Even with rates rising – both contract and spot – and capacity tightening, attracting drivers still remain a primary concern for fleets. Driver pay is increasing, but outside influences are still hurting the recruitment efforts.
FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) took a tumble in August, the firm said, dropping to a negative 6.7 reading. Most of the decline was due to the short-term fuel cost increases because of disruptions due to Hurricane Harvey.
Californians are about to see huge increases in the fuel taxes they pay at the pump. California’s Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in April and will begin taking effect this Wednesday with a 12 cent jump in the gasoline base excise tax and a 20 cent spike in the diesel fuel base excise tax.
One of the largest financial exchanges in the world has partnered with DAT and Chattanooga-based TransRisk to launch a futures contract based on trucking spot rates. The venture brings together the benchmark pricing index with one of the largest financial exchanges in the world.
Founded with the purpose of addressing volatility for brokers, carriers and shippers in major shipping lanes through risk-management solutions, TransRisk is one step closer to doing just that. The company, along with DAT Solutions and Nodal Exchange jointly announced an agreement to develop, market and list the first and only trucking freight futures and options on futures contracts.
For the past 15 years, if a carrier needed some assistance getting over a rough time financially, there has been help available from lenders who specialize in transportation finance. One of those companies is Marquette Transportation Finance, which just surpassed a milestone of sorts: It’s lent more than $15 billion to companies large and small.
McKinsey & Company has issued a landmark report predicting sweeping changes amid steady growth in the container shipping industry over the next 50 years.
There were a number of companies that presented new and updated products this past week at the American Trucking Associations’ MCE 2017 conference in Orlando, FL. Here is a rundown of some of those products.
In the future, trailer pools may no longer be the domain of truck large truckload fleets. Could they disrupt the LTL market as well and might brokers and 3PLs be able to take advantage?
We need NAFTA. That was the general consensus from Bob Costello and Derek Leathers on Sunday during a general industry update session at the American Trucking Associations’ MCE 2017 conference in Orlando.
The driver shortage has surged to the most important issue facing the industry, according to the latest top ten critical issues survey, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), said.
The annual State of the Industry address at the American Trucking Associations’ MCE conference is a time for the president to highlight all that is good about trucking. Delivering his second address as president, Chris Spear noted some of the legislative accomplishments of the association, took aim at some of the industry’s critics, and called for unity.
Delivering a speech that was warmly welcomed by attendees, Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta said the Trump Administration was removing barriers to getting work done and improving healthcare for Americans in general, but for the trucking industry specifically.
The driver shortage is increasing, according to Bob Costello, chief economist of the American Trucking Associations, but it’s not as bad as many people believe.
International announced it has created a 24/7 center to manage customer support to help speed the time it takes to get vehicles back on the road.
Many fleets are devoting 10% of their operating budgets to maintenance, but it doesn’t have to be that high, suggests Jim Buell, EVP of sales & marketing for FleetNet America. “If you talk to most people, they think maintenance costs are like death and taxes, you can’t do anything about it,”
Some of the most prominent stakeholders in Canada voiced their concerns over NAFTA at an event organized by the Truckload Carriers’ Association (TCA) entitled “Bridging Border Barriers.”
A jury has awarded $15.57 million to Isaac Espinoza, who was struck by a tractor-trailer driven independent contractor Ricky Hatfield while assisting a friend on the side of I-81 north. The jury also held the broker who contracted with Hatfield partially responsible.
Blockchain offers a number of opportunities within freight management to improve cash flow. Pay per mile insurance coverage is one new concept, but that same philosophy can be applied to vehicle leases, perhaps changing the way fleets pay for their vehicles.
Driver costs are the highest cost for fleets, surpassing fuel for the second year in a row, according to data from the American Transportation Research Institute.
