We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Truckload traffic jumps as shippers move freight away from Hurricane Laura

Truckload traffic jumps as shippers move freight away from Hurricane Laura

Event could also trigger rise in gas prices, as oil refineries shut down before Category 4 storm hits “Gasoline Alley” coastline.

hurricane laura pic
August 26, 2020
Ben Ames
No Comments

Spot truckload freight activity jumped last week as shippers and logistics companies began to reposition freight ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Laura, which has quickly grown into a powerful, Category 4 hurricane that is forecast to swamp the Texas-Louisiana border later tonight.

The fast-moving storm is expected to sweep quickly over the coastline between Houston and New Orleans, and then continue inland, bringing hurricane-force winds and widespread damaging gusts across portions of eastern Texas and western Louisiana early Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Ahead of that potential hammer strike, more than half a million people were ordered to flee the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, according to published reports. Fearing the damage of up to 13 feet of storm surge flooding, most of the displaced residents were from Beaumont, Galveston, and Port Arthur, Texas, with additional evacuees leaving Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana. That evacuation has been slowed because buses are carrying fewer people than their full capacity, in order to minimize the spread of Covid-19.

One possible impact of the storm could be a jump in gasoline prices, since many energy companies have already closed down the oil refineries that are densely packed along the “Gasoline Alley” coastline precisely where the storm is heading. For example, diesel and gasoline both rose more than 15 cents a gallon in the weeks after Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area in August 2017, similarly causing many refineries to shut down, according to Portland, Oregon-based DAT Freight & Analytics, which operates an online marketplace for spot truckload freight.

Another consequence of the storm has already occurred, as freight rates in trucking markets rose to their highest levels since July 2018, according to DAT’s analysis of national average spot rates. Driven by a rush to reposition inventory before the storm strikes, the number of loads posted on the DAT One load board network increased 9% compared to the previous week. That pressure has pushed van rates up to $2.20 per mile (17 cents above the July average), flatbed rates to $2.28 per mile (up 8 cents), and refrigerated rates to $2.43 per mile (up 13 cents), DAT said.

Despite those challenges, disaster recovery charity group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) is urging area residents to follow those evacuation directives. “All signs point to Hurricane Laura making landfall as a Category 3 or 4 with historic, catastrophic levels of winds, flooding and storm surge,” Kathy Fulton, ALAN’s executive director, said in a release. “As a result, we expect to see a substantial need for donated warehouse space, transportation, and logistics equipment – and we are mobilizing accordingly.”

ALAN is also reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. Following the storm’s passage, the group will share details about any requests for logistics assistance that it receives. “This has already been the busiest year in ALAN’s history, and our supporters have already gone above and beyond,” Fulton said.  “Even so we truly hope that the logistics community still has a lot of compassion left in its tank, because storms like Laura often result in a deluge of demand, and our industry is best positioned to provide that support.”

1 PM CDT: #Laura is now an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane with maximum winds of 140 MPH. Little time remains to protect life and property before water levels begin to rise and winds increase in the warning areas https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/6f9tvionaR

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2020
Trucking Disaster Response
KEYWORDS ALAN DAT
  • Related Articles

    Technology promotes transparency in transportation, shipping

    Gulf Coast braces for Hurricane Sally even as repairs continue from Hurricane Laura

    Threat of Hurricane Laura shutters energy production from Houston to New Orleans

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

CN offers $33.7 billion to one-up rival’s bid for Kansas City Southern railway

Social issues become a new logistics KPI

Catching the boomerang

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Roadrunner Freight bolsters LTL capabilities with $50 million in new backing

  • Southeastern Freight Lines Promotes Marty Cox to Service Center Manager in Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Pull back or go deeper—how the pandemic influenced shipper-3PL engagement

  • Boston Dynamics trials box-lifting robot for unloading trucks

  • The growing crisis in agriculture exports: interview with Peter Friedmann

Now Playing on DCV-TV

96b38742 832c 44a1 8a8c ca757c50105d

Making the Switch to Reusable Pallets in Your Supply Chain

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Reusable plastic pallets offer food, beverage and CPG companies a hygienic, sustainable and reliable way to store and move product within their plants and beyond. In recent testing, plastic pallets can travel up to 200 trips versus alternative wood pallets that travel 11 trips. Attend to learn more about making the...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Special Report: Supply Chain Trends in Retail & Consumer Goods

  • Fortify Your Operational Resilience

  • Cold Storage Automation: Leveraging Advanced Technologies to Meet Increasing Demand

  • The modern warehouse: Maximizing productivity and capacity

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing