Transport Topics

GXO Logistics announced it is deploying 6 River Systems collaborative robots, also known as cobots, on multiple mezzanine floors in one of its distribution centers in England. GXO said it collaborated with 6RS to develop and test new features on the cobots, which can automatically travel from one location to another carrying picked items, reducing employees’ walk time and helping them pick items f...

Legislation targeting staged vehicle collisions and fraudulent claims affecting the motor carrier industry has been introduced in the House of Representatives. Representatives Henry Cuellar of Texas and Garret Graves of Louisiana unveiled the Highway Accident Fairness Act of 2021. Their legislation aims to further ensure legitimate claims are pursued fairly and promptly for victims involved in hig...

Central Freight Lines is ceasing operations after nearly a century in business. The Waco, Texas-based less-than-truckload carrier notified drivers, employees and customers that it would start to wind down operations Dec. 13, meaning 2,100 employees will be laid off right before Christmas. CFL President Bruce Kalem cited years of operating losses for shuttering the operation, according to reports....

Last week, Daimler Truck began trading as an independent company on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the stock symbol DTG, marking a new era following its spinoff from Daimler AG. Shares, traded in euros, opened at the equivalent of $31.57. The truck maker in a release called its new status unrestricted entrepreneurial independence and probably the most important milestone in its 125-year histor...

November was not a good month for Class 8 orders. According to ACT Research, orders plunged to 9,800, a 26-year low. Last year, in the month of November there were 52,104 orders. The truck order number encompasses all North American orders. It’s the lowest November total since 1995 when orders only reached 7,923. Class 8 order backlogs extend deep into 2022, nearing 281,000 units, and the backlog-...

The flow of freight between the United States and Canada could be slowed beginning in January, as both countries’ governments have laid out vaccine mandates for truck drivers. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, all foreign national travelers seeking to enter the U.S. by land — whether for essential or nonessential reasons — must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide proo...

A federal judge in Georgia has blocked the Biden administration’s nationwide mandate for federal contractors’ employees to be vaccinated amid a slew of challenges from states that say the president overstepped his authority in requiring the COVID-19 shots. The mandate, which was to have taken effect Jan. 4, applies to roughly a quarter of the U.S. workforce and would have affected companies that d...

Missed deliveries and driver dissatisfaction are among the headaches fleets endure when the trucks hit the loading docks. In a time when supply chain issues have reached critical mass, trucking and warehouse companies, as well as dock equipment managers, have been searching for solutions for better efficiency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company’s electric pickup truck, Cybertruck, will be able to drive diagonally. That’s because it will have independent steering of the front and back wheels thanks to a four-motor variant. He reiterated his description of the vehicle as an “insane technology bandwagon.” Musk’s comments came on Twitter in response to comments and questions posted by other users. Learn m...

Ocean freight rates on goods shipped to both U.S. coasts from Asia fell to the lowest levels since July, reflecting an easing of supply strains. The spot rate for a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles sank 3.8% over the past week to $9,698, according to the Drewry World Container Index. From Shanghai to New York, the price dropped 4.9% to $12,582. Both are still around five times higher...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration extended regulatory waivers related to truck drivers’ allowable work time. The waiver for property-carrying vehicles was extended through Feb. 28. The FMCSA explained, “Although the number of COVID-19 cases began to decline in the U.S. following widespread introduction of vaccinations, persistent issues arising out of COVID-19 continue to affect the...

Federal officials, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and other stakeholders gathered yesterday for the groundbreaking ceremony for construction on the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore. The 126-year-old, 1.7-mile tunnel is a major pain-point for cargo movement in and out of the Port of Baltimore. The $500 million project will significantly expand intermodal freight traffic in and out of the expanding port...

President Joe Biden met yesterday with CEOs of some of the nation’s largest retailers, including Walmart and CVS, to discuss holiday supply chain concerns. Biden pointed to improvements in backups at ports, saying that his administration’s work has contributed to a 40% decrease in the number of containers sitting at docks for eight days or longer. Walmart’s CEO, Doug McMillon, offered some reassur...

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has stepped away from his administration’s plan to create a coalition of New England states with the purpose of cutting transportation pollution after the compact failed to generate broad support. Baker’s announcement came after Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who supported the initiative, indicated he was abandoning the Transportation and Climate Initiative. Rhode Is...

The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose to 113 last month, a 1.8% increase compared with October 2020 and a 0.4% improvement compared with the 112.6 result from September 2021. It’s the strongest year-over-year gain since just before summer and comes from early spending in anticipation of a busy holiday shopping season. For the three-month period, tonnage has increased a combined 2.9%. Learn mor...

For the first time in over 2 months the national average price for diesel dropped, by 1 cent per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The drop comes after months of elevated prices and concerns over gasoline and diesel supplies. The national average price now sits at $3.724, with the average price in California coming in over a dollar higher per gallon at $4.784. The ye...

Democrats pushed their expansive social and environment bill through a sharply divided House of Representatives on Nov. 19, advancing the measure on a 220-213 vote. The nearly $2 trillion bill paves the way for the adoption of alternative fuel technology and severe weather resilience for mobility corridors and structures, such as bridges and tunnels. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where c...

Experts are warning that shipment delays will most likely extend well into 2022 due to the continued strain on the country’s supply chain. GXO Logistics Chief Investment Officer Mark Manduca is bracing for an extended holiday season, with the peak shipping period averaging six or seven weeks instead of the usual two or three. According to C.H. Robinson data, retail sales in the U.S. usually increa...

Waymo, a self-driving truck technology developer, announced it expanded its partnership with UPS Inc. to include autonomous freight movement with Class 8 vehicles. “For these trial runs, our Class 8 trucks will have two autonomous specialists — one driver with a CDL and one software technician — on board to monitor operations,” said a Waymo spokesperson. The trial runs will take place between UPS...

Ocean freight rates, which have pummeled retailers and manufacturers throughout 2021, may take more than two years to return to normal levels, according to an analysis from Sea-Intelligence, a Copenhagen-based maritime data and advisory company. Applying the 0.9% drop seen during the global financial crisis of 2008, Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy said, “It would take 18 months to get back to ‘no...

President Joe Biden signed his $1 trillion infrastructure plan into law yesterday. The landmark infrastructure investment is whittled down in many ways from the president’s initial vision to invest in roads, bridges, water systems, broadband, ports, electric vehicles and the power grid. The agreement got support from 19 Senate Republicans, including Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a...

A divided federal appeals court has thrown out portions of the 2016 Phase 2 greenhouse gas emissions truck rule that would have required heavy- and medium-duty tractor truck trailers for the first time to adopt some combination of fuel-saving technologies. Circuit Judge Justin Walker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, wrote in the decision Friday, “Trailers have no...

Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next week to resume talks centered on the president’s Build Back Better domestic agenda. The congressional session comes after the House passed a $1 trillion infrastructure policy bill. At issue is a $1.75 trillion package that aims to boost funding for climate change initiatives, alternative fuel programs, and amplify social safety net programs such as care for ch...

A coalition of trucking groups and others, including American Trucking Associations, has asked the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to block a Biden administration rule requiring large employers to ensure their workers get COVID-19 vaccinations. In a lawsuit filed yesterday, ATA said it encourages all Americans to get vaccinated, but said that the Emergency Temporary Standard “puts employers in a...

Self-driving technology company Aurora announced it completed its business combination with Reinvent Technology Partners Y, a special purpose acquisition company, and its common stock has begun trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AUR. The Mountain View, Calif., company reported it is entering this next phase with $1.8 billion in gross proceeds and cash on hand, and described that as the...