We have come to the end of another year. Perhaps it is just us, but this one seemed to be the fastest one of the 2020s decade thus far. Here are the biggest articles of each month in the trucking industry, as voted by your eyes!JanuaryIn case you need a timeframe reference for how long […]
It’s no secret truck drivers do not always get enough movement day-to-day. The best way to avoid blood clots and hypertension is by stretching! This non-comprehensive list of stretches is something you could do all from the comfort of your driver’s seat (but please, proceed with caution, and do not perform the stretches while the […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) has announced its plans of using $3.4 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 on ports of entry. The money will be spent on fifty projects in eleven states to revitalize the infrastructure of international commerce, with both our northern and southern neighbors.DetailsThere are fifty total projects […]
What’s New? The Trucker Bathroom Accessibility Act was introduced by U.S. Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Chrissy Houlahan (D. Pa.). If passed, the bill would require businesses with a restroom for either employees or customers to be open to delivery or pick-up drivers. The bill does not require businesses without a restroom to construct one, […]
What’s New? Starting Jan. 1, Michigan will increase its gas tax by 1.4 cents thanks to an automatic adjustment written into state law. According to Michigan legislation, and an automatic adjustment in the state law, Michigan state tax will increase from 27.2 cents per gallon to 28.6 cents per gallon. A law from when Gov. […]
J.D. Valuation Services has reported the average auction prices for used Class 8 trucks in November 2022. It is what we had anticipated the month prior: the intersection of supply and demand determining price is still the king of economics.November 2022 DetailsModel year 2020: $96,350: an increase of $7,325 (8.2%) from the month prior.2019: $77,767; […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its most recent final rule regarding regulations for heavy-duty trucks. The entire document is over 1,100 pages long. Would you be willing to settle for an abridged version?DetailsHere are just a few of the regulations for the 2027 model year:Reduced tailpipe NOx limits to a level 80%-plus below […]
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says that if current winter storms are any indicator of what is to come, the start of 2023 is going to be a time of great cold. As such, the FMCSA is giving hours-of-service exemptions to haulers providing heating oil, such as propane and natural gas, to numerous […]
On December 13th, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California were able to use nuclear fusion to generate more energy than was used to conduct the procedure, marking the first step in the potential for the use of nuclear energy for everyday use. This has more implications on trucking than you may first […]
You might remember the entire debacle regarding California’s AB-5 bill, intended to prevent the misclassification of workers, and how it applies to independent owner-operators driving under the Authority of another carrier. While the case is mostly settled for trucking companies within California’s borders, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is fighting to have it not apply […]
We have written about the truck parking problem for quite some time now, but there is a question that we have not really addressed. If there really are eleven trucks for each designated truck parking spot in the nation, where are truckers stopping to get rest? One tech company sought to find out. Details Lytx […]
All workers in the trucking industry may find themselves with intense work this holiday season despite record employment, as November 28th, 2022 was the biggest day for shopping in the United States ever, and most of it was done online.DetailsCyber Monday, the first Monday after Thanksgiving, is the day of the year that generates the […]
November’s truck month sales are a repeat episode of October’s: the count is high, much higher than the 2021 equivalent, but has decreased from the month prior. ACT and FTR have the numbers!November 2022 NumbersACT has preliminary orders at 33,000 while FTR reports 34,300. While this is lower than October’s estimate of 43,200, it is […]
Truckers have a curiosity for velocity, as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) announced the results of this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week at the end of last month. The results were interesting, to say the least.DetailsIt is common knowledge that since the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns that put fewer vehicles on the […]
What’s New? On Dec. 2 President Joe Biden signed a bill to end the long-standing labor agreement between a freight rail station and its union workers. “The bill I’m about to sign ends a difficult rail dispute and helps our nation avoid what without a doubt would have been an economic catastrophe at a very […]
On December 1st, two senators from both sides of the political aisles introduced the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. Should it be passed into law, it would enable $755 million of investment spending into public truck parking spaces. Details The phenomenon of truck parking demand exceeding supply is nothing new. Some city governments are taking […]
It has finally happened. A day we almost thought would never come due to delay on top of delay, but it is finally here.At the GigaFactory party in Nevada, Elon Musk did the honors of handing the first Tesla Semi vehicle key card to the CEO of PepsiCo North America. Is this the start of […]
Every month the Bureau of Labor Statistics updates its estimates for job numbers in various industries for the past three months. Here is what is going on in NAICS 484: the trucking industry.November 2022 NumbersThe preliminary employment count for November 2022 is 1,601,300. A new record for the industry!The initial revision for October 2022 is […]
The quiet before the storm of the holiday season.Freight rates have encountered another slight decrease similar to what happened in October. Here are the DAT numbers.November 2022 NumbersDry van decreased another four cents to $2.38 per mile.Flatbed, like the month prior, dropped four cents. It is now averaging $2.83 per mile.Reefer rates stood stagnant at […]
If you have been watching gasoline and diesel fuel prices like we have, you might have noticed a trend regarding the two liquid fuels. Gasoline has its prices vary over time drastically, but diesel continues to command high prices. Why is this? There are numerous reasons that add up, here are two factors you may […]
Fleets operating within the drayage profession may want to start looking in the general direction of the sunrise, as an interesting phenomenon is happening regarding U.S. imports: some companies are opting to go around the United States rather than through it.Decrease at Long BeachExperts estimate that the amount of goods by weight being processed at […]
What’s New? The United States House of Representatives voted on Nov. 30 to pass a bill that would force the railroad and the unions to abide by the terms outlined in the September tentative agreement. The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. If approved, it will be quickly […]
What’s New? A strike could occur as early as Dec. 9 now that freight carriers union SMART-TD has rejected the tentative agreement negotiated in mid-September by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and other officials. The Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers union and their 500+ Transportation Division members made the announcement on Nov. 21. Another […]
When you think of Tesla Motors, the human you are most likely to think of is Elon Musk. This article is instead about JB Straubel. He was the fifth employee to work at Tesla who only left the company as late as 2019, and now has his own company, Redwood Materials Inc.. It appears as […]
What’s New? Mental health issues in truck drivers are not a thing of the past, if anything it is more prevalent and more dangerous than it has ever been. According to the CDC, there are five major industry groups with the highest suicide rate, transportation workers rank at number five. We’ve compiled a list of […]
