Rising Great Lakes water levels benefit some, but cost others

Aug 15, 2019
The shipping industry is profiting from rising water levels in the Great Lakes, but homeowners and city parks are struggling.
The city of Duluth, Minnesota’s construction projects supervisor Mike LeBeau looks down at the rebuilding of a section of the popular Lakewalk pedestrian and bike trail. The trail was damaged by a series of huge storms, compounded by high water levels on Lake Superior. The rebuild is costing about $3 million.
Dan Kraker/Marketplace

The hidden junk economy on the Miami River

May 10, 2019
Despite its lack of order, it works.
Wilson Simon sorts through used mattresses for resale in Port-de-Paix, Haiti. A mattress is one of the most sought after commodities in the underground, break-bulk shipping industry between Miami and Haiti and is considered to be “gold” among vendors.
Rowan Moore Gerety

In logistics, employers scramble for workers

May 7, 2019
Bureau of Labor Statistics data show nearly 90,000 job openings in warehousing, transportation and utilities in March.
Boxes travel on conveyor belts at an Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, in 2017.
Mark Makela/Getty Images

Amazon delivery options are rooted in data — and competition

Apr 25, 2019
The online retail giant still feels brick-and-mortar stores hot on its heels.
An Amazon package makes its way down a conveyor belt before being shipped.
PHILIPPE MERLE/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. short on long-haul truckers

Mar 13, 2019
Trucking companies are boosting pay and trying to make the lifestyle more amenable to a new generation of drivers.
61-year-old Petru Strugari of Portland, Oregon, says driver pay is rising at trucking companies, just as costs rise for parts and maintenance to operate his own truck.
Mitchell Hartman/Marketplace

Not plain sailing for Texas oil exports

Mar 8, 2019
In Texas, energy companies are scrambling to find a home for the record amount of oil they’re producing.
In Texas, energy companies are scrambling to find a home for the record amount of oil they’re producing.
MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Maritime rule change could push up costs

Jan 18, 2019
The United Nations agency regulating shipping wants ships to use cleaner fuel.
A container ship from China Shipping Line is loaded at the main container port August 13, 2007 in Hamburg, Germany.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Customs officials struggle with the uptick in volume of goods shipped into the U.S.

Dec 28, 2018
A 2016 law that allows goods from abroad to enter the U.S. duty free as long as they are valued at $800 or less has opened up the door to more counterfeiters.
Customs officers in the DHL warehouse at JFK Airport.
Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace

National Returns Day peaks for the first time before Christmas

Dec 20, 2018
UPS estimates it will process a record 1.5 million Black Friday returns before Dec. 25.
Christmas came early this year ... for the returns department, that is.
PRImageFactory/Getty Images

Why FedEx is a bellwether for the global economy

Dec 19, 2018
Experts say the shipping company’s earnings offer a look ahead at where the economy’s going