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Major ports and rail facilities across the U.S. Southeast have halted operations as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the country advances as a tropical storm, causing disruptions along the way and resulting in another blow for already strained supply chains.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Sept. 28, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Damaging winds and rain lashed the state, and the heavily populated Naples to Sarasota region was at highest risk of a devastating storm surge.

OMAHA, Neb. — A union that rejected its deal with the nation’s freight railroads earlier this month now has a new tentative agreement, but officials cautioned that the contract dispute won’t be fully settled until all 12 rail unions approve their agreements this fall.

North Dakota is joining a handful of states that are merging their long-term freight and rail plans into a single document to maximize multimodal synergies and streamline federal reporting requirements.

It’ll cost more to mail letters and packages this holiday season. Starting Oct. 2, the U.S. Postal Service is increasing its rates for both commercial and retail products.

OMAHA, Neb. — A last-minute deal prevented a railroad strike for now, but many rail workers remain unhappy with working conditions, including some who protested outside their workplaces Sept. 21 ahead of votes to approve the new contracts.

CHICAGO — White House Supply Chain Envoy Stephen Lyons said Sept. 20 he believes the recently negotiated tentative agreement between the five Class I railroads and unions — representing 150,000 railroad locomotive engineers, conductors and railroad workers — will be ratified.

After years of “unmitigated growth,” the nation’s busiest port complex is facing calls to lower its carbon footprint from Southern California communities plagued by the health and environmental impacts, said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

The number of containers arriving at the Port of Los Angeles dropped by the most since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic last month, an early indication that consumer demand could be starting to moderate.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The driver shortage remains a top concern for fleets, and carriers are working to attract new and younger entrants into the industry.