Transport Topics

Ina Daly, a professional driver with XPO from Avondale, Ariz., took home top honors at the Arizona Truck Driving Championships April 1. The grand champion trophy for her best-in-show performance in the tank truck class qualified her for a 16th trip to the national stage. Daly, 60, the first woman to win a class title at the National Truck Driving Championships (2013 in the tank truck division), wi...

With an overall approval rating of only 2.2 on a 10-point scale, it’s clear that truck drivers overall do not hold driver-facing cameras in high regard, primarily due to privacy and other issues, according to a new study by the American Transportation Research Institute. However, the study also found that legal and insurance experts generally have a more positive view of cameras capturing driver e...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will appear before the transportation funding committee in the U.S. House on Thursday to discuss the White House’s fiscal 2024 budget request.  Speaking recently about the budget before the Senate, the secretary said: “The budget will propel our department’s work across our three major categories of effort: running our operations well in the agency, building...

U.S. Class 8 retail sales in March jumped 21.9% from a year ago and also exceeded the prior month, Wards Intelligence reported. Class 8 sales for the month reached 24,823, compared with the year-ago total of 20,359, and outpaced February’s 20,136 units. Truck retail sales have increased every month since they dropped from a record high of 29,172 units in December. Learn more about your ad choices....

Pilot Co. is set to replace its top two officers with executives hand-picked by its new majority owner, Berkshire Hathaway. Adam Wright will take the helm as CEO, and Joe Lillo will become chief financial officer. Both are longtime employees at Berkshire Hathaway. The conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett has been Pilot’s biggest shareholder since Jan. 31. Shameek Konar and Kevin Wills will be...

Is marijuana safer than alcohol? One expert on a panel at American Trucking Associations’ 2023 Safety, Security, Human Resources National Conference and Exhibition says no. Todd Simo of HireRight said, “But from a safety perspective, marijuana has a much longer period of impairment, different from an occupational perspective than alcohol, and therefore can have a much larger impact on safety.” Oth...

Federal officials have temporarily extended operating hours at three border entry points in North Dakota and one in Idaho, as border traffic volumes have lagged below pre-pandemic numbers. For 120 days starting April 1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection expanded hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at North Dakota’s Maida, Northgate and Sherwood ports of entry and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Ida...

Attorneys filed 80,000 to 100,000 new court cases that could seek damages from trucking companies and other businesses in Florida, a few days before Gov. Ron DeSantis immediately enacted a law to quash the notorious lawsuit abuse. Florida Trucking Association CEO Alix Miller was instrumental in launching a multifaceted campaign enlisting help from members in alerting state lawmakers about the detr...

The White House is set to propose the toughest-ever U.S. curbs on car pollution. The proposed standards on cars and light trucks are expected to govern tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide, smog-forming nitrogen oxide and other pollution from vehicles manufactured for model years 2027 through 2032. President Joe Biden’s proposal stops short of an electric-vehicle mandate or ban on gas-powered mode...

FedEx will combine nearly all of its ground, air and other operations by June 2024 as part of a $4 billion cost-cutting initiative, the company announced April 5. The planned 14-month, phased-in transition ultimately will consolidate FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Service and other operating companies into Federal Express Corp. That will be a single company that will operate as a unified, full...

President Joe Biden on Monday toured a power generation facility in Fridley, Minn., that will get a share of at least $1 billion in upgrades that engine and equipment manufacturer Cummins is planning for facilities around the country as it works on development of low- to zero-carbon engines. Cummins late last year announced an initial investment in electrolyzer manufacturing at the Minnesota facil...

The Federal Maritime Commission ruled that marine terminal operators may not impose detention and demurrage charges on days that port facilities are closed. The 4-1 ruling, handed down at the end of March, stretches back to a complaint Nashville, Tenn.-based motor carrier TCW brought against ocean carrier Evergreen Shipping Agency after TCW was charged for three days of detention for container and...

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted California environmental regulators waivers to officially move forward with the agency’s aggressive plans to transition diesel trucks to electric vehicles and expand the length of truck warranties. The new regulation requires manufacturers to produce and sell increasing quantities of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission trucks in California. American...

Recently introduced on Capitol Hill, the bipartisan Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, sponsored by Representatives Mike Bost, a Republican from Illinois, and Angie Craig, a Democrat from Minnesota, would approve funding to assist agencies with expanding parking capacity for women and men operating trucks. The bill also would support requisite improvements to existing parking areas and authoriz...

RXO yesterday celebrated the grand opening of its newest cross-border facility in Laredo, Texas. The asset-light transportation provider opened the warehousing and distribution services facility to provide customers with end-to-end cross-border service that will help streamline their supply chains. The facility, located a half mile from the Mexico border, is 127,000 square feet and has 43 dock doo...

American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear testified yesterday in front of a U.S. House panel, saying that enhancing recruitment and retention efforts across the trucking industry will benefit the connectivity of the country’s supply chain. Emphasizing an industrywide shortage of drivers, Spear highlighted policies approved in 2021’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure law specific to trucking....

A coalition of trade associations — including American Trucking Associations — wrote to President Joe Biden on March 24th, urging the administration to take a more active role in the West Coast port labor negotiations. The contract talks involve the 22,000-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents management at 29 ports and distributi...

The trucking industry in Florida is hailing what it calls a major legislative victory: a new law that targets abusive and frivolous lawsuits. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the bill Friday, said, “I am proud to sign this legislation to protect Floridians, safeguard our economy and attract more investment in our state.. Florida joins Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Texas and West Virginia as sta...

A group representing motor carriers, truck manufacturers and truck dealers has launched a coalition intended to serve as a collective voice for promoting clean transportation. Members of the Clean Freight Coalition include American Trucking Associations, American Truck Dealers, National Tank Truck Carriers, Truckload Carriers Association and Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association. Jim Mullen, wh...

Port leaders will emphasize the facilities’ significance in the supply chain when they meet with White House officials and members of Congress during the annual Legislative Summit hosted by the American Association of Port Authorities. The executives will stress the importance of sea and land ports, especially how they kept the supply chain stabilized during the COVID-19 pandemic. The summit will...

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings has reached an agreement to acquire U.S. Xpress Enterprises for about $808 million, the companies announced March 21. The deal is expected to close late in the second quarter or early third quarter, and U.S. Xpress will continue to operate as an independent brand. Knight-Swift, based in Phoenix, ranks No. 7 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest fo...

Many of the largest ports in the U.S. saw year-over-year drops in container cargo in February. The Port of Los Angeles saw a 43% drop, the Port of Long Beach saw a 32% drop, and the Northwest Seaport Alliance reported a 24% decline. Officials say they are trying to take advantage of the lower volume to focus on infrastructure projects to prepare for when business begins to accelerate. Learn more a...

FedEx Corp.’s shares jumped the most in nine months after the courier boosted its profit outlook, signaling efforts to cut costs are helping counter a decline in package volume. Adjusted earnings this fiscal year will be $14.60 to $15.20 a share, up from a prior forecast of no more than $14, the Memphis, Tenn.-based company said. Analysts were expecting $13.57 on average, according to estimates co...

In a letter to U.S. Senate labor leaders, American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear expressed concern about the track record that Labor Secretary nominee Julie Su would bring to the job, specifically as it relates to the rights of truck drivers to be independent contractors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By a 4-1 vote, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board on March 15 approved the more than $31 billion merger of Canadian Pacific Railway and the smaller but strategically significant Kansas City Southern Railroad. The deal is the nation’s first major rail merger in 25 years. The 212-page decision paves the way to creating the first single-line railroad linking Canada, the United States and Mexico. L...