Truck drivers play an essential role in the world economy, but life isn’t easy for them. Drivers face a wide variety of issues and challenges that affect both them and the industry as a whole. For example, trucker issues contributed to the driver shortage, as qualified drivers leave the industry because of low pay and difficult working conditions. Other truck driver challenges include issues related to health and wellness. Truckers must deal with a lack of exercise, poor diet, extended periods without bathroom breaks, eye strain, cramped conditions, poor sleep — not to mention the mental toll of being away from home and family for days at a time. Though many drivers earn good wages, the physical and mental stress isn’t always worth it to them.
Check back here for the latest news and insights on driver issues, or visit our Trucking Industry News archive to find additional information.
At FreightWaves’ F3: Future of Freight Festival, trucking-focused attorney Matthew Leffler said the $100 million-plus Werner case is “the most important case facing the trucking industry now.”
In a new rulemaking governing broker-motor carrier contracts, regulators stop short of an out-right ban on transparency waivers sought by truckers.
Safety and trucking capacity changes resulting from new CDL restrictions could hinge on how effective each state is in implementing the regulation.
A Florida jury awarded $125 million in punitive damages and $16.5 million in other damages against a small trucking company that no longer exists.
California’s attorney general’s office has filed a brief against OOIDA’s attempts to block the AB5 independent contractor law from the state’s trucking sector.
Proficient Auto Logistics had warned of a weak quarter. The numbers released Friday proved that projection correct.
A group with trucking interests as a key driver has been formed in Texas to push new tort reform.
The number of truck transportation jobs in the U.S., as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is only slightly off from where it was a year ago.
Roughly 6% of CDL holders may be involved in predatory lease contracts with their carriers, according to a federal task force.
Uber Freight posted a wider EBITDA loss but showed improvement in revenue in the third quarter.
A federally authorized study on driver retention finds turnover results from trucking companies’ economically driven policies.
Werner CEO Derek Leathers delivered a surprisingly positive outlook for the trucking market.
Interstate traffic in North Carolina and Tennessee is still dealing with the fallout from Hurricane Helene.
DHL is signing up for hydrogen trucks to be used in Illinois.
October’s SONAR webinar looked at key factors in earning the Shipper of Choice distinction.
Trucking and marijuana use was the background issue in arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this week regarding a driver who was dismissed for failing a THC test even though he hadn’t used marijuana.
The TriumphPay payments network turned in a positive EBITDA performance in Q3, a key benchmark for the company.
The annual ATRI survey of top industry concerns reveals a big gap between what drivers and carriers worry about.
OOIDA and load board operator have teamed up in a deal that will give OOIDA members a discount.
A demand spike in truckload markets can leave independent drivers particularly vulnerable to fraud and theft.
Recent Department of Labor action against logistics company Cargomatic is part of a broader crackdown against what the Biden administration calls “coercive provisions” in employment contracts.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed a small drop in trucking jobs in September but an enormous one at warehouses.
A second front will be opened in the legal battle over whether Amazon is a joint employer of drivers along with its delivery service partners.
Major interstate closures are continuing in both North Carolina and Tennessee after Hurricane Helene.
A driver blew the whistle on a trucking company that fired him for refusing to haul an oversized load without a safety escort.
Congress has approved legislation to expand opportunities for veterans looking to start a truck driving career.
Data released by CVSA on International Roadcheck supports earlier numbers that suggest plenty of drivers stayed home.
A deal between Relay Payments and Love’s Travel Stops means the payments provider will cover about 75% of the diesel market.
A decertification effort by a small group of unionized workers at a Werner unit in New Jersey has ousted the United Food & Commercial Workers union a year after it was certified.
The basic per diem rate allowed by the IRS for payments to transportation workers is rising by $11 in fiscal year 2025.
Technology alone is not enough to retain drivers, according to a panel at Trimble’s technology conference Insight. Human intervention still matters.
A Virginia-based road construction company illegally fired one of its drivers, according to OSHA.
This week in Borderlands: Texas truckers taking labor protest to the Big Apple; Exports of Mexico-built cargo trucks rise in August; Mexico’s largest bank opens office in Houston dedicated to nearshoring; and Stonepeak acquires 1.1 million -square-foot logistics property in Texas.
A driver who lost his job after taking a CBD product he thought didn’t have THC is about to argue before the Supreme Court that he should be able to sue the manufacturers under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Truckstop.com’s Brent Hutto discusses the company’s zero-tolerance policy toward fraud and its recent work with the FBI.
Universal Logistics is cutting more than 90 workers at its facility in Detroit.
The BLS report for August showed another decline in truck transportation jobs and another increase in warehouse employment.
Opponents of a bill transferring significant authority over California warehouses from local governments to the state are waiting to see whether Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign it.
A second Trump administration could mean drastic course changes for DOT truck policy if the administration embraces recommendations made in The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
A regional decision by the National Labor Relations Board undermines Amazon’s delivery service partner model and will force greater recognition of unionized workers by the retail giant across the country, according to the Teamsters union.
The California Trucking Association is ending its long-fought legal battle against the state’s AB5 independent contractor law.
Landfill operator Waste Management Holdings told federal regulators that certain truck driver requirements hinder its ability to respond to emergencies.
The annual BLS benchmark adjustment used to determine employment levels moved up for transportation, unlike most of the economy.
Meet former U.S. servicemen and women in the trucking industry who are now helping fellow vets with life challenges.
A federal court decision on an Illinois employment law could pose a legal threat to carriers well beyond the state’s borders.
ATA and OOIDA are at odds in a very public way over the Biden administration independent contractor rule.
ELD, hours-of-service, sexual harassment guidance could be up for review at the FMCSA based on public feedback.
Proficient Auto Logistics, the auto hauler that went public in May, has made its first acquisition since its IPO.
OOIDA, in its appeal in California’s AB5 independent contractor law case, raised the law’s B2B exemption as an issue.
As extreme heat and numerous natural disasters continue to hit the U.S. this summer and beyond, trucking companies must prepare to avoid disruption.
EBITDA at Uber Freight remained negative in the second quarter, and revenue continued to fall.
FMCSA has been called on to rein in spiraling towing rates that many claim lack proper oversight.
The employment report for July showed truck transportation jobs down for the fourth straight month.
New York City is claiming early victory in cutting down traffic on a troubled highway segment in Brooklyn.
Owner-operators and crash victim advocates say easing restrictions for new drivers is a safety risk. Regulators approved an exemption despite those objections.
Ryder’s earnings report for the second quarter showed some sluggishness, but company executives see a bottom.
GOP lawmakers have asked owner-operators for rules they want to see overturned following a landmark Supreme Court decision.
Kelly Williams of Trimble weighed in on where technology has helped or fallen short for people in the trucking sector.
Triumph Financial is sticking to its long-term goal of growing TriumphPay Network market share even as earnings sag.
The key court battle to block the Biden administration’s independent contractor rule is in Louisiana, and a request for an injunction against the rule has been taken a step up in the federal courts.
Werner/ECM is moving toward a union contract in New Jersey, but the stakes may be higher in its union battle in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The BLS jobs report for June recorded a small drop in the number of truck transportation jobs.
A U.S. House appropriations bill includes $200 million to address the truck parking shortage, a problem plaguing most truck drivers.
California’s PAGA law, long a bane for business, is set to get an overhaul.
Wheeler Trucking will pay $65,000 to an employee who faced religious discrimination at the company’s Ohio location.
A class action lawsuit that was first filed more than 13 years ago has resulted in another, possibly final victory for Werner.
A small Virginia trucking company fought off a union, but ensuing legal cases may end up pushing the National Labor Relations Board toward more pro-union policies.
A congressionally mandated report on CDL skills testing reveals states that are improving — or getting worse — on testing wait times for aspiring truck drivers.
Some truck drivers supporting the reclassification of marijuana are decrying as hypocritical the banning of pot while off-duty alcohol use is allowed.
Truckers “could be regulated out of existence” if the Biden administration’s Phase 3 emissions rule is allowed to stand, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
An anonymous federal survey on seat belt use by truck drivers follows recent fatality data showing many are not buckling up.
AB5, California’s independent contractor classification law, has won a second significant decision in a federal court, with all 11 members of a 9th Circuit panel upholding the law for Uber drivers.
Another drop in truck transportation jobs in May means the total stands at the same level as it did in November.
Federal trucking regulators want in-person comments on revisions to how carriers are rated on safety.
Teamsters update: The union has recently aligned with Amazon workers, won three elections and signed a new deal with a Ryder unit.
A tight employee market has led Love’s to cut some overnight services, but it’s also offering a new training benefit for workers.
While the U.S. government works to ease the lack of truck parking, it will take more to solve the problem.
FMCSA has granted waivers to a new round of truck drivers who have epilepsy or hearing impairment.
The American Trucking Associations’ “Nothing Without Trucking” initiative is an effective rebranding of ATA’s efforts to educate the public and lawmakers about the industry, experts say.
Results from BMO’s transportation sector showed deterioration in trucking credit quality.
The State of Freight webinar for May sees a key benchmark turn higher; is this the bottom?
The Teamsters is celebrating what it says is a first-ever victory to organize drivers at a Kroger fulfillment center.
Minnesota has reached a deal on compensation for Uber and Lyft drivers, and a California court seems to favor Proposition 22’s protections for gig workers from the state’s independent contractor law.
The Justice Department’s move to loosen restrictions on pot has drawn a strong reaction from large trucking companies that fear recategorizing the drug could lead to more crashes.
Getting a commercial learner’s permit at 17 would give disadvantaged students a faster path to truck driver jobs, Connell High School in eastern Washington told regulators.
A coalition of far-flung states has filed a lawsuit to fight California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule.
The port at Norfolk, Virginia, has benefited more than any other port from the closing of the Port of Baltimore after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, according to visibility platform GoComet.
EBITDA losses at Uber Freight grew in the first quarter, but its president expressed strength in the company’s business model.
More than 3 1/2 years after a suspect in a series of staged accidents in Louisiana was slain, there are arrests in the case.
New Class 8 truck orders in April up from a year ago, down from March.
Truck transportation jobs posted a small decline in April after six straight months of relatively minor gains.
A requirement that motor carriers pass a written safety exam before being issued a DOT number will be delayed again as new drivers involved in fatal crashes are on the rise.
The one attorney who has pleaded guilty in the Louisiana staged truck accident scam has seen his sentencing delayed again.
Triumph Financial CEO Aaron Graft talked future opportunities as growth engine TriumphPay flipped to negative EBITDA in the first quarter.
The April State of Freight webinar tried to make sense of a trucking market that has now been in the doldrums for two years.
Five auto haulers are combining to launch an initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
Assertions that trucker wages will suffer unless CDL test-taking rules are relaxed in Florida did not sway trucking regulators.
Here are a few key takeaways from the Scopelitis Transportation Law seminar on the myriad of legal issues facing today’s trucking fleets.
Federal rules on personal conveyance are a big reason for continued hours-of-service violations, according to P. Sean Garney of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting.
The California Trucking Association and OOIDA plan to appeal a recent decision upholding California’s independent contractor law, AB5, to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
