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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 |
Monday, October 26 |
5 stories |
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The Northwest Seaport Alliance connects Pacific Northwest shippers to Asia with some of the shortest transit times on the West Coast, backed by deep-water berths and on-dock rail at both Seattle and Tacoma.
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Ocean
BY STUART CHIRLS · AMERICAN SHIPPER · OCTOBER 23, 2026
Drewry’s World Container Index rose 2% to $4,585 per 40-foot container, with Shanghai–Los Angeles rates climbing to $8,007 as import demand lifts trans-Pacific pricing.
| THE TAKE — Rates are firming on both major east–west trades, but the blank-sailing picture differs: carriers cut announced trans-Pacific cancellations to two next week from six, while Asia–Europe blanks rise to eight from two. Drewry expects trans-Pacific rates to hold steady and Asia–Europe to edge up. Shorter vessel waits at Shanghai and steady Suez sailings suggest operations are normalizing, which could ease the squeeze on shippers if demand holds. |
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Air Cargo
Airbus projects the global freighter fleet will grow 46% by 2045 to 3,460 aircraft, requiring 2,670 new planes, with air cargo traffic growing 3.2% a year.
| THE TAKE — The forecast is almost unchanged from last year, with traffic growth trimmed a tenth of a point to 3.2%, which reads as steady confidence rather than a boom. The mix matters: 1,700 of the new aircraft would be passenger-to-freighter conversions versus 970 factory-built, and Airbus’s own A350F isn’t due to reach a first customer until late 2027. Asia leads regional growth at about 4%, while the Middle East has slid on the Iran war. |
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Fuel
A Malta-flagged tanker carrying 40,000 metric tons of Russian ultra-low-sulfur diesel is bound for New York under a U.S.-Russia supply agreement announced earlier this month.
| THE TAKE — At roughly 300,000 barrels, the cargo is only about 7% of daily U.S. diesel use, so energy experts don’t expect it to move prices much, even with larger shipments of 500,000 and 1 million tons promised. Its arrival on Nov. 7 comes after the Nov. 3 midterms, which blunts any near-term political benefit. The bigger story is the policy shift, with Ukraine’s president already criticizing the decision. |
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Rail
The Port of Coos Bay secured $204.8 million in federal CRISI funding to upgrade its 111-mile rail line for a proposed deepwater container terminal.
| THE TAKE — The grant is a major step for the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port, but the terminal’s price tag tops $2 billion and it remains years from opening pending further funding, permitting and environmental review. Contractor proposals are due Oct. 28, and dredging concerns from environmental advocates will shape the public-comment phase. Supporters point to 2,500 permanent jobs and an alternative West Coast gateway. |
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Supply Chain
A new ASCM and DSCI survey finds 83% of supply chain professionals say their employees are unprepared to use AI effectively, holding many projects in pilot or planning stages.
| THE TAKE — The gap in outcomes is stark: respondents with a ready workforce reported a 71% AI project success rate versus 28% for everyone else. Adoption averages just 1.94 on a five-point scale, and only 12% of directors lead AI efforts even though most of the C-suite does. The takeaway from ASCM’s CEO is to start with one high-value process and involve the people who run it. |
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This week on American Shipper TV: what rising import demand means for trans-Pacific rates, and how Airbus sees the freighter market growing through 2045. Watch the full segment →
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OCT 27–28, 2026 · THE SIGNAL, 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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