Carriers steering clear of Louisiana due to precarious weather conditions can start accepting loads into the state again. While Hurricane Barry caused serious flooding over the weekend, most of the damage was limited to rural areas with little freight activity.
“Most of the damage occurred in rural areas where there is little freight presence, but still check the road conditions map in SONAR for any road closures or street flooding,” FreightWaves Director of Freight Intelligence Zach Strickland said. “There will be disaster relief efforts in the coming weeks but at nowhere near the scale of those after a major hurricane.”
Hurricane Barry weakened into a tropical storm as it made landfall about 150 miles west of New Orleans on Saturday, July 13. Still, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration waived hours of service restrictions for any carrier providing relief supplies to the affected areas.
It is too early to provide a reliable estimate of the damage, but New Orleans was spared from the brunt of the storm.
“There were no significant disruptions to contracted freight, as the storm hit over the weekend in a relatively low volume area,” Strickland said. “Many carriers made their adjustments to their routing last week as inbound tender rejections, seen in SONAR, increased from under 5 percent to over 7 percent leading up to landfall.”
As inbound tender rejections climbed last week, outbound tender rejections fell from 12 percent to 8.5 percent. This indicates that carriers were jumping at the opportunity to get out of the area, according to Strickland.
Chart: FreightWaves SONAR
Volumes have climbed somewhat in the area as shippers work to move goods out of the path of potential flooding.
In short, carriers accepting loads into Louisiana’s more populous areas should not encounter too many issues. These carriers should still keep an eye on road conditions while moving through the area.
Insights like those provided by Strickland in the article are delivered to FreightWaves SONAR subscribers each day. Request a demo to learn more about SONAR.
Although new guidance on mask wearing returns the industry to some semblance of normalcy after over a year of lockdowns and restrictions, employers should remain cautious in revising policies.
While Texans are accustomed to living life free of excessive state-level taxes, they were in for a shock when their own U.S. Senator, Republican John Cornyn, used his national platform to advocate for the establishment of a truck-only vehicle miles traveled tax.
As we discuss ways to improve the sales relationship between carrier and shipper, the term “commodity” always comes up. Most carriers feel being a commodity diminishes the services they provide. It doesn’t have to be that way.
The nation’s top trucking research group plans to update previous studies on the effects of legalized marijuana and other drugs on truck safety along with integrating 18- to 20-year-old drivers into the industry.
Throughout the entire 90-year history of trucking in the United States, excessive detention has been a scourge on the industry. An upcoming 90-minute immersive workshop will share tools and strategies to combat this issue and keep the wheels moving and profitable.
While a request for Supreme Court review of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to overturn an injunction banning enforcement of California’s AB5 will almost certainly follow, at this time, motor carriers who operate in California must be prepared to act in accordance with AB5.
The word “safety” is everywhere in the trucking industry. It is talked about nearly every day in the press, Congress has zeroed in on it, and most carriers will say that it is their top priority. With all this attention, it’s easy to believe that safety has become cliché. But it’s not.
A day after Colonial Pipeline said there was light at the end of the tunnel for the line’s closure due to a cyberattack, the impact of the shutdown on the ground is being felt.
Truck drivers and fleets have two months to prepare for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual Operation Safe Driver Week, which is set for July 11-17. Here is what inspectors will be looking for.
Ashley is interested in everything that moves, especially trucks and planes. She works with clients to develop sponsored content that tells a story. She worked as reporter and editor at FreightWaves before taking on her current role as Senior Content Marketing Writer. Ashley spends her free time at the dog park with her beagle, Ruth, or scouring the internet for last minute flight deals.
