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Economy
Creative solutions may be needed for capacity market: FTR
BLOOMINGTON, IN – FTR Intelligence is predicting the strong start for trucking in 2018 will continue, leaving fleets to get creative when solving the problems created by a market already at capacity. Avery Vise, vice president trucking research, says although fuel rates leveled in the first week of the new year, they aren’t expected to drop dramatically in the near future, contributing to record-level spot rates and rising contract rates he expects will peak and then fall sometime in late 2018 or early 2019, but will still remain high. The reefer market was also up in the first week of 2018, with a polar vortex creating an increased need for temperature-controlled transport to keep products from freezing.
Manitoulin acquires Direct Right
MISSISSAUGA, ON – Manitoulin Transport has acquired Direct Right Cartage -- an intermodal provider based in Brampton, Ontario – marking the fleet's seventh acquisition in 12 months. “This purchase enables Manitoulin to provide a higher level of service and frequency of intermodal service within Canada. We will continue to look for opportunities such as this to build our services and coverage to ensure our offerings meet our customers’ evolving needs,” said Jeff King, president of Manitoulin. “Manitoulin’s ability to extend customers’ reach from Canada to the rest of the world through multiple supply chain service offerings gives them a significant competitive advantage,” added Gord Smith, Chief Executive Officer.
Heavy-hauling heavy hitters join forces
QUEBEC, QC – QSL, Groupe Robert (Watson and Sycamore), and Express Mondor are joining forces to create Mondor-Watson – one of Eastern Canada’s largest heavy-hauling and oversized marine and land transportation consortiums. QSL will hold the majority of the shares, while Mondor’s team will be responsible for daily operations. Groupe Robert, meanwhile, will offer its expertise in transportation and logistics as well as establishing synergies with the rest of its network. QSL has a stevedoring network spanning Eastern Canada to the heart of North America, offering logistics services for ships, trucks, and railcars. Groupe Robert has 3,500 employees delivering logistics, distribution, and transportation services. Express Mondor has 170 employees focusing on specialized and oversized ground transport in Canada and the U.S.
Trucking has role in BlackBerry resurgence
MISSISSAUGA, ON -- When the leader of the free world embraces your product, you know you have a winner. So it was with BlackBerry -- then known as Research in Motion -- when it could boast dedicated smartphone users like U.S. President Barack Obama, who once said in an interview, "They're going to pry it out of my hands."