Less than Truckload (LTL)

An Eaton clutch defect leads to a recall of International truck models and other OEMs may have to follow suit, plus Amazon Air takes off and intermodal growth being driven by inland ports.

Also in the pickup: the sad state of interstate 81; farmers and truckers in the news; Saia’s fourth-quarter status report

Review that began in May expanded to examine allegations at Memphis DC

Fleets are increasingly focused on reducing theirs and cutting fuel usage. Electric vehicles, particularly medium-duty trucks and those vehicles used in e-commerce and last-mile delivery, represent prime opportunities to achieve both goals.

The tax changes of 2017 caused some fleets to consider leasing as opposed to buying, and new accounting rule changes could have a similar effect, says Fleet Advantage.

As any driver knows, parking is at a premium at truck stops, even during the middle of the day. A new survey is being conducted to get an update on the current parking situation.

The National Academies of Science has identified seven core research areas that it said could help DOT determine possible changes to truck size and weight.

Google Search becomes part of XPO’s last-mile tracking portfolio.

A driver incentive program, which not only prompts drivers to make smarter and safer driving decisions, but also promotes driver happiness, is one way to increase driver retention.

Is e-commerce making traffic congestion in urban areas worse? Gas demand plummets in South Korea; a state DOT seeks solutions through art; turnkey logistics in Asia and more.

Canada is working to finalize an ELD rule for truckers in that country. The rule would closely mirror the U.S. regulation, with a few significant differences.

They couldn’t get a truck to the school but the kids learned anyway how their stuff gets to their houses.

A Connecticut DOT study found that tolls on the state highways could generate $1 billion a year. Despite that, the incoming governor is focused only on adding tolls for trucks.

YRC, Teamsters say pilots mean more earnings for drivers.

FedEx is expanding its alternative-fuel vehicle fleet with 1,000 electric vans from Chanje Energy, to be delivered over the next two years.

Operations to vary depending on pilot markets.

There is no timeline for implementation of any new NOx rulemaking, but there are a couple of key questions that must be answered: What will the limits be and how much will this cost?

Pilot underway in Dallas-Ft.Worth market.

Amazon came out on top according to the judges in FreightWaves’ Research Institute’s inaugural Freight.Tech 25, which identified the most disruptive and innovative companies in the freight space.

Penske Truck Leasing has added a major upgrade to its Penske Driver app, giving drivers the ability to quickly and easily call for roadside assistance without the need for a phone call.

UPS advised shippers to take LTL business elsewhere. They did.

DHL hopes plan will attract new recruits to industry as shortfall looms.

XPO Logistics is rolling out four new LTL optimization technologies and has announced a fast-track and free process for military members and veterans to receive their CDL.

Rank-and-file at UPS Freight unit overwhelmingly ratify 5-year pact.

Its financial metrics were not strong, but management sees recapitalization as key to its future.

ZED Connect has announced that it is discontinuing its ZED-ELD product and offering current customers an opportunity to transition to the EZ-ELD from Stoneridge.

The FreightWaves Research Institute will announce the winners of the Freight.Tech 25 next week at the MarketWaves18 conference at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.

While transportation was not a front-of-the-ticket issue for politicians in the midterm elections, there were some significant developments when it came to funding projects across the country.

Expeditors navigates around pricing pressure to post solid Q3 results.

Intermodal services firm to boost presence in consumer goods sector with acquisition of LTL consolidator and brokerage.

Tuesdays may not be good days to be on the road; transport firms need to boost analytics usage to match what customers are doing.

Less-than-truckload carrier plans to rejuvenate fleet and remain focused on price over volume.

LTL carrier says Northeast expansion to continue with new facilities, but segment remains at breakeven results.

In a CarrierLists survey of fleets, most respondents expect rates and volumes to remain the same or improve in 2019.

Incoming CEO Rourke brings experience in driver training, account management and truckload services.

Drivers at XPO Logistics, Inc.’s (NYSE:XPO) facility in Cinnaminson, N.J., an eastern suburb of Philadelphia, have agreed to join Teamsters union Local 107, the Teamsters said.

Canada’s largest railroad boosts intermodal and refrigerated service offering with acquisition of major trucking company.

The Teamsters union has said that proposed changes to a tentative contract from UPS Freight, UPS Inc.’s (NYSE:UPS) less-than-truckload unit, fails to address the grievances raised by the rank-and-file, and that the union’s negotiating committee will call a nationwide strike sometime after Nov. 12 if workers reject the company’s offer.

Spireon has new financial backing and a market that still has a lot of trailers without GPS tracking.

The new tool will allow machine learning to accept and interpret counteroffers from carriers, and decide if they’re too high or just right.

The UPS Freight 30-day period is coming to an end and rank-and-file angry with the ratification decision in the face of a “no” vote are not sitting quietly.

Even as the trucking industry struggles to identify new drivers, there is a segment of the U.S. population that is facing unemployment rates above 27% that are looking for jobs. Can felons fill the driver gap?

Also in the pickup: IMO meets with 2020 on the horizon; Rhine levels are causing plants to shut down; C.R. England and its charitable cause

Venture brings together two of the largest names in U.S. frac sand production to provide integrated delivery solution.

The plant at the heart of the story was acquired by XPO a few years ago. The company reportedly was stunned by the allegations in the article.

The usual signs of an upturn in the trucking sector aren’t there, according to the Wall Street house, and Morgan wonders if a lot of the demand got pushed forward.

XPO Logistics was named to the Fortune Future 50 list of U.S. public companies while KeepTruckin and Transfix were both honored by Forbes as two companies likely to achieve unicorn status.

Continuing efforts to fight what he says are unfair trade practices, the administration of President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will pull out of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) treaty, which sets how much can be charged for international shipping.

The FreightWaves Research Institute has announced the list of 55 voters who will be choosing the inaugural winners of the Freight.Tech 25 awards, and it’s who’s who of freight leaders.

From on-demand trucking to blockchain, loadboards and freight matching, the list of companies bringing innovative technologies to the freight industry is growing by the day, which makes the 100 that have made the cut to be honored by the FreightWaves Research Institute as part of its inaugural Freight.Tech 100 all the more special.

It started with an open nomination period, and after culling through hundreds of submissions, the FreightWaves Research Institute has announced the inaugural Freight.Tech 100 companies.

Mike Roeth, executive director of NACFE, spoke last week at the Meritor/P.S.I. Fleet Technology Event, telling the audience that one of the lessons he learned from NACFE’s Run on Less program in 2016 was that drivers still have plenty of influence over fuel economy, despite technology advances.

Long known for its automatic tire inflation system (ATIS), P.S.I. adding a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to its portfolio of solutions to help fleets more effectively manage tire maintenance.

Most of the move has no impact on ecommerce or last mile, but one small change could bring some new demand.

It’s a wide range of opinions that are expressed in FMCSA’s call for comments on changes in the HOS rule.

High spot market trucking rates have caused more carriers to move to that market, but the majority of carriers in a new Transporeon Group survey have remained loyal to their shippers.

The rank-and-file rejected the agreement, but the union says it didn’t meet a minimum level to not accept a deal. UPS appears baffled by all of this.

Driver churn continues to plague the industry as the turnover rate at large truckload carriers has reached its highest point in five years.

Rising driver wages and fuel costs pushed up the cost per mile to operate a commercial vehicle in 2017, according to an annual report released by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). The group said it cost $1.69 per mile to operate a truck last year, up 6% from 2016’s cost.

Tired truck drivers? That’s a big concern based on a new survey by the National Safety Council that found 97% of transportation employers are worried about employee fatigue.

Tender volumes are taking many by surprise, but not those that understand what is happening with the use of ELD’s by small carriers, especially in the dry van segment.

Volvo Trucks will introduce an all-electric truck in California next year before making them commercial available in North America in 2020, the company said.

Military members looking to become truck drivers may have an easier time in doing so as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has authorized states to waive the commercial learner’s permit (CLP) knowledge test and driving skills tests.

The long-anticipated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill is up for a vote and it does not include the controversial meal-and-rest break provision that the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and other industry forces were seeking.

The smartest minds on Wall Street use charting analytics to quickly identify and then track trends in multiple data sets. Why? Because it works. And now freight professionals are learning how to do the same. 

FreightWaves spoke to ArcBest officers about Off Wall Street’s research report, which they said raised concerns about off-balance sheet liabilities related to pensions.

XPO’s seasonal numbers are up 20% from last year. Those sorts of needs is why Amazon has a unique program for a unique group of people.

Schneider National has a Crisis Communications Team that is responsible for planning the safety of employees, equipment and customer freight during hurricanes and other adverse weather situations. Here is some of what they have learned.

Despite publicizing that hours-of-service (HOS) violations would be the focus of this year’s International Roadcheck, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual June event resulted in 43.7% of all drivers placed out of service done so because of HOS violations.

Longer service week aimed at meeting e-commerce related demand

With all the talk of the impact from Hurricane Florence as she comes ashore, likely in the Wilmington, NC, area on Thursday, much of the impact will take place for days and even weeks after the storm is long gone.

Probably to no great surprise to attendees in the room, American Trucking Associations’ Chief Economist Bob Costello painted a very positive picture of the current and near-term freight environment during the ATA’s 2nd Annual Economic Summit last week in Washington, DC.

Speaking at the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) 2nd Annual Economic Summit on Thursday in Washington, DC, ATA President & CEO Chris Spear touted the accomplishments of the association but told attendees now is not the time to become complacent.

Coverage of three companies were launched with a “buy” rating, while three of them got “hold” ratings.

Drones may someday soon become a primary delivery method of last-mile, but they likely won’t be the only solution, as flexibility in methods will be key to successful delivery.

A Florida trucking company is responsible for the equipment of three colleges getting to away games. It wants to boost that number to 10.

Joe DeLorenzo, director of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance for FMCSA, went through some of the common problems the agency is seeing since the ELD mandate went into effect, and there have been plenty.

Low-speed vehicles are not often considered when companies are looking for commercial vehicles, but upgrades to a line of electric compact utility vehicles could change that.

In today’s pickup: is there too much focus on OR? Also, Old Dominion had a solid July, and there’s a proposal for a new interstate highway.

Overall revenue at Roadrunner is up, but it remains burdened by high interest charges necessary to have given the company a strong capital base.

XPO’s Last Mile business in Canada previously had been serviced out of retail stores. Now it has its first facility.

Opus9 launched its digital platform, automating every step of the truckload and LTL shipping process, Tuesday. The new platform is intended to “digitize an old industry and bring it forward,” according to Vice President of Product Management Jeff Hiller.