Only two months after being hired, Jim Foote is now the top executive at CSX Corp. after the unexpected death of CEO Hunter Harrison on Dec. 16.

In November and December, online shoppers surfed their favorite websites and sent holiday gifts to the front doors of homes nationwide. In January, the last-mile supply chain shifts in reverse as Americans return the items they don’t like.

Truck tonnage surged 7.6% year-over-year in November after a 10.5% increase in October, according to American Trucking Associations.

Hunter Harrison, the successful railroad-turnaround specialist whose career spanned more than 50 years, has passed away just two days after CSX Corp. announced the CEO would take a medical leave of absence.

With the federal electronic logging device mandate now in effect, some freight brokers are surveying their carriers about compliance with the rule, taking a proactive step now to help prevent supply chain disruptions later, logistics executives said.

The average time it took a truck driver to enter and exit the two largest ports in North America — Los Angeles and Long Beach — was 10 minutes quicker in November versus the same time a year ago, according to the Harbor Trucking Association.

Contract talks between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance ended on Dec. 6 after a disagreement over automation at terminals, leaving negotiations at a standstill without future talks scheduled.

Several truckload carriers are currently negotiating with shippers to add new surcharges or otherwise raise rates to haul freight through California after state lawmakers raised fuel taxes and other fees as of Nov. 1, Transport Topics has learned.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that farm exports to China, Mexico and Canada have been strong over the past 12 months, although some transportation and logistics providers told Transport Topics that their volumes weren’t as strong as the federal data would suggest.

Daseke Inc. will end the year with the same frenetic pace it began 2017 after announcing that three new carriers will join its conglomerate of trucking companies, bringing the number of new additions to seven since Jan. 1.