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The Supply Chain Intelligence Brief is a SMC³ member benefit that provides a snapshot of the day's key industry news. Stay informed and connected with the SMC³ Supply Chain Intelligence Brief. Opt out at any time, with no impact to other SMC³ communications you may receive. If you would like to add any coworkers to the distribution list for this publication, please reply to this message with their names and email addresses.

TRUCKING

Truckload carriers capturing more LTL shipments: FedEx Freight

Journal of Commerce William B. Cassidy September 19, 2025 $Subscription Based

FedEx Freight’s daily shipment count dropped 2.2% from a year earlier in the quarter ending Aug. 31, but the largest US LTL provider still has a commanding lead in volume.

FedEx Revenue, Net Income Increase for Q1 2026

Transport Topics Connor D. Wolf September 19, 2025

Revenue by Segment

FedEx Freight: Down 3% to $2.26 billion from $2.33 billion during the same time last year. The segment operating results decreased during the quarter due to lower revenue, higher wage rates and the hiring of additional dedicated less-than-truckload sales professionals.

Related: Logistics Management FedEx reports fiscal first quarter earnings gains

Links: FedEx Fiscal First Quarter 2026 Earnings Presentation w/FedEx Freight Data and Financial and Operating Statistics w/FedEx Freight Data p. 17

XPO’s rating at Moody’s held steady but outlook is now ‘positive’

Freight Waves John Kingston September 19, 2025

LTL carrier XPO had its debt rating affirmed Thursday by Moody’s, but with one significant change: its outlook was adjusted upward to positive from stable.

Pitt Ohio’s growing network leverages Dohrn’s technology stack to enhance customer service

Fleet Owner Seth Skydel September 19, 2025

“Our primary focus has been on enabling a seamless customer integration process, and that is driven in large part by the ability to apply the existing Dohrn technology stack across the Sutton operation,” Alex Gustafson, VP of information systems at Dohrn, said.

Truckload average length of haul hits new lows

Freight Waves Zach Strickland September 20, 2025

The national average length of haul index (OALOHA) has been running at or near all-time lows in 2025 as the truckload market has lost a significant share of transcontinental moves to intermodal. It may also reflect broader shifts in supply chain strategies.

UPS adds surcharges to various US import, export services

Supply Chain Dive Max Garland September 19, 2025

The surge fees for certain services apply to U.S. imports from multiple European countries, Canada and India, in addition to U.S. exports throughout the world.

Link: UPS Surge Fee

SHIPPERS / 3PLs

Study: Nearly One-Third of Shoppers Now Expect Same-Day Delivery

Supply Chain 24/7 September 19, 2025

The study, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. online shoppers, found that 31% now consider same-day delivery standard, up sharply from prior years when two-day shipping was the gold standard.

Link: Ryder 2025 Ryder E-commerce Consumer Study

C.H. Robinson debuts cross-border service to maximize LTL trailers, minimize trucks

Trucking Dive Alejandra Carranza September 19, 2025

The third-party logistics provider said trucks crossing from Mexico into the U.S. are underutilized, sometimes carrying just a single pallet. Mexico law requires all freight in one trailer to be cleared by the same customs broker, making it harder to consolidate LTL freight.

Link: C.H. Robinson Press Release C.H. Robinson Introduces Cross-border Freight Consolidation Service

Amazon opens its fulfillment network to SHEIN, Shopify, and Walmart

DC Velocity September 19, 2025

Amazon—which is already a market force through its e-commerce marketplace and its cloud services platform—yesterday made a move to expand its share of the third-party logistics (3PL) sector by announcing it would expand its Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) system to support merchants on SHEIN, Shopify, and Walmart.

Takeaways from Amazon’s pitch at its annual conference for third-party sellers

Modern Retail Allison Smith September 22, 2025

Amazon is pulling services in-house

Another theme running through Accelerate was Amazon’s push to internalize functions that third-party vendors and consultants already provide, including compliance services, ad optimization and account management.

Kenco: holiday shoppers are stressed about product pricing and inflation

Supply Chain Xchange September 19, 2025

As economic concerns persist into the 2025 holiday shopping season, 28% of consumers to lower their spend—an 11% increase over 2024—according to a study from logistics solution provider Kenco.

Link: Kenco 2025 Report: Peak Season Insights

INDUSTRY

Highway buys freight marketplace to accelerate load board rollout

Journal of Commerce Eric Johnson September 19, 2025 $Subscription Based

Carrier identity software provider Highway has continued its drive to enable truckload transactions through the acquisition of Newtrul, a freight marketplace launched to compete with existing load boards such as DAT Freight & Analytics and Truckstop.com.

Volvo partners with Class8 to create Load Finder

Freight Waves Thomas Wasson September 20, 2025

Volvo Trucks North America recently announced Load Finder, a load board to help carriers reduce deadhead or empty miles. The load board is free compared to subscription-based competitors and is geared toward helping both new carriers entering the freight market and established fleets looking to increase their utilization.

Trump: Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern merger “sounds good to me”

Freight Waves Stuart Chirls September 19, 2025

The consolidation of western UP, the largest U.S. railroad, and NS would create a vast network of 52,000 miles of track in 43 states. It would offer shippers single-line transit for freight which they claim would eliminate delays at key interchange points, attract more business and help jumpstart growth.

TECHNOLOGY

Amazon’s Finance Teams Are Relying More on AI—and Not Just for the Simple Stuff

The Wall Street Journal Mark Mauer September 18, 2025 $Subscription Based

Amazon.com’s finance teams are using generative AI in new ways to more efficiently comply with complex tax regulations, help evaluate the financial impact of new products and better analyze changes in revenue.

SUSTAINABILITY / SAFETY / SECURITY

Shippers Warn IMO Net-Zero Plan Could Cost $300B by 2035

Transport Topics/Bloomberg News September 19, 2025

The sector faces paying about $20 billion to $30 billion a year by 2030, shippers representing more than 1,200 vessels said in a statement dated Sept. 18. The amount could accumulate to more than $300 billion by 2035 if the global fleet misses targets by as little as 10%, they said.

Link: Associated Press Shipping companies support a first-ever global fee on greenhouse gases

Hydrogen Freight Fizzles As Batteries Take Over Global Trucking

Clean Technica Michael Barnard September 19, 2025

The debate over whether hydrogen or batteries will dominate freight trucking has been settled by the market, not by opinion. The BloombergNEF 2025 Factbook on zero emission commercial vehicles released September 18th provides another clear set of signals that the argument for hydrogen in road freight is collapsing.

The U.S. Is Forfeiting the Clean-Energy Race to China

The Wall Street Journal David Uberti et al. September 21, 2025 $Subscription Based

The rapid pace of EV adoption in China and elsewhere casts a long shadow over oil demand. Natural gas will be burned for decades, but increasingly competitive solar panels and batteries might sap how much of it the world will need.

Schneider Electric inks carbon removal deal with Climeworks

ESG Dive Lamar Johnson September 19, 2025

Schneider Electric’s 2030 “net-zero ready” goal will require it to reduce its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 90% by the end of the decade and utilize carbon removals to balance any residual direct emissions.

Link: Climeworks Press Release Schneider Electric and Climeworks sign 31,000-ton high-durability carbon removal agreement

Watchdog targets FMCSA on English proficiency testing

Freight Waves John Gallagher September 19, 2025

A government watchdog has launched an audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s oversight of state agencies to ensure English proficiency requirements are being met during testing for a commercial driver’s license (CDL).

Link: U.S. Department of Transportation FMCSA’s Oversight of State Commercial Driver's License Knowledge and Skills Testing Programs

INDUSTRY EVENTS

NMFTA

September 28-30 Washington DC

Fall Membership Meeting

Journal of Commerce

September 29 - October 1 Chicago, IL

Inland Distribution Conference

CSCMP

October 5-8 National Harbor, MD

Edge Conference

NEXT GEN