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.
A contract agreement between Universal Logistics and the Teamsters union will bring a group of Southern California drivers in compliance with AB5.
A Michigan trucking company owner is seeking major relief from driver work-rule restrictions to help his customers avoid costly shutdowns.
Loomis Express workers have called off a strike after reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract.
Using the economic realities test, an appellate court backed a lower-court ruling that a group of drivers were independent contractors, not employees.
The injunction that has kept California’s AB5 independent contractor law at bay since the end of 2019 has been formally lifted.
Federal regulators have appointed 16 members to an all-female advisory board in an effort to boost the ranks of women in trucking.
Growing hemp has been legal since 2018, but transporting it across state lines remains a risky proposition for trucking.
Everybody thought the legal wrangling over California’s AB5 was done, but a court hearing Monday says otherwise.
Uber Freight and others announced LightningPay last fall, and the product’s philosophy and practices were presented at a key industry conference in Atlanta.
Trucking regulators will consider allowing hair drug test results to be reported into a federal drug clearinghouse — despite asserting a lack of authority.
New York City police have targeted overnight truck parking in a section of the city close to Kennedy Airport.
Federal regulators are inviting the public to comment on a truck driver’s request to be exempt from hours-of-service rules.
Love’s has killed plans to build a truck stop on Interstate 90 in Montana, with local opposition winning out despite government approval.
Federal regulators are issuing new guidance for truck driver medical qualifications, and sleep apnea regulations could be a next step.
An annual ATRI survey reflects the weakening correlation between retail diesel prices and actual trucking fuel costs.
Eric Sauer, who has worked for CTA for more than 20 years, has become its new CEO.
There’s a new report out that should concern diesel buyers.
A survey on truck driver compensation by the American Trucking Associations showed the scope of the gains in driver pay over the last two years.
Washington state is weighing options after agreeing not to appeal FMCSA’s preemption determination on the state’s truck driver meal/rest break laws.
An appellate court reversed a lower court decision and found that a one-time Schneider independent contractor was actually an employee.
A vote to be represented by the Teamsters at an STG facility in California has taken place but the ballots have been impounded.
A court-appointed receiver is working to get hundreds of truckers’ accounts receivable paid nearly three weeks after a legal feud between brothers led to the abrupt shutdown of CoreFund Capital, a Texas-based factoring company.
Jobs in the truck transportation sector have risen every month post-pandemic except one, but the pace of growth is slowing.
California’s PAGA law, which turns private citizens into mini-prosecutors, may become the key to enforcing AB5 in trucking.
Some 80 Houston owner-operators have been on strike against Hudd Transportation since Monday.
A federal appeals court upheld the FMCSA’s hours-of-service rules by rejecting a challenge filed by safety groups alleging the 2020 changes make the roads less safe.
TransForce, long a provider of drivers to carriers, is rolling out its proposal for independent contractor compliance with AB5.
As truckers protest for the fifth day, workers at the Port of Oakland have been busy setting up orange barricades at all four of the marine terminals in case demonstrations over controversial state law AB5 spill over into next week.
Public comments reveal most truckers believe a proposal to require engines to have speed limiters will make roads less safe.
Port of Oakland officials are imploring truckers to end their protest over AB5 as the independent contractors prepare to block the terminals for the fourth day on Thursday, bringing container movement at California’s third-largest port to a standstill.
Around 450 protesters opposing California’s independent contractor law, AB5, were blocking all of the terminal gates at the Port of Oakland, forcing TraPac and Oakland International Container Terminal, also known as SSA, to close operations on Wednesday.
California’s trucking sector is looking at numerous ways to keep in compliance with AB5, but is doing so without specifics on what’s right and wrong.
Truck transportation jobs recorded another increase in June, but the rate of growth was slower than recent months, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
California’s trucking sector is likely to be upended now that it will need to deal with AB5, the state’s more rigid independent contractor law.
California’s trucking sector must now brace for the imposition of AB5’s rules on independent contractors as the court rejects overturning pro-AB5 appellate decision.
California’s AB5 law will remain blocked from implementation in the state’s trucking sector for now as the Supreme Court remains silent.
The benchmark diesel price used for fuel surcharges has been delayed and won’t be released this week but will be effective June 20.
With millions of truck drivers on the roads every day, it is up to carriers to ensure they uphold the values and safety-first focus of the professional trucker. And it all starts with training.
Two listening sessions in the next two weeks will kick off the Biden administration’s effort to create a new federal definition of independent contractor status.
Jamie Hagen chats with James “The Rooster” Bowen on what it takes to move from company driver to owner-operator.
A regional NLRB decision says an STG unit in California that had been owned by XPO treated workers like employees, and it has ordered a unionization vote for them.
An effort by Uber and Lyft to have voters define the companies’ drivers as independent contractors has been blocked by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
FreightWaves SONAR data can be indispensable, particularly in this environment.
FreightWaves presents the Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit on Wednesday, June 15.
Dock-to-driver programs can be a steppingstone for someone who can’t afford truck driving school.
The FMCSA is looking to the public to help settle a controversy over what constitutes freight brokers, agents and dispatch services.
Data from a recent survey shows that supply chain executives are paying greater attention to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The California Trucking Association filed its brief to the Supreme Court, laying out arguments why the court should review AB5 in the state’s trucking sector.
Truck transportation job gains posted in May were up more than 13,000, the third time in the last four months they’ve exceeded 10,000.
It’s another entry point into the business: being a dispatcher. Laura Weston joins Drilling Deep to talk about that route.
The tentative agreement will be reviewed by union leaders June 16, with a ratification vote to follow.
Police said the truck driver admitted using a meth pipe as he damaged a shopping center and totaled two vehicles, including his.
Truckload carrier C.R. England suffered a data breach last fall and this week informed its customers of the potential impact.
Two more individuals were sentenced for their involvement in the Louisiana staged accident scam, showing the wide divergence of punishment so far.
A case involving C.H. Robinson before the U.S. Supreme Court got the same recommendation from the solicitor general as the better-known AB5 lawsuit in California.
A major shipper lobbying group has concerns over trucker overtime pay legislation.
The solicitor general has advised the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear the appeal of a lower court decision that would require adoption of the AB5 independent contractor law in the state’s trucking industry.
The Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit takes place on June 15, 2022.
Drayage trucks in California with engines made before 2010 will have to be shut down at the end of the year on the road to zero-emissions vehicles.
Distracted driving is a problem. The product offered by NoCell is designed to reduce it, but there is some resistance.
Fatalities in crashes involving at least one large truck jumped 13% in 2021, hitting a “crisis” level, according to federal regulators.
The reconstruction of a key portion of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway had a more than $200 million budget for 2023 but has seen that allocation cut sharply.
Elk Grove Village, next to O’Hare airport, has pushed back against more truck parking on its streets with a big jump in fines.
As diesel prices spike and spot rates plunge, independent drivers wonder what their next move should be.
With CVSA’s annual International Roadcheck fast approaching, now is the time for carriers and drivers to prepare for the inspection process.
FMCSA has added three fuels to its list of energy products that can be transported beyond normal HOS rules, but will the larger rule be extended soon?
A proposal to give truck drivers overtime pay would ultimately slow freight movement and impact the speed of e-commerce deliveries.
Federal regulators told Congress that insurance companies are refusing to share data about the costs of claims from truck and bus accidents.
AskWaves has reviewed the latest comments on a proposal allowing oral fluid instead of urine to test for drugs — the trucking industry mostly likes it.
The monthly BLS report on employment showed that truck transportation jobs were up sharply in April after an unexpected decline in March.
Aided by the acquisition of Transplace last year, Uber Freight posted positive EBITDA for the first quarter.
On an earnings call with analysts, Covenant Logistics execs talked about the strong quarterly performance but noted that costs beyond fuel continue to rise.
The trucking industry is looking to pull young people into the industry through a new group. FreightWaves talks to the organization’s president.
Federal regulators plan to require truckers to limit their truck speeds by using electronic engine control devices.
A Wisconsin trucking company reveals how it has shifted into a higher training gear under President Biden’s 90-day trucker apprenticeship challenge.
A three-judge panel heard arguments in a petition to overturn some of the changes in trucking hours-of-service rules implemented two years ago.
Freight brokers, just like the truck drivers they serve, are in hot demand. A recruiter in the business discusses why. Also: diesel breaks another record.
The Biden administration is pushing states to take a clean-energy approach to expand truck parking with new infrastructure money.
Three more individuals were sentenced in the Louisiana staged truck and bus accident scheme, with two receiving probation and a third sentenced to 18 months behind bars.
Transflo, a supply chain platform with multiple capabilities, is bringing in two veteran executives to steer the company forward, with its current CEO moving up into the chairman’s position.
The funds will be used to hire 13 driving instructors.
Regulators are moving ahead with an apprenticeship program for under-21 drivers despite attempts by trucking and safety groups to modify it.
The amount of safety technology available for trucks continues to rise, but some measures of highway safety are getting worse. Trucking executive and broadcaster Rick Larkin sits down at the FreightWaves Enterprise Fleet Summit to discuss this disconnect.
Independent contractor law AB5 has been blocked so far from being implemented in California’s trucking sector, but the question is before the Supreme Court and its ultimate ruling may eventually make the statute the law of the land in the Golden State.
After an overhaul in truck driver training, schools are now looking for more instructors to help kick the industry into higher gear.
Experts discuss how the future of driver recruitment and retention relies on feedback in this fireside chat during FreightWaves’ Enterprise Fleet Summit.
FreightWaves Founder and CEO Craig Fuller explains the boom and bust cycle of the trucking industry.
Under pressure to move more cargo faster, truck drivers are filing complaints with the FMCSA at a record pace.
A mother-daughter team has pleaded guilty to participating in a staged truck accident in New Orleans in 2018, joining 33 others who have made the same plea.
Truck brokerages have been barred for years from getting a key terrorism-related Customs designation that allows for easier passage; that may soon change.
How did truck drivers do in 2021? Their tax returns tell the story. And how jet fuel is impacting the price of diesel.
Private equity firms are looking hard at trucking brokerages, and the owners of those companies need to keep their risk profile in check. Photo: FreightWaves
The company has boosted first-year wages 7%-25% and launched a program to train supply chain workers to obtain CDLs.
Carriers interested in conducting driver training for both property carrying and passenger carrying commercial motor vehicles must now meet requirements set forth under FMCSA’s entry-level driver training rule, including registering their programs with the TPR.
Federal regulators are standing up a new task force to study predatory truck leasing and its effect on driver safety.
The Biden administration praised strides made to boost trucking jobs — but could a freight recession undercut progress?
There is a new guilty plea in the Louisiana staged accident scheme, as well as a jail sentence for another participant.
FreightWaves Founder and CEO Craig Fuller provides commentary/analysis on the trucking industry’s “driver shortage.”
The decline in truck transportation jobs is the first in almost two years, but it comes after upward revisions in the two prior months.
Businesses and independent contractors opposed David Weil’s return to the Wage and Hour Division.
