For anyone in the trucking industry, there is one constant: change. Rates change. Customers change. Freight flows change. But why is there so much change? This graphic answers some of those questions.
Is the trucking industry over-regulated? Good luck finding anyone in the industry that would say no. But ask which regulations should be repealed and chances are each one will be mentioned at least once. But will repealing regulations actually make the industry safer?
Trucking fleets have been hit with a series of equipment price increases in recent years due to new government regulations, including thousands of dollars for tractors due to greenhouse gas regulations. The new electronic stability control regulation, though, may be one where the benefit far outweighs its minimal cost.
Since last summer, Elon Musk has been teasing Tesla fans with word the company is building an electric “semi truck.” What form, shape and size that truck will take is still under wraps, but at least now we have a more definitive timeframe.
There is a lot of fear among drivers that they are being displaced by autonomous vehicles, and plenty of companies building these vehicles are looking to do just that. But one company is approaching the autonomous space with an eye on keeping drivers employed and improving their lives.
The upcoming electronic logging device (ELD) rule is a great example of the type of mandated technological change coming to the trucking industry, and yet it serves as a great reminder of the importance to perform due diligence before adopting such technologies.
This week in the Week in Trucking, we look at improving truck orders and optimism among carriers, why consumer GPS devices don’t work in trucking, GE’s approaching to training workers and how one carrier is finding success by offering its drivers video.
The transportation industry is ripe with startups hoping to be the one that disrupts a $726 billion industry, but without help, most don’t last. Dynamo is a Chattanooga-based venture capital firm that specializes in the logistics space and is helping a few of these startups gain a solid foothold in transportation.
In a world which carriers want to be paid quickly for their services, brokers have long turned to factoring as an option. Technology, though, is changing the payments business, and that means quicker payments for carriers and more cash flow flexibility for brokers.
Unlike some technologies, blockchain technology is not likely to displace many workers in the trucking industry. It does promise, however, to streamline financial operations and compliance reporting to make those operations more seamless, potentially saving fleets tens of thousands of dollars.
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?
Once a disparate group of entities, the modern supply chain is becoming more akin to a well-oiled machine thanks to technological advances. As it becomes more digitized, the business case for blockchain technology becomes more powerful.
“The potential here is phenomenal. The match between what blockchain offers and the industry pain points is incredible,” says Bridget McDermott, vice president of Blockchain Business Development for IBM. So what exactly is blockchain?
Blockchain is a relatively new term used to describe a series of distributed databases that act as a tamper-proof, verifiable ledger. As with any new technology, blockchain has its own terminology. Here is a listing of some of the most important terms and their meanings.
While most people assume that drones will someday be making home deliveries, there are other possibilities including droids and even mobile parcel lockers. Whatever method or combination of methods are chosen, though, last-mile delivery may never be the same.
In this week’s edition of The Week in Trucking, the trucking industry gets an audience with President Donald Trump, drivers may not be needed in California, are robots are set to take over warehousing and FMCSA pulls a controversial safety-focused rule.
Since the dawn of the shipping industry, brokers, carriers and shippers have struggled with rate price swings, sometimes due to conditions outside their control, such as weather or politics. TransFX, a Chattanooga-based company located in Freight Alley, is trying to help change that by offering “freight futures contracts.”
As the next generation of the Fuller and Quinn families take on leadership roles of U.S. Xpress, data is becoming more important than ever. Eric Fuller, who succeeds his father Max as CEO, says that technology is poised to change the industry in ways never before imagined.
With truck driver turnover approaching and even surpassing 100% at times, costing carriers thousands of dollars to replace them, many fleets are doing what they can to keep their current drivers. This includes increasing pay and benefits, but one company thinks it has a better way and it starts with communication.
Amazingly, there’s one area of the country where more than 80% of the nation’s freight travels through on its way to its final destination. It’s not Chicago, New York or Dallas. It’s not even in the center of the U.S. Meet Freight Alley.
A University of Michigan study found that only 9.7% of those surveyed said they have no concerns about fully autonomous vehicles. But what about driving alongside an 80,000-lb. autonomous big rig? These are already being tested on roads and could be operational within five years. Is the industry ready for the disruption autonomous trucks will cause?
While much attention has been paid to autonomous trucks recently thanks to startup companies such as Otto, Embark and Startsky Robotics, many forget that the first company to test an autonomous vehicle in highways was truck manufacturer Daimler Trucks North America. Here is a look at the Freightliner Inspiration.
In a world of volatile diesel fuel prices that rise and fall on a daily basis, the biggest operational variable for any trucking fleet is not within their control. Nikola Motor is promising to change that with its hydrogen-powered electric tractor. U.S. Xpress, is one fleet that believes the future may be hydrogen.
For anyone involved in the movement of goods, weather plays a great unknown. It can cause delays and even cancelled orders, which means lost revenue. But one company is trying to help identify potential weather issues so vehicles can be safely rerouted.
The required implementation of electronic logging devices later this year has created plenty of worry within industry circles. Beyond the logistics of installing the devices, though, carriers and shippers need to be worried about the business impact: specifically lost productivity and rising rates.
Those on both sides of the freight business have struggled for years with volatile shipping rates. Contracts get locked in for months or more with no assurance that the contract will reflect current prices when loads are delivered. TransVix believes part of the solution to this problem is the creation of a Trucking Futures Exchange.
From drones to the Internet of Things (IoT), technology is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the world of business. It is no different for transportation entities, especially shippers and carriers who are embracing technology while remaining mindful of ever-slimming margins.
Steve Sashihara, CEO of Princeton Consultants, recently spoke about disruptive technologies and Big Data in the transportation space. Here are 9 areas of impact he identified. Each slide represents the belief that industry stakeholders surveyed have in digital disruption. (Click the arrow to scroll through).
