This week: Warehouses have hired tens of thousands of California workers over the last five years, but there’s one worry: robots, more companies, including Target, are rolling back on loyalty programs, Walmart eliminates a few dozen corporate jobs, Staples may be planning to spin off its retail business to Office Depot and hundreds of people showed up for a chance to pack and ship products to Amazon customers. MORE

due to the fallout from the Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy. Out West, Fresno and nearby Sacramento were off for this time of year. The lane from Fresno to Denver was down 21¢ to $2.01/mile, and the average reefer rate for Sacramento to Salt Lake City fell 20¢ to $2.27/mile. Spot market rates were up last week, but volumes fell. Hurricane Matthew likely played a role in both of those factors. MORE

Nogales, AZ , was the only produce-shipping market to post any big rate increases last week, as many others were down significantly. Miami, Denver, Sacramento and Lakeland, FL , all experienced sharp drops last week. The demand for refrigerated trailers peaked at year-end, but the extra-cold weather in many parts of the country has kept prices at record-setting levels in many areas, since those trailers are being used to keep freight from freezing. MORE

down 430 bps), Tucson (down 310 bps), Sacramento (down 260 bps), and Jacksonville, (down 220 bps). We're continuing to see increasing demand for our services from companies in need of these facilities, in order to receive and ship products to customers' homes and physical retail locations. Vacancies in the US industrial sector, which includes warehouses, distribution centres and other facilities, dropped by 10 basis points (bps) to 7.2 MORE

That comes despite uneven production out of Florida , shipping gaps in California , and a drop in volumes in markets near the Mexican border. Sacramento to Portland, OR was up 32¢ to $2.77/mile. Philadelphia to Miami fell 20¢ to $1.50/mile, but that should snap back with produce starting to ship out of Southern New Jersey. Spot market van volumes have been fairly flat since March, but still well above last year's numbers. Last week was a mixed bag, though. MORE

Projections for Central California produce are still strong for June, so we’re keeping an eye on the Fresno market, but those shipping gaps meant that rates didn’t continue their upward trend on many of the top reefer lanes. Asparagus, beans, and peas are shipping out of Western Michigan, and reefer rates on the lane from Grand Rapids to Philadelphia jumped up 47¢ to $3.17/mile. The lane from Sacramento to Denver paid 24¢ better on average, at $2.63/mile. MORE

while central California is shipping cherries and seasonal vegetables, including asparagus. California is also hot for reefers, with rates trending up in Ontario and Sacramento. If you are looking to move van or reefer loads out of the Southeast this week, you may have to pay more than you expected for those trucks. In some cases, you'll pay a lot more. Rates rose sharply last week for box-like trailers, with and without refrigeration. MORE

Miami continued to ship lots of reefer roads, while Lakeland in the central part of the state joined the Florida parade. We expect load counts to pick up there and in the border market of McAllen, TX , with avocados shipping ahead of Cinco de Mayo. Out West, Sacramento to Portland gained 22¢ to $2.44/mile. Spot market volumes were down during the first week of April. MORE

California looks at dumping gas tax for per-mile fee as cars use less fuel (Sacramento Bee). Not counting thousands of sites inside its retail stores, the shipping company now has about 4,000 locations in places like grocery stores, dry cleaners and “mom-and-pop” merchants. One week to go before we go on hiatus for the holidays, which means I have one week to finish a million things on my “To Do” list. MORE

Most parts of California are shipping more loads, especially the Fresno market in central California. Offsetting this are declines out of Atlanta, Grand Rapids and Sacramento. Even though rates are slow to respond, freight volumes are rising as we get closer to the fall holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Activity is also up from the Nogales, AZ, market, as well as Florida and South Texas. MORE

Columbus, OH, had spikes on a pair of lanes shipping into the Northeast, which is unusual for this time of year: Columbus to Buffalo was up 17¢ to $2.79/mile. Sacramento to Denver was up 26¢ to $2.55/mile. We got a welcomed surge of spot market freight to close out July. It's unusual to see an uptick in volumes at this point in the summer, but the top 100 van lanes set all-time records for volumes last week. MORE

Miami continued to ship lots of reefer roads, while Lakeland in the central part of the state joined the Florida parade. We expect load counts to pick up there and in the border market of McAllen, TX , with avocados shipping ahead of Cinco de Mayo. Out West, Sacramento to Portland gained 22¢ to $2.44/mile. Spot market volumes were down during the first week of April. MORE

We don’t like to use the word “crazy” but what we’ve got for you is crazy-amazing savings in freight prices in both Canada and the USA, to help your business through these challenging times: Sample Rates in the USA (48” x 40” x 48”, 500 lbs, class 125): Los Angeles, CA to Sacramento, CA — was: USD $186, n ow: USD $109 (savings: 41%). Sacramento, CA to Houston, TX — was: USD $258, n ow: USD $189 (savings: 27%). Stay healthy & happy shipping! MORE

We’re hearing a lot about shipping gaps in California due to delays in planting because of an unusually wet winter, which explains the flat reefer volumes last week. After interruptions caused by recent wildfires, produce was shipping out of Florida again, and the biggest rate increases were on lanes leaving the state: Miami to Northern New Jersey reefer rates were up 17¢ to $2.26/mile. Sacramento to Denver slipped 14¢ to $2.17/mile. MORE

FedEx Introduces Enhancements to Deep Frozen Shipping. The vehicles have a range of up to 75 miles and primarily will deliver packages to customers in Sacramento, San Bernardino, Ceres, Fresno and Bakersfield. Schools are closed, the roads are empty, and we’re all just waiting for the blizzard to arrive. It’s a stay-at-home-in-your-pajamas kind of day, my favorite. And the fact that it’s Friday makes it even better. MORE

On the down side, Nogales, AZ, rates slipped lower, and Sacramento gave up the previous week’s gains in rates and volume. Miami rates also dropped 4¢ per mile, but rates and volume there may increase in the coming weeks, as ships full of South American produce are diverted from Houston to the Port of Miami. The national average for reefer rates stayed put at $2.07 per mile last week, but pricing got rearranged by region. MORE

This week: Warehouses have hired tens of thousands of California workers over the last five years, but there’s one worry: robots, more companies, including Target, are rolling back on loyalty programs, Walmart eliminates a few dozen corporate jobs, Staples may be planning to spin off its retail business to Office Depot and hundreds of people showed up for a chance to pack and ship products to Amazon customers. MORE

California was also shipping more after a week of difficult weather, but there were enough trucks to accommodate the increase in demand. The exception was Sacramento , which was the only major reefer market with higher rates last week. December was arguably the strongest month for freight in 2016. So even though we're now going through the typical seasonal slow-down for mid-January, rates are still higher than usual in some places for this time of year. MORE