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.
If certiorari is denied, the injunction blocking AB5 from being implemented in the state will disappear immediately.
The decision is also seen as potentially being a legal precedent on the issue of non-compete contracts.
The need for truck capacity remains at historic highs, and more fleets have responded by increasing driver pay for the second time this year.
The always-contentious UPS-Teamsters negotiations could hit new levels of enmity should Sean O’Brien be elected Teamsters president.
A third-quarter outlook from truckload carrier U.S. Xpress sees volume and rate strength lasting throughout 2021. However, driver and supply chain labor challenges present risks.
FMCSA is asking the medical industry to help ensure the agency has a proper handle on truck driver qualification.
The PPI for the truck transportation sector, after a huge jump April to May, slowed between the next two months.
The midsize truckload carrier needs to boost hiring by more than 10% but won’t compromise standards to do it.
Growth was also seen further in the logistics supply chain, with warehouse and courier jobs also rising.
The total number of stops was down this year from 2020. Other violations besides HOS were fairly steady as a percentage of all citations
The latest guilty plea brings the total to 26, with four of them in just the past seven weeks.
Governors have the ability to waive federal law for 30 days and four recently have taken action and cited the lack of truck drivers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has declared a North Carolina man an imminent hazard after commercial vehicle inspectors stopped him three times in three states in February and March and placed him out of service. FMCSA said he didn’t possess a valid CDL and containers of alcohol were found in his truck cab.
TCA firmly believes the trend of California-specific legislation becoming the national standard must end.
One aspect of the decision that may stick is a clear ruling that owner-operators on a lease are independent contractors, not employees.
The new law has some changes for smaller trucks but larger trucks are facing tight restrictions.
With two significant acquisitions in the last year, the major force in factoring embarks on a new path.
USX’s CEO Fuller says Variant division is near the ‘inflection point’ for the new initiative having a bigger impact on profitability.
Trucking companies outbidding each other for drivers using salary and per-mile wage increases are leaving themselves vulnerable when the next economic downturn hits, the American Trucking Association’s chief economist warns. […]
USDA is making $200 million available for timber haulers hit by the pandemic in 2020.
The report is for a company that is about to undergo yet another change, with HubTran now in the fold.
Is this the start of more union representation at XPO or just a head fake?
American Trucking Associations announced Monday that Paul Enos has been named chairman of the ATA Trucking Association Executives Council.
Getting shippers to pay for drivers’ wait time could boost driver retention and improve safety, according to a trucking economics expert.
The order says tired drivers can’t be forced to work, but the definitions are vague.
The current rule can get a person qualified in a year; the ATA proposal has no firm time span.
Owner-operators see a downside to keeping FMCSA’s emergency hours-of-service order in place.
The FMCSA has agreed to make changes to improve its oversight of state driver’s license agencies.
The head of a key trucking group says the net impact of all the changes is a “chilling effect” on the use of independent contractors.
Pay is rising under the two-year deal but union officials stress the formalization of procedures as the big win.
The impact on the city’s large East African community of a proposed ban on overnight truck parking has arisen as a big factor in slowing the proposal.
In this AskWaves, we look at the potential for a driver wage boost if a critical exemption in federal labor law were lifted.
Critics of the move say truck drivers are already overworked and allowing more time behind the wheel ‘fails to address the underlying issues.’
Leased owner-operators and company drivers could be looking to strike gold on their own in a strong trucking market, Vise says.
A truck driver entering Canada from Buffalo, New York, was arrested and charged after border officers found over $11 million worth of cocaine.
Both defendants had pleaded guilty to their involvement in the staged accident scheme.
The pandemic is still creating big swings in data, according to the Council of Economic Advisers, which urges caution in making big interpretations.
FMCSA is proposing to revise rules for advanced driver-assist cameras.
The number of drivers prohibited from driving due to drugs matches an estimated shortfall of drivers needed to keep up with freight demand.
The effort to replace a 1.4-mile interstate viaduct is part of a movement known as the “new urbanism.”
U.S. House passes the five-year surface transportation reauthorization that boosts truck insurance requirements and mandates automatic braking on new trucks.
The product, called E-inspection, allows a quick transfer of data from the truck to the inspecting officer for those trucks that need to go to the weigh station.
Trucking regulator responds to commenters seeking stronger interaction with industry before the entry-level driver training compliance date starts in February 2022.
Yard tractors are often found in ports, like this one in Port Houston, but fleets, warehouses and distribution centers are typical users of the vehicles. Anytime a driver is using a yard tractor, it presents a safety risk, so even though it may not be going onto public roadways, driver training is critical to ensure safe operation. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)
The number of guilty pleas in the various inductments is believed to stand now at 15.
Signs of hope are seen in driver recruitment, according to Tenstreet, as “historic” pay increases continue.
Lack of standards among truck-parking notification systems puts long-haul truckers at a disadvantage, according to new research.
The THT Group Inc., doing business as Truckers Health Team, abruptly closed all 14 of its clinics at various Pilot Flying J Travel Centers and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Thursday.
The briefs filed by the trade groups seek to bolster arguments made by CTA but rejected in the split decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Connecticut’s governor is expected to approve a 17.5-cents-per-mile tax on large trucks.
Fleet intelligence provider Omnitracs announced the latest release of its SmartSense technology Thursday. SmartSense for Inattentive Driving+ aims to reduce accidents by identifying distracted driving.
Truckload carrier Western Express will install Platform Science’s full suite of technologies, including the Remote Platform Management system, across its fleet of 3,000 trucks.
At a UBS conference, two execs from the truckload carrier reviewed the market for drivers in the midst of the freight boom.
Factoring is one of the most important sources of liquidity for small fleets and independents, and it’s undergoing significant consolidation.
As COVID restrictions ease, small fleets must develop cargo theft prevention plans, which include mapping out safe truck parking and fueling routes, says Adam Wingfield, managing director of Innovative Logistics Group.
Labor attorney Damon Ott discusses how trucking companies may need to change with the California law on the use of independent contractors during FreightWaves’ Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit.
Matt Silver, VP of partnerships and strategic alliances at Trucker Tools, and Larry Cothran, owner-operator of Cothran Logistics, chat about becoming an owner-operator at FreightWaves’ Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit.
A high-ranking official with the largest trade group for independent owner-operators discusses the issues his organization sees for many of those behind the wheel.
The general contractor on the wind project where the driver was working was stuck with the biggest share of the award, but two drivers also were assigned blame as well.
Carriers are hoping to attract drivers with more pay and improved benefits.
Republicans deride “restrictive” policies that were retained from last year in the Democrats’ latest version of the surface transportation reauthorization bill.
Another trucking company responds to the strong freight market by increasing truck driver pay.
Two sets of numbers in the monthly BLS report show a decline in seasonally adjusted numbers, but an increase in the less widely watched not-seasonally adjusted figures suggest more hires.
A tale of 2 job reports: Seasonal numbers are closely watched by economists, but the other measurement suggests some success at hiring.
With the pay boost, the company’s more experienced drivers will bring in 63 cents per mile.
The United States Cattlemen’s Association warns JBS hack could disrupt the meat supply chain without emergency work-hour changes.
The benchmark number for fuel surcharges isback to levels not seen since ’18.
The digital freight platform has a big market share in China, is growing its revenue but remains unprofitable.
The injunction blocking AB 5 is still in place for now.
President Joe Biden’s 2022 funding request of $676 million for FMCSA safety programs dropped 10% from 2021 levels.
The company’s chief retention officer said a far wider range of steps explains the company’s recent success on several fronts.
In one case, the insurance and medical payouts totaled $275,500.
Bipartisan legislation would limit truck speeds to no more than 70 mph.
One piece of legislation backed by the Texas Trucking Association is heading toward approval, while a second may not be necessary as a result of a court ruling.
ATRI plans to build on research studying the effects of legalized marijuana and employing 18- to 20-year-old drivers.
With the Canadian ELD mandate going into effect on June 12, fleets operating in that country need to know the key differences from U.S. regulations and whether they have a compliant device.
FMCSA clearinghouse data reveals violations per number of employers within states.
Regulations coming out of SCQAMD are usually for stationary sources of pollution, but the rules on trucks are an expansion of its authority.
NHTSA is looking for truck drivers to test the safety of in-cab cameras.
Driver surveillance surfaces as a potential downside at a vehicle automation hearing.
The lower court ruling favored Uber in the summary judgment but drivers won on appeal.
The Consumer Brands Association is urging federal action from transportation agencies to head off concerns about inflation and rising costs.
Carriers continue to push driver pay higher amid a capacity-constrained market to keep their equipment seated and on the road.
The return of the pipeline was being announced just as supplies of diesel were starting to become an issue.
A Senate hearing on freight mobility includes a dispute over hours-of-service rules for truckers
A run on gasoline by individual motorists has drained inventories out of the stations and into the tanks.
t is going to be less-transparent cash markets that drive what diesel buyers are going to be paying at the pump for the market suddenly hit with a loss of supply.
Independent truck dispatchers are pushing back on potential regulatory changes that could restrict their services.
Exemption applies to 17 states and District of Columbia
Law enforcement will be on the lookout for unsafe drivers on roadways throughout North America starting Sunday, July 11, as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual Safe Driver Week.
Analysts are looking at various explanations for why the number of drivers today is lower than it was two years ago.
Also on the podcast: A renewed surge in diesel prices.
By either the standard of seasonal or not seasonal jobs, gains in employment are slow given the demand for drivers.
The appeals process can be short or long, and the date when AB5 could be enforced remains in flux.
The rule was introduced in the waning days of the Trump administration but was never expected to be enacted.
FMCSA official affirms almost half of truck drivers in fatal crashes were not wearing seat belts
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia announced Tuesday it was hiring more than 500 drivers and 300 dockworkers.
Shaw’s says it anticipates a return to work this week, but the union is silent on that issue.
Auto technician-turned-police officer explains what he looks for as CVSA inspector in one of North America’s largest freight markets.
By killing off Trump-era rules, the Biden administration has lots of room to make big changes in the independent-contractor-versus-employee debate.
