Transport Topics

President Biden delivers his State of the Union address from the U.S. Capitol tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and is expected to champion recent progress made with the country’s infrastructure, including projects beneficial to the freight industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Department of Transportation over the past year has undertaken a variety of actions related to guidance and rulemakings that officials say will lay the groundwork for reducing the number of fatal crashes on U.S. roadways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Old Dominion Freight Line capped a record-setting year with revenue and earnings increases in the fourth quarter of 2022, the company reported Feb. 1, one day after revealing its leadership transition plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LAS VEGAS — Daimler Truck North America has unveiled its SuperTruck II high-efficiency tractor-trailer combination, featuring freight efficiency gains that the company said are built around equipment and components central to real-world tractor-trailer operation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Even with a stronger-than-expected 2.9% fourth-quarter increase in gross domestic product, two of the nation’s most prominent freight transportation economists say the threat of a recession will persist this year. Bob Costello, American Trucking Associations’ chief economist, and Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University, said, however, that the economy...

Legislation that would dedicate funds to expand truckers’ access to parking nationwide was recently introduced in the House of Representatives. The Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking, or SHIP IT, Act, introduced by Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.), would approve nearly $800 million through fiscal 2026 for parking projects connected to commercial v...

One of America’s iconic structures is getting a big boost in federal funding. The Department of Transportation announced the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco will receive $400 million earmarked toward making the span more resilient to earthquakes. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the bridge, which was built in 1937, is a vital link for supply chains, including waterborne freight at...

Nearly 41,000 truck drivers tested positive for marijuana in 2022, a 32% increase over 2021, according to a report recently compiled from data in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. Truck drivers who test positive for marijuana — and other drugs — are prohibited from driving, and must enter a “return-to-work” process and retest to get back behind the whe...

Used Class 8 vehicle sales in December declined 2.4% from a year ago, but increased slightly from the prior month, ACT Research reported. The average retail sales price was $80,385 compared with $82,341 in the 2021 period, according to ACT. The estimated retail volume in December was 21,100 units compared with 22,800 a year earlier. But that is up from the 20,100 units sold in November. Learn more...

Truck tonnage rose 3.8 percent in 2022 compared with the prior year, posting the highest year-over-year gain in four years despite closing out with modest December results, American Trucking Associations reported. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the annual gain was the strongest since 2018 and marked the 16th consecutive year-over-year increase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcas...

Kodiak Robotics has landed a top industry executive for its role of chief operating officer. James Reed, who had been CEO at USA Truck for six years, will join the autonomous trucking company. USA Truck said Reed was selected based on his experience in trucking, technology and finance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trailer maker Wabash last week announced two long-term agreements. One is with Ryerson, a value-added processor and distributor of industrial metals for 10 years, marking its importance as a strategic supplier partner to the manufacturer. The other is a multiyear supply agreement with carrier J.B. Hunt. The long-term order agreement with J.B. Hunt couples with Wabash’s earlier 10-year agreement wi...

Trailer orders surged to the second-highest level in more than 25 years, ACT Research recently reported. Net orders were 57,300 compared with 26,382 a year earlier. The all-time high is 57,790 set in September 2018. ACT reports there were 361,500 net orders placed in 2022, exceeding the previous year’s level of 249,400. About 306,000 trailers were built in 2022, and ACT’s projections point to a co...

Medium-duty sales in December fell by 6.2% year-over-year, according to Wards Intelligence. This tops off a trend for the year; medium-duty sales posted only one positive month in 2022 compared with 2021, in August. Act Research’s Steve Tam said that despite those drops, the medium-duty market is quite stable. But it’s still affected by some of the supply chain challenges plaguing manufacturers th...

The National Transportation Safety Board made a series of recommendations to help lower the number of alcohol- and drug-related crashes on the nation’s roads. NTSB researchers found alcohol remains the most-often detected drug in impaired driving incidents, and cannabis is the second most common. Some of the recommendations include requirements that cannabis products have warning labels, modifying...

U.S. Class 8 retail sales in December reached an all-time monthly high, Wards Intelligence reported. Sales rose 18% to 29,172 compared with 24,716 a year earlier, according to Wards. The numbers surpassed the previous peak for the year, 23,581 in August. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rising number of people killed and injured in automobile accidents due to driving at high speeds is unacceptable, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said. Delivering the keynote address at the Transportation Research Board annual meeting, Homendy said transportation officials believe it is possible to reach zero highway fatalities. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

WASHINGTON — Nearly three years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chains and international ocean carriers have seen cargo volumes return to pre-pandemic levels. Now, many manufacturers are considering reshoring and nearshoring their operations to lower costs and make their companies less vulnerable to shipping interruptions, such as those they experienced in 2020 and 2021...

Delaware’s Division of Motor Vehicles has launched an online self-certification option for commercial driver license holders to upload their Medical Examiner’s Certificate. “We expect this to be one of our most popular features on myDMV,” said Jana Simpler, director of the Delaware DMV. “It saves our CDL drivers time. It’s convenient. It’s easy and it gives our drivers peace of mind knowing their...

Construction will move forward to ease congestion in western Maryland and improve regional freight transportation along Interstate 81 after Gov. Larry Hogan awarded the project a $100 million grant. I-81 is the main freight connectivity corridor in Maryland that links New York to Tennessee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Preliminary North American Class 8 orders in December were 30,300, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year gains, ACT Research reported. Year-ago orders were 22,800. Orders in 2022 had remained below 2021 levels until an all-time record for any month was reached in September. Final numbers for December are due later this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....

The Federal Highway Administration announced $2.1 billion in first-round grants to repair economically significant bridges. The Large Bridge Grants were dedicated to the Brent Spence Bridge connecting Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, the Golden Gate Bridge in California, the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in Connecticut and four bridges that cross the Calumet River on the south side of Chicago. The Bi...

Biden administration Cabinet secretaries Pete Buttigieg and Jennifer Granholm are headlining this year’s annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board. On Jan. 11, the secretaries of Transportation and Energy, respectively, will share updates about the implementation of a $1 trillion infrastructure law at the gathering in Washington of thousands of stakeholders and enthusiasts. Learn more ab...

C.H. Robinson CEO Bob Biesterfeld stepped down from his role, effective Dec. 31. He also held the title of president and was on the logistics company’s board of directors. Board chairman Scott Anderson is now interim CEO, effective Jan. 1, and the company has retained a firm to lead a search for a new chief executive. Biesterfeld had been with C.H. Robinson for 24 years, and CEO since 2019. Learn...

As the calendar flips to 2023, what’s ahead for driver recruitment, shipping rates and congressional action? Transport Topics takes a look in our Year in Preview stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices