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USMCA panel rules against US on auto rules of origin
A dispute panel sided with Mexico and Canada in January 2023, finding the U.S. reading of the trade pact's auto content rules inconsistent with the agreement.
Line-haul spot rates sink to lowest in nearly 2.5 years as contract gap widens
DAT said in December 2022 that van line-haul spot rates had fallen every month of the year, while shippers turned to the spot market ahead of a possible rail strike.
US diesel supplies hit tightest level since 2008 heading into winter
EIA said in November 2022 that the U.S. had 25 days of distillate supply in October, the fewest since 2008, with the Northeast even tighter.
Record low Mississippi River levels send barge rates soaring during harvest
In October 2022, low water on the Mississippi River pushed St. Louis barge spot rates to a peak of $105.85 a ton, according to USDA.
Railroads and unions reach tentative deal hours before national strike deadline
After 20 straight hours of talks at the Labor Department in September 2022, freight railroads and unions reached a tentative agreement that averted a nationwide rail strike.
US trade with Canada and Mexico climbs 21.8% in June, led by trucks
Bureau of Transportation Statistics data released in August 2022 showed $141.2 billion in North American freight in June, with trucks carrying 59% of it.
Trucker protests over California's AB5 law shut Port of Oakland terminals
Independent truck drivers protesting the state's gig worker law blocked gates at the Port of Oakland in July 2022, halting truck traffic for several days.
US begins enforcing forced-labor import ban on goods tied to Xinjiang
From June 21, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection presumed that goods made wholly or partly in China's Xinjiang region were made with forced labor and barred them from entry.
Spot van and reefer rates drop sharply in April as contract rates hold at highs
DAT data released in May 2022 showed spot van rates falling 28 cents a mile in April while diesel stayed above $5 a gallon.
Cass index shows freight volumes slowing as costs hit records
The Cass Freight Index released in April 2022 showed March shipments up just 0.6% from a year earlier, while freight spending rose 33%.
US diesel hits record $5.25 a gallon after Russia invades Ukraine
The U.S. average diesel price jumped 40.1 cents in one week to a record in mid-March 2022, the fastest three-week climb in federal data.
Ambassador Bridge reopens after police clear weeklong protest blockade
Police cleared protesters from the Windsor approach to the Ambassador Bridge in February 2022, ending a closure of nearly a week at a crossing that normally carries a quarter of Canada-U.S. trade.
Canada's vaccine rule for cross-border truckers takes effect after days of mixed messages
Starting Jan. 15, 2022, unvaccinated U.S. drivers were turned back at the Canadian border, and unvaccinated Canadian drivers faced testing and quarantine.
First USMCA trade panel rules against Canada's dairy quota practices
In a December 2021 final report, a USMCA dispute panel found that Canada broke the agreement by reserving most of its dairy import quotas for processors.
British Columbia floods cut all rail links to Port of Vancouver
Washouts and mudslides in November 2021 halted CN and CP rail service into Canada's largest port and closed most highways out of Vancouver.
Diesel climbs to $3.671 a gallon, highest since 2014
EIA data showed the U.S. average diesel price rose 8.5 cents in the week to Oct. 18, 2021, up 26.5 cents in three weeks and $1.28 above a year earlier.
Ship queue off Los Angeles and Long Beach grows as container dwell times peak
In September 2021, container ships waited a record nine days on average for a berth in Los Angeles, while boxes sat longer at terminals and on rail and street legs.
Surface Transportation Board rejects CN's voting trust for Kansas City Southern
The STB's unanimous August 2021 decision blocked a key step in Canadian National's bid for KCS and reopened the contest with Canadian Pacific.
Freight with Canada and Mexico nearly doubled from pandemic low in May 2021
Federal data released in July 2021 showed $108.6 billion of U.S. transborder freight in May, up 93.8% from May 2020 and almost back to 2019 levels, with trucks moving most of it.
Truckload spot rates set records in May 2021 even as volumes dipped
DAT said reefer and flatbed spot rates topped $3 a mile for the first time in May 2021, while van rates also hit a monthly record despite a 6% drop in loads moved.
Colonial Pipeline cyberattack shuts key fuel artery to East Coast
A cyberattack forced Colonial Pipeline to halt its Gulf Coast-to-New Jersey system in May 2021, prompting emergency hours-of-service waivers for fuel haulers across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic.
Cass index shows freight spending hit a record in March 2021
The March 2021 Cass Freight Index showed shipments up 10% from a year earlier and expenditures up 27.5%, while truckload linehaul pricing reached an all-time high.
Canadian Pacific agrees to buy Kansas City Southern to link Canada, US and Mexico by rail
The March 2021 deal valued Kansas City Southern at about $29 billion including debt and aimed to create the first single railroad spanning Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Winter storm in Texas tightens truck capacity and lifts spot rates
In February 2021, ice and power outages across Texas and much of the U.S. idled trucks and pushed dry van spot rates up about 20 cents a mile in a single week, DAT said.