Trucking News

The Teamsters union lost another round in its terminal-by-terminal organizing battle with Con-way Freight, the second-largest U.S. less-than-truckload carrier. To date, the union has three victories and six losses — not counting two terminals where the Teamsters withdrew an election petition.

The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index rose 5.1 percent year-over-year in March and climbed 2.3 percent from February, a sign of healthy freight demand at the end of the first quarter.

Werner Enterprises easily passed a slow-moving economy in the first quarter, increasing trucking revenue 6 percent and net profit 61 percent. Freight demand remains strong in April, the company said.

The number of job openings for transportation, warehouse and utility workers rose sharply from a year ago in February, as a milder winter created more opportunities in logistics businesses.

In the latest of several major logistics acquisition, Echo Global Logistics acquired $561 million 3PL Command Transportation, bringing its total annual revenue within range of $2 billion.

Truck tonnage increased in March after a February fall, riding a wave of stronger consumer confidence, retail sales and U.S. imports.

Con-way Truckload is purchasing 635 new tractors with automated manual transmissions in a bid to attract drivers — especially new recruits.

The American Trucking Associations is urging the Department of Transportation to move forward with a rulemaking that would require electronic speed limiters on all large trucks.

U.S. diesel prices have fallen to a low not seen since Avatar raked in hundreds of millions of dollar at movie theaters across the country.

Refrigerated trucking operator Marten Transport nearly doubled net profit in the first quarter while expanding dedicated operations as shippers scrambled to secure truck capacity.

A resurgent economy kick-started the revenue engines of the largest U.S. trucking companies in 2014, fueling the most rapid growth those big freight haulers have seen in three years.

The truck driver shortage was supposed to push freight from the highways to intermodal rail, but now that shortage may be the biggest threat to intermodal growth. Drayage truck drivers are increasingly hard to find, and that hurts intermodal service even when trains run on time, speakers at the NASSTRAC Shippers Conference said.

U.S. freight shipments increased just 0.3 percent in March, down 5.1 percent year-over-year, according to the Cass Freight Index.

The pace of truck rate increases could slow this year, if manufacturing continues to grow slowly and low energy prices deter capital investment, Wall Street analysts said. However, they see a storm coming in 2016-17.

The U.S. House and Senate may have to act to preserve changes to a controversial restart provision in 2013 truck driver hours-of-service rules if a report on those rules isn't ready by Sept. 30, NASSTRAC officials told shippers.

Stronger pricing, better equipment utilization and strong intermodal growth helped lift the Arkansas-based carrier's fiscal first quarter profit to $91.9 million.

The "unprecedented" growth of e-commerce, coupled with rapid development of mobile technology, is changing the playbook for shippers and transport operators alike.

Shippers need to work with trucking suppliers to find ways to 'mitigate' driver shortage as pay hikes push up rates, Werner's Derek Leathers says.

The penalties for violating truck safety rules in the U.S. are about to rise by hundreds or thousands of dollars, as regulators adjust civil fines for inflation for the first time since 2007.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wants to join a Teamster-led lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's decision to allow Mexican carriers to apply for U.S. authority.

Truck volumes on the U.S. spot market shot up 34 percent in March from February, as the spring surge in freight arrived at ports, loading docks, warehouses and retail stores.

Budapest, Hungary-based Waberer's International is building a network of trucking subsidiaries in Western Europe to connect with local shippers and expand its business faster.

Federal regulators ordered a South Carolina trucker off the road last week after a series of inspections revealed faulty brakes and other safety violations.

Trucking revenue has become increasingly concentrated, as the number of carriers with more than $1 billion in annual revenue more than doubled over the last decade. That's good for shippers, SJ Consulting Group says.

The 50 largest U.S. trucking companies increased their combined revenue by 10 percent or more than $10 billion to $117 billion in 2014, as the U.S. economy reached and maintained a higher growth rate.

John Simone, the CEO who drove USA Truck back to profitability last year after several years of losses, will take medical leave. Director Thomas Glaser will serve as interim chief operating officer.

Slower U.S. economic growth is dampening first-quarter earnings expectations at Universal Truckload Services, which said lower than expected demand in February and March was a drag on first-quarter earnings.

Trucking employment declined last month for the first time since May 2013 as U.S. job markets overall stumbled amid slower-than-expected economic growth. For-hire trucking companies shed 6,800 jobs in March. At the same time, the U.S. created only 126,000 jobs, far fewer than anticipated.

A flatbed and specialized freight carrier and two auto transport companies were the fastest-growing businesses on a list of the 50 largest U.S. trucking firms last year. Most companies on the list grew faster as the U.S. economy accelerated in 2014.

The truck driver shortage in the U.S. apparently is becoming "more pervasive" despite higher pay and retention efforts by for-hire trucking companies, data released by the American Trucking Associations suggests.

A software company that provides information on truck stops, weigh stations and other on-the-road services to U.S. truckers is attracting funding from an unusual source — China.

Both sides in the debate over larger truck trailers are gearing up for the next battle in a long-standing war as Congress works on the next federal surface transportation bill.

The recent plunge in U.S. diesel fuel prices is mixed news for less-than-truckload carriers, who are spending less at the pump but getting less in fuel surcharges.

Hefty increases in truck driver wages will propel truckload rates higher in 2015 and beyond, potentially pushing pricing up by double digits, a transportation analyst warns. Truckload rates may need to rise as much as 12 to 18 percent to pay for higher driver wages.

Volumes moved by truck in the U.S. declined in February, the result of severe winter weather and lingering effects of the West Coast port congestion crisis, according to the American Trucking Associations.

YRC Worldwide is preparing to shed some old equipment and replace it with new tractor-trailers. The $5.1 billion less-than-truckload operator is trading up both trucks and technology, CEO James Welch said at the Truckload & Logistics Council’s 41st annual conference here Monday.

When the polar vortex unleashed storm after winter storm last year, the network of distribution centers and third-party warehouses Butterball uses to ship whole turkeys and other products across the U.S. suffered serious disruptions. Butterball moved quickly to shore up its transportation network and protect its supply chain, using a new transportation management system to optimize loads across its lanes.

Shippers are being warned to prepare for major and potentially costly changes in the way they contract or hire trucking companies to move freight across the U.S., as economic, regulatory and legal pressures reshape the transportation landscape.

Signs that the container logjam in Southern California is beginning to break are showing up on the truck spot market, as deconsolidated loads come up for grabs at West Coast warehouses.