U.S. Plans Heavy China Tariff Hit as Soon as This Week

The Trump administration plans to impose tariffs worth as much as $60 billion on Chinese products as early as this week to punish Beijing for what the U.S. perceives as intellectual property theft from American businesses, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Canada: Manufacturing slowdown could signal sluggish growth ahead

Canadian manufacturing sales dropped by one per cent or $572.4 million on a month-over-month basis in January, according to figures released Friday by Statistics Canada. According to the federal statistics agency, sales fell in 14 of 21 industries. The sectors most responsible for the decline were motor vehicles, aerospace products and parts and primary metal […]

More surcharges, rejected freight sting US truck shippers

Multiple top national truckload companies are levying surcharges or rejecting freight because of the overwhelming demand in the typical slow season, frustrating shippers looking for additional capacity. This also has trucking officials warning of an even sharper crunch when produce season picks up in April and retailers stock up for the summer and early autumn. […]

US truck spot rates hit second-strongest in two decades

US domestic trucking spot market rates ended at the second-highest February level in 20 years with shippers seeing little to no pricing relief and continuing the battle to find available capacity on the market. (This article requires a subscription to the Journal of Commerce. To subscribe, please click on the above link.)

RAIL INDUSTRY MAINTAINS STRONG SAFETY RECORD

Newly released data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) confirms that recent years remain the safest ever for U.S. railroads. Through employee commitment to safety and investments in maintenance and new technologies, the industry has maintained the strong safety record of recent years, with the train accident rate down 28 percent in the last decade […]

IATA forecasts FTK growth against stronger trade backdrop

IATA Economics has forecast industry-wide freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) to grow by 4.9% on average over each of the next five years (2018-2022), helped by a stronger economic and trade backdrop than was the case during the previous five-year period.

Port Tracker report shows solid volumes but concerns over tariffs are looming

When assessing the current and future state of United States-bound retailer container shipments, there is a short-term outlook and a long-term outlook, based on the findings and takeaways of the Port Tracker report issued by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates