Commerce Express Weekly Road Map: January 12th, 2021

Keeping you informed on the latest news/insights in our industry.

Truckload

On January 7th, Sec. Elaine Chao announced her resignation of her cabinet position as the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary. In her full statement she posted on Twitter she stated she is “Tremendously proud of the many accomplishments we[colleagues] were able to achieve together for our country” (@SecElaineChao). It was simultaneously announced that Mayor Pete Buttigieg will take over Chao’s position. 

Mayor Pete Buttigieg made his first statement as the new Secretary on January 10th and stated via Twitter, “If confirmed, as Secretary, I will ensure that the Department of Transportation carries out its most fundamental mission of ensuring safety for both travelers and workers” (@PeteButtigieg). Buttigieg is a former U.S. Nay intelligence officer and served as Mayor of South Bend Indiana from 2021-2020. As his position in the cabinet is confirmed, we will keep up to date with policy changes and trends that take place during his term.

Less Than Truck Load

It can be difficult to decide between Truckload and Less-Than-Truckload shipping. Unless your company is shipping a lot of cargo, whereby the choice to ship full truckload may be a relatively simple decision, sitting right on the tipping point between either can bring a lot of questions into the mix.

Read more on our Commerce Express blog!

Rail

On January 5th, a law was signed by President Trump that will require the Department of Homeland Security to scan or x-ray all cargo or passenger vehicles at the U.S. borders. This method of scanning will be non-invasive and hopefully a speedy process. 

While this may not directly affect domestic shipments, there is a chance that the southern U.S. border and the general area will experience more congestion than normal as this process becomes a “well oiled machine”. We will keep up to date on these congestion concerns, if you frequent shipments in the southern region of the U.S., especially in bordering states to Mexico, this may be something to keep in the back of your head. 

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