks. Universal Logistics Warren, Michigian-based Universal Logistics is permanently shuttering two of its subsidiaries and laying off a total of 677 employees, according to notices recently filed with the state. The layoffs are related to Universal-operated entities Logistics Insights Corp. and Universal Dedicated of Detroit, an auto parts warehousing and logistics facility. Both operations were in Detroit. Universal Dedicated of Detroit’s closure will affect 230 truck drivers who worked from the facility. Logistics...

American truck drivers are sounding the horn on the Biden administration's recently finalized environmental regulations that aim to push for the heavy-duty vehicle sector to go all-electric. The truckers voiced concerns that electric heavy-duty vehicle technology is not nearly advanced enough to replace the nation's existing diesel-powered fleet, noting limitations on vehicle batteries, like low performance in cold weather conditions and shorter range. They also warned that the lack of high-powered charging infrastructure and power grid upgrades needed for fueling vehicles would present additional problems. "I'm an owner-operator. I've been in the business for 30 years," Mike Nichols, a Wisconsin-based...

Why shipping choke points like Panama are FUBAR and getting worse. Long, detailed explanation of all the problems.

The Biden administration has announced in recent weeks new stringent emissions requirements for virtually the entire American transportation system.The Environmental Protection Agency will mandate by the year 2035 that virtually every car made and sold in America must be an EV. No more gas cars. The New York Times comically declared that motorists don't have to worry because this "is not a ban on gasoline-powered vehicles." Sure it isn't. Today less than 2% of cars use the electric power grid for fuel. So soon we will see 50 times more demand for electricity from autos. Then the EPA announced new...

Say goodbye to the trucking industry as we know it, and goodbye to the American economy, too. You might have missed it on Good Friday — which you can be sure was no accident — when the Biden EPA released its new tailpipe rules for semi-trucks, but the new rules will destroy how we move goods around the country. It seems like only two weeks ago [It was only two weeks ago, Steve —editor] that I told you about Presidentish Biden's new EPA regulations, coming into effect starting in 2027, that will force two-thirds of new car buyers into electric...

Guest editorial by Jim Nelles: The video footage of the Singaporean-flagged cargo vessel, the Dali, crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is truly horrifying. Video footage shows the ship’s lights flickering on and off, indicating it lost power shortly before crashing into the bridge’s stanchion. The video also shows black smoke coming from the ship’s exhaust vents, indicating that the crew was trying to restart diesel engines. Unfortunately, eight workers were performing construction on the bridge at the time of collapse, only two of whom were rescued. Given the temperatures of the Patapsco River, they must be...

Powering the nation’s long-haul trucks with electricity would require the same amount of electricity for more than 46 million homes every year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 2022, California adopted regulations that required all new cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be zero emissions by 2035. Immediately, 17 states eyed the electric vehicle mandates and started considering their own. That was on top of the Biden administration’s own tailpipe standards, which many say function as a federal EV mandate. The vision of a forced electric vehicle transition hasn't quite gone as California and the Biden administration have hoped. But in...

In the video, I will discuss the escalating trucker boycott in NYC, the soaring food prices, and the dramatic impact of Grant Cardone's business decisions on the city. Discover the potential future of New York amid these unprecedented challenges.

Trump-supporting truck drivers are reportedly boycotting New York City after a Manhattan judge ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $355 million because of his business practices. Friday’s decision follows a New York jury’s decision last month to award left-wing writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages in her defamation suit against Trump. The two decisions have outraged conservatives, including many truckers. Chicago Ray, a trucker with over 244,000 followers on X, said on Friday that he was hearing that truckers were planning to boycott deliveries to the Big Apple starting on Monday. “I don’t know how far across...

VIDEOWe are now at the start of the Trucker's Boycott of New York City because of the Democrat confiscation of Donald Trump's property and funds by a deranged judge and a prosecutor who ran for office on a vicious "GET TRUMP" platform. If the legal system thinks they can slow roll the appeals process then the Trucker Boycott will be an incentive to fast track overturn this absurdly illegal property confiscation for purely political reasons.Early signs are that some trucking companies are joining in on the boycott of New York City. It makes sense. After all, if Donald Trump can...

They tell me it’s gone viral. One trucker (Chicago Ray) throws it down on social media, and it takes off. Frankly, this is much more interesting in the Fani Willis hearing. For those who haven’t heard, starting Monday. February 19, 2024 truckers will allegedly refuse to take loads into New York City in response to a so-called trial against one Donald J. Trump. In judicial actions that are literally listed as one of the grievances in the Declaration of Independence, some truckers (and supporters) have had enough, and are preparing to do the Real American version of ‘taking it to...