Fourteen months after one of its freight trains derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, spilling toxic chemicals into the air, water, and soil, Norfolk Southern Corp. said it has reached a $600 million agreement to resolve a class action lawsuit by local residents.
If approved by the court, the agreement will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment, the Atlanta-based railway said.
According to the company, it made commitments in March 2023 to address three long-term concerns of residents—drinking water, home values, and healthcare—and it has already announced programs for the first two. Today’s agreement provides additional monetary relief to individuals, including for healthcare, and to help qualifying local businesses continue to rebuild and grow.
It is expected to be submitted for preliminary approval to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio later in April 2024. Subject to final court approval, payments to class members under the settlement could begin by the end of this year.
Motion Industries Inc., a Birmingham, Alabama, distributor of maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) replacement parts and industrial technology solutions, has agreed to acquire International Conveyor and Rubber (ICR) for its seventh acquisition of the year, the firms said today.
ICR is a Blairsville, Pennsylvania-based company with 150 employees that offers sales, installation, repair, and maintenance of conveyor belts, as well as engineering and design services for custom solutions.
From its seven locations, ICR serves customers in the sectors of mining and aggregates, power generation, oil and gas, construction, steel, building materials manufacturing, package handling and distribution, wood/pulp/paper, cement and asphalt, recycling and marine terminals. In a statement, Kory Krinock, one of ICR’s owner-operators, said the deal would enhance the company’s services and customer value proposition while also contributing to Motion’s growth.
“ICR is highly complementary to Motion, adding seven strategic locations that expand our reach,” James Howe, president of Motion Industries, said in a release. “ICR introduces new customers and end markets, allowing us to broaden our offerings. We are thrilled to welcome the highly talented ICR employees to the Motion team, including Kory and the other owner-operators, who will continue to play an integral role in the business.”
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. But the deal marks the latest expansion by Motion Industries, which has been on an acquisition roll during 2024, buying up: hydraulic provider Stoney Creek Hydraulics, industrial products distributor LSI Supply Inc., electrical and automation firm Allied Circuits, automotive supplier Motor Parts & Equipment Corporation (MPEC), and both Perfetto Manufacturing and SER Hydraulics.
The move delivers on its August announcement of a fleet renewal plan that will allow the company to proceed on its path to decarbonization, according to a statement from Anda Cristescu, Head of Chartering & Newbuilding at Maersk.
The first vessels will be delivered in 2028, and the last delivery will take place in 2030, enabling a total capacity to haul 300,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) using lower emissions fuel. The new vessels will be built in sizes from 9,000 to 17,000 TEU each, allowing them to fill various roles and functions within the company’s future network.
In the meantime, the company will also proceed with its plan to charter a range of methanol and liquified gas dual-fuel vessels totaling 500,000 TEU capacity, replacing existing capacity. Maersk has now finalized these charter contracts across several tonnage providers, the company said.
The shipyards now contracted to build the vessels are: Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and New Times Shipbuilding—both in China—and Hanwha Ocean in South Korea.
Asia Pacific origin markets are continuing to contribute an outsize share of worldwide air cargo growth this year, generating more than half (56%) of the global +12% year-on-year (YoY) increase in tonnages in the first 10 months of 2024, according to an analysis by WorldACD Market Data.
The region’s strong contribution this year means Asia Pacific’s share of worldwide outbound tonnages overall has risen two percentage points to 41% from 39% last year, well ahead of Europe on 24%, Central & South America on 14%, Middle East & South Asia (MESA) with 9% of global volumes, North America’s 8%, and Africa’s 4%.
Not only does the Asia Pacific region have the largest market share, but it also has the fastest growth, Netherlands-based WorldACD said. After origin Asia Pacific with its 56% share of global tonnage growth this year, Europe came in as the second origin region accounting for a much lower 17% of global tonnage growth. That was followed closely by the MESA region, which contributed 14% of outbound tonnage growth this year despite its small size, bolstered by traffic shifting to air this year due to continuing disruptions to the region’s ocean freight markets caused by violence in the vital Red Sea corridor to the Suez Canal.
The types of freight that are driving Asia Pacific dominance in air freight exports begin with “general cargo” contributing almost two thirds (64%) of this year’s growth, boosted by large volumes of e-commerce traffic flying consolidated as general cargo. After that, “special cargo” generated 36%, with 80% of that portion consisting of the vulnerables/high-tech product category.
Among the top 5 individual airport or city origin growth markets, the world’s busiest air cargo gateway Hong Kong also remained the biggest single generator of YoY outbound growth in October, as it has for much of this year. Hong Kong’s +15% YoY tonnage increase generated around twice the growth in absolute chargeable weight of second-placed Miami, even though the latter had recorded +31% YoY growth compared with its tonnages in October last year. Dubai was the third-biggest outbound growth market, thanks to its +45% YoY increase in October, closely followed by Shanghai and Tokyo.
And on the inverse side of the that trendline, the top 5 YoY decreases in inbound tonnages were recorded in Teheran, Beirut, Beijing, Dhaka, and Zaragoza. Notably, Teheran’s and Beirut’s inbound tonnages almost completely wiped out as most commercial flights to and from Iran and Lebanon were suspended last month amid Middle East violence; tonnages at both airports were down by -96%, YoY, in October. Other location that saw steep declines included Dhaka, Beirut and Zaragoza – affected by political unrest, conflict, and flooding, respectively –followed by China’s Qingdao and Mexico’s Guadalajara.
Specifically, 48% of respondents identified rising tariffs and trade barriers as their top concern, followed by supply chain disruptions at 45% and geopolitical instability at 41%. Moreover, tariffs and trade barriers ranked as the priority issue regardless of company size, as respondents at companies with less than 250 employees, 251-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-50,000 and 50,000+ employees all cited it as the most significant issue they are currently facing.
“Evolving tariffs and trade policies are one of a number of complex issues requiring organizations to build more resilience into their supply chains through compliance, technology and strategic planning,” Jackson Wood, Director, Industry Strategy at Descartes, said in a release. “With the potential for the incoming U.S. administration to impose new and additional tariffs on a wide variety of goods and countries of origin, U.S. importers may need to significantly re-engineer their sourcing strategies to mitigate potentially higher costs.”
Cowan is a dedicated contract carrier that also provides brokerage, drayage, and warehousing services. The company operates approximately 1,800 trucks and 7,500 trailers across more than 40 locations throughout the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic regions, serving the retail and consumer goods, food and beverage products, industrials, and building materials sectors.
After the deal, Schneider will operate over 8,400 tractors in its dedicated arm – approximately 70% of its total Truckload fleet – cementing its place as one of the largest dedicated providers in the transportation industry, Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Schneider said.
The latest move follows earlier acquisitions by Schneider of the dedicated contract carriers Midwest Logistics Systems and M&M Transport Services LLC in 2023.