A group of 117 organizations, led by the American Truck Dealers, has written to leaders of Congress asking for a suspension of the 12% federal excise tax on new heavy-duty trucks and trailers.
The capacity picture is still lagging and continues to be at historically loose levels, but even though spot rates bounced in a few markets, overall rates are still horrible. The result is continued pricing power for shippers in the weekly DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index.
As the government pumps more money into the economy, many are questioning where the money is coming from? It’s coming from America’s “Magic Money” tree.
Even as businesses have shut down, traffic data from Inrix showed that, as of April 17, 87% of all truck vehicle miles were still being driven.
Resilience360 recently released reports analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
FMCSA has proposed a rule that would force states to stop issuing new, renewing or upgrading CDLs and CLPs, and in some cases even downgrading, for drivers until they complete the return-to-duty process following a positive drug or alcohol test result.
As states begin to reopen their economies, leading retail trade groups urge the opening of all distribution centers and implementation of a three-phase reopening strategy.
78% of truck drivers posted positive comments regarding their morale, with many thanking carriers for supporting them, in the latest sign that carriers are effectively supporting their drivers.
The frustration of 300 million people is bound to show with regards to this virus shutdown. This week, the media began showing a small subset of people protesting the shutdown and showing disregard towards the Country’s safe distancing protocols. If these businesspeople and workers show disregard during a protest, what will their protocols be when they reopen their businesses? In every business situation we need to measure Risk vs Reward, but usually, the risks are confined to your business, not the total U.S. business.
“Things haven’t been great, but I feel like it’s not about me right now. Some of us out here are determined to feed America or die trying,” trucker Mike Baker said about hauling for meat processing plants, some of which are now shutting down.
Even as states reopen, there is too much uncertainty ahead to predict boom times returning, but there is finally some optimism appearing.
The shippers are in the strongest pricing power position in the DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index history, but for all the wrong reasons. Volumes are stable, but well below normal levels, and tender rejections are at the lowest level in the index’s 3-year history.
Even though crude oil prices are collapsing, truckers will see lower prices at the pump, but maybe not historically low prices.
A new rule from the National Labor Relations Board clarifies joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. With a stricter standard, employers will have more clarity around which company has legal responsibility for employees.
Daimler Trucks and Volvo Group, two truck makers lukewarm on hydrogen fuel cells, hedge their bets to leverage Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz fuel cell efforts for heavy-duty trucks.
From quarantine, Canadian truck driver Nicole Folz detailed her saga of falling ill hundreds of miles from home.
With what seems like nothing but time these days, my wife brought me an old boot box that my mother put together some 20+ years ago and said “Look what I found!!” We’ve been going through all sorts of things in the house, probably just like yourself. Not that I really wanted to do that, but I must say, I’ve learned a l
Risk is often assessed in terms of probabilities. The probabilities themselves are often calculated under the assumption of a bell-shaped (i.e., normal) distribution. This distribution assumes that extreme events are not likely. What if there are?
The 12-year-old St. Christopher’s Development and Relief Fund has seen a rise on donations. It helps injured and sick semi-truck drivers cover household expenses.
Year-over-year declines in the Cass Freight Index accelerated in March, with the shipments index declining 9.2% and the expenditures index dropping 8.2% for the month.
Do you know someone who is going above and beyond to advance safety in the trucking community? If so, now is the time to nominate them for the 2020 TCA Safety Professional of the Year – Clare C. Casey Award.
Loans under the government’s Payroll Protection Program are being approved and money is starting to flow into the hands of trucking companies.
On this holiday weekend, I want to send my best wishes to the trucking community! From the heroic drivers doing their jobs in the face of adversity, to the carrier support folks – some in offices and some working at home – thank you for your support of our drivers and customers. To the valiant technicians that arrive for work every day unknowing what and where they might come face to face with a health challenge in the course of their daily duties. To the truckstops, dealers and other support businesses that support the drivers while on the road, and sometimes when in the most need, thank you all and bless you all for a hopeful family holiday.
During a leadership webinar I presented on last week one of the things I mentioned was that there’s nothing like a crisis to bring things into perspective. While it seems that we can’t see anything at all during a time like this, I just personally experienced some clarity.
States must submit plan detailing use of technology that supports social distancing.
Government agencies and cybersecurity firms are raising alarm bells as companies shift to remote workforces without proper cyber protections in place.
Freight volumes have been dropping as businesses shut down, and that has shifted the advantage to shippers, who now hold more rate negotiation power.
Recent Truckload Carrier Association webinars on helping trucking fleets navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic are now available to watch.
Truckers are being hailed as heroes right now for delivering consumer goods and medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, and some believe the industry’s image may get a permanent boost.
TrueNorth’s Cook sees low returns, premium income dropping and more “selectivity” from underwriters.
We are in the middle of something we have never seen before. Trucking business owners should be seeking out conversations and relationships that can lead to business transformation, wealth preservation, and peace of mind as they consider what do to next.
While the rearview mirror is crystal clear for all to debate, I always point out that we often get the “test before the lesson” in business, politics and life. This is no different. If the silent majority remains diligent and follows the guidance of the scientific community, we will prevail. Leaders, we do not need to place blame, we need solidarity to help this great country overcome this crisis. “Through difficulty comes opportunity”, and while that seems a long way away, the trucking business has a bunch of tough people, and I’m proud to call you my friends. Keep truckin’ safely.
Without a doubt, our world is changing quickly. Not by the year, month, or week, but by the day and in many cases by the hour. Really, it seems its that quick. Whether its coming from the national news, local news, industry rags, customers, employees or simply your own mind, it seems as though everything is changing very rapidly.
The weekly DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index continues to favor carriers, but the index has fallen from last week’s high as freight volumes start dropping off.
Zach Strickland looks at the market volatility map in the Carrier Update presented by PowerFleet, and Andrew Cox brings us the DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index. This week is […]
States allowing 100,000-lb. trucks making a difference for resupplies during COVID-19.
What might a post COVID-19 world look like for financially viable carriers that have managed through the uncertainty? Nobody knows for sure, but here are some possibilities.
The Department of Labor has issued new guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that may not require companies to offer paid leave in certain situations.
TCA has seen our positive experiences with the federal government grow exponentially in the last few weeks. In the days that have followed the emergency declaration in response to the coronavirus outbreak, our partners in the federal government have leaped into action
FMCSA has issued a three-month waiver that lifts restrictions that require a CDL holder to be in the front seat of a vehicle under certain conditions when it is being driven by someone with a learner’s permit.
Fleets take many approaches to reining in maintenance costs, but not knowing which costs are out of line with industry norms complicates the process.
While many trucking companies already have a transponder-based approach to toll management, operators that use cash need to reevaluate their approach to tolls, experts said.
As this virus spreads, the driver community becomes more at risk. This presents an unthinkable challenge to our food chain. As I follow the industry on social media, the support from TCA in their efforts to be the front line to support their members, and the national news, I believe the trucking community needs to stay vigilant in their current plans and strategies as well as coming up with Plan B strategies to adapt to the changing situation with COVID-19: strategies which may even allow for increased opportunity when we turn the corner on this pandemic.
There was a time in the early 1980’s that a boy ran around his house with a toy semi-truck singing Alabama’s song “Roll On”. His daddy was a trucker and he asked his momma when he was coming home. Fast forward a few decades and everyone is quick to jump on the bandwagon of calling each of you heroes. For some of us, truckers have been heroes all our lives.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act goes into effect on April 1, and businesses have many questions on how it affects them.
Roadside repairs on vehicles will be allowed to continue, despite rumors that truck drivers would be stranded if their vehicle broke down.
Traffic data tracked by Inrix is indicating much quicker commute times for those on the roads during rush hour as more workers stay home. Plus, J.B. Hunt to pay bonuses, GE cutting its workforce, and St. Christopher’s Truckers Relief Fund facing a critical time.
States are closing non-essential businesses and manufacturers are shutting down, creating uncertain freight flows now and in the immediate future.
How drivers are dealing with coronavirus, TQL layoffs and legal implications, staffing in a crisis and more on today’s podcast
As I sit in my home barred from travel, I watch the news and coronavirus updates. In light of the multiple closings of cities, the panic at the sight of empty grocery store shelves; something leaps out to me, “Thank God for the Truckers!” As we float in these turbulent, uncharted waters, and we see unprecedented economic moves to protect us from the impact of the virus, one thing is truly taken for granted — the Individual Trucker — working with their dedicated Operations people servicing the supply chain.
However, there is one constant that has always remained; trucking is one of the most honorable professions in the world. A truck driver does nothing for themselves. They are always doing something for somebody else be it a shipper, a receiver, a dispatcher, or for others on the road.
The rapid expansion of telemedicine options provides another treatment avenue for truck drivers to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
For carriers with loads to haul, they now have an advantage in negotiating rates, as the weekly DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index has risen to 55.
President Trump has signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law, which requires many employers to provide paid leave and expands FMLA for many employees
As COVID-19 spreads, truckload carriers are facing an unknown world. TCA is trying to help them navigate that uncertainty.
BMO, one of the largest lenders to the trucking industry, will be offering undefined measures to assist its clients as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pennsylvania has closed its 65 rest stops, drawing the ire of the industry, as officials say they may reconsider.
Travel plazas are balancing social distancing to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus with providing food and services to truckers, whose dining options in some cases are limited to drive thru and carryout.
Some segments of the freight markets are seeing bumps right now, but the long-term outlook is murkier than ever.
The FMCSA hours-of-service waiver has sparked confusion over what is considered emergency relief.
The Truckload Carriers Association continues to push for a broad-based infrastructure funding mechanism rather than a truck-only scheme that would increase taxes on the industry.
Lawmakers have proposed a bill that would dedicate $755 million over five years to build new truck parking spaces across the country.
In my previous life as a Truck Dealer, I habitually tracked our Gross Margin on both the Sales as well as the Parts/Service side (it was our lifeblood). Further, through my participation in benchmarking within the Dealer market, it reinforced the value of:
Identifying and measuring your fixed and variable expenses relative to each other
Always striving to increase Gross Margin (Revenue minus Variable Expenses)
Despite already wrestling with a challenging trucking industry, the situation is growing increasingly tougher as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread. As capacity goes through a state of flux, and the shipping community gets challenged with matching capacity with oscillating inventory and manufacturing challenges, the country’s trucking community will continue to find solutions.
Virus-related demand headwinds bring fresh declines in February Cass data. Visibility into a potential trucking recovery is further clouded.
The current talk on the Coronavirus has basically created a huge pause in the market. The fear of the unknown of this virus is only adding to the further unknowns the industry is tackling. The capacity of trucks seems to be dwindling with financial failures; carriers just quitting business; the low number of new units purchased in 2019 and on order now; plus the plummeting used truck values.
I have enjoyed my tenure as TCA Profitability Program (TPP) Retention Coach for many reasons but mostly as it has given me the opportunity to visit several trucking companies on both sides of the border. I genuinely love taking a brief look “under the hood” of these great companies and relish the opportunities in helping to reduce the driver turnover numbers. Helping to make a company successful gives me great deal of pride when drivers don’t have to go home and tell their families they no longer have a job.
TCA supports this legislation as it complements the work already being done from within the trucking community to promote our well-paying jobs to quality candidates.
Profitability is the key to any business staying in business. In trucking it is harder than in many other businesses. Chris Henry explores the “trucking profitability paradox.”
Program members will have several opportunities to network in Orlando next week.
Diesel fell far more than the price of crude oil; trucking stocks mostly fell less than S&P 500.
As I wrote last week, the driver is the thermostat to trucking capacity. In my work, I have the greatest opportunity to meet and facilitate driver advisory boards. These driver advisory boards are made up of professional drivers and independent contractors that have open discussions with carrier management on how they can both make the company, the lifestyle, and their chosen career better. It’s a refreshing engagement with the folks that just plain get it done every day.
The bill would reinforce in federal law the “ABC test” to determine whether an individual is an employee rather than an independent contractor, similar to California’s AB5 law that is currently being challenged in the courts.
A trucking company recently asked a federal court in Arkansas to reconsider its decision certifying a class of drivers based on allegations that time spent in a sleeper birth should be counted as hours worked under the FLSA, due to a newly released Department of Labor (“DOL”) Opinion Letter.
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) will bring an opportunity for education and networking to for-hire carriers, private fleets, associates and driver-training school members, as well as prospects, next month.
Truckload carrier heads talk demand, rates and capacity at investor conference.
Warmer weather here I come……!! As I prepare to attend the TCA’s Annual Convention — Truckload 2020: Orlando — I reflect on the many years of education that I absorbed by being a sponge from my peers. I want to say thank you!!
Many indicators are pointing to a better 2020 than 2019 for the freight industry, but several challenges remain, including impacts from the coronavirus.
As I see it, it looks like we are going into one of those new “roller coaster” trucking capacity situations for the transportation and shipping community to manage through.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is a federal agency that administers the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by overseeing and managing relationships between unions and private-sector employers. Between December 16–19, 2019, the NLRB issued a trio of rulings that reversed prior union/employee-friendly decisions
On January 28, TCA staffers attended the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “100 Pledges in 100 Days” event, which focused on combating human trafficking in the transportation sector.
John Lyboldt is President of the Truckload Carriers Association, the only trade association focused entirely on the truckload segment of the motor carrier industry.
I’m amazed on the number of attorneys now flooding the airways with the same message; if you’ve been wronged, we can help, we know how to fight the insurance companies, we will get more money than insurance company will offer.
Funding likely to remain elusive for proposal that focuses on zero-carbon initiatives.
It’s the same story for carriers and shippers: up like a rocket and down like a feather
The Truckload Carriers Association has named Stafford Albertson, a professional truck driver with Network Transport, a Highway Angel, for helping at the scene of a serious accident involving a van and two trucks.
When the average claim in 2012 was approximately $2M, and that average claim in 2019 is approaching $17M and going higher.
For years I’ve heard from drivers, staff & management about what’s right & what’s wrong with orientation for new drivers. It’s a Tricky Slope that takes precision & consistency every week of the year. After all, we’re dealing with people & they all want different things. Or do they?
Trucking insurance continues to get more expensive. Chris Henry and Daniel Pickett provide information about captive insurance agencies.
The Truckload Carriers Association has named Warren Brownlee, a professional truck driver with ABF Freight System, Inc., a Highway Angel, for stopping to assist young motorists who lost control of their vehicle on a busy highway.
The Truckload Carriers Association has named Charles Vos, a professional truck driver with Bison Transport, a Highway Angel, for helping free an unconscious truck driver from his burning truck.
This weekly opinion will give me the ability to relate my views on current events. Those views will be based from my personal experience over the past 40 years serving the Trucking Business.
In the recent ruling in Calif, Judge Roger Benitez wrote, “There is little question that the State of California has encroached on Congress’ territory by eliminating motor carriers’ choice to use independent contractor drivers, a choice at the very heart of interstate trucking.
The Truckload Carriers Association has named Charles Jasewicz, a professional truck driver with H.O. Wolding, a Highway Angel, for stopping to help a motorist who was ejected during a vehicle rollover and then pinned under his vehicle.
First survey since 2003 will help inform autonomous vehicle development.
Each year, the Driver of the Year Contests recognize company and owner operator professional truck drivers who provide safe and reliable transportation of North America’s goods.
Employers allowed to continue driver hires while agency corrects connection issues.
Outlook for future improvement to earnings is still hazy as Morgan Stanley analyst lowers fourth-quarter estimates for most transportation companies.
Most big rigs in the U.S. have tanks that range in capacity from 120 gallons per tank up to 150 gallons and depending on the radius of operation, may have one tank for shorter hauls or two tanks for longer ones.
By R. Eddie Wayland, TCA Legal Counsel The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers nine States including California, recently affirmed a decision by the National […]
