News and Insight

The following insights are taken from a monthly discussion between Sunset’s nine US/MX branches. Trends and discussions range from seasonal manufacturing and agriculture trends that affect available capacity to general insight into outside factors affecting freight volumes. Below is a summary of the January call: DOMESTIC Fuel Fuel prices on the rise for the third consecutive … Read More

The following report was written by the Sunset Transportation cross-border team, stationed at the World Trade border in Laredo / Nuevo Laredo and Querétaro, MX. Insights are drawn from multiple sources, including our in-house transportation experts and industry data. https://www.dat.com/ https://www.freightwaves.com/ Transactional and Committed Markets As we begin 2022, the U.S. truckload market continues at … Read More

A message from Sunset’s International Director Liberty Baugher regarding Chinese New Year closures: We are hearing chatter that some production facilities in China will be taking early closures for Chinese New Year. Traditionally, the closure would be from 01/31 – 02/06, but in some cases, factories will close for 15 days or longer due to already … Read More

UPDATE: via The Load Star Forwarders are shifting volumes to congested-Shanghai to avoid landside delays, despite carrier schedules so far unaffected by the newest Covid-disruption at Ningbo. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has repeatedly fallen victim to China’s tough Covid restrictions over the past six months, with the latest lockdown taking place in Ningbo’s Beilun district, which borders three of the port’s … Read More

Sunset’s National Sales Director Sarah Eggleston joined the FreightWaves Check Call podcast, hosted by Mary O’Connell, to discuss Sunset’s prospecting strategy and honing in on what the customer really needs. “We spend so much time in the sales process and in implementation and onboarding, we absolutely are in it for the long haul and we … Read More

The following insights are taken from a monthly discussion between Sunset’s nine US/MX branches. Trends and discussions range from seasonal manufacturing and agriculture trends that affect available capacity to general insight into outside factors affecting freight volumes. Below is a summary of the December call: DOMESTIC Fuel Fuel prices dipped and should level for the few … Read More

via AJOT: North America’s middle ground: New cargo routes to and from the Midwest The COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant supply-chain crisis has provided an opportunity for shippers and carriers to tweak North American transportation routes. But it’s not as if no one thought about this before. Congestion at the ports of Southern California is … Read More

Sunset is proud to continue our 18-year partnership with the Greater St. Louis Area Council Boy Scouts of America and St. Louis Food Bank as we returned to an in-person food drive, following the COVID-19 hiatus in 2020.  The 2021 event was the most successful since 2016, collecting 653,026 pounds of donated food in one … Read More

Via FreightWaves: Truck drivers from Canada and Mexico will be barred from crossing the U.S. border as of Jan. 22 unless they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Associated Press has reported. Trucking industry groups have been pushing for a delay out of fears large numbers of unvaccinated truckers will stop moving cross-border freight. Less than … Read More

Sunset’s Managing Director, Jose Minarro, spoke to FreightWaves alongside Mark Vickers from insurance provider Reliance Partners, about the risks associated with cross-border shipping, the importance of carrier vetting and why Mexican cargo insurance is essential. The difference in freight practices between the U.S. and Mexico is apparent, with carrier liability in Mexico being nearly nonexistent. Carriers have … Read More

Attention LTL shippers: We wanted to make you aware of important industry-wide changes (led by FedEx earlier this year) for your LTL shipments.  In the past, most carriers (not all) had a surcharge associated with the maximum number of linear feet you can take up in a trailer on a single freight bill.  What’s changed?  … Read More

*The following report is authored by Sunset Transportation’s Cross-border team, stationed at the World Trade border in Laredo/Nuevo Laredo and Queretaro, MX.  Insights are taken from multiple sources, including our internal freight experts and industry data.  https://www.dat.com/https://www.freightwaves.com/ Transactional and Committed Markets As we move into the Holiday season, all three truckload segments continue to face … Read More