Truckload Indexes

As the U.S. cuts off borders to unvaccinated truckers, the impacts for Canadian trucking companies run the gamut from a punch in the gut to business as usual.

Tender volumes continue to outperform year-ago levels. Rejection rates are continuing to rise in a unseasonable pattern placing pressure…

The Supreme Court’s decision to halt enforcement of OSHA’s vaccine or testing mandate is a win for employers, but the final legality of the policy is still to be decided.

For years, the industry has asked for the ability to expand its driver workforce. FMCSA’s apprenticeship program is that opportunity, and now is time to jump on this opportunity.

Rates reach new highs as capacity was slow to return to the road following the holidays. Tender volumes are soaring as demand is unrelenting…

There had not been formal guidance on truck driver status since the secretary of labor said they would not fall under the rule.

Canada has scrapped plans to subject unvaccinated Canadian truckers to testing and quarantines after returning from the United States.

Truckload volumes are beginning to erase holiday noise associated with Christmas and New Year’s. Rejection rates are staying elevated…

18 truckload carriers have been honored in the 46th Annual TCA Fleet Safety Awards competition and will now vie for two grand prizes.

While diversity programs can and should be a positive vehicle for promoting diversity in the workplace, employers should take time to review diversity programs and initiatives to ensure the clear communication and implementation of their programs.

Carriers need to ramp up education efforts on Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse testing to help drivers understand the zero-tolerance approach to safety-conscious driving positions.

Currently, whether the recently revived vaccination or test mandate survives court scrutiny is still uncertain, and the Supreme Court will likely have the final say. For now, with compliance deadlines coming shortly after the start of the new year, companies need to start making preparations.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that paid suspensions are a reasonable course of action pending employment investigations.

The agency that regulates trucking has not had a Senate-confirmed leader in more than two years.

Efforts to codify regulatory flexibility should be applauded, and the FREIGHT Act is no different.

Tender volumes decline but remain elevated compared to ‘normal years’ meanwhile rejection rates have found footing around 20%.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently affirmed a Tennessee Court of Appeal’s decision that a corporation may not assert a damaged goods claim under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act.

In an unusual move, the Washington trade group is turning to somebody from outside the Capitol lobbying ecosystem.

Eleanor Holmes-Norton will run for chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to replace the retiring Peter DeFazio.

While times of uncertainty like these can be troubling, what goes up must come down – or at least level off. The price of diesel fuel is projected to lower to a national average of $3.09 in middle and latter parts of the coming year, offering a sigh of relief for trucking.

TCA and DriverReach will hold a fourth session of the popular Making Safety Happen program for fleet professionals.

The clock is ticking for truckers to upgrade or replace their third-generation (3G)-reliant ELDs — or face possible hours-of-service violations — as major cellular providers move to 5G network services in 2022.

Passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act means the industry has a path forward on infrastructure investment, and several additional provisions will benefit trucking in the future.

This week: Central States Mfg. donates wreaths for veteran nonprofit, OOIDA kicks off “Truckers for Troops”, Love’s raises funds for veterans with specialty tumblers and XPO’s CEO challenges the company to hire more active and veteran military employees.

While a federal appeals court has halted enforcement of the Biden administration’s COVID vaccine mandate, companies should familiarize themselves with the requirements regardless.

The likely end date of a chaotic transportation market is being extended.

Congress approves provisions allowing under-21 truck drivers – as well as guidance on truck brokers and freight dispatchers – in a five-year highway bill that is part of a larger $1.2 trillion infrastructure package.

The Truckload Carriers Association is now including educational content from its Truckload Academy as part of a TCA membership.

The TCA calls the mandate “disastrous.”

Account executive trainees at a freight brokerage are seeking class action status in a lawsuit alleging they weren’t paid for overtime.

Federal regulators have vastly improved the ability to keep unsafe drivers off the road but the trucking industry is scrambling to make up the shortfall.

TCA and Blume Global will present a free webinar on the current congestion at the ports and how digitization can help ease the backlog.

An Inspector General audit has found that data, including fleet records, within FMCSA may not be safe from hackers.

Also on the podcast: The growing tie between high natural gas prices and what you’re paying for diesel.

“He would do anything for anybody,” said the widow of a truck driver who was killed while trying to help accident victims.

The research group revealed its list at the annual meeting of the American Trucking Associations.

The NLRB general counsel has marked out a proposed approach for aggressive enforcement and expanded potential remedies under the NLRA.

Carriers have overcome notable cost inflation and disruption to post better-than-expected results so far in the third-quarter earnings season.

While shortages are being blamed for the bulk of the capacity shortages in transportation, the balance of the movement of goods has become incredibly lopsided.

The nation’s safest fleet represent the best the industry has to offer. Applications are now being accepted for TCA’s 2022 Fleet Safety Awards. Deadline is Nov. 1.

Owner-operators are warning the FMCSA that shortages at drug-testing clinics are threatening truck driver livelihoods.

FMCSA is giving states three years to comply with a new truck-driver ban for drug and alcohol abusers.

Observers are left to speculate why the Supreme Court offered no opinion.

The TCA’s public-facing stance on the vaccination mandate might not have taken place a few years ago.

The sole, unidentified backer of the safety tech startup was inspired by a crash involving distracted driving.

FMCSA Deputy Administrator Meera Joshi indicated her strong support for safety technologies during her nomination hearing to take over agency, noting that safety is the common goal of both the industry and the agency.

A pair of lawyers tell a TCA audience that taking steps early can help in later litigation.

The TCA’s meeting in 2020 happened just as the pandemic was about to strike; it sold out its booth space this year.

Lease-purchase deals haven’t always had a great reputation, and this TCA session focused on how to make them work.

Boyle Transportation and Nussbaum Transportation have repeated as winners in TCA/CarrierEdge’s annual Best Fleets to Drive For contest.

If the high court does not grant review and AB5 is implemented, the state’s trucking industry will look to a variety of solutions to be able to use independent contractors and still stay in compliance with the law.

Fueling the good times for drivers: a growing imbalance between the amount of loads available and the truckers who haul them.

Fleetmaster Express recently ordered 10 Volvo VNR Electric Class 8 trucks to transition from a diesel fleet to an electric one.

FMCSA Deputy Administrator Meera Joshi was told during the hearing on her nomination to become administrator that truck crash trends underscore the need for agency action.

What should prospective drivers know about Wellington Motor Freight? “That we are the best company to work for, period. We want to be the place that you spend the rest of your career with. Our culture is unrivaled. We don’t employ ‘just a driver,’ we have absolute professionals behind the wheel.”

An employer’s ‘honest belief’ and good recordkeeping helps it win pregnancy discrimination lawsuit.

“You can’t fix things with some nifty perk. It takes the right people with the right attitude as a foundation.” That philosophy has helped Nussbaum Transportation land on the TCA/CarriersEdge Best Fleets to Drive For list for 2021.

Jetco Delivery has instituted detailed programs around safety, driver training and career opportunities to land it among the top 20 on the TCA/CarriersEdge Best Fleets to Drive For list.

TCA stops short of saying it is against the mandate, but it clearly is concerned.

Bison Transport said its inclusion on the TCA/CarriersEdge Best Fleets to Drive For list is validation it is moving “in the right direction” as a driver destination.

For Central Oregon Truck Co., inclusion in the annual Best Fleets to Drive For list is validation of innovations and improvements made to attract and retain drivers.

The lack of federal grant money for truck parking again frustrates small-business truckers.

Chief Carriers might be small in size, but it remains large in its approach to drivers, landing among the top 20 fleets in North America in the annual Best Fleets to Drive For contest.

As Congress works to pass two separate funding bills while dealing with the fallout of Afghanistan and severe weather across the country, the trucking industry sits and waits.

Grand Island Express continues to put drivers first and has been rewarded for those efforts with a nomination to the Best Fleets to Drive For Top 20 for the 10th straight year.

August data from Cass shows freight expenditures extend their torrid pace. Freight demand remains high but a lack of capacity is constraining shipment growth.

The FMCSA touts safety efforts and driver recruitment in its latest round of grant funding.

The California Supreme Court recently addressed what the proper rate for paying missed meal, rest, and recovery periods is under California state law. And for employees, it’s a financial win.

If a provider of capacity isn’t already preapproved for Hurricane Ida relief, there will be another chance in November to get into the program for future needs.

The FMCSA continues to prioritize COVID relief, extending hours-of-service Emergency Declarations once again.

Regulators will poll the trucking industry on the value of the hours-of-service waiver as FMCSA readies another extension.

A court decision on driver hiring did not remove restrictive covenants, but it does highlight the need for trucking companies to review any covenants they have related to advances on driver training costs.

June proved to be possibly the best month ever for Truckload Carriers Association members. Brokerage revenue growing alongside driver revenues helps paint a picture of success, but what is success for a carrier?

TPP Retention Project Plan’s Ray Haight explains how the industry has missed an opportunity when it comes to driver retention.

Higher prices for used trucks are expected to last into 2022 and when they fall, it will be from a lofty place.

As wireless providers switch off 3G networks in favor of 5G, some ELDs may no longer work.

A Commerce Department advisory group recommends that the department coordinate an interagency approach to addressing the driver shortage.

An appeals court has reinstated a disability lawsuit claim involving a police officer, but the decision serves as a cautionary tale for many industries, including trucking.

The organization will provide an update on its search at its annual meeting in Las Vegas next month.

Each year the TCA Scholarship Fund awards up to $6,250 to students with a connection to the trucking industry to offset some of the costs to attend college.

Lawmakers use Trump-era reforms in the infrastructure bill to attract Republican support.

The increase in the benchmark comes even as commodity markets experience another Monday dip.

TCA firmly believes the trend of California-specific legislation becoming the national standard must end.

A trucking company mishandled an employee’s harassment complaint, leading to a termination and ultimately a large jury award against the company.

The Truckload Carriers Association has partnered with LaunchIt Public Relations to promote the trucking industry.

“She was in shock, in disbelief,” truck driver Trinidad Arebalo said about a woman he helped save from her burning car.

“Truckload detention is the last dark corner of the trucking industry, so we built a big flashlight.” That flashlight will shine bright on Thursday when TCA hosts a virtual workshop addressing the issue.

TCA Profitability Program Retention Coach Ray Haight has spent most of its career in trucking. Here is why.

As employees return to the office, scammers are upping their efforts to scam companies and hack systems.

The Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit recently ruled in favor of an employer that denied additional time off as an accommodation under ADA and FMLA rules.

High barriers are a deterrent to starting a less-than-truckload operation. Knight-Swift’s recent acquisition sheds some light on the value in owning assets in the space.

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) Scholarship Fund is providing financial awards to the largest number of students in its 48-year history for the 2021-22 academic school year.

Leased owner-operators and company drivers could be looking to strike gold on their own in a strong trucking market, Vise says.

Employers have been given a procedural ally in fights against EEOC charges – namely that the employee must adhere to a ADA exhaustion rules. However, employers still need to deal with and act appropriately when faced with accommodation requests under the ADA.

Professional drivers help teach their robotic successors while evangelizing for the technology among truckers who feel threatened.

The number of drivers prohibited from driving due to drugs matches an estimated shortfall of drivers needed to keep up with freight demand.

Speeding remains a critical safety issue for trucking, and a new bill introduced in the U.S. House would seek to limit the speeds commercial trucks could travel at on the nation’s roadways.

The Truckload Carriers Association will hosts its annual Refrigerated Meeting on July 14-16, at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Due to popular demand, TCA and DriverReach will host a third cohort of Making Safety Happen — an exclusive TCA-member offering — which provides participants with expert-led instruction, peer-to-peer networking, a toolkit, and more.   Join dozens of your peers who have enrolled in the offering. Don’t miss the opportunity to collaborate with your peers in […]

I heard a phrase the other day and I began to dig deeper into thought. The individual I was with talked about his wife’s shopping addiction when he said that she was a “want person and not a need person.” Some time ago I had actually done some quick research on the internet about compulsive […]