Supply Chain Intelligence Brief

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TRUCKING

Truck tonnage levels head up for second straight month in August, reports ATA

Logistics Management September 23, 2025

“The good news is that truck freight volumes had a nice end of the summer,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “However, while I’d like to predict a strong rebound in freight levels through the upcoming holidays, I can’t. I believe traditional seasonal patterns are off this year as shippers adjust to tariffs. 

Link: American Trucking Associations Press Release ATA Truck Tonnage Index Rose 0.9% in August

Spot truckload volumes and rates see August declines, reports DAT

Logistics Management Jeff Berman September 23, 2025

“Dry van contract rates have not moved by more than $0.01, for the most part, over the last year-and-a-half [sequentially],” he said. “It is remarkable when you think about it. If we did not have the ‘fake out’ that happened in mid-2023, where the market probably oversold itself a little bit, the rates would have been at $2 conceivably for the last two-and-a-half years.

FedEx Freight grows sales team numbers ahead of spinoff

Trucking Dive David Taube September 23, 2025

The goal of the staffing additions, coupled with technology, is to improve the customer experience, Dietrich said on the call.

FedEx aims to have 400 sales specialists prior to the separation. As of last December, there were 75 sales reps at Freight dedicated to large accounts.

Gatik expands autonomous truck fleet With Loblaw

Freight Waves Thomas Wasson September 23, 2025

The autonomous trucks will operate on short-haul, middle-mile routes of approximately 40-50 miles, moving both dry and perishable goods to Loblaw stores. Initially, Gatik’s vehicles will operate with safety drivers on board, particularly for tasks like backing into docks and stores, with plans to transition to fully driverless operations in the future.

Link: Gatik Press Release Gatik and Loblaw Ink 5-year Expansion Deal to Scale AI-Powered Autonomous Trucking Solution Across Regional Distribution Networks

SHIPPERS / 3PLs

Walmart, Target bring back October deals events

Retail Dive Dani James September 23, 2025

If Target and Walmart’s events are any indicator, holiday shopping starts in October these days. The mass merchants join other retailers, including Amazon and Kohl’s, in bringing back their fall deals events to entice consumers to shop earlier.

Echo Global opens Monterrey office amid US-Mexico trade boom

Freight Waves Noi Mahoney September 24, 2025

Echo Global Logistics has opened a new office in Monterrey, Mexico, strengthening its cross-border presence as U.S.-Mexico trade continues to grow at a steady pace.

The Chicago-based 3PL already operates facilities in Mexico City and Guadalajara, along with a major site in Laredo, Texas.

3 ways retailers are maintaining inventory resilience amid tariff turmoil

Supply Chain Dive Kelly Stroh September 23, 2025

“Retailers are listening to demand signals tighter than ever before,” Noah Hoffman, VP of North American surface transportation at C.H. Robinson, said during the event. This means leveraging real-time data, including artificial intelligence, to coordinate with the retailer’s supplier community.

ChatGPT is now 20% of Walmart’s referral traffic — while Amazon wards off AI shopping agents

Modern Retail Allison Smith September 24, 2025

Data from Similarweb, a web traffic analytics company, shows that one in five of Walmart’s referral clicks in August came from ChatGPT, up 15% from July. Other retailers are seeing a lift, too: ChatGPT now drives more than 20% of referral traffic to Etsy, nearly 15% to Target and 10% to eBay.

Why Online Sales Aren’t Profitable for Grocery Stores

Knowledge At Wharton Santiago Gallino September 23, 2025

“If you are Walmart, your hope is that customers will have the frequency of transactions and add things from other categories that will make you money,” he said, noting that Walmart also offsets costs by selling ads on its site.

INDUSTRY

UP-NS merger could extend West Coast market share reach

Journal of Commerce Mark Szakonyi September 23, 2025 $Subscription Based

The planned transcontinental merger of two major US railroads may incentivize more US West Coast routings and increase competition with the Port of Vancouver for Midwest markets. That would come after West Coast ports over the past decade have lost share to East and Gulf coast gateways and to ports in Western Canada.

German postal operator to resume US parcel shipping

Freight Waves Eric Kulisch September 23, 2025

Post and Parcel Germany announced Tuesday it will begin shipping packages for businesses to the United States and Puerto Rico on Thursday, but will require upfront payment of duties to comply with the U.S. requirements. Australia Post resumed postal deliveries to the United States on Monday.

Why a Defense Startup Built a U.S. Supply Chain for Its 3-D Printer

The Wall Street Journal Liz Young September 23, 2025 $Subscription Based

WSJ: What were some of the challenges building a U.S. supply chain?

Czinger: Even just the metal [parts] supply in the U.S. is much smaller than you would imagine. When we were looking for precision machine parts and when we were looking for even just steel framing parts—this printer sits in a large steel frame—the number of suppliers that can meet the requirement but also sign up to do a machine per week by the end of next year…. They’re far and few between.

TECHNOLOGY

McLeod Software’s new era of AI, integration, and industry leadership

Fleet Owner Jad Brasher September 23, 2025

“Being able to come back and recommend a rate, format the response, allow the user to click and send or edit—it’s one of the most common things that is done manually,” McLeod said. But in addition to those automatic responses, RespondAI can also keep a record of those quotes and identify which quote led to an order and which ones did not. The system then creates a “report card” that carriers can refer to when assessing business performance.

Generative AI will affect tech jobs more than other sectors

CIO Dive Roberto Torres September 23, 2025

The rise of generative AI tools will more deeply transform tech jobs more than other sectors, according to an Indeed analysis published Tuesday. The job site’s Hiring Lab analyzed more than 2,800 skills for the report to identify what skills would be most and least affected by generative AI adoption.

Link: Indeed Hiring Lab AI at Work Report 2025: How GenAI is Rewiring the DNA of Jobs

AI Agents Arrive at Citi

The Wall Street Journal Isabelle Bousquette September 22, 2025 $Subscription Based

The financial firm said it would run a 5,000 person pilot to find out how helpful the new “agentic” technology is to staff in areas like research and client profiling.

SUSTAINABILITY / SAFETY / SECURITY

CARB rips EPA’s ‘sloppy and amateurish’ effort to repeal GHG regs

CCJ Jason Cannon September 23, 2025

“Let’s just say the quiet part out loud: EPA’s proposal is a stunningly sloppy and amateurish effort to sow doubt where there is no doubt,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “And EPA cannot simply repeal its own standards based on a political whim. The agency owes the American people straight, honest answers as to why it is proposing to carelessly risk their health, lives and property.”

Link: California Air Resources Board Press Release CARB submits scathing critique of U.S. EPA’s illegal effort to overturn the endangerment finding

Related: American Trucking Association Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards; Proposed Rule

Are Companies Actually Scaling Back Their Climate Commitments?

HBR Neil Hawkins and Kelly Cooper September 23, 2025

Despite headlines declaring the collapse of corporate ESG, a new study of 75 firms across the world found that only 13% have retreated from sustainability, while 85% have held steady or accelerated efforts—often under the radar. Political scrutiny has made public sustainability commitments risky, prompting many firms to engage in “greenhushing,” where they continue climate-aligned strategies but mute their messaging.

Automakers Push Trump to Weaken Biden Emissions Rules

Transport Topics/Bloomberg News Keith Laing September 23, 2025

Automakers for years have been subjected to major swings in environmental policy as presidential administrations change, shifts that affect billions of dollars in investment plans. The Alliance urged the EPA to replace the current tailpipe rules with alternative standards that the industry can realistically achieve.

FMCSA Audited Over States’ Enforcement of English Mandates

Transport Topics Noël Fletcher September 23, 2025

An internal audit of how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is ensuring states comply with federal standards for English-language proficiency when issuing commercial driver licenses is being launched by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Audits office.

BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

Richmond Federal Reserve: Fifth District Manufacturing Activity Softened Again in September

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond September 23, 2025

Fifth District manufacturing activity softened again in September, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index fell to -17 in September from -7 in August. All three of its component indexes decreased. Shipments dropped to -20 from -5, new orders

fell to -15 from -6, and employment decreased to -15 from -11.

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