Fleet execs are talking about the driver shortage as if it were the worst thing to happen in the industry, but they should be thankful. It keeps gives fleets pricing power.
If retailers can’t realize savings by wringing efficiencies out of their supply chain, they are doomed to smaller margins, and it could be apocalyptic if they significantly raised prices on customers.
XPO Logistics stock shot up to ~$90 on a rumored acquisition by Home Depot, and some analysts think the price will rise much, much higher.
Sometimes profound threats to the economy and to people can be brought about by something as small as a single miniscule crack.
Uber Freight has added two new features to its app that it believes will help truckers find loads quicker and reduce empty miles.
Just like everyone else who is familiar with the new regulation and the way that the trucking industry works, we expect that adoption of, and enforcement of, the ELD rule will initially lead to some constraints on trucking capacity. How big will that reduction be and how long will it last is yet to be seen.
Roads across the world have remained the same for generations, but that is slowly changing as research labs across the world are working on introducing electrically smart roads into the primitive niche.
Strong rates and healthy economic fundamentals will pose opportunities and challenges for trucking mergers & acquisitions in 2018.
Long Island Iced Tea Corp. today announced that the parent company is shifting its primary corporate focus towards the exploration of, and investment in, opportunities that leverage the benefits of blockchain technology.
TomTom Telematics North America has identified the top 5 most congested cities in the United States, and the cities on the list should be no surprise to truck drivers.
The massive tax cut passed by the GOP will benefit trucking companies large and small and will boost economic activity across many sectors.
Virgin Hyperloop One has established a new record for hyperloop technology, appointed Richard Branson chairman, and secured $50 million in new funding.
Thor describes themselves as a “transportation lab with a goal of tackling fleet management problems.”
Carriers continue to feel good about 2018, according to the latest Morgan Stanley survey, however, overall sentiment declined in the past two weeks and underperformed seasonality.
This afternoon FedEx announced its Q2 earnings for fiscal year 2018, which exceeded analyst expectations. FedEx cited higher base rates, volume growth, and cheap fuel as factors in the company’s performance.
Travel around the DuPont area of Washington remains snarled this morning as officials work to clear wreckage from the Amtrak derailment over Interstate 5, just south of Tacoma, that killed at least 3 people and injured dozens more.
The Dow Jones U.S. Trucking Index (DJUSTK) surged to an all-time high for trucking today, and ended up at growing to 4.39 for the day.
On Saturday, two days after taking medical leave from CSX, CEO Hunter Harrison died. Investors have serious concerns about the railroad’s commitment to executing Harrison’s vision, while some observers disagreed with his approach entirely.
World-renowned author, thought leader, speaker, educator and entrepreneur, Tony Seba, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at Freightwaves’ Transparency18 conference in Atlanta, Georgia, next May.
Nearly 17 years in the making since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration first attempted to require electronic logging devices (ELDs) on commercial vehicles, the day has finally arrived for most of the nation’s 3 million plus driver workforce to begin using the devices.
For many fleets, the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate presents a new variable in the regulatory landscape that must be carefully navigated. Following best practices will help fleet managers identify the most common mistakes and pitfalls that may result in a fine, expensive roadside delays or even worse, a business shutdown.
The ELD mandate has finally arrived, but lets stop pretending this is a safety issue. Its not. The ELD mandate is about money. If we wanted to talk safety, our attention should focus on the real-evil: Hours of Service rules.
With truck drivers across the country being required to have electronic logging devices in their vehicles as of Dec. 18, some have complained about the move to electronic recording of hours when paper logs work just fine. For BigRoad CEO Tony Lourakis, the rule presented an opportunity.
Everyone who is even remotely aware of the trucking industry in the U.S. knows that the ELD rule goes into effect on Monday. Time will tell, but if there are not massive numbers of trucks parked on the side of the road, and shippers are actually able to find trucks to move loads, we will not be surprised.
In 2009, Jason Schenker founded Prestige Economics, a top-ranked financial market research firm.
CSX Corp. CEO Hunter Harrison has taken a medical leave of absence from the railroad due to complications from a recent illness. Investors sold off the company stock, causing a 12% drop and $6 billion loss in company value in morning trading.
Go99, a digital freight-matching marketplace based out of Vancouver, Canada, has achieved a major revenue milestone and now it is setting its sights on expansion with the rest of Canada and busy lanes in the U.S. on its target.
Trains are easier to run with autonomous vehicle technology, so they should come before self-driving cars, right?
Target has made a massive investment in Shipt, a same-day grocery delivery service for online orders that relies on personal shoppers. Target hopes to challenge the rapid growth of Walmart’s online food sales and wants to offer same-day shipping for all of its products by the end of 2019.
While all projections point toward a big future for EVs, one big question remains—what type of battery will emerge as the winner?
Morgan Stanley and SIG see great prospects for truckload carrier stocks going into 2018. Large carriers’ valuations should benefit from both the ELD mandate and the GOP tax reform.
YRC Worldwide CEO James Welch announced he will retire in July 2018. Current YRC Freight President Darren Hawkins is expected to be named to succeed Welch by the Board of Directors at its July 2018 meeting, the company said in a release.
To get a more detailed look at the impact ELDs are having on the industry, FreightWaves talked with drivers and a fleet that has been running the devices, and each has reported different experiences, but in the end, the concern of all of them is that the devices simply work.
Sustainability initiatives are good for business, the long-term health of urban citizens, and the environment, but it will take long-term thinking and engaged problem-solving strategies. (Shutterstock)
The Fed has raised interest rates to 1.25%–rates on new loans, equipment leases, old variable debt, and factoring services will all go up.
The adoption rate for ELDs is slowly inching up as more fleets come into compliance with the law, which goes into effect on Dec. 18.
The enormity of the trucking industry can be realized by looking at the myriad of industries that depend on freight hauling for their sustenance and growth. Add the fracking industry to that list as frac sand has become a major commodity.
Weak workforce training, high corporate tax rates, poor road & rail infrastructure quality, and a lack of regulatory transparency are all hurting America’s competitiveness as a manufacturing location.
The Budweiser brewer says this is part of its strategy to reduce the company’s carbon emissions by 30% by 2025.
Dry van spot rates hit a 3-year monthly high in November, according to data compiled by DAT Solutions. The November rate was $2.07 per mile, the highest monthly average since December 2014, the firm said, and 5 cents above October levels.
The Rhode Island Trucking Association (RITA) has called out the Rhode Island Department of ansportation (RIDOT)’s allegedly inadequate environmental assessment (EA), hoping that the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) will reject the report.
More than 400,000 Freightliner and Western Star Trucks are being recalled by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) due to a potentially defective brake light.
Technology startup FR8 Revolution has received an investment from Sandhills Publishing as well as announced a new technology partnership with the company.
Recently, Mexico shifted into a supply-and-demand based pricing structure for its fuel markets, ditching the old system where the government set the fuel price through state-owned oil company Pemex as it seeks to attract more U.S. investment.
The demands of today’s marketplace are moving in one direction: giving us exactly what we want, when and where we want it. In his 2016 Ted Talk, Alan Amling reimagines the supply chain of the future. By integrating ideas from the past with today’s most promising technologies, he paints a surprising picture of how we might manufacture and move things in the years to come.
By the first week of December, the DAT weekly spot market price for dry-van loads had reached $2.09 (including fuel surcharge) or almost 30% higher in just 9 months. This is an extraordinary, but what is more extraordinary is the fact that the trucking marketplace is more than 3 times the size of the Bitcoin market capitalization, which has grown 22% in 12 months.
Last-minute efforts to delay or stop the electronic logging device rule (ELD) are continuing, but it may be too little, too late unless President Donald Trump throws a Hail Mary.
One of the questions many ask as the electric and autonomous vehicles are introduced to market is: What happens with the “last mile” delivery? It can be the most expensive leg of deliveries, especially in rural areas.
FedEx and UPS are squeezing e-commerce shippers with more expensive DIM pricing, accessorial fees, and tough rate negotiations.
Losses and debts can be a deadly combo for any shipping company to handle. In a report from the Wall Street Journal looking at so-called “zombie companies” in Europe, one logistics company stood out.
For millions of football fans, a trip to the Super Bowl is the ultimate bucket list item. For blue collar workers, though, attending the game is often out of reach with ticket prices reaching $5,000 and above on the secondary ticket market. For two lucky truck drivers that will change.
The out-of-control wildfires burning in California have had a dramatic impact on spot rates in the region.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has issued a letter to state attorneys general in all states asking them to review potential problems surrounding upcoming enforcement of the electronic logging device mandate.
The cleverness of the plan resides in the kind of “under-21 truckers” they’re talking about: only those with military driving experience.
Most carriers are currently coming to terms with the inevitability of the ELD mandate, and scrambling to get ready. Those carriers who are truly ELD-ready are in prime position to benefit.
Anheuser-Busch’s private fleet is among the leaders in the country when it comes to efforts to cut carbon emissions through alternative fuel use. The company is taking another step, announcing it has reserved 40 Tesla Semi electric tractors.
The growth in cargo volumes at London’s Heathrow Airport has created severe congestion across the region, which has the airport facing a dire situation due to long queues, which is increasing waiting times and thus delaying an already slow-moving air freight operation.
Following a Thanksgiving week that saw loads depressed, but not rates, the spot freight market was going full steam ahead last week with loads climbing 64% on the DAT network of load boards.
UPS has angered the Teamsters union after it implemented a longer workweek for package delivery drivers for the holidays.
As it stands, the tax bill, as it’s currently drafted, looks to benefit the industry in general, but what it means for the individual trucker is less clear.
Following on the footsteps of its European counterpart, Daimler Trucks North America will begin shipping 3D printed parts under a pilot program. Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz unit started a similar pilot in Europe last year.
Truck drivers are concerned with pay, but it’s not the most important topic on their mind when providing feedback to their employers. WorkHound compiled a list of topics drivers talked about the most, and pay only came in fourth. What was number one?
Eastern Europe’s infrastructure lags behind Western Europe, yet the logistics industry in that region has outperformed the remainder of Europe in the past year.
One of the largest elements of operational expenses in the freight hauling business is fuel, and yet there are a limited number of fleets that actively manage this cost effectively. Wisconsin-based Breakthrough Fuel is providing a way to effectively manage energy and reduce costs.
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz Vans brand has introduced its third-generation Sprinter van at an event in Stuttgart, Germany. The van features many of the iconic attributes it always has, but has added new connectivity to further improve its utilization.
Job application fraud is a serious and significant problem in all industries. But without the time and financial resources to properly vet candidates, especially in an industry such as trucking with is facing a shortage of some 50,000 drivers, bad employees get through.
Toyota announced it is building a megawatt Tri-Gen hydrogen plant in California. The plant will produce hydrogen using renewable sources and will provide fuel for its Project Portal Class 8 hydrogen truck.
Almost every freight flow is growing. Some are growing a little and some are growing a lot, and all of them are accelerating in their rates of growth. Transports are surging as the underlying strength in both the consumer and industrial goods flow continues to improve. We see this as extraordinarily bullish for the overall U.S. economy.
Natilus, a startup based out of California, is looking to provide a drone solution that allows it to transport freight multiple times faster than when it is shipped across the ocean, at half the price of regular air freight.
Embark, Ryder and Frigidaire are testing Embark’s semi-autonomous trucks on routes running from Texas to California.
Yesterday, the Small Business House Committee heard how forthcoming ELD regulations will stifle competition, and how it won’t actually provide safety benefits.
CMA CMG and MSC have entered orders for a total of 20 record-breaking 22,000 TEU ships, reflecting a long-term trend toward consolidation in larger vessels and growing confidence in maritime shipping rates.
FourKites has launched its own ELD certification program that operates on an open architecture platform to help shippers and 3PLs to assist carriers in choosing ELD solutions that offer visibility into location data.
Just as people are getting used to the concept of blockchain and Bitcoin, now we have something called initial coin offerings (ICOs), which use cryptocurrencies to raise money. Sometimes called token sales or TGEs, they are becoming a popular way for companies, especially startups, to raise funds.
American oil production and the number of rigs should reach record highs in 2018. This is good news for trucking: both demand for truckload miles and overall economic growth will increase.
When people discuss blockchain, often the concept is too abstract to grasp. In many respects, you need a phD to understand it. So it was fortuitous for Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) members that the group’s first meeting in Atlanta recently had just such a person.
Used-truck sales volumes continued their upward trend in October, but the industry is still facing an oversupply of vehicles, according to ACT Research. Class 8 same dealer used truck sales increased 12% month-over-month and 37% over October 2016, the firm said.
Regardless of their level of knowledge on blockchain, attendees at the first BiTA meeting were engaged by Ken Craig, senior vice president of special projects for McLeod Software, as he delivered an energetic and entertaining primer on Blockchain 101.
As the talks concluded last week on Round 5 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the 3 NAFTA ministers included among the 30 negotiating parties agreed to “step back” to give negotiators additional time to “analyze proposals and conduct internal consultations,” according to LandLine Magazine.
Could the economy be starting to slow? That is a conclusion that FTR’s Don Ake has drawn after reviewing a number of economic indicators. He bases his evaluation on current GDP growth and what he thinks will be coming in 2018.
Innovation is sweeping across the trucking industry; technologies such as autonomy, blockchain, and electrification are beginning to demonstrate real value potential. However, the question is, where innovation has been stagnant in the past, is the industry ready for change?
The spot market, which has been trending up for much of this year and is near record highs, is showing no signs of slowing down, according to DAT.
Automation and digitization continue to infiltrate the shipper and 3PL markets, even as those industries lag in investment, according to a study conducted by Infosys Consulting and presented during a Stifel conference call on Tuesday.
Injury insurance claims from ports involve vehicles or other heavy equipment 85% of the time. An insurance provider has studied the claims and is making recommendations to ports on how to prevent them.
In a mere seven months, the trucking marketplace has gone from over-capacitized to the most under-capacitized in recent history as the market dynamics have dramatically changed.
The story of railroads is as old as the independence of the United States. The growth of railroads ran in parallel with the economic surge and transportation expansion of the 19th century. Fast forward two centuries and the grasp of railroads on the freight transport market has all but waned.
Data from the freight markets indicate a super-strong economy
Data from the freight markets indicate a super-strong economy
Following on the heels of a 90-day waiver from the ELD rule for agriculture haulers, and several other exemptions granted by FMCSA in recent months, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has submitted a new exemption request to the agency.
Walmart’s commitment to digital sales, grocery pickup, and two day delivery mean a newly intensified supply chain: more truckloads to its stores, which are now acting like fulfillment centers, more expedited service in the holiday shopping capacity crunch, and more demand for last-mile delivery to its customers’ homes.
Last week, FreightWaves published a commentary suggesting that solving the driver shortage may be as easy as raising pay – a supply and demand issue. We got many comments on that, including from Stifel Equity Research’s John Larkin, who said economics is not the only issue at play.
FMCSA has made two recent changes to hours-of-service and ELD compliance that affects the agricultural community.
Weeks after Mastercard announced its foray into blockchain technology, American Express (AmEx) has launched its own blockchain-based payment service through the fintech startup Ripple, according to a report by Reuters.
The man behind the trucker march on Washington last month is back with a new group and a new billion-dollar lawsuit. James Lamb and his Small Business in Transportation Coalition has sued Indiana over the collection of Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) fees.
Global freight and logistics company DHL has confirmed its investment to the Airport Authority Hong Kong for the latter’s expansion plan for the Central Asia Hub, the Handy Shipping Guide reports.
Blockchain is digital ledger that can improve global trade security, stop illegal smuggling, and more importantly, reduce transit times currently bogged down by bureaucracy.
The industry loves to throw around the term “driver shortage.” But what we really face is an economic opportunity shortage. Fix this and you will fix the driver shortage problem.
Consumer confidence remains high, yet retail stores continue to close their doors. Welcome to shopping in a modern America.
For years we’ve heard arguments about how better supply chain visibility will lead to a logistics environment that is easier to predict, plan, and manage. But sudden changes can quickly derail those plans.
Amazon has officially entered the freight app business with a new option called Relay. The app debuted last month, CNBC reported, and will make it easier for truck drivers to get into and out of Amazon facilities.
