Trucking News

An increase in housing permits and starts will help rebuild US truck volumes this spring, putting increased demand on truck capacity and spot pricing, according to Bobby Holland, vice president and director of freight data solutions at US Bank.

The fate of two high-profile challenges to California’s worker classification bill known as AB5 boil down to an argument the trucking industry has used in the past — federal preemption of state and local attempts to regulate interstate commerce.

Indications that the US manufacturing sector is improving, rather than deteriorating, could point to more freight demand and truck shipments this spring, especially for LTL carriers.

The freight market has returned closer to equilibrium between shippers and truckers than last year, but a murky middle persists over whether business conditions will flip toward carriers later this year.

Dedicated contract carriage, final-mile service, and a digital marketplace helped carry J.B. Hunt through a tough fourth-quarter intermodal and trucking market.

US District Court Judge Roger Benitez ruled that AB5 is preempted by existing federal statutes, delivering a win for the California Trucking Association and dealing a blow to state lawmakers attempting to restructure the worker classification process for truck drivers.

Expect the sale or spin-off of some business to make XPO more a “pure-play” LTL trucking company — smaller, but more focused on US shippers and better positioned to increase shareholder value.

The freight broker GlobalTranz is expanding its reach in the managed transportation services market with the acquisition of Cerasis, a broker that effectively acts as provider of transportation management software and often runs the software for its less-than-truckload, parcel, and final mile customers.

Shippers retain substantial pricing power despite a recent spike in truckload spot rates, which appear to be settling near recent highs that are still below year-ago levels.

Shipper demand, lower modal boundaries, and changing procurement practices lead LTL technology provider SMC3 to add truckload functionality to its bidding software.

“Continuous” truck moves collaboratively arranged by networks of shippers and carriers are the goal of Transplace’s acquisition of Lanehub.

Federal officials are seeking public input on how best to test the emissions output of future heavy duty trucks to ensure levels of nitrogen oxide in the air continue to drop, while maintaining efficiency in the cargo delivery fleet.

Trucking employment slipped in December as US manufacturing remained sluggish, but there are signs demand, and perhaps payrolls, may improve in 2020.

Two technology firms are taking an ambitious step toward bringing shippers, trucking companies, and logistics providers together on one transportation management platform.

Knight-Swift and DAT test a truckload rate forecasting system as shippers and their transportation and logistics providers push out the boundaries of supply-chain visibility.

Even if a permanent exemption for the California trucking industry is granted, trucking veterans say they expect more legislative attempts to define whether a driver is an employee or an independent contractor in the Golden State.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement may speed the processing of goods at US borders, but won’t necessarily speed transportation at the congested Mexican border, experts warn. That will require further investment in infrastructure and technology.

Insight into the location and predicted arrival of freight across modes can no longer be confined to a single entity in a freight environment where outcomes between trading partners and service partners are intricately linked.

The electronic logging device (ELD) eventually will help shippers find trucks more quickly, help trucking companies better manage drivers, and help drivers better manage hours. But more integration of ELD data with other systems and more development are needed to deliver bigger benefits.

El sector de camiones mexicano ahora tiene una demanda disminuida que permite a los consignadores exprimir a los camioneros para obtener mejores tarifas, a medida que la economía se desacelera y el sector aún se ajusta a las regulaciones de horas de servicio que entraron en vigencia a mediados de 2018.

Una nueva regulación que entra en vigencia en el estado mexicano de Jalisco en enero es la última regla que ha enojado a los camioneros mexicanos al limitar el movimiento de los camiones o cobrar una tarifa para ingresar a un área en particular, o ambos.

Gaining visibility into truckload movements allows shippers to improve transportation execution and efficiency, as well as accurately benchmark carrier performance and enforce minimum service standards for providers.

The country's government is looking to improve cargo fluidity at key seaports and border crossings — and reduce traffic on congested roads — via increased use of intermodal rail and a new marine highway program.

The high-profile financial failings of so-called disruptors like Uber, Lyft, Grubhub, Blue Apron, and WeWork should serve as a warning to investors in the budding digital freight brokerage space.

Chronic cross-border trucking delays serve as a reminder of how fragile the freight connection between the United States and its largest trading partner continues to be.

Going into 2020, chassis providers in the US are hopeful that fleet upgrades over the last two years have made the network more resilient, while also acknowledging that there is still little they can do to absorb sudden, unanticipated spikes in cargo.

The Mexican trucking sector is now a buyer’s market, with diminished demand allowing shippers to squeeze truckers for better rates, as the economy slows and the sector still adjusts to hours of service regulations that went into effect in mid-2018.

Virtually every notable new domestic freight broker in the US tied up at least one direct integration with a major transportation management system (TMS) provider in 2019, a trend that will likely continue in the coming years.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers maintained pricing discipline and focusing on their bottom lines in 2019, but the overall outlook for the sector in 2020 still depends largely on a flagging US manufacturing industry.

A new regulation that takes effect in the Mexican state of Jalisco in January is the latest rule that has angered Mexican truckers by limiting truck movement or levying a fee to enter a particular area, or both.

The US truckload freight market took some bruising in 2019, but there are signs that a rebound may be around the corner in 2020.

While carriers have long had options to get paid quicker than payment terms would guarantee -- by accepting a discount on invoices -- freight broker LoadDelivered is testing whether drivers would trade early payment for providing visibility and capacity loyalty.

With the number of truck drivers in the United States expected to continue rising steadily, motor carriers in the coming years will be focused on to getting the most out of existing drivers' miles and ensuring drivers earn enough money to keep them behind the wheel.

New legislation will take effect in California Jan. 1 that would make it much more difficult for truck drivers to retain independent contractor status, but owner operators are stuck in limbo pending a court decision on a legal challenge to the new rules.

With economic growth expected to slow and relations between the United States and its largest trading partners still in flux, cargo owners are expecting low but sustained demand and increased pricing pressure in the coming year.

The Cass Freight Index suggests the bottom of the trucking market has passed, although the data doesn’t provide a clear picture of when pricing power will flip toward carriers again.

The latest data from the American Trucking Associations shows large truckload carriers cutting drivers and smaller fleets ramping up hiring.

Changes in package delivery market are leading FedEx to rethink its air express and ground strategies, as it struggles with a slowdown in global trade.

Seattle-based Convoy is challenging freight brokerage incumbents by saying it has developed capability to automate freight matching and pricing in widely-used US truckload lanes.

Year-to-date declines in metal, chemical, and forest product shipments will depress future truck volumes, creating an overhang that will affect pricing, a transportation economist says.