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Economics

Brian Straight Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Trump’s proposed budget hits transportation

President Donald Trump’s budget proposal released Wednesday calls for a loosening of restrictions on tolls, more private investment in infrastructure, cuts a critical loan program used by manufacturers to build fuel-efficient vehicles, and reduces workforce training grants that are used to train truck drivers and other transportation workers.

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Brian Straight Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Rates may go higher, but not because of ELDs

“If the thesis is that all of these small carriers who’ve been running illegally will be put out of business were they to comply with this mandate, there is no incentive for them to comply.” That is part of the reasoning that Stifel analysts have used to suggest the ELD mandate will not drive up shipping rates. 

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Brian Straight Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Today’s Pickup: Congestion costs industry $63.4B

Good morning. Hope the roads are clear where you are today. As it turns out, that is not often the case for many of us. The American Transportation Research Institute reported that congestion on U.S. roadways cost the trucking industry $63.4 billion in 2015 and resulted in 996 million hours of lost productivity, which is equal to 362,243 truck drivers sitting idle for an entire year.

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Brian Straight Wednesday, April 5, 2017

New twists in freight invoice factoring

In a world which carriers want to be paid quickly for their services, brokers have long turned to factoring as an option. Technology, though, is changing the payments business, and that means quicker payments for carriers and more cash flow flexibility for brokers. 

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