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Truckload Rates Hit Four-Year High as Study Puts Driverless Cost Parity at 2028
US truckload spot rates climbed to their highest level in more than four years in October, as carriers moved fewer loads but charged sharply more for each one. Dry van spot rates rose 4 cents to $3.05 a mile, the highest since early 2022 and 98 cents above a year earlier, according to DAT Freight & Analytics. Refrigerated spot rates averaged 3.60 dollars a mile, up 1.12 dollars from a year earlier. Contract rates set records, with flatbed at 4.05 dollars a mile and reefer at
12m2 min read
Georgia Expands Its Auto Port as Matson Rides the China Freight Surge
The Georgia Ports Authority is expanding vehicle-handling capacity at the Port of Brunswick, as a wave of automaker investment in the state turns the coastal terminal into one of the busiest US gateways for cars and heavy equipment. Officials told the annual State of the Port event on Tuesday that a fourth roll-on, roll-off berth at Colonel’s Island is 60% complete and due to open in December 2027. It will be able to handle vehicle carriers of more than 10,800 car-equivalent
28m2 min read
Alaska, Hawaiian Pilots Back Joint Contract as United Opens New Dulles Concourse
Pilot union leaders at Alaska Air Group Inc.’s two airlines have unanimously approved a tentative joint contract after more than 600 days of talks. The decision clears the way for a vote that would bring Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines pilots under a single agreement. The Air Line Pilots Association’s master executive councils at both carriers backed the deal on Wednesday, and members will vote from Dec. 1 to Dec. 22. “This TA is the result of more than 600 days of chal
1d2 min read
BNSF Profit Jumps 19% as Railcar Maker FreightCar America’s Deliveries Halve
BNSF Railway Co.’s third-quarter profit rose 19% on higher freight volumes and stronger pricing, underscoring the health of US rail traffic even as demand for new railcars stays weak. Net income at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc.-owned railroad climbed to $1.73 billion from 1.45 billion dollars a year earlier, according to Berkshire’s quarterly filing over the weekend. Railroad operating revenue rose 14.7% to 6.87 billion dollars, and car and unit volumes increased 3.9%. Berkshir
1d1 min read
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Terms and Conditions Apply: Spirit’s Pilots Didn’t Sign Up to Train Google
More than 3,000 pilots flew for Spirit Airlines before it stopped operating in May. Many have since found cockpits elsewhere, several hundred of them at American Arilines. What they left behind at Spirit was not just a uniform and a badge but decades of training files, fatigue reports and confidential safety submissions. Those records are now for sale, and the pilots are fighting to keep them out of Google’s hands. Google’s $10 million bid for the defunct carrier’s internal d
Oct 294 min read
Mayday for Isom? American's Pilots Seek a New Captain (and a Bigger Cut)
Pilots Turn on Isom Just as Their Contract Talks Begin The head of American Airlines’ pilot union has publicly questioned whether CEO Robert Isom is the right man to lead the carrier's turnaround, sharpening a dispute that has been building for the best part of a year. Capt. Nick Silva, president of the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American's roughly 16,000 pilots, said the pool of executives able to run an airline is small, but asked whether someone cou
Sep 253 min read
A High-Class Problem: Why America's Pilots Are Doing Just Fine
Jeff Barath retired from United Airlines last year at 65 with a problem most Americans would love to have. He has a partial pension, a brokerage account and a $3.5 million 401(k). Once his required minimum distributions kick in, his retirement income, including Social Security, will be well over $300,000 a year. That's more than he earned in most of his working years. "It's a high-class problem," according to Barath. He's right. And he's far from the only one. Four times the
Sep 223 min read
The Grey Areas of the Bargaining Table
When flight attendants at United voted on strike authorisation in August 2024, the result came back at 99.99 per cent in favour. The union announced it live from twenty informational picket lines at airports across the country, on the eve of the Labor Day travel weekend. And in the same announcement, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) reminded everyone reading that it holds a trademarked strike strategy called CHAOS, an acronym for Create Havoc Around Our System,
Sep 104 min read
‘We owe it to the victims’ families and the American flying public’ | Interview with Rep. Sharice Davids on aviation safety reform after Flight 5342
Sharice Davids is the Democratic representative for Kansas’s 3rd District, covering much of the Kansas City metropolitan area. She sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and has played a leading role in Congress's response to the midair collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on 29 January 2025, in which 67 people were killed. Davids helped lead the bipartisan ALERT Act, which passed the House last month by 396 votes
May 64 min read
'MH370 disappearance shows how ruthless democracy's enemies are' | Interview with aviation journalist Jeff Wise
Jeff Wise is a journalist specializing in aviation, technology, and psychology who has written for Businessweek, Psychology Today, and...
Aug 16, 20244 min read
A High Flying Career: Flight Attendant Kara Mulder on the Evolving Landscape of Aviation
Kara Mulder, an accomplished flight attendant and the creative force behind the popular Flight Attendant Life blog, has leveraged her...
Aug 17, 20234 min read
With Summer Travel Almost Here, the FAA Remains Leaderless
In another twist in the saga of complications and chaos that has been plaguing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it has recently...
Apr 12, 20233 min read
A High-Class Problem: Why America's Pilots Are Doing Just Fine
Jeff Barath retired from United Airlines last year at 65 with a problem most Americans would love to have. He has a partial pension, a brokerage account and a $3.5 million 401(k). Once his required minimum distributions kick in, his retirement income, including Social Security, will be well over $300,000 a year. That's more than he earned in most of his working years. "It's a high-class problem," according to Barath. He's right. And he's far from the only one. Four times the
Sep 223 min read
The Grey Areas of the Bargaining Table
When flight attendants at United voted on strike authorisation in August 2024, the result came back at 99.99 per cent in favour. The union announced it live from twenty informational picket lines at airports across the country, on the eve of the Labor Day travel weekend. And in the same announcement, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) reminded everyone reading that it holds a trademarked strike strategy called CHAOS, an acronym for Create Havoc Around Our System,
Sep 104 min read
American Airlines pilots didn't wait for the calendar. They tore it up.
Nearly a year before their contract was due to become amendable, the Allied Pilots Association formally opened negotiations for a new deal, invoking a rarely used clause buried in their 2023 agreement. The trigger? A blunt declaration from union president Nick Silva, in an August 7 letter to CEO Robert Isom, that the airline "cannot agree that implementation is sufficient." Translation: you didn't finish what you promised us last time, so we're coming back to the table now. T
Sep 33 min read
Newark Airport Dispute Exposes Political Risk to US Aviation
One of America’s busiest international airports found itself at the centre of political confrontation. The Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin threatened on 28 May that the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travellers and cargo at Newark airport as local law enforcement in the Blue State of New Jersey refused to assist federal immigration officials. With fans gearing up for the FIFA World Cup this summer, questions over international
Jun 83 min read
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