Trucking

At Wolfe conference, Home Depot said it is still counting on the carrier

FMCSA plans to “leverage technology” to conduct off-site compliance reviews during pandemic emergency.

Latest Canada Border Services Agency data shows uptick in commercial vehicle traffic in a good sign for cross-border freight.

Covenant Transportation Group provides an update on the ‘strategic plan,’ announced breakeven results in April during first quarter conference call.

Salesforce Labs has launched the Supplyforce Bot on Salesforce AppExchange to improve real-time communication within the supply chain. (Photo: Salesforce)

Recent stabilization in truckload markets with a recovery expected later in the year were some of the takeaways from Wolfe Research’s investor conference.

Tonnage slipped 12% during April at Port Houston, declining due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

Kriska looks beyond its cross-border bread and butter as it buys small drayage business from Wills Transfer

FMCSA’s Mullen scheduled to meet with White House officials, according to source.

Covenant Transportation Group sees a breakeven April and noted that May trends have “stabilized” as it moves forward with restructuring efforts.

Brian Aoaeh provides statistics and insight into how freight and shipping professionals are working during the pandemic.

Supply chain management solutions provider project44 said it has shippers covered no matter where and how their cargo is transported throughout the world.

Alberta-based trucking and crane provider blames COVID-19 and the collapse of the oil sector as it looks to sell off its businesses in Canada and the United States.

Echo Global Logistics is adding truck parking reservation service TruckPark to its EchoDrive Preferred platform, allowing drivers to easily reserve parking spaces through the web portal or app.

Analysts reached their conclusion after discussions with head of TCA Profitability Program

Bulkloads.com has rolled out the first phase of a planned TMS system to ease document transfer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, ports see container declines, diesel prices fall again and Ikea looking at buying malls.

Warehouse operations have also been affected by COVID-19. Here are some suggestions that may help increase efficiency of operations.

Walmart bested analyst expectations as grocery and household items drive comparison sales 10% higher and ecommerce accelerates 74%.

As various parts of the nation and the world begin to open up, there will be logistical and supply chain issues. Darren Prokop explores those issues.

Reversing course for the third time, Mexican officials said auto plants could open before June 1 as long as manufacturers follow adequate safety measures.

Major truck manufacturers are using digital tools for ordering parts, repairing equipment faster and transporting trucks for service because of staff shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlike many other bankruptcies, this one looks like jobs are being kept

The coronavirus pandemic caught the world off guard, and it has ratcheted up the pressure on 3PLs and brokers to quickly adapt and employ new technologies.

Fullbay, the heavy-duty repair software provider, has launched Fullbay Cares, making a donation to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada each time a repair shop signs on to the Fullbay platform in May. Plus, Texas DOT hacked, dynamic route planning takes hold, and the new COVID reality

Carriers shift to road experience as entry-level applications drop off.

Manitoba carrier Paul’s Hauling credited with helping avoid wider spread from terminal thanks to proactive siloing of employees and close collaboration with health authorities.

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Cross-border trade is key for economic growth; US-Mexico truck crossings declined 8% through April 2020; transportation software firm moving to Texas; and Laredo CBP finds $11 million worth of meth inside shipment of flooring.

Be Prepared to Stop is a few years old but still highly relevant,

Travel bans, shelter-in-place orders and virtually no demand for rental cars created a domino effect that is hammering the auto industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Sese Logistics said it worked several weeks and “incurred $152,433 in fees and expenses in obtaining the release” of the trailers.

Load volumes and rejections improve this week

Spencer says reasons for the waivers have disappeared

New trailer orders fell to near zero in April as the coronavirus pandemic raised questions of a shakeout of weakened players and consolidation in the equipment sector.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the legal action say they’ve got a binder full of cases.


The Mexican government issued a new decree on Thursday causing confusion among companies as to when they will be able to restart U.S.-linked supply chains.

Charley Dehoney spoke with the founder of BasicBlock, a blockchain startup based in Nebraska. Here is the story of the company’s success to-date.

As the battle for fair rates carries on, what if the solution is not government regulation, but rather the creation of a consortium that anonymizes rate data on a lane-by-lane basis for all to see?

Apart from exonerating drivers from wrongful accusations in road accidents, dash cams can also help the fleet management reward top drivers and improve driver behavior.

EKA Solutions builds ecosystem for small and medium-size brokers, carriers and shippers

Groups warn new rules will increase driver fatigue, but challenging them would be “heavy-duty case” to take on.

Long-awaited changes to the federal hours-of-service (HOS) rules expected to provide additional flexibility to truck drivers and fleets were announced today, receiving some industry praise and plenty of criticism from safety advocates.

Wabash National felt the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter, but the trailer maker said its earlier preparations for a softening market helped offset deeper trouble.

Payment management solutions provider Cass Information Systems’ freight index fell mightily in April as expected, but it may have represented the bottom of the market.

April’s coronavirus impact intensified pricing pressure in an already depressed used truck market where most cash-conserving buyers held back on purchases.

“Good faith” is inferred and won’t need to be certified further.

Americold Realty Trust will partner with grocery retailer to provide 500,000 square feet of frozen storage space in two new facilities.

The sudden increase of non-payments and defaults can quickly sink your transportation company.

Are the railroads following Hunter Harrison’s PSR directives? Railroad expert Jim Blaze explores the topic.

Pause of 14-hour driving window not included among changes.

Newsom order assumes if you have it, you caught it at work.

In a rare behind-the-scenes look at a recall, Navistar explains how it found 4,900 trucks suspected of engine-disabling connecting rod failures and why it decided to warn drivers instead of replacing engines in all the trucks.

Most crops don’t grow without seeds. But how are seeds for commercial farming transported? Darren Prokop explores this topic.

Swedish technology startup partners with oat drink company on a truck electrification project

Mexico’s reopening will include a new four-color coding system in place by June 1 to tell people and businesses what activities will be allowed.

Commercial Carpet Logistics was searching for a way to help out during COVID-19, and it found the answer by donating excess capacity and drivers to transport food donations to a Philadelphia food bank.

“Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” star allegedly spent $1.5 million on things such as jewelry, child support

April’s 20% year-over-year declines in Cass data may mark the bottom of the COVID-19 downturn.

With a June 2 merger vote that would make fuel cell electric truck maker Nikola a public entity, the company’s book value has quadrupled to $12 billion in the last week.

Advocates hope the pandemic accelerates adoption of natural gas vehicles; electric truck advocates double down on battery power

Rules continue to be waived for freight deemed essential during pandemic.

Titanium Transportation Group depends on no single customer for more than 6% of its business. That diversification is paying off during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Truckload and transportation companies talk freight markets ahead of reopening with some calling a market bottom in April as spot rates remain below breakeven.

If a sector or industry goes down due to COVID-19 and a carrier hasn’t diversified, that carrier might be following it.

A year after studying nuclear verdicts in truck crashes, the American Transportation Research Institute is focusing on smaller verdicts as its top research priority while also looking behind the scenes of rising truck insurance premiums.

The new USMCA Center will facilitate the transition from NAFTA, update U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulations on pending USMCA issues, and provide guidance on new compliance obligations.

Stifel’s David Ross announces that he is suspending his rating and estimates on YRC Worldwide and questions the company’s ability to survive.

Titanium Transportation Group reports 13.6% increase in revenue on the strength of its growing brokerage business in the United States and steady performance from trucking.

Bankruptcy law changes passed just in time; will trucking companies use them?

The coronavirus may be top of mind these days, but there are other viruses businesses need to worry about as well — viruses that infect computer systems through malware. Toll Group is the latest victim.

“I hope like hell we never have to avail ourselves of it,” Challenger CEO says as the Canadian government emerges as a lender of last resort for the country’s largest businesses.

ANPACT reported the total number of heavy-duty trucks, medium-sized trucks and buses sold during the first four months of the year was 6,495, a decrease of 48.1% compared to 12,521 units sold during 2019.

Food shipment volumes across restaurants and hotels are still down, while on-demand food delivery volumes have gone up during this pandemic.

Daseke selects current flatbed head to lead operations amid a multi-year restructuring effort.

An integration with 3PL Systems will make Trucker Tools’ Smarter Capacity platform available to all 3PL customers. Plus, a major airline failure could be on the horizon, online car buying could be here to stay, and more Pennsylvania rest stops open.

The world of transportation has changed due to COVID-19. Read about how shipping professionals are adapting to those changes.

Amazon will occupy a huge air cargo facility being built at San Bernardino Airport as it expands its private airline and air delivery network.

State, Teamsters have appealed to higher court over exempting trucking from independent contractor restrictions

YRC beats expectations with the benefit of outsized gains on sales. Noting volumes were down 24% in April, management says it likely won’t satisfy debt covenants into 2021 and it opts out of questions on its call.

Agent-based 3PL had been looking for “tuck-in” opportunities.

Former trucking company owner slapped with 15-month prison sentence for wire fraud

Recommendations include electronic invoicing, advance appointments, emergency sick leave.

Toyota subsidiary Hino Trucks is recalling 13,700 conventional body trucks because the negative battery cable is too short, preventing one in five trucks from restarting after being turned off.

The current focus on the rate war distracts from the real issue at hand: how to build a profitable trucking business and control your own future.

The biggest loss before that in the past seven years: not even 10,000 jobs.

vHub, which connects owners of underutilized trailers with those looking for short-term trailer usage, has opened its platform to integration with most telematics systems. Also, China trade deal in doubt, retail imports fall and road funding drops.

First female judge advocate general and chief counsel, a returning business development leader and a service center manager are announced.

Union Pacific shutters Cold Connect, citing low freight rates and consumers purchasing shelf-stable items instead of fresh produce amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: U.S. supply chains’ future could be tied to Mexico and USMCA; Forager celebrates Laredo’s history as an international port; CBP aims to keep Mother’s Day flowers pest-free; Dachser Mexico offers new customs house brokerage services.

Officials with Cardone said the layoffs were part of the “dramatic, sudden and unforeseeable negative business circumstances the company is suffering due to COVID-19 pandemic.”

It got $10 million that Clyburn maintains is for smaller firms

Motel 6 is offering a 12% discount to truck drivers who book a room at one of its 1,400 hotels through the Trucker Path app.

The timing of the law is perfect for an industry that needs help.

Outbound tender volumes inch upward

The Department of Transportation issued a call for industry stakeholders to commit to raising awareness over human trafficking, and the agency received twice as many commitments as it was seeking.

President’s options limited without sufficient evidence, according to former DOJ antitrust chief.

Navistar extended CEO Troy Clarke’s contract until July as a buyout offer by Volkswagen subsidiary TRATON Group is on hold amid the cash-devouring coronavirus pandemic.

Even as volumes slowly begin to return, carriers are still not in an advantageous position when it comes to pricing, although there is some positive momentum developing.

The transportation and warehousing sector sheds 10.4% of employees in April as Canadian Trucking Alliance calls for additional federal aid.

The number of employed is down to 2014 levels.

Plus: California Trucking Association, CERES, release report on path to electrification