Transport Topics

Senior transportation policymakers are calling for passage of several big-picture supply chain-centric bills with the congressional August recess approaching. A bill recently introduced in the Senate meant to improve freight rail connectivity is the latest in this series of measures awaiting consideration in Congress. The Reliable Rail Service Act, sponsored by Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat,...

Legislation that would reauthorize the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act through fiscal 2029 was recently introduced in the Senate. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, is the bill’s lead sponsor. He explained the legislation is designed to promote health benefits by improving air quality nationwide. Administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the...

Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association and four trucking company members are suing two commonwealth agencies over the automatic adoption of California heavy-truck emission standards, contending only their legislators can create state laws. PMTA President Rebecca Oyler said, “The trucking industry and PMTA members in Pennsylvania have no control over — or even input into — these regulations because t...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct a human-factors study that will examine driver behavior in commercial motor vehicles equipped with L-2 advanced driver-assistance systems and L-3 automated driving systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Volvo Trucks North America is working with the University of Minnesota and two fleet owners on extreme weather testing of the manufacturer’s Class 8 VNR Electric model to analyze the impact of ambient temperature on battery life, the company said June 22. Murphy Logistics Solutions will test the battery-electric trucks in Minnesota in cold winter temperatures, and H-E-B Grocery Co. in Texas will d...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have announced a joint proposed rule that would require heavy trucks to have automatic emergency braking systems aimed at mitigating the frequency and severity of rear-end crashes. The proposal, issued June 22 in response to petitions granted in 2015 to several safety groups and a congressional manda...

Native Hawaiian women are enthusiastic about an innovative Oahu-based program starting soon to train them to become truck drivers with new, well-paying career opportunities. The commercial driver license program, scheduled to start July 1, is billed as the first all-women training program specifically for wahine, as Polynesian (especially Hawaiian) women are known. Learn more about your ad choices...

Truck tonnage in May continued its downward year-over-year trend, dipping 1.3% when measured against the same month in 2022. However, on a month-to-month basis, the index increased a seasonally adjusted 2.4% and the index jumped to 115.4 compared with 112.7 in April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued final regulatory guidance on its definitions of ‘‘broker’’ and ‘‘bona fide agents,” including guidance on the role and activities of entities referred to as “dispatch services” for motor vehicle transportation. While the agency noted it is clarifying some regulatory areas, it said the actual definitions of broker and bona fide agents large...

A tentative six-year agreement has been reached between the Pacific Maritime Association and the 22,000-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union, ending months of sometimes acrimonious negotiations. The deal also signals an end to months of uncertainty at 29 West Coast ports and warehouse facilities. The Labor Department helped broker the talks, as acting Secretary Julie Su assisted in t...

U.S. retail sales for medium-duty trucks grew 28.6% in May compared with the year-ago period, according to data from Wards Intelligence. Total retail sales for Classes 4-7  trucks increased to 21,687 from 16,859. The results represent the second consecutive month showing a gain from the prior year. The only other year-over-year increase this year was in January. The only increase last year occurre...

U.S. Class 8 retail sales in May rose 16.4% from a year ago and also saw a month-to-month gain, Wards Intelligence reported. Class 8 sales for the month reached 24,111 units, up from 20,713 in May 2022 and up 6% from the 22,741 sold in April. Retail sales have experienced a year-over-year increase every month this year. Freightliner, a brand of Daimler Truck North America, claimed the largest mark...

New York City officials will experiment this summer with a new system using delivery trucks to drop goods at special off-street or curbside microhubs, where they will be collected by cargo bikes and hand carts to be delivered to their final destinations. Objectives of the two-part Microhubs Pilot are to lower truck emissions, improve safety and, quote, “rethink the city’s curb space to meet the de...

President Biden has picked Polly Trottenberg, a longtime government official and current top aide in the Transportation Department, to serve as acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Trottenberg has replaced Billy Nolen, who indicated in April that he planned to leave the FAA. Trottenberg held a high-ranking job in the Transportation Department during the Obama administration...

Iowa is leading 19 states in a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for backing California’s future ban on heavy diesel vehicles in a purported attempt to regulate traditional trucking “out of existence through mandating net-zero emissions standards.” The 51-page legal action against the EPA and its administrator, Michael Regan, was filed June 5 in the U.S. Court of Appeals of...

Tensions between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union are heating up as periodic, unannounced work stoppages occur at several ports and other locations, causing cargo disruptions across the nation. The actions have taken place the past several days at the Port of Oakland, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the Port of Seattle. They are occur...

The largest logistics company in North America has a new CEO. C.H. Robinson, which ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America, has named Dave Bozeman to the position, effective June 26. Bozeman most recently served as vice president of the Ford Customer Service Division and vice president of enthusiast vehicles at Ford Blue of Ford Motor Co...

A new report seeks to shed light on why so many truck drivers are leaving their jobs after failing a marijuana test — most likely accepting other jobs with lower pay rather than returning to the current nationwide driver pool that already is critically short. The report, from the American Transportation Research Institute, notes that some truck drivers who successfully complete a return-to-duty pr...

WASHINGTON — In a dispute about the pressure that organized labor can exert during a strike, the Supreme Court ruled June 1 against unionized drivers who walked off the job with their trucks full of wet concrete. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, said the union failed to take reasonable precautions to protect the company’s concrete when the drivers went on strike.  Learn more ab...

With fewer than 60 days to go until the current labor contract expires, negotiations were set to resume June 5 between Atlanta-based parcel delivery giant UPS and members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents an estimated 360,000 UPS drivers and other workers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years. The May 31 announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration represents the agency’s latest move toward regulating electronic systems that take on certa...

Daimler Truck will join merging Japanese companies Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. and Hino Motors as part of an ecological tech alliance forged between themselves and their top stakeholders, the companies said May 30. Daimler Truck Holding, Mitsubishi Fuso, Hino and Toyota Motor Corp. announced the merger after concluding a memorandum of understanding focused on accelerating the development o...

Embark Technology is set to be acquired by fellow autonomous vehicle software company Applied Intuition, the companies announced May 25. The deal puts the equity value at about  $71 million. Applied Intuition will provide an all-cash transaction as part of a definitive merger agreement signed by the companies. Applied Intuition aims to integrate internal tools, data and software assets gained in t...

A trade group representing independent contractors has begun a program to recruit and train working independent drivers to serve as “ambassadors” to educate lawmakers and others about their importance to the industry and the personal opportunities their jobs provide. The Coalition for Independent Truckers' key goal is to deploy ambassadors to head off efforts in state legislatures aimed at advanci...

A package of supply chain-centric bills was advanced to the floor of the House of Representatives on May 23. The measures largely address safety, efficiency and resiliency in freight transportation. Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican, said, “Today, the committee took action to strengthen our supply chain in numerous ways by removing regulatory ba...