Texas Gulf Coast ports record strong freight movements in May

Port Houston’s container cargo volumes surged 21% in May; while the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, recorded a 6.7% increase in total shipments. Port Houston sees boost in cargo volumes from consumer spending Port Houston handled 364,866 twenty-foot equivalent units in May, a 21% year-over-year (y/y) increase. Buoyed by regional consumer spending on items like…

Iowa officials: Long-missing trucker died of hypothermia after using meth

Iowa authorities have concluded that a trucker whose body was found in April less than a mile from his abandoned truck died from hypothermia after he used meth. The Sac County attorney’s office announced Friday that the death of David Schultz, whose body was discovered April 24, was accidental. Schultz, a 53-year-old trucker from Wall…

NTSB makes 20 recommendations stemming from East Palestine derailment

This story originally appeared on Trains.com by correspondent Bill Stephens. EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – Norfolk Southern and its contractors should not have decided to vent and burn derailed tank cars carrying vinyl chloride three days after the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.   The five tank…

Buttigieg taps Vinn White to head FMCSA

WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has appointed Vinn White as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s deputy administrator, succeeding Robin Hutcheson, who resigned as FMCSA administrator in January. Sue Lawless, FMCSA’s chief safety officer and a career federal employee, has been serving since then as acting administrator until a political appointee was designated…

Reporter’s Notebook: On the tarmac at Dulles airport

DULLES, Va. — A reporter picks up interesting anecdotes that often don’t make it into regular articles. Here are some tidbits and observations from a behind-the-scenes press tour at Dulles International Airport (IAD), outside Washington last Monday. Dulles set a record with 25 million passengers last year. The airport authority is also moving ahead with…