Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

Industry News

Dec 4, 2014

Schumer seeks crackdown on chameleon trucking companies

David Hill, [email protected] | @Ijdavidhill Trucking companies with poor safety records, like the one that owned a truck that crashed in Ithaca in June and killed one person, have been able to repeatedly avoid penalties and being shut down by reincorporating under new names without detection, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Wednesday as he pledged to push to close loopholes allowing the practice. Schumer said he is urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administratio

Dec 4, 2014

LOAD SEMIS FAST AND ACCURATELY

Dec 4, 2014

Fertilizer company makes $1.2 million investment in Marseilles

Recent News

7101 - 7200 of 10451 Listings

Dec 4, 2014

Schumer seeks crackdown on chameleon trucking companies

Dec 4, 2014

LOAD SEMIS FAST AND ACCURATELY

LOAD SEMIS FAST AND ACCURATELY: Green flashing lights at The Load Judge display werent a gimmick. The bars mount inside a semitrailer. Add a moisture sensor and a smartphone or tablet app, and you can sit in the cab and watch the trailer load. Blend in corn with different moisture content easily, reps say. The Load Judge was invented by a farmer. Learn more from Leading Edge Industries, Groton,

Dec 4, 2014

Fertilizer company makes $1.2 million investment in Marseilles

An Omaha, Neb., commodity management company has purchased 7.2 acres immediately east of Marseilles to expand its existing fertilizer business. Last month, The Gavilon Group paid $1.2 million for the land adjacent to Potash Corporation (PCS Phosphate) from F&W Flying Services off East 2659th Road. Gavilon had been leasing the facility in Marseilles since 1995 as part of its fertilizer operations, according to spokesman Patrick J. Burke. In a written statement, Burke e

Dec 3, 2014

Trucker, company charged after scrap metal spill

BRAMPTON A Brampton trucking company and one of its drivers have been charged after a load of scrap metal spilled onto a highway in northern Ontario last week, the OPP report. West Parry Sound OPP say the load of scrap metal was not properly secured on a truck travelling on Hwy. 69 north of Parry Sound on Nov. 25. Driver Harbhajan Dhanota, 37, of Brampton was charged with having an insecure load and dri

Dec 3, 2014

Ag companies plan joint venture

Trupointe Cooperative Inc. and Cargill Inc. have signed a letter of intent to create a joint venture with their facilities in Milford, Bremen and La Paz, Indiana, - including a $30-million grain elevator. Upon completing due diligence and signing a final agreement, the two companies will combine Trupointes crop inputs assets in Milford with Cargills grain elevators in Bremen and Lapaz. The joint venture dubbed TruHorizons also will include building a grain

Dec 3, 2014

Trucker Says Boss Sexually Harrassed Him

By JOHN BRACKIN (CN) - An Alabama truck driver claims in a federal lawsuit that he was sexually harassed by his male supervisor, then threatened at gunpoint when he sought to report the behavior. In a complaint filed in the federal court in Birmingham, Ala., driver Richard Holley says he was hired by GIBCO Construction in March 2012, and that beginning the following October, he began to receive unwanted sexual attention from Michael Hunt, his supervisor. Holley cla

Dec 3, 2014

Winter weight limits

Saskatchewan winter has a silver lining for shippers. Winter weights are in effect allowing heavier loads to be transported on secondary weight highways. Saskatchewans economic growth is fuelled by exports which are often transported by truck, Highways and Infrastructure Minister Nancy Heppner said. Shippers save time and money during the winter season as frozen road beds can withstand heavier weights. Sub-zero temperatures firm up the

Dec 2, 2014

Charity for North American Truck Drivers and Their Families in Time of Crisis

Each year, nearly 1,000 Commercial Truck Drivers are killed in (truck) transportation related accidents and nearly 20,000 are injured and/or suffer emergency medical episodes. truckersfinalmile.org is the largest known Charity of it's tpye and scope for Truck Drivers and their families in North America operating 24 hours a day from their offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They have four unique programs committed to reuniting these North American Truck Driver's with their family in tim

Dec 2, 2014

How many freight brokers have left the industry?

One year after the freight broker bond increase: How to surge ahead Eric Halsey - Logistics Although its already been a year since the MAP-21 law came into effect, the freight broker industry is still adjusting to the changes. This law raised the required bond amount from $10,000 to $75,000 in addition to a variety of other modifications to in

Dec 2, 2014

CH Robison to buy Internet-based freight broker Freightquote for $365 million cash

EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. Trucking company C.H. Robinson is buying Freightquote.com Inc. for $365 million in cash to expand its e-commerce services. Freightquote, based in Kansas City, Missouri, is an online freight brokerage that C.H. Robinson's CEO, John Wiehoff, said helps smaller businesses find cheaper shipping rates. It employs about 1,000 workers and is expected to post revenue this year of about $124 million. Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based

Dec 2, 2014

US regulators poll public on need for higher trucking insurance

Plans to raise the minimum insurance coverage U.S. trucking companies must maintain to operate could affect hundreds of thousands of trucking companies, large and small, and their shipper customers. However, those plans are likely to proceed slowly, given the current political climate on Capitol Hill and industry opposition to higher minimum levels. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Dec 2, 2014

Freight Factoring Rates as Low as 3% for the Bulk Trucking Industry

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 t

Dec 1, 2014

As grain trains stall, Siouxland shippers catch a break

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/a1/as-grain-trains-stall-siouxland-shippers-catch-a-break/article_edd9bfac-795d-50fb-b5e1-deca41b189b0.html

Dec 1, 2014

Cyber attacks can funnel through trucking companies to shippers

NEWTON, Mass. Trucking companies may be inadvertently creating security holes in their customers computer networks. A recent study by a number of US firms involved in cyber security has found that many companiesincluding those in the transportation industryhave opened themselves to attack by not properly securing the privileged administrative accounts that are used to run software applications and grant access to hardware. And having a hole in that part of

Dec 1, 2014

Crete Carrier and Shaffer Trucking Lead the Industry with Driver Pay Increase

LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Crete Carrier and Shaffer Trucking have announced a pay increase for their company national over the road (OTR) drivers. Effective Jan. 1, 2015, Crete national OTR drivers will receive a $.02 per practical mile increase, resulting in an 11 percent increase in the overall pay package. When combined with an over 2 percent increase in miles, drivers will be earning more than 1

Nov 29, 2014

Why so many farmers miss the Wheat Board

Henry Kuhl could see the hovering helicopter and police lights as he drove his truck toward Canada Customs. It was a sunny day in spring, 1996, and he and 40 other Manitoba farmers had crossed into North Dakota to sell their grain. It was a symbolic protest against the Canadian Wheat Board, the federal marketing agency that monopolized the grain trade and forbade farmers from disposing of their own wheat. We were sick and tired of being pushed around by the Wheat Board, says Kuh

Nov 28, 2014

NITL to shippers: ‘Be prepared’

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor Shippers at the National Industrial Transportation Leagues annual conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last week were lucky to get there. An early blast of winter disrupted air travel as the conference began, dumping seven feet of snow on Buffalo, New York. The storm was an unwelcome reminder of last winters polar vortex and a portent of supply

Nov 28, 2014

Should insurance requirements go up? FMCSA asks the questions

By Jami Jones, Land Line managing editor To raise the insurance requirement or not to raise it, that is the question, or at least the gist of the 26 questions the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is posing in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to publish in the Federal Register on Friday, Nov. 28. FMCSA is considering a rulemaking that would increase the insuran

Nov 28, 2014

Railroads Face Government Scrutiny Over Mergers, Service And Competition

Summary Here is my exclusive interview with a member of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. Read Deb Miller's views on railroad mergers, congestion, hiring and training, and the economy. Any merger proposal would have to include ways to mitigate service problems on the rail network. America needs a freight policy to address the lack of rail infrastructure. Choke points are creating lags in the

Nov 27, 2014

Bear with me as I drone on

by Paul Menig CEO, Tech-I-M LLC This week was spent talking with the ATAs Technology and Maintenance Council about Future Freight Transportation and, for the 21st Century Truck Partnership, reviewing presentations on what technologies can be used to further improve greenhouse gas emissions and reduce fuel consumption. We looked a

Nov 27, 2014

Salt prices nearly double; Could road conditions be worse than last year?

PITTSBURGH As road crews prepare for a Winter Weather Advisory, Target 11 has learned that some communities are also trying to figure out how they will pay to keep the roads safe. I was shocked, West Mifflin Borough Manager Brian Kamauf said. He couldnt believe his eyes when he got the bill for road salt. We've seen a huge increase in salt prices this ye

Nov 27, 2014

September freight totals $102.2B; trucks contribute the most

The Trucker News Services 11/25/2014 U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $102.2 billion in September 2014 as all five major transportation modes air, vessel, pipeline, rail, and trucks carried more U.S.-NAFTA freight than in September 2013, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportations Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). September was the seventh consecutive m

Nov 26, 2014

The Dissolving Silos – The Convergence of 3PLs, Brokers, Carriers

by Mitch Weseley The logistics service provider (LSP) market landscape is undergoing a titanic shift. The traditional boundaries between brokers, carriers and 3PLs are blurring, particularly in the small- to mid-sized LSP market. Many of these companies are experiencing a blending of the time-honored functions that once separated the

Nov 25, 2014

Issues: Coping with truckers along the interstate

http://www.desertsun.com/staff/22417/james-folmer Traffic continues to be a hot topic with our Youve Got Issues Facebook group. Ellen Karsten of Bermuda Dunes put up two posts concerned about trucks constantly roaring along Interstate 10. Average speed limit 85! she writes. Arizona drivers zooming by, large interstate trucks doing 70! Scary. Wheres the Highway Patrol?&r

Nov 25, 2014

Tight truck capacity putting pressure on shippers: FTR

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. Shippers continue to feel the effect of tight trucking capacity, according to the latest Shippers Conditions Index compiled by FTR. The reading of -6.6 in September was basically unchanged from the previous month and reflects sustained capacity tightness and rate increases for fleets. The cost to ship goods is expected to remain elevated, FTR indicated. It says the typical slowdown in freight tonnage expected during the winter months will this year prov

Nov 24, 2014

New York broker for car haulers faces federal charges of wire, mail fraud

By Greg Grisolano, Land Line staff writer A New York auto freight broker is facing charges of mail and wire fraud in connection with a scheme federal investigators say bilked customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gregory Sclafani, 62, of Southampton, N.Y., was arrested Nov. 13 without incident, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation &ndas

Nov 24, 2014

Winter truck load increases begin Monday for north, north central frost zones

By Brainerd Dispatch Winter truck load increases will begin Monday on unrestricted highways in the north and north central frost zones

Nov 24, 2014

Possible natural gas explosion at trucking facility

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Firefighters are investigating an explosion at a trucking business in Grand Rapids. The explosion blew out windows and knocked the back wall off of its foundation at an office building inside Masselink Brothers Trucking, located at 901 Freeman Avenue SW near Market, around 4:20 a.m. Monday. The explosion also caused a flash fire that firefighters were able to put out quickly. The preliminary investigation indicates it was a natural gas e

Nov 22, 2014

Chameleon Carrier Owner Continues Operating From Prison

Not everyone is cut out to be a Chameleon Carrier owner. You need a particular brand of stupidity to be shut down, reopen your company under a different name, and continue operating under the same unsafe conditions that got you put out of service in the first place. But it takes a truly idiotic mind to get shut down, reopen, get shut down again and sentenced to jail time, and then reopen againwhile serving your prison sentence. Meet Devasko Lewis,

Nov 22, 2014

Buffalo snow-pocalypse: Stuck in a truck

TORONTO, Ont. Earlier this week Brian Foster, a professional driver for Ontario-based J.G. Drapeau Transport, made a delivery hell never forget. On Tuesday, the snowfall in Buffalo, N.Y. shocked residents when an incredible seven feet of white fluffy stuff covered their roads, yards, and cars. Buffalo and surrounding area were (and still are) in a snow-pocalypse as it has been dubbed on social media, because of the lake-effect, a weather phenomenon that hap

Nov 21, 2014

Freight Crisis 2015

By Dawn Strobel+ Updated: November 19, 2014

Nov 21, 2014

Behind the Scenes: The Surprising Shipping Costs We All Pay For

By Dawn Strobel+ Updated: November 19, 2014

Nov 21, 2014

Are You Tired of Waiting to get Paid for your Loads?

Nov 21, 2014

The next big wave: how video and data will transform trucking

By Aaron Huff Four large rooms full of cubicles join at the center of SmartDrives 25,000 sq.-foot office in San Diegos Sorrento Valley neighborhood like the wings of a butterfly. Employees call this central area the truckstop.

Nov 20, 2014

Trucking research group, DOT team to study truck ‘platooning’

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor Technology that could eventually link trucks in virtual road trains will be studied by the American Transportation Research Institute and two Department of Transportation research teams, the research arm of the American Trucking Associations announced this week. ATRI and the DOT researchers will study the costs and benefits of Driver Assi

Nov 20, 2014

Truck vs. Rail

Trucking is never off the radar screen of the railroads. Even with the Assn. of American Railroads (AAR) pointing out that The domestic share of intermodal traffic has been rising in recent years and that total U.S. truck-rail intermodal volume in 2013 set a record of 12.8-million containers and trailers, outside the hallowed intermodal zone of cooperation, the decades-long war between railroa

Nov 20, 2014

Thick roads, please: Dakota aims to extend vital trucking network

From his farm in southeast Dakota County, Brian Molitor has little trouble getting his grain north. He can hop on a couple of state highways built to withstand the weight he is carrying. But a trip west to Burnsville or Savage forces him to go well out of his way and pay more for fuel. Its just real hard to get to the western suburbs, Molitor said. Dakota County commissioners will vote Tuesday on whether to designate an additional 42 miles of

Nov 20, 2014

Large Crops Not Translating To Large Bankrolls For Farmers

By BARBARA HARRINGTON

Trucking companies claim Pilot Flying J CEO knew of alleged rebate scam

By SAMANTHA MANNING 6 News Reporter KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Two trucking companies claim Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam was aware of a scheme to defraud clients. Friday was the deadline for trucking companies that opted out of the class action settlement to file amendments with their complaints. In the bill of particulars, National Retail Transportation Inc. and Keystone Freight Corp. claim Pi

Nov 19, 2014

High cost of diesel fuel affects trucking and farming industries

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - For some drivers filling up at the pump is actually not an unpleasant experience. With gas at $2.57 per gallon at most stations in Springfield, fueling up wont break the bank. Im very happy about it and I never thought [gas prices] would go this low again. I think its going to be a real blessing to a lot of people because it gives them more disposable

Nov 18, 2014

Class I report card confirms ag shippers' frustration

Class I report card confirms ag shippers' frustration with rail service, soy coalition says Union Pacific Railroad reclaimed the top spot in the Soy Transportation Coalition's (STC) fifth annual Railroad Report Card. The top ranked railroad in 2011 and 2012, UP was second last year behind CSX Transportation. Norfolk Southern Railway assumed second place in this year's rankings after taking third last year. The rest of the 2014 customer satisfaction rankings show CSX in

Nov 18, 2014

Driver shortage will fuel rising rates

Bill McLoughlin Truck Stop: Driver shortage will fuel rising rates October 31, 2014 While recent

Nov 18, 2014

Rail congestion sends more grain to market on river barges

Railroad bottlenecks, congestion and high freight prices have frustrated Minnesota farmers this year as they try to sell their corn and soybeans. Now some are turning to an alternative: barges instead of railcars. They are bypassing rail terminals and driving to river ports, giving the barge industry a modest but significant bump in business. As of Nov. 1, year-to-date grain barge tonnages were 13 percent higher than the five-year average and

Nov 17, 2014

Shippers say truck shortage worse

Idaho potato shippers say a tight supply of trucks for moving spuds is making it challenging for them to keep up with holiday demand. IDAHO FALLS, Idaho Finding enough trucks to keep up with fresh potato and onion shipments during the holiday rush seems to get tougher each year for officials with Pot

Nov 16, 2014

Truckers Getting Scammed

Todd Oxner Truckers who are injured in trucking accidents are more often lately victims of insurance scams perpetrated by disreputable employers. The more serious the injury, the more likely the trucker will be scammed. This is how it works: an out of work driver hears about a job and fills out an application with a national trucking company. He then gets a call saying he has been accepted as a driver, contingent on a physi

Nov 15, 2014

Publicly owned trucking companies gain traction as U.S. economy improves

The largest U.S. trucking companies got bigger and more profitable and handled more freight in the third quarter, as a faster-growing economy put more freight on the highways. The growth of these carriers in the quarter was limited only by difficulty putting drivers into trucks. As industrial output and containerized imports increased, the freight economy gained muscle. Industrial production dropped in August but turned upward in September, as manufacturing activity

Nov 15, 2014

Are Farmers Controlling Grain Prices?

Looking back over the 30 plus years of my career as a broker and analyst, I don't have any idea how many reports I have written, Normally, I don't have any problem besides a little writers block on what to report, or how to put into words what I believe markets will do. Basically, I am a fundamentalist because I have seen that supply and demand will in the longer term outlook be the factors that move markets. I also know on any given day, or in the short term, several methods of trading and a

Nov 14, 2014

Rising freight rates harm US competitiveness

Rosalyn Wilson, author of the Annual State of Logistics Report was reported by the Journal of Commerce as saying that growing freight rates are driven mainly by a reduction in truck capacity. As a result, this could increase the amount the logistics and transportation industry contributes to GDP over the next several years.

Nov 14, 2014

Innovative Optimization platforms for grain markets now available from GeoGrain.com

Transportation challenges, bumper crops and potential storage shortages will continue to effect grain prices moving through harvest. Grain markets have seen dramatic swings in 2014 and GeoGrain.com now offers optimization platforms utilizing cash market data from over 4,200 locations, equating to approximately 48,000 bids daily and over 88 million historic records. Effectively marketing grain proves to continue to be one of modern grain farmings most challenging

Nov 14, 2014

Grain truck overturns near Cortland; driver pulled from cab

Area emergency personnel spent 40 minutes freeing a Bartholomew County man from the cab after his semi overturned north of Cortland on Wednesday. Jerry Grinstead, 71, of Columbus, was alert and talking to emergency personnel when he was removed from the cab and placed in a Jackson County Emergency Medical Services ambulance to be taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour. His wife came to the scene and went with him to the hospital. Officer Rob Henley with the Jackson County Sh

Nov 13, 2014

Large US truckload carriers add capacity, in small amounts, as business grows

Truckload carriers began to add incremental capacity to meet shipping demand in the third quarter, pushing up the JOC Truckload Capacity Index by 1 percentage point to 82.7. Carriers that were solidly overbooked with more available freight than tractor-trailers in the quarter appear to be in the early stages of adding capacity. But those additions will likely come only where and when carriers can get the best return on capital investment.

Nov 13, 2014

Trucker hits, kills, big black bear in southern Missouri

1 hour ago * The Associated Press 5

Nov 13, 2014

A trucker challenges the Border Patrol, and his window is smashed

By American-Statesman Staff In certain circles, refusing to answer questions at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint is a point of pride. But, as this YouTube video shows, such refusal can have consequences. In this case, having window glass smashed and getting hauled bodily out of the vehicle. In posting the video, a truck driver who identifies himself as Thomas Sauer w

Nov 13, 2014

INTL FCStone Advises Gavilon, LLC in Asset Sale

NEW YORK, Nov. 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INTL FCStone Inc. (Nasdaq:INTL) today announced that the investment banking division of its wholly owned subsidiary INTL FCStone Securities, Inc., exclusively advised Gavilon, LLC, in its sale of select grain elevator assets located in Ohio to Interstate Commodities, Inc. Terms were not disclosed. About INTL FCStone Securities Inc. INTL FCSt

Nov 12, 2014

Rates across all modes going higher

Rates across all modes going higher as growing demand collides with taut supply Evidence mounts of capacity shortages, robust activity forcing up rates for some time to come. By DC Velocity Staff Freight rate increases have shown the whites of their eyes. A monthly index of freight activity released today by audit and payment firm Cass Infor

Nov 12, 2014

Trucking’s ‘prospect for profitability’ better than ever, economist says

There are substantial silver linings to the historically slow economic recovery, the driver shortage and even to strict trucking regulations and the high cost of equipment, an industry economist told fleet executives and suppliers at the CCJ Fall Symposium on Friday.

Nov 12, 2014

Scam targets trucking company

A Salina trucking company lost about $2,500 in a scam targeting companies that employ over-the-road drivers, a Salina Police Department spokesman said. Sgt. Jim Feldman said a man called Great Plains Trucking on Oct. 17, claiming to represent a road service in Georgia. The man said he was working on a Great Plains truck and needed a cash advance for parts. A total of $2,500 was sent in three separate electronic funds source checks, Feldman said. The checks were made out to the r

Nov 11, 2014

Bakken truckers often 'haul heavy'

WATFORD CITY, N.D. The dump truck rumbled over miles of unpaved roads in the hills just east of the Montana border, past the cattle and grain bins and haystacks, before arriving at the dirt pit. Bill Gore slid his truck onto the scale, inched up in line, and made a curving gesture to the man in the front-end loader. That was the signal to pile the dirt on high, and the loader did: Gores five-axle truck pul

Nov 10, 2014

Fired Truck Drivers Reinstated By Courts After Protesting Exploitation At Work

The invisible class of contract workers that keeps the American retail economy running smoothly have won a significant courtroom victory in their long-running campaign to end a systematic violation of their labor rights. Two short-haul truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles who were fired earlier this year after protesting against wage theft and unfair treatment by their employer Green Fleet Systems

Nov 10, 2014

What can be done about Turner Grain?

The loss by Arkansas farmers of millions of dollars unpaid by Brinkley-based Turner Grain Merchandizing likely will result in state legislation next year. What that legislation will look like is a long way from final form. Dealers such as Turner Grain buy and resell grain from producers. Dozens of farmers say they have not been paid by that company and others owned by the same people, and the grain has not been located. Many are taking legal action to try to recover losses from a deale

Nov 8, 2014

Transplace Acquires Logistics Firm LMS

Logistics service provider Transplace Inc. said it has acquired Logistics Management Solutions, a non-asset-based logistics firm in St. Louis, with strong ties to the chemical and industrial manufacturing industry sectors. Terms were not disclosed. Transplace, based in Dallas, is owned by the investment firm Greenbriar Equity Group and generates annual gross revenue of $1.4 billion. LMS provides a variety of freight management services, including network design, carrier p

Nov 8, 2014

Transplace Acquires Logistics Firm LMS

Nov 8, 2014

Grain truck driver ticketed in train collision

Osage, IA

Nov 7, 2014

Attebury Grain, LLC. and its Affiliate, Rampa, Inc., announce grain shuttle project in Pampa

Attebury Grain, LLC and its affiliate, Rampa, Inc., today announced plans to upgrade its Eastern Texas Panhandle operation to accommodate shuttles and unit trains via the BNSF Railway. The project focuses on meeting producer and consumer needs by constructing additional storage capacity and sufficient rail capacity to load and unload 120 railcars in 10 hours; as well as equipment to load and unload 75 trucks per hour. Attebury and Rampa look forward to pro

Nov 7, 2014

Fire badly damages feed mill

PIERCETON, Ind. (AP) An overnight fire badly damaged a feed mill in northern Indiana, although firefighters were able to largely keep flames from reaching its grain bins. Officials say a police officer on patrol spotted smoke coming about 2 a.m. Thursday from the Egg Innovations Feed Mill in the Kosciusko (kahs-ee-AHS-koh) County town of Pierceton. Pierceton fire Capt. Nathan Rhoades tells WANE-TV that crews imm

Nov 7, 2014

Grain Truck Accident Reminds Drivers to Be Cautious During Harvest Season

NEAR LAWTON, IA - Traffic is flowing smoothly again on Highway 20 in Woodbury County after a Wednesday morning accident. A grain truck was hit by a minivan after turning onto the highway near Lawton, Iowa. The driver of the van was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City with non-life-threatening injuries, while the driver of the grain truck was not hurt. The Woodbury County Sheriff's Office says this is a cautionary tale. "We

Nov 6, 2014

Driver saves fellow trucker from hot asphalt leak after crash

Driver Bill Hunts help in an April 2014 crash helped save the life of a fellow truck operator. Below is his story, with illustrations done by Don Lomax:

Nov 6, 2014

The Internet-Connected Engine Will Change Trucking

Its happened to all of us. Youre driving down the road and the check engine light appears on your dashboard. It could be something simple, like time for an oil change, or it could be something bigger. What do you do? Lose your car for a day while you take it to a service station? Keep on driving and hope for the best? If youre a commercial truck driver, the stakes are higher. An unplanned repair visit means losing a day of revenue, and potentially hur

Nov 6, 2014

Direct/Overdrive Adds Efficiency to Bulk-Hauling Volvos

Direct drive or overdrive? Thats a years-old question among truck operators concerned with specing transmissions: Should top gear be a direct 1 to 1 ratio, where the output shaft spins at the same speed as the driveshaft with little friction penalty, or a 0.85-or-so overdrive, where the driveshaft spins a little slower, lowering engine cruise speed but suffering a bit of efficiency loss as the extra gear-set churns through lube oil? Sage managers sometimes choose both w

Nov 5, 2014

Midwest’s Grain Piles Grow as Trains Run Slow

JACOB BUNGE A new mountain range is growing across the U.S. Farm Belt as grain companies store excess crops in massive piles on the ground. While the worst rail delays in more than a decade have forced some grain elevators in recent weeks to temporarily stop taking in crops once their bins fill up, others are p

Nov 5, 2014

Human cost of truck accidents can be prevented

TRUCKS are the kings of the road and we suffer. Who can forget the video footage of an accident that showed a speeding truck obliterating a car and four taxis, which were driving through a green traffic light at an intersection in Pinetown, killing 25 people? A few weeks ago another truck smashed into almost 50 cars in early morning traffic outside Alberton. Its scary. Every day we see trucks speeding, changing lanes recklessly and hogging the lanes. That is why truck accidents

Nov 5, 2014

Farmers scramble to sell crops after Coshocton grain-elevator blast

ZANESVILLE, Ohio Farmers in southeastern Ohio are rerouting millions of pounds of corn and soybeans after an explosion caused one of the states largest grain elevators to close. About 900 farmers in Ohio must find new buyers for their corn and soybeans after an August explosion at Coshocton Grain Co. destroyed three silos. The company with one of the

Nov 5, 2014

Shippers show "grudging acceptance" of truck rate hikes

Shippers, carriers conclude contract talks, with shippers resigned to rates heading upward one way or another. By Mark B. Solomon The annual shipper-truckload carrier autumn rate waltz has been concluded, with a few steps added to the 2015 dance card. That's because rising carrier costs and tightening capacity have forced both sides to get more creative in their contract

Nov 4, 2014

Truckers to Combat Terrorism

The trucking industry is taking steps to help secure our nation's highways. With the possibility of terrorist attacks on the highway, the industry wants to help keep the roads safe. Millions of truckers will now not only be driving the roads, but looking out for anything suspicious as well. Our country's interstates span more than 44 thousand miles of America. Everyday, millions of truckers ride those roads. Now truck drivers are being asked to be the eyes and ears of the country.

Nov 3, 2014

3 Ways Truck Drivers Can Save Truckloads Of Money

Brampton Guardian If you are a truck driver who owns your own tractor trailer, you know how expensive it can be. Not only is the initial investment in the vehicle typically upwards of the six figure mark, but maintenance, repairs, and fuel can also come with a high cost. Saving money while turning a profit can be a difficult feat these days, but finding the right facility that you can trust for your trucks maint

Nov 3, 2014

Hungry Chickens Spark Biggest Feed-Price Rally Since ’74

Freight trains arent getting food to chickens fast enough, sending prices for livestock feed made from soybeans toward the biggest monthly gain in 40 years. Soybean-meal futures have jumped 27 percent this month as meat prices close to record highs spur feed demand and shipping delays tighten supplies from Midwest processors. Weekly trainspeeds fell last week to the lowest since April

Nov 1, 2014

Truck driver shortage pushes up rates to give CH Robinson Q3 revenue a boost

US 3PL CH Robinson yesterday reported double-digit interim net revenue increases across nearly all its business streams, as tight trucking capacity combined with an economic recovery to drive up freight pricing. The company remains by far and away the countrys largest truck broker indeed, arranging full and part truckloads for shippers and carriers is its largest single business segment. Its truckload division repored net revenue of $307m for the third quarter, a 15.8% y

Nov 1, 2014

Trucking Companies Sue City Over Truck Ban

A lawsuit has been filed by two trucking companies against a city that recently passed an ordinance that would ban heavy trucks from operating in certain areas. The companies, Nuzum Trucking Company and Preston Contractors Inc., claim that the ban is unenforceable and included the West Virginia Division of Highways in their lawsuit, recommending that they file an injunction which would prohibit the city from enforcing the ban. The ban was proposed and passed

Nov 1, 2014

Dump truck vs. grain truck

Trucks collide, grain spills on highway By CHERI SHELHART [email protected] | 0 comments

Oct 31, 2014

3 Ways to Financially Boost a Freight Brokerage Startup

Freight brokerage can be very lucrative. Do it right, consider carefully all pros and cons, and handle all business transactions with care. Youll be sure to enjoy the ride. If becoming a freight broker startup owner has been on your mind, nows the time to get your business in gear. Statistics show that 80% of U.S. communities use goods and products that are availa

Oct 31, 2014

Trucking Company Cannot Bypass Calif. Rest Break Rights

By Vin Gurrieri Law360, New York (October 29, 2014, 1:35 PM ET) -- A California appellate court on Tuesday affirmed a $964,000 judgment to a class of drivers accusing a trucking company of stiffing them on pay, citing recent precedents set by both California's highest court and the Ninth Circuit that federal law doesn't preempt California's meal and rest break requirements. In a published opinion, the First District Court of Appeal determined tha

Oct 31, 2014

Lansing Trade Group Looking to Purchase Silica Sand Processing Plant

NB council approves new storage permit, variances for Tiller Corporation site By Derrick Knutson Lansing Trade Group is looking to purchase the Tiller Corporation silica sand processing plant off County Road 30,

Oct 30, 2014

Freight Cycle Favors Shippers Over Truckers

Garrett Cook, Benzinga Staff Writer Barge capacity and rail capacity are set to expand the most according to a recent note from Morgan Stanley. The bank focused on the current freight transportation cycle among other things. In the report, analyst William Greene points out that When freight volumes reached prior peaks, there were usually 1-2 years of additional growth before

Oct 29, 2014

OSHA proposes penalties of $145K against Central Transport

The Trucker News Services 10/28/2014 HILLSIDE, Ill. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Central Transport for 16 safety and health violations, including five repeat, one willful and two serious safety violations, at its trucking terminal in Hillside. An OSHA inspection found repeat and willful violations that involved defective powered industrial vehicles and lack of fall protection, the agency said in a news

Oct 29, 2014

Grain exporter is first Quick180 Plus user

North Carolina grain exporter C.A. Perry & Son has become the first shipper to use Quick180s container-matching system to guarantee export loads to truckers dropping off empty import boxes at its plants. Quick180 was launched this year by retired Virginia port executive Rick Knapp. The company developed an algor

Oct 29, 2014

No Injuries in Grain Building Collapse Near Kansas

Written by Greg Sapp No one was injured when a flat storage building being filled with corn burst open Sunday afternoon west of Kansas, Illinois. The building is owned by Total Grain Marketing in Effingham. General Manager Byron Sikma said a 700,000 bushel building was being filled when crews experienced a structural failure on the south end. The failure took down a leg and holding tank of the structure, located along

Oct 29, 2014

Not Enough Truck Drivers to Move Frac Sand

In silica valley, the sand is moving. Mining of silica sand has ramped up in the Illinois Valley, especially in La Salle County, to feed the growing fracking industry. This has attracted a lot of public attention. Those who are not interested will find plenty of sand in which to bury their heads. La Salle County has had sand mines since the 1800s. But now there is a rush for the regions silica sand for use in hydraulic fracturing of bedrock to extract oil and natural

Oct 28, 2014

Atlantic Bulk Carrier fills a niche

By JOAN TUPPONCE Special correspondent Atlantic Bulk Carrier Corp. helped Nestle Purina PetCare pare down the number of tankers used to transport bentonite clay to its King William County plant. They designed larger size-capacity tankers that helps reduce the amount of trucks on the road and also reduce emiss

Oct 27, 2014

Shuttle grain facility announced for North Central Oklahoma

Medford, Oklahoma October 23, 2014 Farmers Grain Company, along with Equity Marketing Alliance and CoMark Grain Marketing formed an LLC and have announced plans for a state of the art shuttle grain facility. The 100 percent cooperatively owned facility located on the Union Pacific rail near Medford, Okla. is set to be named Chisholm Trail Terminal. This is the next logical step for positioning these companies to efficiently move products to export locations.

Oct 26, 2014

Trucking firms stretch to hire drivers

By Star Tribune Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014, 9:00 p.m. Updated 19 hours ago On a recent Thursday afternoon, Tim Hoag stood in the arrivals area at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport looking for a truck driver. The man he was waiting for, Bill McMahon, had previously driven trucks for Hoag's company, Copeland Trucking of Fridley, and Hoag made a deal to lure him back.

Oct 25, 2014

The Truckers Who Hauled Ebola

Think your job is dangerous? These guys haul Ebola. Meet the team at Texas-based CG Environmental, the hazmat cleanup crew that cleaned up all the potentially Ebola-infected belongings from the now-deceased Thomas Eric Duncans apartment and along with Homeland Security hauled it to a medical waste incineration facility to dispose of it. Erick McCallum, the owner of CG Environmental, did an

Oct 24, 2014

Trucking Company Loses $7.3 Million

Trucking Company Loses $7.3 Million Wrongful Death Suit DOT supervisor walking along highway killed in accident Christian Nolan, The Connecticut Law Tribune A Hartford jury has awarded nearly $7.3 million to the estate of a state Department of Transportation supervisor who was killed while working on Route 8 near Waterbury in 2012. At about 2:20 p.m. on March 22, 2012, Daniel DiNardi, 41, of Ro

Oct 23, 2014

It's the trucking company ... that doesn't have any trucks

His father and grandfather both drove big rigs, but Nicholas Carretta only has a small plastic model of those earlier trucks that idles on his desk. That might be the only way the third generation of Ultra Logistics has reduced its scale. When Carretta became president of the Fair Lawn-based Ultra Logistics in 1996, he modernized a family legacy that began with Carretta Trucking in 1963. He started the business afresh as a non-asset-based freight broke

Oct 23, 2014

Are You Tired of Waiting to get Paid for the Loads You Hauled?

We have factoring rates as low as 3% and pay within 24 hours. There are no extra fees including free ACH and well invoice your loads for free. Smart Freight Funding has focused on providing freight factoring services to the trucking industry. Our clients range in size from single truck carriers and individual owner-operators to some of the larger trucking companies in the nation. Our team has more than 50 years of driving, dispatching, contracting, and accounting experienc

Oct 23, 2014

Trucker gets emotional after big rig, 44K pounds of beer stolen

ORLANDO, Fla. (MyFoxBoston.com) A heart-broken trucker cried while telling an Orlando television station that he was robbed of a big rig holding 44,000 pounds of beer, and all of his belongings. The thieves stole Van Thomas' new big rig he'd just purchased a few weeks ago, along with 44,000 pounds of beer and everything else he owned, according to the New York Daily News. The truck was stolen from a parking lo

Oct 22, 2014

Mandatory Driver Training: About Time

By Rolf Lockwood, Posted: Oct 20, 2014 05:04 AM | Last Updated: Oct 20, 2014 05:05 AM Better late than never, I guess. But 30 years late? Not good enough. Two days after the Toronto Star published an article on truck-driver training and licensing, one that exposed to the public some pretty dirty laundry, Ontarios Minister of Transportation Steven

Oct 22, 2014

Trucker dies after being struck by tow hook in farming accident - See more at: http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=27850#.VEZ3AvnF9IE

By Greg Grisolano, Land Line staff writer A Delaware truck driver was killed in a farming accident Saturday morning after a tow hook came crashing through his windshield, according to a report from the Delaware State Police. The victim, 66-year-old George R. Lyman, Jr., of Middletown, was pronounced dead at a local hospital after being struck in the chest by the tow hook.

Oct 22, 2014

Road-salt transport lacking

Road-salt transport lacking; carrier sues motorist for crash; trucking firm turns freight broker to survive. Here is a look at what is happening in the world of transportation this morning: Transporting much-need roadway de-icing salt to many U.S. cities ahead of winter is proving difficultdue to a lack of trucks, notes the

Oct 22, 2014

Freight Brokers: 2 Common Service Problems and How to Fix Them

In Start Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, the staff at Entrepreneur Press and writer Jacquelyn Lynn explain how you can get started in the freight brokerage industry, from your first steps to hiring employees, marketing your business and managing your finances. In this edited excerpt, the auth

Oct 21, 2014

An Attorney’s Primer on Truck Drivers

This Opinion piece appears in the Oct. 20 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. By Jennifer Wood Associate Roberts Perryman PC How you interact with the truck drivers you represent can make a significant impact on your clients satisfaction and even the ultimate re

Join Your Community

Bulkloads is the one-stop-shop for everything bulk freight trucking —networking with shippers, booking loads, and increasing your revenue.