A recent FTR Transportation Intelligence conference highlighted continued poor freight market conditions that are forcing fleets to do more with less.
A recent survey by the National Private Truck Council highlighted the growth of private fleets in size, volume and freight value.
Recent data by Motive suggests the freight recession is closer to an end as more robust June restocking spurs higher July retail sales.
Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, highlights regulatory challenges at the FreightWaves Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit.
Knight-Swift President and CEO David Jackson stepped down Tuesday after a nearly 24-year tenure at the company that saw many mergers and acquisitions, including an expansion into the LTL market.
A report released Monday by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) examines the costs and potential impacts associated with California’s push for zero-emission vehicles. This report is a companion to a December 2022 ATRI report titled “Charging Infrastructure Challenges for the U.S. Electric Vehicle Fleet.
Trailer orders are returning to pre-2020 normal rates, even with a 38% month-over-month decline in November.
Specialty trailer equipment got a boost in October as overall orders rose, but dry and refrigerated vans didn’t keep pace.
The saga of less-than-truckload carrier Yellow may be coming to a close based on reporting that Yellow’s senior vice president of sales told staff their last day would be this Friday, and that the carrier would file for bankruptcy on Monday.
Trailer orders hit their monthly low for the year in June, but seasonality had more to do with it than a lack of demand.
The demand for skilled technicians to keep shops and maintenance terminals running continues to challenge recruiters due to high demand. A major source of lost utilization for fleets on the road is getting their vehicles repaired in a timely manner. A lack of technicians continues to plague shops, creating extra downtime and work order backlogs.
Rachel Premack, editorial director at FreightWaves, was interviewed Tuesday about her article on the impact of the ELD mandate five years later.
On Tuesday, FreightWaves Research released survey data suggesting declining freight conditions are impacting owner-operators especially hard. An important takeaway is the potential for many more owner-operators to leave the industry if conditions do not improve.
After a surge in orders in December, trailer OEMs follow truck manufacturers in reporting slower bookings with large backlogs.
Trailer manufacturers posted 57,300 orders in December, the second-highest monthly intake since ACT Research began tracking in 1996.
Trailer manufacturers took in 57,300 orders in December, the second-highest monthly total since tracking began in 1996.
Even as the economy shows signs of slowing, trailer manufacturers see strong demand and few cancellations.
The easing of constricted supply chains has allowed trailer manufacturers to accept orders that were shunned a year ago.
Uncertainty in the supply chain and commodity price vagaries are stretching out trailer orders beyond traditional cycles.
urricane season can frequently — and unexpectedly — change the trucking dynamic. Part of this involves the positioning of equipment in anticipation for hauling FEMA freight.
Rail service levels are impacting trucking intermodal growth plans. At a Deutsche Bank transportation conference on Tuesday, J.B. Hunt noted that intermodal demand remained strong but poor rail service appears to be creating a bottleneck.
When the 2023 orderbooks for trailers finally open, the suppressed booking numbers will flip in a hurry, but that isn’t happening yet.
Trailer maker Wabash is benefiting from a steady order backlog and a focus on more activity with targeted customers.
FreightWaves recently conducted a survey of owner-operators outlining business issues and outlooks on profitability in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Cautious OEMs allowed the smallest number of trailer orders so far this year, pushing back bookings until late summer.
Trailer makers continue to push away orders as supply chain issues in different areas vex production amid stable pent-up demand.
Fruehauf returns to the U.S. with a new trailer manufacturing plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
War, pandemic shutdowns and supply chain woes resulted in a nearly 60% month-over-month decline in trailer orders in April.
New trailer orders surged to their highest level in 15 months in March, but a supply chain fraught with trouble means it could be an anomaly.
Trailers relegated to storage units are being cleaned up and hooked up to return to service as fleets wait out the supply chain crisis.
Trailer orders in January achieved equilibrium with the months of unbuilt orders as fleets and manufacturers operated in an ongoing parts supply shortage.
Drivers are people who have needs and wants, goods from October are just now being unloaded at West Coast ports, and the FMSCA has a new deputy administrator.
Worker outages and parts shortages becoming status quo for beleaguered trailer manufacturers.
Supply chain disruptions are far from over for trailer manufacturers, meaning November’s order rebound is probably not sustainable.
Stephens investment conference trucking equipment highlights Supply chain challenges were the main focus at the Stephens annual investment conference earlier this month in Nashville, Tennessee. Executives said driver recruiting and […]
ATRI research on truck driver motivations and satisfaction The American Transportation Research Institute released results on its analysis on what motivates truck drivers to become company drivers or owner-operators/independent contractors […]
Volatile prices for steel and components lead trailer makers to make pricing a last-minute decision.
The collision of supply constraints with pent-up equipment demand is pushing some 2021 trailer orders into next year.
Trailer makers have connectivity advancements in the pipeline as they navigate supply shortages hampering production.
Order books are open, but demand planning for 2022 and 2023 began months ago and bookings are filling fast.
As Wabash National streamlines its business, the trailer manufacturer will convert reefer capacity to add 10,000 dry vans in 2023.
Look behind soft June trailer orders for the real story of what’s happening in a constrained equipment market.
The refrain for fleets remained the same for trailer orders in May: Why book what you can’t get?
New trailer orders slid dramatically in April as manufacturers had more dry and refrigerated van bookings than they could build.
Trailer orders edged back toward trend in March, but the crush of orders in recent months leaves manufacturers addled by supply chain issues struggling.
Trailer makers cannot keep up with demand, pushing out delivery times while navigating supply chain bumps.
After four straight months of near-record orders, trailer bookings took a breather in January as some manufacturers slowed taking reservations.
In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon talks innovation, sustainability and more in a CES speech. Plus, FMCSA names new members to a safety advisory panel and Navistar plans to close an Illinois plant.
Kevin Hill and Michael Vincent discuss how trailer sales, retail sales and warehouse inventory levels are still high to start the year.
2020 was supposed to be a year when trailer orders dropped after racing ahead of Class 8 tractor reservations. Even with practically no orders in April, annual trailer bookings blew away early-year predictions.
Orders for new trailers dipped in November but the total bookings in the last three months are still the second highest in industry history.
Concern over the supply chain for wood and aluminum components to build new trailers adds to consumer goods-driven demand that pushed equipment orders over 50,000 for a second straight month in October.
Wabash National saw a 37% surge in its backlog of trailers to build from the second to the third quarter as record orders piled in. Third-quarter margins declined but the trailer and last-mile equipment builder was profitable.
Preliminary Class 8 truck orders in North America reached a two-year high in October with more than 40,000 reservations.
In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, OOIDA will back FMCSA in a lawsuit defending hours-of-service changes. Plus, regional carriers could see a strong holiday season and equipment orders are up and that could complicate 2020 rate forecasting.
Carriers are investing in new trailers over tractors during the most recent freight boom. What does this mean for capacity in the future?
Fleets placed 52,000 preliminary orders for new trailers in September, the third-highest month in history as pandemic-driven consumer goods demand continues unabated.
In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, the West Coast wildfires are creating hazardous conditions for truck drivers. Plus, trailer orders are rising once again and volatile supply chains may become the new normal.
The continuing rebound in trailer orders is in line with three-year high in spot freight rates as consumers buy more goods than services.
Demand headwinds will place “downwards pressure on revenue and earnings likely into 2021” for trailer manufacturer Wabash National. This was part of the rationale behind credit rating agency Moody’s lowering its ratings on the company.
Makeup orders for tractors and trailers lead to rehiring of some laid-off workers and rebuilding shrunken backlogs from March and April coronavirus shutdowns. But how long will it last?
Trailer builder Wabash National kept the business impact of COVID-19 to a minimum in the second quarter. It even paid back money it borrowed and maintained its dividend.
After practically zeroing out in the early stages of the pandemic, trailer orders rebounded in June as fleets began to book new equipment to take advantage of the improving freight market.
After an April in which practically no net trailer orders were added to build schedules, a big improvement in May was welcome, but it’s still the second-weakest month on record.
Order cancellations and only essential replacement bookings dropped new trailer orders to just 6,500 units in March. Separately, Wabash National announced a two-week suspension of production and cash-conservation moves.
Now in sync with lower tractor orders after equipment ordering binge, trailer bookings recorded their softest February since the Great Recession as coronavirus concerns gave fleets another reason to stay out of the market.
A slower year of trailer production is expected as the equipment backlog waiting to be built fell in 11 of 12 months in 2019.
Trailer orders move up and down but the overall industry is ending a decade of growth that is just beginning to slow.
CFI employees have raised more than $800,000 for charities over the past 26 years as part of its Truckloads of Treasures campaign. Plus, airfreight may not grow next year, trailer orders drop and Connecticut delays toll discussion.
Preliminary orders for new trailers met expectations in October reached their highest level in 11 months, upholding expectations for a good, but not great 2020.
Trailer orders in September were the highest since February, suggesting another strong year of production in 2020.
After a record year for orders in 2018, fleets and dealers are holding back on placing many new trailer orders, a situation that analysts say could improve in the fourth quarter.
Class 8 truck manufacturers are beginning to pare production as the backlog of record orders from 2018 shrinks and new orders continue to be slow.
Payback for a record run of new trailer orders last summer continued in July with fewer than 10,000 new orders placed, a dramatic drop from the same month in 2018. Typical during summer months, low orders suggest a possible return to normal order patterns after an overheated second half in 2018.
Truck trailer orders dropped for the third straight month in February.
The Motiv EPIC all-electric chassis will be installed on Ford F-59 glider chassis at a Detroit Custom Chassis plant. Also, Colorado passes bill lowering the commercial truck driving age and the Port of Long Beach sees near-record volumes.
Deutsche Post DHL Group (XETRA: DPW) has taken a new approach to recruiting driving in Europe: offering to rotate them out of driving roles. Following a record-setting September, fleets continued to order trailers at near-record rates in October.
Trailer orders are booming for manufacturers, setting a record in September and nearly matching it in October.
Despite an exceptionally strong year for trailer orders, Wabash National’s stock took a hit when the company guided downward for its Q3 results, blaming higher input costs and labor issues.
ACT Research’s preliminary estimate for July net trailer orders came in at 29,300 units, making last month the strongest July in industry history.
Trailers orders dipped month-over-month in April, but for the 17th consecutive month they posted year-over-year gains.
Used truck prices strengthen; trailer orders go crazy; Arizona suspends Uber self-driving; Canadian National trades at 52-week lows; aftermath of Harvey still affects Houston tanker traffic; Philadelphia freight market is heating up.
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.
KeepTruckin has partnered with Foley, a leader in FMCSA compliance solutions, to offer KeepTruckin’s electronic logging device to fleets. Any size fleet will have access to the KeepTruckin’s ELD and IFTA solution.
