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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 |
FRI · SEP 18 · 2026 |
4 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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RAIL · FREIGHT VOLUMES
BY STUART CHIRLS · AMERICAN SHIPPER · SEP 17, 2026
U.S. rail traffic fell 3.7% to 494,865 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Sept. 12, a rare weekly decline driven by an 18.8% drop in motor vehicles and parts and a 9.2% slide in chemicals, even as grain climbed 17.3% and petroleum products rose 6.5%; year-to-date volume through 36 weeks is still up 3.4% versus 2025.
| THE TAKE — THE TAKE — A single off week driven by auto and chemical softness, with grain and energy still growing, looks more like normal week-to-week noise than a trend reversal — shippers should watch the next two or three weekly reports before reading anything structural into this dip. |
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RAIL · INTERMODAL
Norfolk Southern’s Shawn Tureman told IANA’s annual conference the railroad is entering a third intermodal era focused on removing operational friction rather than just competing on price, pointing to a 13.7% year-over-year jump in weekly intermodal volume and estimating the proposed UP-NS merger could shift roughly 10,000 lanes from interline to single-line service, cutting about 2,400 daily railcar/container handlings and 60,000 car-miles.
| THE TAKE — THE TAKE — Framing the merger case around eliminated handlings and car-miles rather than headline cost savings is a deliberate pitch to regulators worried about service quality, not just competition — shippers evaluating the deal should ask which of their own lanes fall inside that 10,000-lane conversion list. |
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CROSS-BORDER · TRUCKING
Mexico’s customs agency lifted a five-day ban on empty trucks crossing into Mexico at Eagle Pass on Sept. 13 after roughly 700 tractors got stranded and daily crossings fell from about 1,000 trucks to 300-400, a disruption industry groups estimated was costing the region up to $1 million a day; the reversal followed meetings between Mexican customs, U.S. CBP and the Mexican Consulate.
| THE TAKE — THE TAKE — A five-day policy reversal after industry pressure shows how thin the margin for error is at a crossing handling $3.77 billion in annual trade — carriers running Eagle Pass lanes should build slack into equipment cycles given how quickly a single customs decision can strand hundreds of tractors. |
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CROSS-BORDER · ENFORCEMENT
Mexican authorities arrested Ángel Guerrero Carrillo, alleged logistics coordinator for the Chapo Isidro faction of the Beltrán Leyva Organization, in Zapopan, Jalisco, in a joint U.S.-Mexico operation tied to fentanyl and synthetic-drug distribution into Seattle and Tacoma; federal records show the network has used commercial tractor-trailers to move drug loads, including a 2023 seizure of roughly 483,000 fentanyl pills from a semi-truck.
| THE TAKE — THE TAKE — Cartel logistics networks using commercial tractor-trailers as cover means carriers and brokers along Pacific Northwest lanes should treat unusually vague load descriptions or last-minute carrier substitutions as red flags, not just contract-theft risk. |
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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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