Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

Skyrocketing college costs and stagnant wages are causing many high schoolers to reevaluate their options as graduation nears. The old adage that a four-year college is the best road to the middle class is no longer the conventional wisdom. But, there are vital industries in todays economy that offer opportunities for steady, good-paying jobs without the exorbitant financial burden of an undergraduate degree. One such industry is trucking.

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Washington The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has extended by 14 days the comment period for a proposed rule the agency claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers, according to a notice published in the Sept. 19 Federal Register. The move comes in response to requests from industry groups, including the American Trucking Associations, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The n

Global Agriculture Market Forecast to 2022 provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global agriculture market.

Contract rates for trucking are still sliding while spot rates are flat to up, compressing freight brokerages gross margins. In a challenging freight environment for third-party logistics providers (3PLs) like the current market, brokerages that want to grow must figure out how to free up working capital. Commentary from the management at publicly-traded 3PLs confirms that tough conditions

HOUSTON A big rig driver made a mistake that nearly cost him his life Thursday afternoon in north Houston. But a hero with a hammer came to his rescue The trucker drove directly into floodwater on the 59 northbound feeder road, near the Beltway. A man named Nathan was walking above on 59 and saw it happen.

Iowa State University recently broke ground to mark the start of construction of its $21.2 million Kent Corporation Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex (name pending approval by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa).

Like an earthquake, the two major stories of the week hit trucking hard with the fallout yet to be fully measured as neither are fully resolved. The attack on Saudi Arabian oil production and the General Motors labor strike had an immediate impact to the freight market as wholesale diesel prices jumped $0.16/gallon on Monday (not including taxes), while outbound rejection rates spiked out of the Detroit market. Both events were quick and severe, but in the long run, several concerns for the t

America's $800 billion trucking industry has been in a recession since the beginning of 2019, according to ACT Research. The culprits: President Donald Trump's trade war and a glut of trucking capacity. And while some factors, like the uptick of retail indicators and a surge in truckload volumes, should give trucking companies hope for 2020, Cowen's third-quarter carrier survey indicates that truckers are getting more and more pessimistic about where the economy is headed.

Lately, American farmers have not been given much good news when it comes to trade. American Farm Bureau Chief Economist John Newton tells Ohio Farm Bureau Director of Media Relations Ty Higgins that big wins with the USMCA and Japan may get the ball rolling for more bilateral trade deals and could bring positive momentum to the upcoming trade talks with China.

The increasing primacy of e-commerce ensures that logistics and transport companies are well-represented on recent Inc. 500 lists. (Indeed, last year's top 10 featured two firms that serve that space, including the No. 1 company, SwanLeap.) That opportunity has drawn lots of new businesses. So how can you succeed amid all that competition? Matt Pyatt, the co-founder of Arrive Logistics--which brokers vacant space in trucks for clients like Kraft and Pepsi--knows how his company cracked the 50

If you are a trucker who is curious about CBD oil, take a look at this informative short video on how it could impact your trucking career. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) recently shared a useful video explaining how marijuana laws and CBD products could impact your commercial drivers license (CDL).

Benton County EMA Director Richard Kee said the call was actually for one semi truck hitting another, making a sound so loud drivers thought it was an explosion. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, around 4:45pm Sunday afternoon, one person suffered non life threatening injuries and was airlifted to Vanderbilt in Nashville from the 2 truck accident on I-40 near mile marker 130.

The USS Eagle 56 was only five miles off the coast of Maine when it exploded. The World War I-era patrol boat split in half, then slipped beneath the surface of the North Atlantic. The Eagle 56 had been carrying a crew of 62. Rescuers pulled 13 survivors from the water that day. It was April 23, 1945, just two weeks before the surrender of Nazi Germany.

Freight factoring company, Smart Freight Funding, helps trucking companies of all sizes keep their trucks moving by getting paid quicker. Smart Freight Funding works with single truck operations, individual owner-operator, and larger companies managing several trucks and drivers. We offer competitive low rates, quick pay, and superb customer service. The team behind Smart Freight Funding has more than 50 years combined driving, dispatching, contracting and accounting experience in the truckin

ST. PAUL, Minn. On Sept. 19, CHS Inc. announced plans for a significant renovation at its Fairmont, Minn., soybean processing plant. The expansion will increase market access for regional soybean growers and return value to its owners through increased production of high-demand soy-based food and feed ingredients. "CHS is always looking for ways to expand market access for farmers' crops and improve operational efficiencies. This renovation project will deliver value on several fronts

MULVANE, Kan. (KAKE) - Authorities say a 39-year-old man has died after he got trapped in a grain truck near Mulvane. Crews responded at around 12:15 p.m. Friday to the report of a man not breathing at a farm in the area of 111th Street South and Hillside. Capt. Brad Hoch with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office said employees were moving grain from one tractor-trailer when the incident happened. "One of the employees was actually down inside one of the tractor-trailers, and he was moving th

Late planting, excessive rains, flood damage and other environmental factors this year have resulted in a range of crop stage development across the area. For soybean producers, some fields are in late pod-fill while others are just starting harvest. In corn, some fields are starting to dent while others are reaching black layer or full maturity. Several producers in the area are cutting silage while others are finishing their last irrigation of the season. In the next few weeks, some produce

US agricultural exports are projected to reach $137bn in fiscal year (FY) 2020, up $2.5bn from the revised forecast for FY 2019. The anticipated increase will primarily be driven by higher exports of pork, beef, soybeans, and horticultural products, found a USDA outlook.

A coalition of 31 trucking and trade groups is urging Congress to halt four bills it claims would cost the industry billions of dollars in burdensome unfunded mandates. The coalition sent a letter on Sept. 16 to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), chairman, and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), ranking member, of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chairman, and Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, ranking member, of the Committee o

With harvest season coming up in a hurry, farmers want to make sure bins are ready to receive the new crop. However, that has been more of a challenge than normal for some. Fayette County, Iowa, farmer Mark Recker said while this is an exceptionally bad year for delays, its not uncommon to have a few delays.

Hardly a day goes by without someone suggesting that technologies like AI, machine learning, and robotics will transform the 21st century labor market. A prominent example of this has been in truck driving an occupation that spans multiples industries and moves over 70% of U.S. freight by weight which many speculate will see a widespread loss of jobs with the rise of self-driving technology. Some have forecast that autonomous vehicles will eliminate 2-3 million trucking jobs ov

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Association (FMCSA) data, carriers who operate smaller fleet sizes of one to six trucks continue to add power to their operation, with tractor counts growing 5% since last September. Over the same time, fleets who operate more than 1,000 units have decreased tractor count size by almost 3.5%. A byproduct of the sell-off has been continued increase in used truck prices for 3-year-old class 8 trucks, even as the freight market has softened from a year-over

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., the biggest freight broker in North America, will double its technology spending over the next five years as it fends off challenges from a growing field of digital startups. The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company plans to spend $1 billion to hire more data scientists, engineers and developers to expand its technology and develop new services in an estimated $86.5 billion U.S. domestic market for managing freight transportation.

Washington D.C. He did not plan to say it, but after a safety advocate urged regulators to tighten restrictions on truckers even more, fifteen-year trucking veteran and founder of the United States Transportation Alliance (USTA), Mike Landis, felt he had to respond. Landis did so by making a jaw-dropping admission to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) officials at Tuesdays public listening session regarding the Agencys proposed changes to h

Living in Saint Louis, I am acutely aware of the flow of water through Americas heartland. We are at the confluence of the countrys two longest rivers, the Missouri and the Mississippi [USGS]. Rainfall in any of a dozen Midwestern states and parts of Canada will eventually flow by Saint Louis. We are proud to be called the River City, but in years like this one, the name can be more of a curse than a blessing. As the two rivers overflowed their banks this past spring, it was cle

Mendota mill to replace three older facilities.

The history of early human advancement is the history of harvesting prosperity from agricultural innovation. In Harvesting Prosperity: Technology and Productivity Growth in Agriculture, we argue that this focus on raising agricultural productivity remains as urgent today as ever.

Blood on the tracks. Commodity blood. Dennis Haugen stared in disbelief at a wealth of frozen vegetables, seafood, butter, flour, lead ingots, lumber, and a motley array of odds-and-ends scattered across his land. As he walked the wreckage of a derailment with 50 cars crushed accordion-style or tossed like tin cans, the fibers of a farmers entrepreneurial bent went rigid. Opportunity was pounding and Haugen was ready to find out who was behind the door.

WASHINGTON Drivers and trucking industry representatives had another chance to voice comments on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations proposal to change certain hours-of-service requirements Sept. 17. FMCSA officials responded to participants concerns on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at a lively two-hour listening session held at the Department of Transportations headquarters. Many participants emphasized that the final rulemaking should include la

Two truck drivers cant sue the nations trucking regulator over inaccurate driver data because the entity isnt a consumer reporting agency, a federal district court in Washington ruled. The Sept. 16 ruling shows the difficulty of bringing a case against the U.S. government under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Most claims brought against a federal agency under the law have failed because government agencies typically dont provide consumer data to third parties absent

A local legislator and an area business are supporting state legislation that would allow trucks to specifically carry heavier loads of masonry products on Indiana highways. Most semi-tractor trailers on Indiana highways have an 80,000-pound weight limit. An exception was made in 2013 for agricultural and steel commodities, and now, an exception for brick manufacturers is being proposed. The law change is supported by state Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, who is asking an interim study committe

Insurance costs for many motor carriers have crept higher in recent years, particularly for commercial auto liability insurance. The trucking and insurance industry experts Ive spoken with over the past few years cite several factors for the rise, including the litigious environment the trucking industry is battling that is being fueled by certain trial lawyers.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. The owners of two trucking companies that hauled refuse and scrap metal through Rhode Island and Massachusetts have been sentenced to a year of probation each for telling their employees to falsify federal truck safety reports. Federal prosecutors say 54-year-old Leslie Cucino and 49-year-old Robert Cucino Jr., both of Foster, were also fined $1,250 each on Monday.

The coalition, which is led by OOIDA and includes dozens of trade associations, opposes bills that would mandate underride guards, speed limiters, automatic emergency braking systems, and a minimum of $4.9 million worth of liability insurance. As part of the coalition, a letter of opposition was sent on Monday, Sept. 16 to the leaders of the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation and the

Freight shipments within the US fell 3.0% in August 2019, compared to August 2018, the ninth month in a row of year-over-year declines, but it was only about half the rate of declines in May (-6.0%) and July (-5.9%), according to the Cass Freight Index for Shipments. The index tracks shipment volume by all modes of transportation truck, rail, air, and barge of consumer and industrial goods but not of bulk commodities. This decline was the least bad decline since March:

People may have seen a large convoy of trucks driving down Highway 1 and Highway 11 towards Regina on Saturday. Law enforcement and truckers from different parts of Saskatchewan joined together for the 13th Annual Truck Convoy for Special Olympics.

Daniel McCreary is a 47-year-old truck driver who lives in Centreville, Maryland. He's been in the trucking business for decades, and he now hauls chicken feed for short distances throughout his workday of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Automation and sinking trucker pay threaten America's millions of truckers. Business Insider asked McCreary what he thought about the state of trucking and where he saw his live

Were not quite halfway through our harvest here in Canada: The lentils and barley are done, the canola is starting to come in, and soon well get to the durum wheat and chickpeas. It has been a challenging year doing business with Mother Nature. As we begin to calculate this years yields, however, were starting to hear misleading reports in the media about our export opportunities. Ive been a little annoyed by the sentiments and insinuations in some stories.<

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) expects to see significant improvement in efficiency when it completes the commissioning of its new feed manufacturing facility in Quincy, Illinois, U.S. The facility, which features three milling lines, brings together into one building capacity that is currently spread across five mills on the east and west sides of the street that occupies a significant footprint. Along with efficiency, the consolidation will mean improved safety for the feed produced and t