Current Affairs

February 9, 2022

FXI Fire in CA

Industrial fire in Orange generates huge flames, explosion

A greater-alarm fire broke out in an industrial area of Orange early Wednesday. (Photo by Nathan Holguin/RMG News)
A greater-alarm fire broke out in an industrial area of Orange early Wednesday. (Photo by Nathan Holguin/RMG News)

By Nathaniel Percy | npercy@scng.com | Daily BreezePUBLISHED: February 9, 2022 at 2:56 a.m. | UPDATED: February 9, 2022 at 8:26 a.m.

A fire at a large foam-making company in Orange sent massive flames and plumes of smoke into the air early Wednesday, Feb. 9, possibly destroying two vehicles and a couple outbuildings before firefighters extinguished the blaze, authorities said.

No employee or firefighter was injured, said Capt. Ryan O’Connor of the Orange Fire Department.

Firefighters received a call from employees at FXI, located at 2060 N. Batavia St., about 12:30 a.m.

As firefighters made their way to the 24-acre property, “most of our rigs could see a header and a glow from their stations,” he said.

Firefighters immediately called for more resources and took a defensive approach, setting up rigs around the circumference of the property to pour water onto the fire and protect neighboring buildings, O’Connor said.

Employees told firefighters they were loading large rectangles of foam, called foam buns, from an outside lot onto a conveyor belt to be processed when they noticed one of them smoking, O’Connor said.

“They moved it off of the conveyor belt and they tried to extinguish it, but by that time, it had gotten out of hand and had spread to others,” the captain said.

Fifteen to 20 employees were across the street from the building when firefighters arrived, he said.

The department received help from nearby fire departments, with the bulk of the fire put out in about two hours.

What caused the fire was under investigation and an estimated cost of the damage was not immediately available.

FXI has operated at the facility since 2009 and purchased the property in 2014, according to a company statement announcing the purchase.

In October 2020, firefighters put out a smaller blaze at FXI in about 20 minutes. During that battle, firefighters focused their efforts on a large metal pipe that connected the main building with a smaller structure outside.

February 9, 2022

Supply Chain Normalization?

World’s Top Shipping Exec Says Worst Supply-Chain Snarls Have Peaked

by Tyler DurdenWednesday, Feb 09, 2022 – 11:11 AM

AP Moller-Maersk suggests the climax of global supply-chains snarls has passed, and bottlenecks will alleviate in the second half of the year. There are emerging signs major transpacific shipping freight rates are at a critical inflection point. 

“We are guiding in an environment where we are coming out of a pandemic, and we don’t have much experience with that to be honest,” Chief Executive Officer Soren Skou said in a Bloomberg TV interview. 

“So we are saying we expect quite a strong first half of 2022, and then we expect what we call a normalization early in the second half,” Skou said. 

The top shipping exec expects transpacific shipping rates to decline as COVID restrictions are lifted, leading to the easing of congestion at the US’ largest container ports, ones located at Los Angeles and Long Beach on the US west coast. 

“We are trying to guide as best as we possibly can, not to be optimistic or pessimistic,” he said. “We do not have much visibility to what will happen when people return to work, when bottlenecks open up and a lot of the capacity tied up today in Los Angeles and Long Beach gets released — how is that going to work out. We’ll have to see.”

There’s growing consensus on Wall Street, especially with JP Morgan, as one of their analysts told clients days ago that global supply chain constraints have peaked. A leading indicator of this is major shipping rates which have slumped in recent months. 

The exact timing of the normalization to the shipping industry is unknown, considering there’s no data of coming out of a virus pandemic. Though the world’s top shipping exec says it could happen as soon as this summer. 

If peak congestion has already hit, this would suggest chip shortages could diminish later this year, thus increasing new vehicle production and possibly topping out used car prices

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/worlds-top-shipping-exec-says-worst-supply-chain-snarls-have-peaked

February 9, 2022

Supply Chain Normalization?

World’s Top Shipping Exec Says Worst Supply-Chain Snarls Have Peaked

by Tyler DurdenWednesday, Feb 09, 2022 – 11:11 AM

AP Moller-Maersk suggests the climax of global supply-chains snarls has passed, and bottlenecks will alleviate in the second half of the year. There are emerging signs major transpacific shipping freight rates are at a critical inflection point. 

“We are guiding in an environment where we are coming out of a pandemic, and we don’t have much experience with that to be honest,” Chief Executive Officer Soren Skou said in a Bloomberg TV interview. 

“So we are saying we expect quite a strong first half of 2022, and then we expect what we call a normalization early in the second half,” Skou said. 

The top shipping exec expects transpacific shipping rates to decline as COVID restrictions are lifted, leading to the easing of congestion at the US’ largest container ports, ones located at Los Angeles and Long Beach on the US west coast. 

“We are trying to guide as best as we possibly can, not to be optimistic or pessimistic,” he said. “We do not have much visibility to what will happen when people return to work, when bottlenecks open up and a lot of the capacity tied up today in Los Angeles and Long Beach gets released — how is that going to work out. We’ll have to see.”

There’s growing consensus on Wall Street, especially with JP Morgan, as one of their analysts told clients days ago that global supply chain constraints have peaked. A leading indicator of this is major shipping rates which have slumped in recent months. 

The exact timing of the normalization to the shipping industry is unknown, considering there’s no data of coming out of a virus pandemic. Though the world’s top shipping exec says it could happen as soon as this summer. 

If peak congestion has already hit, this would suggest chip shortages could diminish later this year, thus increasing new vehicle production and possibly topping out used car prices

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/worlds-top-shipping-exec-says-worst-supply-chain-snarls-have-peaked

February 4, 2022

Driver Pay Increases

Driver pay hikes continue to roll in

Midwest Carriers, CFI latest to raise pay

Todd MaidenThursday, February 3, 2022 2 minutes read

Pay hikes not likely to slow for some time
Pay hikes not likely to slow for some time (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Listen to this article 0:00 / 3:40 BeyondWords

High demand and a lack of qualified drivers has pushed truckload carriers to raise pay substantially over the past year and a half. Wage increases have helped fleets maintain size through the pandemic, but few have been able to grow organically. Following a round of large pay increases in 2021, it appears the industry will continue to push pay rates higher to address a labor shortfall.

Two more fleets announced pay hikes this week.

Kaukauna, Wisconsin-based Midwest Carriers announced a 9% pay increase for over-the-road drivers. The pay bump takes average annual pay to a range of $86,395 to $92,250. Average annual pay for the top half of the company’s over-the-road drivers increased to $97,550.

“As a driver-focused trucking company, we know that taking care of our drivers is job number one,” said President Eric Van Handel. “This increase is our way of showing how much we value their hard work and dedication.”

The company also announced a 9% reduction in health insurance premiums for 2022.

Midwest Carriers operates a fleet of 166 trucks and 455 trailers, hauling temperature-controlled and dry freight.

TFI International (NYSE: TFII) affiliate CFI announced Wednesday it increased driver pay in its truckload and temperature-controlled units by two cents per mile. Drivers will also be eligible for incentive bonuses tied to safety, productivity and years of service.

The Joplin-Missouri-based company said it plans to take delivery of 770 new Kenworth tractors and 250 new trailers in 2022, moving its average tractor age to less than 2 years. It also plans to invest $3.75 million in additional fleet upgrades during the year to attract drivers to the company.

“We continue to invest in our people with modern, fuel-efficient equipment, including options and accessories most in demand by professional drivers supporting safe operations and driver comfort,” said CFI President Greg Orr.

CFI employs nearly 3,000 drivers for its fleet of more than 3,900 tractors and 10,000 trailers. The company also utilizes capacity from an owner-operator network of 700.

“We recognize our professional drivers as the ‘captain of their ship’ who pick up and deliver on time and safely, as promised to our customers,” Orr said. “As such, we are implementing driver pay increases that align pay across our services with an attractive compensation package.”

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/driver-pay-hikes-continue-to-roll-in?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FW_Daily_2_4_22&utm_term=Read+More&utm_id=112409&sfmc_id=63552105

February 4, 2022

Driver Pay Increases

Driver pay hikes continue to roll in

Midwest Carriers, CFI latest to raise pay

Todd MaidenThursday, February 3, 2022 2 minutes read

Pay hikes not likely to slow for some time
Pay hikes not likely to slow for some time (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Listen to this article 0:00 / 3:40 BeyondWords

High demand and a lack of qualified drivers has pushed truckload carriers to raise pay substantially over the past year and a half. Wage increases have helped fleets maintain size through the pandemic, but few have been able to grow organically. Following a round of large pay increases in 2021, it appears the industry will continue to push pay rates higher to address a labor shortfall.

Two more fleets announced pay hikes this week.

Kaukauna, Wisconsin-based Midwest Carriers announced a 9% pay increase for over-the-road drivers. The pay bump takes average annual pay to a range of $86,395 to $92,250. Average annual pay for the top half of the company’s over-the-road drivers increased to $97,550.

“As a driver-focused trucking company, we know that taking care of our drivers is job number one,” said President Eric Van Handel. “This increase is our way of showing how much we value their hard work and dedication.”

The company also announced a 9% reduction in health insurance premiums for 2022.

Midwest Carriers operates a fleet of 166 trucks and 455 trailers, hauling temperature-controlled and dry freight.

TFI International (NYSE: TFII) affiliate CFI announced Wednesday it increased driver pay in its truckload and temperature-controlled units by two cents per mile. Drivers will also be eligible for incentive bonuses tied to safety, productivity and years of service.

The Joplin-Missouri-based company said it plans to take delivery of 770 new Kenworth tractors and 250 new trailers in 2022, moving its average tractor age to less than 2 years. It also plans to invest $3.75 million in additional fleet upgrades during the year to attract drivers to the company.

“We continue to invest in our people with modern, fuel-efficient equipment, including options and accessories most in demand by professional drivers supporting safe operations and driver comfort,” said CFI President Greg Orr.

CFI employs nearly 3,000 drivers for its fleet of more than 3,900 tractors and 10,000 trailers. The company also utilizes capacity from an owner-operator network of 700.

“We recognize our professional drivers as the ‘captain of their ship’ who pick up and deliver on time and safely, as promised to our customers,” Orr said. “As such, we are implementing driver pay increases that align pay across our services with an attractive compensation package.”

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/driver-pay-hikes-continue-to-roll-in?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FW_Daily_2_4_22&utm_term=Read+More&utm_id=112409&sfmc_id=63552105