Infrastructure

Traffic congestion is only getting worse. Our latest series of infographics will break down the ASCE’s Infrastructure Report Card.

FEMA stands ready to address the aftermath of Hurricane Florence and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has now issued a “Regional Emergency Declaration” for 13 states and the District of Columbia as the southeast braces for the historic storm.

Speaking at the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) 2nd Annual Economic Summit on Thursday in Washington, DC, ATA President & CEO Chris Spear touted the accomplishments of the association but told attendees now is not the time to become complacent.

The mostly public entity ownership of HELP, which operates the PrePass weigh station bypass system, has entered into a new partnership with only vaguely publicly-disclosed goals.

Tolls once graced Connecticut highways until the mid 1980s, but the state is now looking at bringing them back to increase revenue. The state trucking association says it is the wrong approach.

Over the last couple of years, edge computing has emerged from relative obscurity to become one of the most talked about trends in internet infrastructure.

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.

The cost, size, complexity and power consumption of the supercomputers and sensors on each car are the main factors preventing today’s autonomous cars from scaling.

Waymo announced late on Friday that its self-driving trucks will begin delivering goods for Google’s logistics operation in Atlanta.

Won’t tolls make congestion worse? Come to find out, with today’s technology, perhaps not.

Unilever has pulled back the veil of secrecy on its palm oil supply chain hoping that greater transparency into the process can create greater efficiencies.

One unique vision for congestion improvement comes out of Georgia: a toll-free, truck-only highway running through one of the most congested corridors in the state.

President Trump issued his broad goals for infrastructure, but encouraged private investment over public

In these polarized times, one thing it seems everyone wants to see is improved roads and bridges. And to no one’s surprise, the devil is in the details.

According to a report from Tech Crunch, Elon Musk’s Tesla is preparing to test autonomous driving on a cross-country trip within 3 to 6 months.

The BuildCoin Foundation is envisioning a blockchain related ecosystem which can help expedite the construction of global infrastructure projects via public-private partnerships.

Seasonality has finally hit van rates as available loads dropped 6% last week, according to DAT.

The National Association of Truck Stop Owners has released a study showing a correlation between commercialized rest stops and lower available truck parking. We discuss the findings as well as the study’s limitations.

Conditions improved slightly for shippers in November according to FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI). The SCI recorded a -8.9 for November, slightly better than October but still solidly negative, the firm said.

The “leaked” plan calls for liberalizing tolling policy and allowing states to commercialize interstate rest areas, among other things, as a means of funding infrastructure.

The infrastructure bill outline leaked yesterday provides clues to how Trump wants to incentivize $800B in state, local, and private spending: tolls on interstates, removing constraints on private activity bonds, and value capturing financing for transit projects.

The long-awaited infrastructure plan from the White House is taking shape and could be part of President Trump’s State of the Union speech on Jan. 30, according to Reuters. CNN, however, reports that the plan will not likely be finished by that time due to the president’s travel schedule.

The biggest hurdle to overcome is the long-distance infrastructure of superchargers.

Click through to the map that shows how North America’s infrastructure is already integrated, despite our political disagreements.

Have the good days of high rates ended? While not declaring an end to rising van spot rates, a blog post yesterday by DAT Solutions’ Matt Sullivan did note some indications that the rapid rise may be slowing.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that expands the ability of associations to offer health insurance plans.

One of the big mysteries around hours of service is personal conveyance. When can a driver use a vehicle for personal reasons without it counting against their driving time? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is now attempting to clarify that usage through regulatory guidance.

Technology startup FR8 Revolution has received an investment from Sandhills Publishing as well as announced a new technology partnership with the company.

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.

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.

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.

Following the devastation Hurricane Maria delivered to Puerto Rico, there have been many places to levy blame as the island nation has been slow to recover. An aging electric grid that was destroyed, a country mired in debt that has been unable to maintain basic infrastructure, an arguably slow government response. One segment that received blame, unfairly, was the nation’s truck drivers.

It’s finally here. Eclipse day. And as many have predicted, traffic around the country is clogging the highways, causing delays.

As interest in alternative fuels continues to grow, ACT Research is making it easier for fleets to compare different fuel types.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks, a Daimler brand, has successfully made its first 3D printed repair part.  The part, a thermostat cover for a Unimog model has passed all the stages of the stringent quality assurance process, Mercedes-Benz said.  

Contract pricing, which has affected second-quarter earnings for a number of 3PLs, remains weak according to the latest data from FTR.

The Department of Transportation has revised and renamed its FASTLane program to “align [projects] with national and regional economic vitality goals and to leverage additional non-federal funding,” it said.

The first unofficial pictures of Waymo’s self-driving truck have emerged, creating a stir among the companies racing to become the first to make a production autonomous truck available.

The Trump administration has proposed less federal spending as part of his $1 trillion infrastructure investment outline. In a recent Tax and Budget Bulletin, the Cato Institute’s Chris Edwards lays out the argument for why Trump’s approach to less federal spending is the proper approach to building world-class infrastructure.

Since 2010 EPA emissions regulations went into effect, it has been said that in some areas of the country, the emissions released by heavy-duty trucks are actually cleaner than the air they are emitted into. But a new study by researchers at UC-Riverside calls that into question.

After months of talking about his $1 trillion infrastructure improvement plan, President Donald Trump is finally set to unveil more details on the proposal today. Also, transportation’s best CEOs and there were fewer trucking jobs in May.

The cost of traffic congestion each year to the transportation industry is staggering. In 2015, the industry experienced over 996 million hours of delay because of congestion. ATRI determined the cost to be $63.4 billion, or $63.70 operational cost per hour for trucking. But going inside the numbers tells an even deeper tale of the cost to society.

This Week in Trucking, President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan is hitting some bumps in the road; economic indicators continue to favor improving conditions for the nation’s trucking fleets and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is making a last-ditch effort to stop the upcoming ELD mandate.

In this week’s edition of the Week in Trucking, a major bridge collapse in Atlanta will cause traffic nightmares for months and the trucking industry sees a significant drop in driver turnover. Also, are regulations forcing trucking companies to run unsafe trucks?