329 layoffs hit freight-related firms in Texas

Shearer’s Foods Shearer’s Foods is permanently closing a production facility in Lubbock, Texas, and laying off all 176 workers, according to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The Massillon, Ohio-based company is a contract manufacturer and private label supplier of salty snacks, cookies and crackers. “After an extensive period of consideration, the difficult…

Water level projections threaten future Panama Canal transits

Dry season in Panama is in full swing, and the impacts to trade through the Panama Canal will remain challenged in the months to come. The situation in the canal, after a wetter-than-expected November, wasn’t as dire as many believed, allowing the number of daily transits to increase in January. The Panama Canal forecast 24…

Spare part delays keep Lufthansa Cargo A321 freighters grounded

Two Lufthansa Cargo narrowbody freighters remain sidelined for a third week because of technical problems discovered after the aircraft entered a maintenance hangar to repair small cracks in rear floor boards, FreightWaves has learned. Lufthansa repaired the cracks within a couple days of their discovery in mid-January, but inspectors subsequently discovered other technical issues with…