Logistics

While the pandemic exacerbated weaknesses in the global supply chain, new opportunities for the trucking industry to grow domestically have also been uncovered.

Truck tonnage in November posted the strongest year-over-year gain since spring, American Trucking Associations announced on Dec. 21, as busy consumer spending both in brick-and-mortar stores and online propelled a surge in freight activity.

UPS Inc. agreed to buy 19 Boeing Co. freighter jets as soaring e-commerce and snarled shipping lines lead to a boom in air-cargo demand.

Severe weather disruptions hit Malaysia and the Philippines, leaving a trail of destruction among nations most prone to natural disasters.

Trucking companies that are growing more selective with loads are spurring heightened competition among shippers, experts said.

Canadian National Railway Co. dropped the most in eight months after saying that Jim Vena, a former executive favored by shareholder TCI Fund Management Ltd. to run the company, had dropped from consideration to replace CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest.

BrightDrop, General Motors Co.’s new electric delivery and logistics business, has delivered the first five vans of an order of 500 to FedEx Corp., the company said Dec. 17.

The shortage of professional drivers quickly became the defining issue for the industry during the past year with its far-reaching effects.

FedEx Corp. rode increased prices to post profit above analysts’ estimates, bolstering the company’s outlook and easing investor concerns over higher labor U.S. costs. The shares rose in late trading.

Atlantic and Pacific ports in November continued their record-setting pace as imports continue to flood into the country during the peak of the holiday shopping season.