Construction

Your latest info on all things cold chain

By using a flatbed-specialized broker, shippers virtually eliminate the risk of their freight being matched with the wrong truck, causing unnecessary delays and damages.

Rebuilding tornado-damaged areas of the South could add stress to flatbed capacity in the coming months.

Relatively abundant for most of the pandemic, flatbed capacity has become scarcer than ever thanks to the surging price of crude and a white-hot construction sector.

More M&A isn’t on the immediate horizon but final-mile delivery is.

The facility at CP’s Bensenville, Illinois, rail yard, which is already in operation, will support the construction industry’s supply chain.

“The physical risk to individuals is significant,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said of extreme heat’s impact on outdoor workers.

Helpful Tips on How You Can Help Save a Highway Worker’s Life

Although many questions remain for trucking in 2021, flatbed appears to be poised for a much stronger year.

With nicknames like “Blood Alley” and “The Dragon,” it’s no wonder why these are among the most dangerous roads for truckers.

Zach and Anthony cover the latest in the freight economy. Special guest and Senior Economist Dustin Jalbert joins to discuss the lumber market.

Eberhart Capital buys Van Damme Construction, adding to the portfolio of industrial companies it manages and funds.

Trimble is adding an alert service to its navigation and routing apps to notify drivers when speeds are reduced up ahead due to work zones or other incidents.

Anthony and Zach explain the primary cost drivers of operating a trucking company and the market influences that drive the pricing volatility on both contracted and transactional freight movements. Also, an update on the coronavirus situation and what we are seeing in the economy today that may affect your life tomorrow.

Manufacturing outlook: The coming week will give some insights into the outlook for manufacturing activity in the Northeast region via the Empire State Manufacturing Index. The overall segment remains depressed […]

Zach and Anthony discuss why January is so difficult to manage and why this one may be different for trucking; FMCSA and AB5 hangups; and give a economic and market update as well as projections.

Volvo Trucks is building on sales of electric trucks for urban transport in Europe with battery-electric concepts for construction and regional distribution.

The housing and construction sectors are showing signs of life, giving truckers a rare hint of optimism for the coming months.

Venture capital arm of Mexican building materials company makes an undisclosed investment in Ottawa-based firm that focuses on last-minute deliveries in the construction industry.

The monthly economic roundup summarizes key results in the economy over the past month and highlights trends worth watching

The Economic Roundup is designed to synthesize the events of the past month as they relate to freight markets, and provide a guide on trends to keep an eye on in the upcoming month.

The housing market has been sliding since early 2018, but there are optimistic signals for a turnaround in 2019. Freight markets can only benefit from a strong housing market.

Market expert Dean Croke writes about the construction boom in Las Vegas, the number of flatbed trucks hauling steel to the city for its mega-construction projects, and the outlook for the flatbed truck market in 2019.

An Indianapolis construction fleet has leveraged Verizon Connect’s telematics solution to drive more efficiencies in dispatching, maintenance and fuel tax rebates for off-road diesel use.

Mitsubishi Fuso said that customers are demanding more gasoline models in medium-duty operations, so it is delivering with this Class 5 gas-powered cabover.

The United States is in the midst of a building boom for industrial space as the logistics market struggles to accommodate surging e-commerce demand.

Ram’s redesigned heavy-duty pickups feature towing capacity up to 35,000 pounds and payload capacity of over 7,600 pounds, making them ideal workhorses for commercial customers.

TRUX believes it has built the solution that will disrupt the construction trades and give these underserved markets the transparency and efficiency they are lacking.

International’s new CV Series of Class 4-5 trucks is designed to help smaller companies scale and give larger fleets the opportunity to expand their businesses with one truck maker.

A monthly survey of all the important economic developments from the past month, and a look at some of the key trends to watch throughout the month of November.

Housing starts fell more than expected in September, as the impact of Hurricane Florence caused a massive decline in construction activity in the South.  This put a damper on what would otherwise be a decent report and leaves some uncertainty about the underlying strength of one of the key components of freight demand.

As real estate prices are over the roof, the number of people willing to enter the housing market is at a record high. The mismatch needs to be addressed – possibly by better zonal regulations and technology injection in construction methods.

With the recent chatter of a “housing crisis,” and the market reaching a “peak cycle,” we decided to take a closer look at what is going on.

Sales of new single-family homes beat expectations in May as a surge of sales in the South helped offset softness in other areas of the country. This serves as a sign that construction activity should remain strong, though other downstream industries face challenges.

A monthly survey of all the important economic developments from the past month, and a look at some of the key trends to watch throughout the month of June.

Economic growth slowed down in the 1st quarter, as payback from post-hurricane surges and poor weather derailed activity in some sectors of the economy.

Sales of single-family homes improved for the 2nd consecutive month in a sign that housing activity is beginning to accelerate at the start of spring. This, in turn, should boost freight demand for building materials, furniture, and appliances as households move in and settle.

Positive news from both manufacturing and construction sectors, as gain in each help drive up freight demand in the economy

Job growth has improved since the start of the year in the trucking industry. While this is strong step in address the driver shortage, the industry will soon find itself having to compete long-term with other industries desperately searching for skilled labor.

Construction spending in the economy remains essentially unchanged since the start of the year, as the sector continues to disappoint after a solid 4th quarter. This has implications for flatbed carriers and dry vans, as weakness in construction and home building affects freight demand.

A monthly synopsis of events and results in the macroeconomy from the past month and a discussion of implications for freight markets going forward. Results released in March were generally more favorable than the previous month and suggests that freight demand should remain strong going forward.

Twenty years after first entering the market, BFGoodrich is reintroducing itself with two new all-terrain tires designed for the growing energy, construction and logging markets.

Manufacturing industrial production surged in February, but housing starts slipped in a mixed day for freight demand

AT&T has expanded its fleet management portfolio to now include Geotab’s fleet tracking platform as part of the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

Realtor.com is calling for 7% growth in single-family housing starts for 2018, with activity concentrated in the Southern and Western regions of the country. 

Steadily rising global copper prices have spurred US production, up 21% since 2011. Although Chinese demand has softened somewhat, copper from mines in the Southwest should flow into Texas, Florida, and California as they rebuild from natural disasters.

Even with rates rising – both contract and spot – and capacity tightening, attracting drivers still remain a primary concern for fleets. Driver pay is increasing, but outside influences are still hurting the recruitment efforts.

While legislative wheels are starting to turn, there is little reason to expect major movement on any infrastructure bill in 2017. The most optimistic timelines being floated on Capitol Hill call for the law to be signed in 2018, with funds released in 2020.

Road crews have traditionally used a “crash truck” to protect workers. It’s often the first – and last – line of defense for construction workers, but it leaves a driver in that vehicle exposed to greater risk. The Colorado Department of Transportation hopes to change that, thanks to self-driving technology.

Many people don’t realize it, but construction firms have many of the same problems with truck visibility and tracking that less-than-truckload and truckload carriers have. And a truck arriving late can throw off an entire project’s schedule. That’s why Truck IT has introduce an app to help.

With the summer months quickly approaching and bringing with them, many hope, more home building and construction jobs, flatbed haulers are hoping to continue the momentum they have built early in 2017.

Rate volatility is something that every broker, carrier and shipper must deal with. But, sometimes knowing how shipping rates will react to an event can be a guessing game. The I-85 bridge collapse in Atlanta is a case in point.