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The day’s most important moves across every mode — air, rail, road, ocean and the trade that ties them together.
| ● On the Wire |
TUE · SEP 22 · 2026 |
5 stories |
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Avoid congestion and costly delays. Seattle-Tacoma’s fluid terminal operations, on-dock rail and 2-3 day rail dwell will speed your cargo to its final destination.
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LOGISTICS · DATA CENTERS
BY ERIC KULISCH · AMERICAN SHIPPER · SEP 21, 2026
Kuehne+Nagel signed a long-term contract to run supply-chain logistics for Amazon’s global data center buildout, expanding beyond the air cargo work it already does moving servers on its own 747-8 freighters into ocean, ground and full lifecycle contract logistics; the deal includes a seven-year option letting Amazon buy K+N shares once commercial milestones are hit.
| THE TAKE — Structuring the deal with an equity call option, not just a service contract, signals Amazon wants K+N’s capacity locked in for the long run rather than treating this as one more RFP-won logistics contract — competing 3PLs chasing hyperscaler data center freight should expect Amazon to keep consolidating this work with fewer, deeper partners. |
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AIR CARGO · REGULATORY
The FAA granted Boeing an exemption to keep building Boeing 777 freighters past the January 2028 international emissions deadline, extending production through 2031 to bridge the gap until the 777-8 freighter reaches the market in late 2028 or 2029; freighters now carry about 60% of air cargo volume, up from 50% pre-pandemic, as widebody passenger deliveries have fallen to roughly half of 2019 levels.
| THE TAKE — An emissions rule getting waived specifically to protect cargo capacity shows how tight the freighter market has become — air cargo shippers locking in charter or ACMI capacity should expect 777 freighter availability to stay a seller’s market well past 2028, not ease once the exemption period starts. |
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TRADE COMPLIANCE · CUSTOMS
U.S. Customs and Border Protection began voiding importer-of-record numbers with inaccurate or incomplete Form 5106 data on Sept. 19, immediately blocking entry clearance for both new and existing importers with no advance warning period to fix errors; nonresident foreign importers, DDP sellers and e-commerce operators using third-party fulfillment centers are most exposed, and CBP hasn’t disclosed how many numbers have been voided so far.
| THE TAKE — Zero warning before voiding a number that’s required for customs clearance means brokers should be auditing client Form 5106 data now, not after a shipment gets stranded — the accumulating port storage costs on voided-IOR freight will fall on whoever waited to check. |
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS · SECURITY
Unserviceable F-35 components being repaired in the U.S. were rerouted to Hong Kong while crossing the Pacific under an intermediary shipping arrangement for Lockheed Martin, with the diverted shipment including a canopy that houses stealth-related cockpit technology; congressional briefings began in June, and the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office says it’s working to recover the parts and tighten controls after a 2023 GAO review found over 1 million F-35 spare parts reported missing in five years.
| THE TAKE — A stealth-relevant canopy going missing mid-transit, not just generic spare parts, is the detail that should worry defense logistics providers — any 3PL or freight forwarder touching F-35 repair-and-return shipments should expect the Pentagon to tighten chain-of-custody and routing-change controls well beyond this one incident. |
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CROSS-BORDER · DISTRIBUTION
Tesla is building a 538,720-square-foot distribution facility at the Mustang Ridge Distribution Center near Austin, an estimated $1.44 million build-out set to run from December 2026 to December 2028, adding to its Central Texas logistics footprint alongside Gigafactory Texas as the company sources components from suppliers across Nuevo León, Coahuila and Chihuahua; Tesla posted $28.24 billion in Q2 revenue, up 26% year-over-year, with capex running toward $25 billion annually.
| THE TAKE — Building distribution capacity in Central Texas rather than closer to the border itself suggests Tesla is optimizing for U.S. domestic fulfillment speed as much as cross-border component flow — carriers and warehousing providers along the I-35 corridor should watch for more Tesla-driven demand as this facility and its supplier network scale up through 2028. |
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| Get a behind-the-scenes look at one of North America’s leading trade gateways. This short video shows how the Northwest Seaport Alliance is creating opportunities, moving cargo, and keeping supply chains connected: Watch the video. |
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OCT 27–28, 2026 · THE SIGNAL, CHATTANOOGA · CHATTANOOGA, TN
FreightWaves’ flagship event blends rapid-fire tech demos and world-class speakers with the most legendary networking in logistics. Join 1,000+ freight and logistics experts, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators for a definitive look at the year ahead. Come for the insights, stay for the celebration and leave with the connections that will define your 2027.
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American Shipper · The Daily — published weekdays
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