❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now

Repairs keep Great Lakes shipping industry working through winter

Feb 8, 2017
Changing its business model helped Great Lakes Towing survive and expand.
Workers build the tug Cleveland at Great Lakes Towing. The newer tugboats are named after ports.
Elizabeth Miller/ideastream

Amazon takes to the skies

Feb 2, 2017
Amazon plans to build an air cargo hub for its delivery planes. The company will only deliver its own mail for now. But there’s a chance it could be competition for the big mail carriers like UPS and FedEx. Click the above audio player to hear the full story. 

The nation’s delivery fleet had challenging holiday

Jan 2, 2017
More online sales means more shipping.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Image

Railroads worry trade policy could reduce freight traffic

Nov 22, 2016
A big infrastructure plan would boost rail shipments of construction materials.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Shipping companies play for time as new fuel rules beckon

Oct 25, 2016
Ships are big polluters, and next week, maritime nations could require them to use fuel that generates less sulfur content. But that kind of fuel is expensive, and the shipping business is in a bit of a slump just now. So shipping companies are begging for more time.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Laptops and smartphones on the New Silk Road

Oct 11, 2016
Duisburg is the biggest inland container port in the world, and you've probably never heard of it.
Loading a container on the train for China.
John Laurenson/Marketplace

Will FedEx deliver earnings?

Sep 20, 2016
The company is putting a lot of effort into improving business.
FedEx is trying to decrease its dependence on the postal service.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

The shipping industry sinks as global trade slows

Aug 31, 2016
Shipbuilders also produce way too much new capacity after the recession.
A fully loaded cargo ship heads out to sea from New York Harbor on August 22, 2016 in New York City.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Port of Los Angeles gives a lesson in mega ships

Aug 24, 2016
East Coast ports can learn a lot from Los Angeles about handling giant ships.
The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, the largest container ship to ever call at a North America port, is docked at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California.
SCOTT VARLEY/AFP/Getty Images

Digital trade is booming

Jun 27, 2016
The flow of data across borders contributes more to global GDP than trade in physical goods.
Cross-border bandwidth is 45 times larger than in 2005, according to McKinsey & Company.
verkeorg/Flickr