All posts tagged: freight

Amazon puts first electric semi trucks into ocean freight operation

Amazon puts first electric semi trucks into ocean freight operation

Published by skeptic

Southern California truck spotters will have plenty of electric semi trucks to watch out for as Amazon adds fifty Class 8 EVs to its commercial fleet. The fully electric Volvo semi trucks purchased will haul both heavy cargo containers and customer package loads in Amazon’s first- and middle-mile operations in California. The trucks will join the hundreds of last-mile electric vans from Ford and Rivian that are already delivering packages across the golden state. These are the first-ever electric trucks in the company’s ocean freight operations, also known as drayage operations. They’ve already started hitting the road at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, with a dozen expected to be in service by the end of the year. “We’re proud to launch our largest fleet of electric heavy-duty vehicles yet in California,” said Udit Madan, vice president of Worldwide Amazon Operations. “Heavy-duty trucking is a particularly difficult area to decarbonize, which makes us all the more excited to have these vehicles on the road today. We’ll use what we learn from deploying these vehicles …

Freight train derails, catches fire near New Mexico-Arizona border causing road closures

Freight train derails, catches fire near New Mexico-Arizona border causing road closures

Published by skeptic

A freight train detailed and caught fire, resulting in the closure of a nearby interstate, the Arizona Department of Transportation announced on Friday. “I-40 EB is closed at milepost 357 due to a train derailment in New Mexico,” the Arizona DOT wrote on social media platform X. “Expect delays & seek an alternate route. There is no estimated time to reopen the highway.” The train was carrying gasoline and odorless propane at the time of the derailment near Houck, Ariz. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident, according to New Mexico State Police. Emergency crews were also on site to prevent the fire from spreading. The cause of the derailment is unclear, and under investigation by BNSF Railway, notes The Associated Press reported. “We’re monitoring the train derailment near the NM-AZ border closely – especially potential contamination from leaking hazardous materials,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) wrote on X. Social media users described seeing the incident, with one X user writing, “Was crazy to see out of nowhere a fiery blaze shoot up …

Freight Train Derailment, Fire Forces Interstate 40 Closure Near Arizona-New Mexico Line

Freight Train Derailment, Fire Forces Interstate 40 Closure Near Arizona-New Mexico Line

Published by skeptic

LUPTON, Ariz. (AP) — A freight train carrying fuel derailed and caught fire Friday near the Arizona-New Mexico state line, forcing the closure of an interstate highway that serves as a key trucking route. Initial passersby posted video and photos on social media of crumpled train cars and billowing, black smoke. No injuries were reported in the midday train wreck near Lupton, Arizona. BNSF Railway spokesperson Lena Kent said company personnel were on site working to clear the wreckage. Kent said the cause of the derailment is under investigation. Interstate 40 was closed by authorities in both directions in the area in the early afternoon, directing trucks and motorists off the freeway to alternate routes, New Mexico State Police and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced. The train was transporting non-odorous propane and gasoline, and a half-dozen rail cars caught fire and burned for hours after the derailment, New Mexico State Police Lt. Phil Vargas said. “It looks like they’re just letting those (rail) cars burn themselves out,” Vargas said. Photos You Should See …

CSX Profit Drops 10% Despite Railroad Delivering 3% More Freight in First Quarter

CSX Profit Drops 10% Despite Railroad Delivering 3% More Freight in First Quarter

Published by skeptic

CSX dealt with weather challenges and the closure of the Baltimore port as the railroad saw its first-quarter profit slip 10%, but it still managed to keep most of its customers happy with reliable service. The Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad said Wednesday that it earned $893 million, or 46 cents per share, in the first three months of the year as it handled 3% more freight. That’s down from $987 million, or 48 cents per share, a year ago. The results were slightly better than Wall Street predicted. The analysts surveyed by FactSet Research expected CSX to report earnings per share of 45 cents. CEO Joe Hinrichs said he was reminded again of one of the key lessons he’s learned in his first 18 months on the railroad: “There never really is an easy quarter.” Hinrichs said he was pleased the railroad was able to deliver consistent customer service that helped it attract more business. He said many of the markets CSX serves are seeing “favorable trends” and more customers are willing to give the railroad …

New freight crew rule tests rail industry’s clout, one year after East Palestine disaster

New freight crew rule tests rail industry’s clout, one year after East Palestine disaster

Published by skeptic

A Union Pacific freight train is seen traveling on April 21, 2023 in Round Rock, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images One year after the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment created an environmental disaster, the Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled new regulations intended to shore up freight rail safety. A new rule finalized by the Federal Railroad Administration will require freight trains in the United States to operate with at least two crewmembers in most circumstances. The government previously instituted a two-person crew requirement, but a loophole allowed railroads to keep operating one-person crews without performing a rigorous risk assessment or notifying regulators. “Common sense tells us that large freight trains, some of which can be over three miles long, should have at least two crew members on board – and now there’s a federal regulation in place to ensure trains are safely staffed,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement Tuesday. The United States averages at least one train derailment every day. In 2023, there were seven rail-related employee deaths, said Buttigieg. He …

Bournemouth-based Efret launches road freight service from UK to Morocco

Bournemouth-based Efret launches road freight service from UK to Morocco

Published by skeptic

Efret, the Bournemouth-based logistics firm, revealed it has launched this month a new road freight service direct from the UK to Morocco. The company said the service operates from any UK collection point, except Northern Ireland, and delivers to all regions, including, Rabat, Tangier, Agadir, Fes, Marrakesh and Casablanca. UK exports to the North African country, which is looking for new markets, were worth £1.4 billion at the end of last year, while internal investments are expected to top £50 billion over the next few years as it gears up for the joint hosting of the World Cup in 2030 with Portugal and Spain. READ MORE: Bournemouth Airport on track for 1m passengers as Ryanair expands “We have decades of international road transport expertise and we recognised an opportunity to support the growth of British business with by launching a new service from the UK to Morocco,” said Alain Jestin, Efret CEO and co-founder. “This will complement our existing services to destinations across Europe. Exporting goods to North Africa can be a daunting proposition for …

Palletline invests £2m in cloud-based freight tracking tech

Palletline invests £2m in cloud-based freight tracking tech

Published by skeptic

Palletline has launched a new scanning system across its forklift truck fleet to better track pallets at its Birmingham and Coventry distribution hubs. ‘Palleteyes’ enables forklift drivers to scan a barcode on a pallet from two metres away, bringing up key delivery information. At the same time, two HD CCTV cameras are activated to record both close-up and wide-angle footage of the pallet’s complete journey from unload to bay to reload, which customers can track through a cloud-based portal. The system can also integrate with the forklift’s onboard systems to monitor driver performance and operational activity, and will sound an alarm if the driver attempts to lift a pallet heavier than 400kg above a height of 1.2m – in line with regulations. Read the March 2024 issue of The Business Magazine, including our feature on skills This £2 million investment is expected to deliver better quality control by eliminating inaccurate scans, while speeding up the company’s freight sorting process by 15 per cent or more. Marcus Newport, head of IT at Palletline, said: “This system …

French shipping tycoon agrees to buy Altice Media group – POLITICO

French shipping tycoon agrees to buy Altice Media group – POLITICO

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Soaring freight rates and low taxes on shipping mean that CMA CGM is swimming in cash. Between 2020 and 2023, the group raked in €45 billion in profit, convincing the family-owned company to diversify into media. Saadé snapped up business newspaper La Tribune last year and Marseille paper La Provence in 2022. He also holds a 10 percent stake in television channel M6, the country’s second-biggest private broadcaster.  Critics warn this could threaten the impartiality of the press and undermine the foundations of French democracy. Many of the country’s richest people already oversee powerful newsrooms. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault owns Les Echos and Le Parisien, telecoms mogul Xavier Niel has Le Monde, and logistics magnate Vincent Bolloré runs CNews and Journal du Dimanche. The sale “which will be subject to the usual preconditions and the obtaining of applicable regulatory authorizations, should be finalized during the summer of 2024,” according to Altice Media. Source link

Biden admin debuts infrastructure plan to electrify freight by 2040, a first

Biden admin debuts infrastructure plan to electrify freight by 2040, a first

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The Biden Administration has released the first-ever strategy document detailing its plan to target specific freight corridors for infrastructure improvement, with the intent of helping to reach its goal of 100% zero-emission new truck sales by 2040. The strategy is a cooperation between the Departments of Transportation and Energy (through the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation) and the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s the first attempt of the US government to identify a consistent strategy for electrifying freight transport nationwide. The offices analyzed how medium and heavy duty freight vehicles move in America, and established priorities of what routes should be targeted first in order to maximize pollution reductions. Heavy duty vehicles have a disproportionate effect on pollution, as large diesel engines release many more particulate emissions than light-duty vehicles do. These vehicles tend to drive along specific routes, and those routes often go through poorer communities, with 75% of truck traffic traveling on just 4% of the nation’s roads. This means these places experience disproportionate pollution – and that we can get disproportionate gains just …

‘ProPublica’ reporter says U.S. freight train system is underregulated

‘ProPublica’ reporter says U.S. freight train system is underregulated

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A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. Gene J. Puskar/AP hide caption toggle caption Gene J. Puskar/AP A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. Gene J. Puskar/AP A year after 38 cars in a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, igniting a massive chemical fire, ProPublica reporter Topher Sanders says America’s aging freight systems remain underregulated. “I think it was a real eye opener,” he says. “It really jarred a lot of people who looked into their own backyard and saw train tracks and wondered, could this happen here?” Sanders and his colleagues have spent the last two years reviewing court and regulatory records of thousands of incidents involving trains for the series Train Country. They’ve conducted 200 interviews, including conversations with rail workers who describe how, in some instances, railway companies …