Logistics

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on April 15 repealed his traffic-clogging immigration order that backed up commercial trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border, after a week of intensifying backlash and fears of deepening economic losses.

The head of American Trucking Associations is calling on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to end the truck inspection initiative he recently launched at the state’s border with Mexico, chastising the plan for the crippling effect it is having on the economy, and trucking in particular.

It’s now practical for 100% of the commercial vans and step vans segment to switch to battery-electric powertrains from internal combustion engines, according to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency.

SAVANNAH, Ga. — After decades of political wrangling and environmental roadblocks and nearly seven years of dredging muck from the river bottom, one of Georgia’s most anticipated economic development projects — the nearly $1 billion deepening of the Savannah River channel — finally is complete.

OMAHA, Neb. — A major fertilizer company says the limits Union Pacific is putting on rail traffic to clear up congestion will delay shipments that farmers need during the spring planting season.

AUSTIN, Texas — The logjam of trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border finally began breaking April 14 after nearly a week as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott eased off his latest dramatic action over immigration that has gridlocked some of the world’s busiest trade ports and taken a mounting economic toll.

The Department of Transportation has released $44 billion for rural infrastructure, an announcement that reinforced a White House commitment and aligned with a visit by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to a small Indiana river port.

Amazon delivered more than 5 billion packages in the U.S. in 2021, while UPS delivered roughly 5.5 billion U.S. packages, according to company figures and industry estimates. Amazon has said it could surpass UPS this year, and it’s not alone in that prediction.

The discomfort of drivers having to wait long hours to enter Texas from Mexico should be considered amid the focus on freight delays resulting from Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent directive to enhance border safety inspections, says the head of the Texas Trucking Association.

Manufacturers, retailers and seafood distributors have increasingly turned to air cargo planes to transport products — a more expensive, but faster and more reliable alternative to longhaul trucks, trains and ocean vessels often bogged down by current supply chain problems.