Trump

Asia-U.S. container rates are still not showing peak-season strength, but optimism remains.

For the first time, Workhorse Group is tying the possibility of a huge contract with the U.S. Postal Service to the acquisition of General Motors Lordstown, Ohio assembly complex.

Goods like clothes and toys are on the proposed tariff list.

U.S. drug import plan would tax Canadian medication supplies, which already face shortages.

On this historic WTT, Chad returns and joins Dooner on this odyssey of freight. We have breaking news about Trump’s new tariffs against China. Plus, K Ratio joins us to talk freight futures, JP returns to defend his earnings over/under title, and we celebrate our first-ever live stream on LinkedIn! Bang your little cowbell for […]

The working group laid out specific proposals in the areas of labor, the environment, enforcement and pharmaceuticals.

Airfreight volumes worldwide remained weak in May. However, there may be modestly brighter skies ahead in the second-half of 2019

Dry bulk shipping could be a winner following the ceasefire in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

FMCSA head advises firms to get a move on in shift from AOBRD to ELD. Ford enters healthcare transport market; Indian-Americans make a lot of money

The U.S. and China habve agreed to resume trade talks, a break in the nearly 2-month stalemate which has affected trade flows and spawned uncertainty among businesses

Top transportation economist Paul Bingham goes in-depth on trade war freight consequences, both pro and con.

Federal transport spending bill by Election Day? Forget it, former DOT secretary says

President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau agree to implement agreement that has the potential to speed up the flow of goods between the two countries.

President suggests he’s willing to impose levies on Canada and Mexico during appearance with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Microgrids may become an essential part of the scalability of elec

President Donald Trump said he has called off plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, tweeting on Friday night that the Mexican government has “agreed” to stem the flow of Central and South American migrants into the United States. Mexico “has agreed to strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our […]

Brian Mulroney, an architect of NAFTA’s precursor, says the trade deal will withstand Trump’s latest tariffs.

Third-party logistics providers will see their growth dented by the threatened tariffs on Mexican imports. The question is by how much?

Today on FreightWaves NOW, we discuss the promise of the Mexico tariffs from a volume, rate, and oil perspective.

Trump’s tariffs might hurt the U.S. economy in the long run; Waymo is re-entering Arizona for autonomous truck testing; China might look to restrict rare-earth material export to the U.S. over trade war.

President walks out abruptly following cover-up allegations

U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing ahead on the successor of NAFTA following the end of tariffs on Canadian and Mexican metals.

Commenters want DOT to keep policy guidance, and not remove it. Walmart executive says lack of IT hurts driver productivity.

Danaos CEO does not believe trade dispute will cut box-ship ton-mile demand.

China’s new list more than doubles the tariff on LNG, but it’s the dry bulk stocks that are feeling the pain.

The U.S. Postal Service suffered more of the same in its fiscal second quarter: Billion dollar net loss, parcel gains offset by mail losses

Good day, Oil prices fell by around 2.5 percent at the start of this week, largely due to President Trump tariff threats against China. However, the U.S. sending out warships to the Middle East, possibly an escalation amidst growing tensions with Iran, can further create volatility in oil prices. This development comes in after the […]

Export weakness, geopolitical uncertainty weigh on demand.

U.S. and Canadian officials are negotiating an end to the costly import levies, which have wreaked havoc on cross-border supply chains.

The government shutdown is forcing the U.S. Coast Guard to work without pay which could begin affecting freight operations.

But President Trump still hopeful a deal can be done; tariffs costing both sides billions, and truckers plan one-day labor action for April.

Fervent hope and speculation in the West about forthcoming policy announcements by China failed to materialise yesterday in a speech given by China’s President Xi Jinping.

More of the same. That was the consensus in a quick informal poll of listeners to FTR’s State of Freight webinar on Thursday when they were asked what the most likely outcome was for the U.S. economy in 2019.

Trump going the wrong way on trade, FedEx founder says

While most of the new trade deal with Mexico and Canada is an update to NAFTA, there is a paragraph inserted into the agreement that could disrupt cross-border trade via truck.

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.

President Donald Trump highlights new deal with Mexico involving automobile trade

Springfield, Illinois hits Walmart with a $50k fine for allowing truck parking. Safeway delivery drivers make history with a newly ratified union contract. We interview Senator Bob Corker about Trump’s tariffs. 162 transportation and logistics companies make the 2018 Inc. 5000 list. JP and Chad discuss all this and more on this week’s episode.

Oil production faces volatile times, as multiple OPEC countries witness geopolitical problems and unstable governments, leading to the possibility of yet another rise in fuel prices.

On July 5, hours after attending the White House’s annual Fourth of July picnic, Scott Pruitt announced his resignation from his position as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

As Trump continues to ramp up protectionist tariff talk and suggesting that imported autos and auto parts will be next, the U.S. auto industry is collectively saying, thanks, but no thanks.

The constant criticism by President Donald Trump of the United States Postal Service’s package delivery deal with Amazon is manifesting itself in other ways as the administration recommends restructuring the Postal Service, possibly into a privately held corporation.

Ag haulers are not only dealing with ELDs and hour-of-service uncertainty, but tariff talk is clouding the future outlook as well.

China and the United States issued a joint-statement regarding trade consultations and a desire to support bilateral trade between the countries.

In a move many see as a continuation of his feud with Jeff Bezos, President Trump authorized a task force to look into USPS business practices. Beyond the personal spat, there are real issues with how the post office charges for delivery and the relationship with Amazon

President Donald Trump’s tariffs appear to be driving up demand for American-produced aluminum and steel, but they are also driving up costs for equipment manufacturers.

Trump and China cool off which should allow the economy and subsequently the transportation industry some respite. China creepily leading the pack on AI. 

Several states say online retailers should have to collect sales tax, even in states where the companies don’t have a physical presence.

The US appears set to impose significant tariffs on China, raising the threat that the economy may find itself in a full-fledged trade war

Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) is pushing a vehicle miles tax in Washington as the solution to funding road and infrastructure improvements rather than raising fuel taxes.

Stock is down across the beer industry. The tariff costs to the industry will ultimately cost consumers.

As the Trump administration makes public its intent to look at using tariffs to address what it believes are inequities in global trade markets, it set the stock market into a tailspin for good reason. We decided to lay out a basic primer and history lesson on tariffs.

Trump recently announced plans to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports beginning next week. This move should help bolster the US domestic steel industry, but comes with many unintentional consequences affecting transportation and the economy overall

The Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association has joined efforts to change the current hours-of-service rules to allow drivers to stop driving when they are tired.

President Trump issued his broad goals for infrastructure, but encouraged private investment over public

In these polarized times, one thing it seems everyone wants to see is improved roads and bridges. And to no one’s surprise, the devil is in the details.

Seasonality has finally hit van rates as available loads dropped 6% last week, according to DAT.

Conditions improved slightly for shippers in November according to FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI). The SCI recorded a -8.9 for November, slightly better than October but still solidly negative, the firm said.

The long-awaited infrastructure plan from the White House is taking shape and could be part of President Trump’s State of the Union speech on Jan. 30, according to Reuters. CNN, however, reports that the plan will not likely be finished by that time due to the president’s travel schedule.

Have the good days of high rates ended? While not declaring an end to rising van spot rates, a blog post yesterday by DAT Solutions’ Matt Sullivan did note some indications that the rapid rise may be slowing.

How rapidly the autonomous truck becomes a common sight on local roads and interstate highways – both in the U.S. and abroad – depends on numerous factors. Maybe we should check ourselves at the propaganda and hype-machine door.

Technology startup FR8 Revolution has received an investment from Sandhills Publishing as well as announced a new technology partnership with the company.

As it stands, the tax bill, as it’s currently drafted, looks to benefit the industry in general, but what it means for the individual trucker is less clear.

Used-truck sales volumes continued their upward trend in October, but the industry is still facing an oversupply of vehicles, according to ACT Research. Class 8 same dealer used truck sales increased 12% month-over-month and 37% over October 2016, the firm said.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, American negotiators are advocating to remove Mexican long-haul trucks from the NAFTA Chapter on cross-border services.

Trump clears regulations for commercial drone flights in the US, ushering in a new age of airfreight drones. 

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.

In the past 24 hours, President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that could allow small businesses and individuals to purchase insurance through association health plans, which would be sold across state lines and not have to conform to Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations.

While legislative wheels are starting to turn, there is little reason to expect major movement on any infrastructure bill in 2017. The most optimistic timelines being floated on Capitol Hill call for the law to be signed in 2018, with funds released in 2020.

The U.S. Senate is set to pass a self-driving vehicle bill, and like similar legislation in the U.S. House passed early in September, it excludes commercial vehicles. The Senate bill will not include vehicles larger than 10,000 pounds, Reuters reported.

Federal officials iterate their belief that a transparent and efficient government is achievable through blockchain technology 

President Donald Trump and Republican leaders introduced their long-awaited tax reform plan on Wednesday. As expected, the plan calls for a significant cut to the corporate tax rate, from 35% to 20%, and the elimination of four of the seven individual tax brackets, creating brackets of just 12%, 25% and 35%.

As the Congress works on developing legislation aimed at regulating self-driving vehicles, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is looking to guide that legislation with less of a regulatory hand, according to Bloomberg.

An unlikely alliance has formed between FedEx and UPS over a common problem. Their respective chief executive officers co-wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal in an attempt to get the attention of Trump administration and policy makers regarding needed industry reforms.

President Donald Trump once again took to Twitter this morning to lash out at Amazon, targeting the company’s alleged non-collection of taxes.

The Trump administration is considering tariffs on foreign steel as a way to boost the purchase of American steel. But will this Buy American approach lead to an in increase in vehicle and other manufacturing costs?

The Trump administration has proposed less federal spending as part of his $1 trillion infrastructure investment outline. In a recent Tax and Budget Bulletin, the Cato Institute’s Chris Edwards lays out the argument for why Trump’s approach to less federal spending is the proper approach to building world-class infrastructure.

A Buzzfeed writer has turned President Donald Trump’s visit with trucking leaders into a kids book. Also, manufacturing output declines and the uneven economy is causing some questions to be asked by trucking executives.

President Donald Trump’s apprenticeship program may provide an avenue to solving the truck driver shortage issue. But to make it work, it will require a little give on the government’s part.

A group of more than 250 House lawmakers are pushing for any tax reform package to include a permanent fix to the Highway Trust Fund. Also, Trump pushes apprenticeships, Britain’s Brexit problem and manufacturing hitting record levels.

After months of talking about his $1 trillion infrastructure improvement plan, President Donald Trump is finally set to unveil more details on the proposal today. Also, transportation’s best CEOs and there were fewer trucking jobs in May.

President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord could have a profound effect on global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, but will probably have little impact on the U.S. trucking industry.

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.

While FMCSA’s electronic logging device (ELD) rule seems like a done deal, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has not thrown in the towel quite yet. Also, Republicans continue pushing for border adjustment tax, tonnage falls, and a new approach to truck safety.

The Republican health care bill has received both criticism and applause from a divided nation. But what does it do for trucking? Well, like the rest of the nation, that may depend on what side of the industry you are on. 

President Donald Trump’s decision to place softwood lumber tariffs on Canada this week might be an indication that the administration is set for a reset on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It is a gamble that potentially puts billions of dollars in NAFTA trade shipments at risk – much of it hauled by trucks.

Is the trucking industry over-regulated? Good luck finding anyone in the industry that would say no. But ask which regulations should be repealed and chances are each one will be mentioned at least once. But will repealing regulations actually make the industry safer?

This Week in Trucking, President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan is hitting some bumps in the road; economic indicators continue to favor improving conditions for the nation’s trucking fleets and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is making a last-ditch effort to stop the upcoming ELD mandate.

This week in the Week in Trucking, we look at improving truck orders and optimism among carriers, why consumer GPS devices don’t work in trucking, GE’s approaching to training workers and how one carrier is finding success by offering its drivers video.

Each week, the industry sees the introduction of new technologies and regulations along with information that affects how each carrier, shipper, and 3PL operates. Each Friday, FreightWaves will provide a look back at some of the industry’s top stories you may have missed. 

As President Donald Trump ramps up the pressure on Mexico and U.S. companies doing business there, at risk is billions of dollars of freight that moves between the countries. 

The U.S. has pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. But is that a wise decision? Experts differ on the manufacturing impact in the U.S.