If you have been a part of the trucking industry for any length of time, you are no doubt aware about the parking problem: the dearth of legal parking spots for commercial vehicles that cause truckers to spend over an hour finding a spot, or worse, parking in illegal and unsafe locations. Congress has introduced […]
Every year, the millions of truckers across the United States haul over 5 trillion ton-miles of freight, making sure that people can get the goods they need to improve their quality of life whether that is an air conditioning unit in the summer or kerosene fuel for the winter. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) knows […]
I-80, spanning from one side of the country to the other, is no doubt one of the most traveled roads for commercial vehicles, so it stands to reason that along I-80 is a fantastic place to put more truck parking spaces. That is what the folks over at the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) deduced, […]
So, it happened. Yellow, just a few months shy of being a century old, has gone out of business. The question that remains is what happens to the LTL market? The answer: it will go on as it always has.DetailsThere is a saying that a rising tide lifts all boats, but the same is true […]
The IRS considers the fiscal year for the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) to start July 1st, the halfway point of the year. The taxman wants to remind fleets that it is time to pay the piper for trucks that will be used in full this year. We hope this guide makes the experience of […]
Are you ready for the future? It is still numerous decades away, but that is not stopping Kodiak Robotics from forming a partnership with the Pilot Company to create a station that will support autonomous vehicles.DetailsThe new station is located on a standard truck stop in Villa Rica, Georgia. The planned uses for it include […]
As we inch ever closer to the end of the year, savvy fleet owners know to maximize their use of Section 179 for the year to get the best possible return on investment for their assets. Though we are not tax lawyers, this article should serve as a good foothold for fleets to begin the […]
Time really does fly when there is a lot to report about in the trucking industry. First, we let details about truck sales for the month fall by the wayside, and now it turns out we have been skimping out on reporting freight rates! Here are the numbers for the last four months for all […]
It is not a surprise to anyone that truckers are slowly but surely becoming older on average: we often cite the statistic that every year, the average age goes up by about a month. This is in part due to how much regulation goes into preventing new drivers from entering the workforce, creating a barrier […]
We here at TopMark Funding love to report on the news when it is especially positive, but we do not get the privilege of picking and choosing when the news is good versus bad. There is no sugarcoating it: the number of trucking jobs experienced a slight decline in July. The Bureau of Labor Statistics […]
Remember when we used to provide you with updates regarding the number of truck orders for each month? There are two reasons why we have been lingering in reporting this for the past quarter. The first is that there may be a difference between the preliminary numbers and the final numbers reported for the month, […]
The Iowa 80 Truckstop prides itself as being “The World’s Largest Truckstop”, but it is also home to the largest trucking event of the year. This year the folks over in Walcott, Iowa are planning to maintain that record by aiming higher than ever before.DetailsThe previous year’s Walcott Truckers Jamboree had 45,000 attendees, and the […]
This is a sad story that we hate to report on, but it is also a necessary one to highlight the importance of infrastructure investment.A bridge for one of the largest, most commonly used interstates in the nation has collapsed, causing massive detours for people hoping to travel along the east coast.DetailsOn Sunday, June 11th, […]
The primary State of Emergency exemption from the COVID-19 pandemic, the one regarding waiving hours-of-service requirements within reason, has long since passed, but its smaller brother, a waiver that enables some third-party CDL skill tests examiners to also conduct CDL knowledge tests, is still ongoing. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) wants to stop […]
It has been a while since we have brought you an update regarding the average auction prices on used Class 8 trucks, so we thought we would give you a lightning round of what has happened in the first four months of the year, thanks to the fine folks at J.D. Valuation Services.January 2023 NumbersModel […]
AB-5, a law regarding the classification of workers depending on a variety of standards, may be the law of the land in the most populous state, California, but that is not stopping the trucking industry from challenging it from applying to the industry. Now, the California Trucking Association (CTA) and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) […]
Nothing like a little bit of international drama.The country of Mexico is flabbergasted at the actions of the state of Texas, which recently announced increased scrutiny regarding inspections of trucks entering the state from Mexico. This is not the first time that this has happened, with it happening in April 2022 and ending with an […]
History does not repeat, but it very often rhymes.You may remember a little over a year ago how the Texas Department of Transportation (TDOT) inspected every single truck that entered into the United States from Mexico. With Title 42 now at an end, TDOT is ramping up its inspections yet again.DetailsThe Trump-era Title 42 was […]
When a private application on a smartphone takes your private data, sometimes it is not to sell you more products through advertisements. Sometimes, the data can be used to discover valuable information to solve problems. This is what the developers behind Trucker Path, a company designed around solving problems for the trucking industry, have decided […]
With the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) upcoming International Roadcheck, some travel stations that also offer maintenance are hoping to cash in on the event by offering their repair services to fleets and truckers.Love’s Travel StopsAs of the time of publishing, Love’s Truck Care is offering a free TirePass service (tire inflation and inspection) with […]
The most populated state in the nation, California always seems to be in the news when it comes to the trucking industry. Usually it involves regulations that make trucking harder, but depending on how you look at this one, it could easily be seen as something beneficial to drivers.DetailsCalifornia’s legislative system works similarly to the […]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) has tracked 4,842 lethal truck crashes in 2022. A trucking services company called Simplex Group has compared the numbers of large truck crashes in each state to the total number of traffic incidents that resulted in at least one casualty to find which state is the safest for […]
They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, and with the trucking industry, that seems to be the rule as well, as freight rates continue to decline, they are also showing signs of stabilization. DAT Freight & Analytics has the numbers.March 2023 NumbersNational dry van averages dropped from […]
In our haste to provide reporting on other aspects of the trucking industry, we had skipped over the February 2023 numbers when they first came out. This is of minimal consequence, because if the numbers from March are accurate, it appears as though February’s drop never happened. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has the […]
In December, we wrote about how the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act was gaining momentum within the United States Senate, but also mentioned that it was only the first step to actually getting any legislation done, as it would need to go through the House of Representatives as well. That is happening now.DetailsThe Truck Parking […]
Joe Biden visited the Cummins plant in Fridley, Minnesota on April 3rd for two reasons: one was political, with Biden traveling on his Investing in America tour to show citizens that he supports goods that are made in America, and the other is celebration, as Cummins has pledged to invest $1 billion across its numerous […]
It is basic physics that it takes more fuel to accelerate an 80,000 truck than a sedan. With this logic in mind, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is hoping to use technology to make the streets of the Dallas-Fort Worth area more accessible to truckers by making it easier for them to […]
It is no surprise to anyone that federal regulations are becoming stricter and stricter in regards to emissions from the transportation industry, especially regarding Class 8 trucks. While nobody is against cleaner air, some trucking industry stakeholders believe a more modest approach to the problem is the key to balancing economic and environmental interests. Out […]
In what might be the largest business deal in the trucking industry that we will see this decade, Knight-Swift, one of the largest fleets in the nation, has decided to purchase U.S. Xpress, a smaller but still significantly large truck fleet, to the tune of $800 million.Acquisition DetailsKnight-Swift is acquiring the smaller company in the […]
When you consider that January and February tend to be the slowest months of the year for the trucking industry, the fact that the numbers did not change too much from the year prior is a good sign. FTR and ACT Research have the numbers.January 2023 NumbersFTR reports the January 2023 orders for big rigs […]
The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association (AVIA), knowing that the federal government is going to regulate them eventually, has taken a proactive approach to its problem by outlining suggestions on what it thinks the government can do to help autonomous technology flourish while keeping people safe.DetailsYou can read the entire 12 page document at the relevant […]
Life has some universal truths. We will all die one day, the sun is very hot, and the month after the holidays tends to cause a lull in the trucking industry. In regards to trailer orders, 2023’s first month of the year was not an exception to the rule. ACT Research has the numbers!January 2023 […]
On February 15th, Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a new statute that Iowa lawmakers hope will cut through time-consuming regulations easier in the case of an emergency and will benefit truckers working to provide substantial relief through oversized loads.DetailsThe process for getting an overweight permit in Iowa is usually arduous, but Iowa wants to […]
Easily one of the greatest issues tackling the trucking industry today is the lack of available, safe truck parking. We once postulated that perhaps businesses with extra parking space could sell it, and one startup company, the Truck Parking Club, is hoping to pair weary drivers with companies hoping to make a few extra dollars […]
Winter this year is going to end not with a whimper, but with a bang, as the National Weather Service (NWS) expects this week to have tumultuous weather conditions in the midwest. Truckers beware! Details The NWS is predicting that for the rest of the week the northern midwest, including states such as Iowa and […]
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been in the news quite a bit lately, and this article is no different. Here is a taste of what the FMCSA is planning on changing to its Safety Measurement Systems (SMS).Relearning the BASICsSome modeling that the FMCSA uses to determine high-risk drivers is the Behavior Analysis and […]
We know that the title has plenty of acronyms, so allow us to elaborate. The American Trucking Association (ATA) has a Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) which will be hosting its annual meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition (TTE) on February 27th.Transportation Technology Exhibition DetailsThe event will run for four days at the Orange County Convention […]
In the last two weeks the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has revoked three Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) of their certification status. Drivers who had one of these three types of ELDs are required to use paper logs until they can obtain a suitable replacement. This situation highlights a serious issue in the ELD […]
Autonomous trucks are still numerous decades away from fully replacing the human driver, but that has not stopped labor unions representing truckers in California from petitioning the state Legislature to put in regulations that protect California’s truckers from becoming displaced by the technology.Autonomous AutomobileCalifornia already has set rules in place regarding self-driving vehicles that weigh […]
A new year, a new slow season! As to be expected when the holiday season ends, demand for deliveries across hundreds of miles have started to decline. Add in the lower amount of agriculture harvested within the United States, and the supply and demand equation is sure to shift. DAT Freight & Analytics has the […]
Conventional wisdom would dictate that once the slow season begins after the holidays, the number of trucking jobs would decrease. After all, all of the presents have been shipped, so demand is lower than it would be in December. In reality, this is seldom the case, and 2023 is not an exception to the rule, […]
Since August 2020, there has been an ongoing lawsuit between the American Trucking Associations’ Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference (IMCC) and numerous ocean carrier equipment organizations over the required use of specified intermodal chassises rather than truckers any chassis that fits specifications. Recently, a Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) administrative law judge ruled that this practice was […]
The American Research Transportation Institute (ATRI) releases some interesting data tidbits that the average trucker can use to better plan his or her routes. The simplest answer? Stay away from Houston!MethodologyThe ATRI lists its methodology of how it got its numbers. Here is the gist of it:Assume the optimal speed for a truck at each […]
Autonomous trucks are no doubt still far into the future, but that has not stopped the Federal Motor Safety Administration (FMCSA) from preparing to regulate them. They have announced a Supplemental Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SANPRM) where they request public feedback on how self-driving trucks should be regulated as they become more common.DetailsThe SANPRM […]
Missouri is spending money into workforce education. Out of $30 million in total to be given to 19 organizations across the state, four truck driving schools are receiving $5.9 million in grants.DetailsThe money is granted by way of the American Rescue Plan Act Workforce Training Grant, which Governor Mike Parson says, “From day one, our […]
J.D. Valuation Services is happy to report that the data they have collected show used Class 8 trucks are continuing their market correction from the highs earlier in the year and in 2021.December 2022 NumbersUsually one or two model years will go against the general trend as with what happened in November 2022, but the […]
Can we interest you in a double feature? The trucking industry has lately been firing on all cylinders, and trailer sales have not been an exception to the rule. Unlike the rest of the trucking industry, December saw an acceleration of trailer sales. ACT Research has the numbers.November and December 2022 Trailer SalesAccording to ACT […]
You might remember at the end of 2021 there was a port backlog crisis that choked an already strained supply chain. To avoid this from happening, some members of Congress are suggesting a bill to enlist the help of a previously-barred demographic: drivers not old enough to drink.DetailsTruck drivers under the age of 21 are […]
On January 16th there was an event called the Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue (HDAD) conference in Texas. HDAD describes itself on its website as, “an outlook conference specifically directed toward the heavy duty aftermarket supplier industry.” One of the presenters there was MacKay & Company, which is similar to FTR and ACT Research but focusing […]
The trucking industry has been hard at work these last few months due to the holiday season. As a direct result, fleets were scrambling to get more bodies into their trucks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has the numbers.December 2022 NumbersDecember 2022’s preliminary estimate stands at 1,601,500. This is either the third or fourth […]
2020 was certainly a special year. A recently released report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) can give us some insight into how the year that most people stayed home impacted the trucking industry.Facts & FiguresThe entire document is over 230 pages long and covers many various aspects of the transportation industry, including freight […]
What’s New? Research conducted along an East Coast freight corridor found that truckers are missing out on open parking spaces due to a lack of visibility of what’s available, and drivers’ perception, based on trucks already parked along the side of the highway, that all spots are taken. “The most influential factor — or the […]
December 2022 marks the third month in a row of continuous decline for big rig orders, but when four months ago was a record month for sales, the industry still has plenty of diesel fuel left in its tank. FTR and ACT Research have the numbers.December 2022 NumbersACT Research has their preliminary numbers at 30,300 […]
The holiday season is now in the rearview mirror, so now we can look at the data from December and determine what effect the holidays have had on the trucking industry. In regards to freight rates, it appears things are going back to normal for the industry.December 2022 NumbersDry van increased three cents to $2.41 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Much like with the truck sales numbers we have been seeing in the past few months, trailer sales are going through a renaissance at the moment, as supply chain issues that have been plaguing the trucking industry for numerous months are finally starting to clear up. ACT Research and FTR have the numbers!October 2022 NumbersACT […]
The month prior, September, was a record-breaking month for truck sales within the industry, so it was hardly feasible that October would be able to top it. While it predictably did not, it still outperformed the rest of the year by a wide margin. FTR has the numbers!October 2022 Sales NumbersFTR pins the preliminary net […]
You may remember a month ago that we wrote about the case regarding RhodeWorks, a system of tolls that targeted truckers to raise revenue for infrastructure. One thing we mentioned that is worth repeating is that the $100 million that the RhodeWorks tolls accumulated over the duration of the litigation is theirs to keep. As […]
While it is true that we are not going to run out of fuel any time soon, it is undeniable that people reliant on energy are feeling the strain of higher prices. In direct response to this, three states have enacted States of Emergencies to mitigate wallet damage.NebraskaGovernor Pete Ricketts of Nebraska has enacted a […]
We are about a month away from total havoc. We were also a month away from no more diesel fuel about a month ago, and the month before, and the month before. This is simply how the lead-time for diesel fuel works. Allow us to explain. Production Vs. Consumption In general, fuels of all types […]
What’s New? On Saturday, November 5, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union members approved the terms of the deal presented by the railroad. If you’ll recall, on July 15, President Joe Biden blocked a freight railroad strike in Omaha, Nebraska. This strike would disrupt the already fragile supply chain by delaying the […]
We at TopMark Funding have been busy. So busy, that we skipped a month on posting about monthly jobs in the trucking industry according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This month, we are getting it out of the way immediately so as to not forget. October (and September) 2022 Numbers October 2022’s first […]
History repeats itself. In September, the month prior, the rates for all three forms of freight decreased. October also had decreases for the month, but the extent to which all three decreased was lower than it was before. With the holiday season quickly approaching, is this a sign of a turnaround? DAT Freight & Analytics […]
What’s New? The American Trucking Associations Law Enforcement Advisory Board, which consists of 37 retired and active law enforcement professionals with over 900 combined years of experience, sent letters to the governor’s office and the state department of transportation of all 50 states. The letters urged the states to apply for additional federal funding to […]
What’s New? US Route 212 was awarded $10 million on Sept. 15 from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America federal funding account. Route 212 is a major corridor that connects Southwest Minnesota and Twin Cities. The corridor spans 161 miles in Minnesota and connects 22,000 square miles of Minnesota and South Dakota. The funds will be […]
What’s New? On October 11, the Biden Administration announced that $60 billion (yes, billion with a “B”) of federal funding would be used to repair transportation corridors nationwide. “America’s roads and bridges are the vital arteries of our transportation system, connecting people and goods across the country,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. On Oct. 13 […]
Global supply chain shortages, ravaging the trucking industry for the better half of a year, may finally be coming to an end, as both ACT Research and FTR report numbers that are higher than they were in August.September 2022 NumbersACT Research pins the number at 25,700, while FTR has revised its preliminary numbers from 12,500 […]
J.D. Valuation Services reports that while some used truck models increased in value at auction and others decreased over the month of September, the decreases were larger than the increases and created a net drop in used auction rates for the month.September 2022 NumbersModel year 2021: $147,458 (No comparison to August)2020: $89,336, a decrease of […]
