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TRUCKING

Truckload volumes and spot rates hit multi-year highs

Freight Waves March 19, 2026

The U.S. truckload spot market just hit a new cycle high at $2.82 per mile on the National Truckload Index (NTI.USA)—that’s the 7-day moving average of booked dry van spot rates, fuel included. Volumes are holding firm at multi-year peaks we haven’t seen since late 2022.

Trucking in the midst of a ‘supply-based’ recovery: ATA’s Costello

Trucking Dive Larry Avila March 19, 2026

“Supply has been slow to leave, painfully slow,” Costello said. However, he does expect additional contraction as the industry is now in what Costello described as a supply recovery.

“Supply-based recoveries are more difficult, but it is happening,” he said.

FedEx Lifts Profit Outlook as Network Plan Gains Traction

Transport Topics/Bloomberg News Cailley LaPara March 19, 2026

FedEx Corp. raised its full-year profit forecast, signaling that the courier’s plan to restructure its delivery network is gaining traction despite geopolitical conflict and economic volatility.

Links: FedEx Third Quarter Earnings Presentation and

Q3 Fiscal 2026 Financial and Operating Statistics

FedEx Freight’s Outlook

Freight Waves Todd Maiden March 19, 2026

FedEx Freight’s results were pressured in the fiscal quarter that concluded on Feb. 28 as the company continued an initiative to enhance revenue quality. The focus on higher-value shipments, however, is occurring amid a muted demand backdrop.

Tesla Finally Has Its First Semi-Truck and It’s Already a Hit With Truckers

The Wall Street Journal Paul Berger March 19, 2026 $Subscription Based

This summer, after years of delays, Tesla plans to begin shipping mass-produced Semis from its Nevada Gigafactory. The company is expected to deliver between 5,000 and 15,000 Semis in 2026 before ramping up to 50,000 trucks a year, according to a recent report by Tigress Financial Partners.

Link: Tesla Semi

2026 FleetOwner 500: For-hire fleets with the most trailers

Fleet Owner Jenna Hume March 19, 2026

J.B. Hunt Transport overtook FedEx for the No. 1 spot this year, with FedEx falling back to No. 2. ContainerPort Group moved up to No. 4 from No. 5 in 2025. R+L Carriers rose to No. 7. After moving up to No. 7 last year, TFI International fell back to No. 10.

SHIPPERS / 3PLs

NRF issues positive 2026 retail sales forecast

Logistics Management Jeff Berman March 19, 2026

What’s more, despite the many ongoing issues, at the moment, NRF observed that this year’s forecast surpassed the 10-year average annual sales growth rate over the last 10 years, at 3.6%.

Link: National Retail Federation NRF Forecasts 4.4% Annual Retail Sales Growth with New Economic Model

Middle East war will ‘amplify’ volatility in global supply chains: Cosco

Journal of Commerce Keith Wallis March 19, 2026 $Subscription Based

Geopolitical tensions, heightened by war in the Middle East, will accelerate the pace of regionalization in global trade and nearshoring this year while “amplifying the volatility of global supply chains,” Cosco Shipping said Thursday.

Ecommerce Trends: Why Walmart's view of agentic commerce is evolving

Digital Commerce 360 Brian Warmoth March 19, 2026

Speaking to an audience at Morgan Stanley’s Technology Media and Telecom Conference in March, Danker addressed one of the biggest questions for Walmart (and other retailers) about agentic commerce right now: Is it additive as a growth driver, or is it merely a replacement for other channels as a means of buying the same things?

Amazon acquires startup Rivr to test robots for ‘doorstep delivery’

CNBC Annie Palmer March 19, 2026

Amazon has acquired robotics startup Rivr, known for its four-legged delivery robots on wheels, the company confirmed.

The company expects to test ways it can use Rivr’s robots to help with “doorstep delivery” and to “improve safety outcomes” for delivery drivers.

INDUSTRY

POLA and POLB report annual February volume gains

Logistics Management Jeff Berman March 19, 2026

“Two months into the year, the port has handled about 1.6 million TEU, steady cargo movement,” said Seroka on a recent POLA-hosted media call. “While that's 5% lower than last year's elevated start, which was driven by pre-tariff shipments, we're still slightly ahead of the port's five-year average.

From containers to doorsteps: Maersk’s push Into parcel logistics

Freight Waves Thomas Wasson March 19, 2026

Maersk built its reputation moving containers across oceans. Now the maritime giant wants to deliver packages to your doorstep. To do so, it’s using data modeling, artificial intelligence and a web of carrier partners to make it happen

The Oil Shock Is Here. And We’re Just Beginning to Feel It.

HBR Thomas Stackpole March 19, 2026 $Subscription Based

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which 20% of the world’s oil flows through, is sending shockwaves through the global economy. But how big will this disruption actually be? According to a conversation with oil analyst Rory Johnston, the effects could be huge—and delayed.

Diesel prices surge in SoCal

ABC News 7 Los Angeles Ashley Mackey March 20, 2026

According to AAA, on Wednesday, diesel prices were averaging $6.54 in Los Angeles, $6.52 in Orange County and $6.50 in San Bernardino.

ATA Urges Congress to Refocus Highway Bill on Freight Routes

Transport Topics Eugene Mulero March 19, 2026

The trucking industry is asking lawmakers to center the next surface transportation bill on the National Highway System, establish long-term funding for truck parking and repeal the 12% federal excise tax on new trucks.

TECHNOLOGY

Jeff Bezos in Talks to Raise $100 Billion for AI Manufacturing Fund

The Wall Street Journal Berber Jin et al. March 19, 2026 $Subscription Based

Bezos was recently appointed co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a new startup that is building artificial-intelligence models that can understand and simulate the physical world.

The next act for robotics: Human–machine collaboration

McKinsey & Company March 17, 2026

Mikell Taylor, director of robotics strategy at General Motors, discusses next-generation robots and dispels some common myths.

Ani Kelkar: Imagine the factory of the future. What role will robotics play in manufacturing in 2040?

Mikell Taylor: Automation is going to be critical for manufacturing, especially in the United States during reshoring efforts. The nuance that can’t be overlooked is that success will rely on how well people and automation work together. I am not a believer in lights-out manufacturing. I’ve worked long enough in robotics to know that stage is a wonderful North Star, but it never becomes a reality.

Online bot traffic will exceed human traffic by 2027, Cloudflare CEO says

Tech Crunch Sarah Perez March 19, 2026

Bots are taking over the web, according to Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince. In an interview at the SXSW conference in Austin this week, he said that with the speed at which artificial intelligence is growing, AI bot traffic will exceed the amount of human traffic that’s online by 2027.

OpenAI Plans Launch of Desktop ‘Superapp’ to Refocus, Simplify User Experience

The Wall Street Journal Berber Jin et al. March 19, 2026 $Subscription Based

OpenAI is planning to unify its ChatGPT app, coding platform Codex and browser into a desktop “superapp,” a step to simplify the user experience and continue with efforts to focus on engineering and business customers.

SUSTAINABILITY / SAFETY / SECURITY

EU companies pursue sustainability reporting despite CSRD rollbacks: report

ESG Dive Lauren Schenkman March 19, 2026

Ninety percent of a pool of European companies now excluded from the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive after changes to its employee and revenue thresholds still intend to maintain or expand their sustainability reporting activity, according to a report released this month.

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