Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

http://www.railwayage.com/ At a morning news conference April 9, 2014 in Washington, D.C., findings from a recent report, An Analysis of Truck Size and Weight Issues, Phase I – Safety, were officially released, detailing the risks and detrimental impacts of increased truck sizes and weights on the nation's roadways and the American motoring public. The report, conducted at Marshall University by the Multimodal Transportation and Infrastructure Consortium (MTIC), a University Transportation

By KYLE BARNETT GRETNA – A woman who claims she entered into a contract to sell a refrigerated trailer to a trucking company and its owner in which they would pay her $30,000 in installments, claims breach of contract. Alma J. McKay filed suit against Dexter Varmall and Dexter Varmall Trucking in the 24th Judicial District Court on March 20. McKay alleges that on Nov. 1, 2009 she entered into a verbal contract with Varmall and Dexter Varmall Trucking in which they purchased a 1999 Wabas

KC Colby, CTV Barrie Drivers hoping that a diesel engine will save them some money have been sorely disappointed lately, especially truck drivers. The price of diesel is far outpacing the cost of regular gasoline. “Well put it this way, to fill up my truck you're looking at over $1,000,” says independent trucker Lee Ingratta. Ingratta is an independent trucker who spends most of his time hauling loads to and from the US. “Fuel is a heck of a lot cheaper over there,” he says. “It's ab

Young leaders in the freight brokerage industry discuss the future TEXT SIZE bigger text smaller textBy: Sonia Straface 2014-04-08 MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Delta Nu Alpha Transportation Network, a non-profit Mississauga, Ont.-based association, held a seminar March 27 and called the night a “perspective from the next generation.” Set up as a panel discussion with four young industry professionals (both carriers and freight brokers, all under the age of 40 were represented) its aim was to provi

BY ROD NICKEL (Reuters) - Canadian legislators on Monday amended a bill designed to ensure grain moves smoothly by rail by allowing the government to order railways to compensate shippers for poor service. The government's Canadian Transportation Agency currently has authority only to arbitrate matters on which the parties mutually agree. Railways can avoid paying compensation simply by refusing to negotiate a service level agreement with shippers that includes penalties, said Jeff English

The head of S.C. Trooper Association plans to travel Wednesday to Washington to put the brakes on a move to allow larger, heavier trucks on the nation's highways. David Latimer, executive director of the Troopers Association, said he strongly opposes any increases to truck sizes or weights because of the safety threat. South Carolina had more than 2,300 collisions involving large trucks in 2012, and 82 people were killed. Congress is debating whether to allow bigger trucks as it works o

By BARBARA WALLACE WOODLAND, Calif. (CN) - A man was buried alive in grain for five hours while unloading grain from a silo, he claims in court. Hector Sanchez sued Adams Grain Company and the Adams Group, in Yolo County Superior Court. Sanchez was an employee of nonparty T & T Marketing Services, which was providing labor services to Adams Grain and Adams Group when the accident happened, according to the 14-page lawsuit. Sanchez "was instructed to enter the grain silo and

Renee Bernard VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Some trucking companies are hoping to deal with the shortage of drivers by hiring temporary foreign workers. But a BC labour leader says that’s not the way to address a shortage of drivers. The trucking industry expects to lose 20 per cent of the work force due to retirement over the next ten years, and some are hoping driving will be designated a skilled trade, to make it easier to hire foreign workers. But Jim Sinclair with the BC Federation of

A rule proposed under the Food Safety Modernization Act regarding animal feed would unnecessarily limit the centuries-old practice of beer brewers donating or selling their spent grain to farmers and ranchers by classifying them as feed producers, contend the Beer Institute, American Malting Barley Association, the National Milk Producers Federation, and other stakeholders. Animal feed rule would limit grain donation "Brewers' spent grain exists as a natural and necessary result of the brewing

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota mandate that most diesel fuel sold in warm-weather months be a blend containing 10 percent biodiesel faces an uncertain future. Minnesota currently requires a year-round 5 percent blend known as B5 for most diesel sales. The B10 mandate is to begin in July, and then rise to 20 percent by next year. But there have been delays as state officials worked to ensure adequate supplies and set up regulatory protocols. Those delays might continue, the Mankato Free

Grain shippers in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States are getting poor rail service and it’s about to get a whole lot worse, says a transportation consultant. Terry Whiteside co-authored a report for the Western Organization of Resource Councils that forecasts a massive increase in coal and oil shipments on railways in the region. The report, Heavy Traffic Still Ahead, forecasts 74 to 99 million tonnes of coal exports by 2018. “That’s all new tonnes,” said Whiteside. To

Ottawa's decision to implement new regulations on grain shipments by rail is aimed at improving service for Canadian farmers. But the new rules may have another unintended beneficiary: billionaire Warren Buffett. The federal government has proposed a series of changes to the way railways are allowed to operate in Western Canada in legislation it tabled last week. Among the changes in the Fair Rail For Grain Farmers Act is a proposal to extend the distances for the country's interswitching pr

http://www.truckinginfo.com/ A new report shows business conditions in the trucking industry remain positive, despite a slight downturn, amid caution of a possible capacity shortage. The Trucking Conditions Index reading of 7.54 for February continues to reflect good news for trucking fleets, but is also a warning to shippers seeking carriers to move their goods, according to the freight forecasting firm FTR. It notes the severe winter weather likely had a bigger impact and is not getti

By Sara Hooker, Daily Herald Business Ledger Writer Thursday, April 03, 2014 9:30 AM NAPERVILLE -- Saying it’s an “imminent hazard to public safety,” federal regulators shut down the trucking company responsible for a semi involved in a crash in late January that killed a tollway worker and seriously injured a state trooper. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered Naperville-based DND International to pull all trucks off the highways until further notice, according to a re

By Mitch Smith and Kim Geiger Tribune reporters 7:03 p.m. CDT, April 2, 2014 Federal regulators have ordered a Naperville trucking company off the road, calling the carrier with a history of serious safety violations an "imminent hazard to public safety." The inquiry into DND International started after trucker Renato Velasquez was charged with breaking transport rules and causing a fiery January wreck that killed an Illinois Tollway worker and injured a state trooper, who remains in int

EMPORIA, Va. (WTVR) – The manager of Simmons Travel Plaza off Interstate 95 near the Virginia-North Carolina line said he’s never seen anything like it. A truck driver pulled up to the pumps Sunday night, spent 25 minutes filling multiple fuel tanks and then drove off without paying. The bill? More than $1,500 for 414 gallons of fuel. The truck, which was not hauling a trailer, was described as Freightliner Cascadia or Colombia with a moose grill on the front. The back wheels had black inser

The DOT says all drivers must now have their exams performed by a certified medical examiner of DOT physicals. "The one big change is that they won't be able just to go to any provider, they'll have to find a provider that is certified and there is a list on the national registry website where drivers can use a simple Google search function to find providers in the area," says medical examiner, Andrea Malucky. One of the main reasons for some of the changes that are happening is because

By: Katherine Grandstrand, Forum News Service HEBRON, N.D. — Before there were barrels and barrels of oil coming out of North Dakota, there were amber waves of grain covering the prairie. A new elevator in this west Morton County town has found a way to marry North Dakota’s two biggest industries. After its first full year of business in an agriculture-based community, Archer Daniels Midland Co. has found an oil field niche at its Hebron grain elevator. Not only does it take wheat, s

Farmers unable to move crops this winter have had plenty of time to notice the difference between what grain companies are paying in the country and selling for off the West Coast. “Our calculations demonstrate the grain companies have taken over $1.6 billion in excess profits from wheat alone so far this crop year,” said CWBA spokesman and former Canadian Wheat Board director Kyle Korneychuk last week. University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist Richard Gray independently reached a

Todd Dills http://www.overdriveonline.com/ Over the past several years, James Lamb, a former DOT investigator, current head of DOTAuthority.com and self-described “volunteer president” of the small-broker advocacy group/business league AIPBA, has been outspoken on the increased broker bond (now at a $75K minimum for all registered freight brokers and forwarders). At times, his thoughts on the bond, which he opposes as a one-size-fits-all requirement, have seemed designed to drive a wedge betw

http://www.truckinginfo.com/ Newly published results from a survey conducted by the trucking consultancy group Transport Capital Partners show increased optimism among trucking executives when it comes to higher freight rates and volumes. Reflecting a better outlook for the economy at large, coupled with counter seasonal capacity shortages, more and more carriers expect volume increases over the next 12 months. Volume expectations grew from 44% in 4th quarter 2013 to 77% in the first quart

Producers hauling grain long distances due to limited rail capacity at terminals Reported by Aaron Stuckel Just a day after the federal government tabled legislation to change the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, truckers hauling crops to a terminal near Balgonie said they still aren’t seeing enough train cars opened up to get grain moving. The Saskatchewan Government says Ottawa isn't going far enough to get the grain moving on the rails. Rail companies argue the new legislation forcing

Coyote gets bigger. Will the small get smaller? By Mark B. Solomon Those waiting for the consolidation needle to be moved in the deeply fragmented U.S. truck brokerage field need not wait any longer. On March 18, Chicago-based Coyote Logistics LLC acquired rival Access America Transport (AAT) in what is viewed as a significant first step towards concentrating the $50 billion-a-year brokerage industry into the hands of fewer players. Terms of the transaction were not publicly disclosed.

John Stearns Reporter- Wichita Business Journal Bartlett Grain Co. LP is building new offices and truck scales and improving its truck-line procedures at its Wichita truck dump in north Wichita. The $200,000 project at 3311 N. Emporia St., designed to increase efficiency at the facility, is expected to be completed in May, before the June wheat harvest, the company says. Other work includes a new grain-sampling and grading station. Wheat brought to the site is shipped to flour millers, p

By Sean Broderick, CHS With March Madness upon us, and spring hopefully not too far past that, a look back at the last month can be summarized with one word: Logistics. Railroads encountered a myriad of shipment problems due to cold, snow and overcapacity. This has been an ongoing issue west of the Mississippi but the weather really had a severe impact on the Chicago gateway and the rail lines leading to the East Coast. A lot of the ethanol had been heading east from the Midwest plants and

By Don Cazentre | [email protected] It seems to be a perfect match. Brewers need a way to dispose of the wet and mushy grains that are a byproduct of making beer. Farmers are looking for inexpensive but healthful feed for their livestock. So breweries across the country -- including those here in Central New York -- donate their used grains to local farmers. It's free: The farmers just stop by the breweries and cart the stuff away, usually in large plastic containers. It's a cl

Tom Burfield While truck availability might be tight at times in some parts of the U.S. this spring and summer, shippers generally should be able to secure transportation for their loads, but at a higher price than last year, industry experts say. “I don’t see a cliff that we’re about to go over on the horizon,” said Doug Stoiber, vice president, produce transportation operations for L&M Transportation Services, Raleigh, N.C. “Trucking companies are managing to get qualified people in, get th

BARNESVILLE, Minn. – The grain elevators at Agassiz Valley Grain here are overflowing with corn and soybeans and waiting for trains to haul the grain away. Don’t bother checking a schedule, though. No one knows exactly when the trains are coming. By: Dan Gunderson, MPR News 90.3 FM, INFORUM BARNESVILLE, Minn. – The grain elevators at Agassiz Valley Grain here are overflowing with corn and soybeans and waiting for trains to haul the grain away. Don’t bother checking a schedule, though. No

Strategic Sourceror Improved road transportation tonnage shows that the United States is on a path toward recovery after a brutal winter left many drivers stuck at distribution centers. Over the arduous three-month period, managed IT services were often consulted by third-party logistics providers requiring real-time data of all assets in an attempt to figure out how they should transport materials in the adverse weather conditions. Though still consulting with those professionals, many distr

The snarl-ups in North America's rail network blamed on the cold winter have prompted agriculture groups to turn to road for crop transport, fuelling a doubling in trucking charges. Legumex Walker, the Canada-based oilseeds processing group, said it had overcome both "challenges" in its outbound transport and threats to its inward supplies of seed for crushing by turning to trucks. The first seed deliveries made under a programme for truck deliveries "have started arriving" at the group's

Nixa, MO (PRWEB) March 25, 2014 Several news sources have reported in recent weeks that BNSF railway operations in North Dakota are at least three weeks delayed (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/bnsf-pledges-caught-ag-shipments-22885754). While BNSF President and CEO, Carol Ice, has said the delays are not a result of increased crude-by-rail shipments, other sources are skeptical and report agricultural shipments are suffering the most (http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/03/18/5659053/bnsf-c

Evan Weese Staff reporter- Columbus Business First The state’s municipalities are unable to levy income taxes on trucking companies, the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed last week in a win for the industry. Maintaining the status quo - exempting motor-transportation companies from municipal income tax - helps to avoid a major shakeup, said Marc Blubaugh, a transportation and logistics attorney with Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP in Columbus. “If this had gone the other way, it’s hard

By: Mark Koba | Senior Editor, CNBC It's not easy being a farmer in the U.S. these days and it's bound to get harder, say those who should know. "There's a growing discontent among the farming community," said John Kempf, a fruit and vegetable farmer in northeast Ohio. "We have a farming model now that is antagonistic to the enjoyment of watching seeds grow and seeing a new born animal," said the 26-year-old Kempf, who is chief executive of Advancing Eco Agriculture, a farming and crop n

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Two men were sentenced in federal court on Thursday for their roles in a $2 million scheme to defraud Cargill by creating fictitious scale tickets for loads of corn that were paid for but never actually delivered to the company’s feed mill in Butterfield. Bob Beisly III, 40, of Nevada, and Ronald Bunn, 45, of Deerfield, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner. Beisly was sentenced to two years and 11 months in federal prison without p

BY TONY RIZZO The Kansas City Star The road is long and the country is big. And on any given day an estimated 3 million over-the-road truckers are traversing the nation’s highways. When one of those truckers turns up missing, finding them can be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. “It’s a challenge because of the nature of their job they could be just about anywhere,” said Norita Taylor, spokeswoman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. That’s

Prosecutors say a trucking company staffer stole more than $6 million from the northern New Jersey firm, money he used to fund a lavish lifestyle. Albert Thomson is charged with theft by deception for the scam he allegedly ran from January 2004 through November 2013. His bail was set at $250,000 and it was not known Saturday if he had retained a lawyer. The 48-year-old Berkeley Heights man worked for New England Motor Freight, which is based in Elizabeth. His duties involved obtaining regi

http://www.theindependent.com/news/state/southeast-nebraska-grain-elevator-worker-killed/article_9187d218-6a7c-5486-a310-d7e16810768e.html View Original Article

ANN ARBOR, MI — Con-way Freight is the latest less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier to announce it’s increasing rates. Come March 31, the company will raise its general rate by about 5.4 percent, which will be applicable to non-contractual business. The rate increase will apply to general LTL rates, minimum charges and accessorial or supplemental fees for special services associated with LTL shipments moving within the U.S. and Canada, as well as cross-border shipments moving between the U.S.,

by Joe Chitwood - 3/19/2014 The Lansing Trade Group seeks more than $22 million from the ethanol plants, which are located near the small Nebraska towns of Madrid and Cambridge. A jury of six men and six women are considering the evidence. District Judge Donald E. Rowlands is presiding. The trial is expected to last up to two weeks. The dispute began in 2008, during a time when corn prices fluctuated wildly. The price skyrocketed to nearly $8 a bushel during the summer. But after the e

Private grain companies have raked in more than $1.6 billion in excess profits since last summer from the sale of wheat, according to a farm group that opposed the federally imposed switch to an open-market system for selling wheat and barley. "We followed the money," Canadian Wheat Board Alliance (CWBA) spokesman Kyle Korneychuk said in a news release Tuesday. "In fact, the farmers' share of the international price of grain has gone down from 84 per cent under our single-desk Canadian Wheat B

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) passed in 2011, but its rules won’t be in place until mid-2015. Ostensibly, FSMA offered a paradigm shift in the food safety sector, preventing contamination instead of only responding to it. Part of the legislation applies to handling animal feed. The Food and Drug Administration has a proposed rule under comment until March 31st, which would address regulatory gaps on producing safe animal feed, as well as addressing hazards at facilities that handle i

By: WJAC Web Staff WOODLAND, Pa. -- The former owners of a Clearfield County trucking company are being accused of deceiving their employees. Timothy and David Kephart are facing civil action from the United States Department of Labor. Money that was deducted from nearly 100 employee paychecks was supposed to be deposited into 401(k) accounts and go toward health insurance never made it, authorities said. The Department of Labor found more than $270,000 in contributions had been misappropriat

U.S. farm co-operative CHS Inc. has signed a deal to buy 16 retail locations in Canada from Agrium Inc., St. Paul, Minn.-based CHS said in a press release Monday. Financial terms of the transaction, expected to be completed April 1, were not disclosed. CHS said the locations, nine of which are in Alberta and seven in Saskatchewan, will become part of its country operations division. The locations will be able to take advantage of a new fertilizer plant outside Shelby, Mont., the company said.

By Doug Robinson, Deseret News You know how you can recognize some veteran long-haul truckers? By the wrinkles and the skin cancers on the left side of their bodies — specifically, the left arm, hand and face. That's because they've been baked by the sun through the window during thousands of miles spent on the road. This is to say nothing of the things going wrong inside their bodies that can’t be seen. Long-haul truckers are a dying breed. Literally. Their average age is reporte

J.D. Heiskell & Company (JDHCo) and Kent Nutrition Group (KNG) have finalized an agreement for JDHCo to purchase KNG’s ownership in their joint venture, Gold Star Feed & Grain, LLC. As part of the deal, JDHCo became sole owner and operator of Gold Star Feed & Grain effective March 17. Gold Star Feed & Grain currently operates prior KNG mills located in Adams Center, N.Y.; Augusta, Maine, and Sangerfield, N.Y. This change is not expected to impact customers of Gold Star Feed & Grain. “Gold

by Brian Straight in Trucking Straight Talk A new law that took effect last week in New York State could mean significant financial penalties and/or jail for companies that knowingly misclassify employee-drivers as contractors. According to the text, the law is designed to ensure drivers, particularly those who work for companies such as FedEx and UPS and port truckers, are properly classified as employees of the company where appropriate. The bill, passed last summer, adds article 25-C

By SAMANTHA VICENT World Staff Writer Tulsa firefighters and EMSA personnel responded to a fire that destroyed an abandoned feed mill Saturday afternoon. Around 1:35 p.m., multiple fire crews responded to 5531 E. Admiral Place and arrived to see the Booster Feed Mill on fire, District Chief Andy Teeter said. The building has been abandoned for years, and firefighters were unable to fight the blaze from the inside because of the structure's age and type of construction, he said. "The heavy

http://kticradio.com/news/agricultural/index.php?more=qemf4r4v View Original Article

Spring truck weight restrictions on state highways began on March 14 for Minnesota's South, Southeast and Metro area frost zones, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. MnDOT limits truck weights to prevent damage to roads weakened during the spring thaw. Road restriction maps showing the locations of weight restricted routes and state highways open to maximum 10-ton axle weights are listed at www.dot.state.mn.us/materials. Click on "Seasonal Load Limits," and then "Spr

By John O’Connell Capital Press General Mills has sold its Idaho grain operations to Agspring, based in Kansas City, Ks. Officials with a company that is buying all of General Mills’ Idaho grain operations say they intend to increase storage and handling capacity of the elevators. Agspring, LLC, of Kansas City, Kan., intends to complete the transaction by May, purchasing General Mills grain elevators in Pocatello, Rockford, American Falls, Newdale, Blackfoot, and Idaho Falls, as well

By Jeff Plungis http://www.bloomberg.com/ The U.S. Transportation Department said it will require truck drivers to track their work hours electronically, eliminating paper logbooks that have been ridiculed as outdated and ineffective. Electronic logbooks would lead to efficiencies, both for trucking companies and regulators who check the data during roadside inspections to make sure drivers are adhering to federal time limits, the agency said in a statement today. The proposed regulatio

Article by: JAMES MACPHERSON , Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. — Farm commodity rail shipments are running nearly three weeks behind in North Dakota, but BNSF Railway Co. has promised to get caught up before summer, the state's U.S. senators said Wednesday. Republican Sen. John Hoeven and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, said they met with BNSF CEO Carl Ice on Tuesday to express concerns about delays in agricultural shipments and overall rail safety. The state's congressional delegation,

Jessica Graham [email protected] COMMERCE — Early Thursday morning a Missouri UPS Ground Freight truck driver missed a stop sign near Commerce when an oncoming car impaired his vision with their high beams. According to the Commerce Police Department accident report by the truck driver, identified as Michael Fisher from Independence, Mo., said he was coming back from Muskogee in route to Kansas City to his terminal, which is the same route he has taken for three years. Fish

By Adrian Gonzalez A couple of years ago, I was a victim of identity theft. Someone filed a false tax return using my Social Security number and made off with a refund check. When I tried to file my tax return electronically, the IRS rejected it because “a return with that Social Security number has already been filed,” so I had to file a paper return and wait almost a year to get the situation cleared up and get my refund. Identity theft (and more broadly, cyber-terrorism) is a growing pr

By Chris Hubbuchchris La Crosse Tribune North Dakota grain isn't the only commodity that has been tied up by a harsh winter and a boom in oil production. For the past three weeks, an average of 30 trucks per day have been hauling coal 75 miles from Genoa to Alma in order to keep the fires burning at Dairyland Power Cooperative's generating plant there. The reason: The La Crosse-based company missed nearly two weeks of coal train deliveries. Dairyland burns 1.2 to 1.4 million tons of

Tony Herrman, March 12, 2014 [email protected] - See more at: http://www.hastingstribune.com/march/news0312grainbinfatal.php#sthash.wH9k8RQB.dpuf EDGAR — The man who died in a grain bin accident near here Tuesday was engaging in a routine activity when he was killed, according to Clay County Sheriff Jeff Franklin. Alan Watson, 66, of rural Fairfield was inside of a metal grain bin at 1012 N. C St., Tuesday morning that Franklin estimated to be 1 1/2 stories high, 12 feet in di

Byrd: Industry Must Pull Together Like a Family By Deborah Lockridge http://www.truckinginfo.com/ TMC, NASHVILLE – Trucking. It's complex, highly technological, and essential to the nation's economy. That was the theme of Phil Byrd, chairman of American Trucking Associations and president and CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express, speaking Tuesday at ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council’s 2014 Annual Meeting. Byrd said while some people may think trucking is as simple as getting a truck and s

by Ron Sterk Parts of the agricultural sector are experiencing the worst logistics problems in memory. Many in the trade, while acknowledging the impact of record crop production in Canada and the United States, strong exports and the most severe winter weather in years, are pointing fingers at increased competition for locomotives and engineers as railroads move huge volumes of shale oil from the Upper Midwest at the implied expense of grain, oilseeds, sugar and other agricultural products.

Denise Lockwood Reporter- Milwaukee Business Journal Schneider National Inc., a Green Bay-based operator of truckload carriers in North America, is hiring 75 professional truck drivers to haul Harley-Davidson's engines and parts from motorcycle plants in Missouri, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to various locations in the United States. The jobs pay up to $80,000 for drivers in Kansas City, Mo.; Menomonee Falls; and York, Pa. The company is also offering sign-on bonuses of $7,000 for teams and

The Trucker News Services 3/5/2014 HARTFORD, Conn. — In Connecticut, they don’t take violating the Hours of Service rule lightly. Last month, Dariusz Szteborowski, manager of the New Britain, Conn.-based Wisla Express, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 14 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release for falsifying and destroying driver records that are required to be maintained under federal motor carrier safety regulations for ins

LawFuel Editors / March 10, 2014 Accidents involving semi-trucks are often catastrophic. The size and weight of the vehicle causes significant, if not fatal, damage to the other vehicle. In fact, one out of every eight truck accidents involves at least one fatality. What is the leading cause of these tragic accidents? Over-tired or fatigued drivers, that’s what. These professional drivers spend long hours each day on the road, and when they become too tired to drive they can’t operate the veh

Business owners are abandoning logistics agent programs in 2014, by CarrierDirect Armstrong & Associates, a third party logistics (3PL) consultancy firm, projected that the US Logistics sector was the fastest growing part of the Transportation industry and was forecasted to total over $150 billion in 2013, accelerating at a rate twice that of the nation’s GDP growth. The extraordinary size and growth of the industry attracts a wide range of professionals and entrepreneurs, some of whom hav

The Columbus Dispatch A South Side company has backed off plans to process fracking waste. Ohio Soil Recycling had planned by last November to begin recycling crushed rock and shale (called cuttings) brought to its Integrity Drive facility by fracking companies operating in eastern Ohio. But the drilling companies are unwilling to pay trucking and processing costs, according to Ohio Soil officials. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency approved Ohio Soil Recycling’s plan in Augus

by KGW.com Staff TUALATIN -- Southwest Tualatin-Sherwood Road at Southwest Nyberg Road was closed after steel beams slipped, pierced the back of a semi-truck's cab and went through the front window Wednesday afternoon. "I was very lucky," said Truck driver Jack Phillips. "If you look into the cab the only thing that's not crumbled is my seat and steering wheel." Phillips said he was cut off by another driver and instinctively hit the brakes, causing the 30,000 pounds of steel beams in

Written by Kelvin Heppner Farmers close to the US border are trying to truck more grain south as a result of the rail bottleneck in Western Canada. "There's a lot of grain moving south right now. It's probably more than people realize," says Brian Voth, vice-president of Agri-Trend Marketing. "Anybody that's within 60, even 80 miles of the border, it makes sense to be doing this when you look at basis levels and the fact they can take grain within three to four weeks from contracting, rath

By Mike Regan, Chief of Relationship Development, TranzAct Technologies March 05, 2014 At the recent 2014 Stifel Transportation and Logistics Conference, and the Food Shippers Annual Transportation Conference, I had some great discussions with industry experts. They highlighted three reasons carrier rates will rise in 2014: 1. Driver retention issues are causing a capacity crunch: The Chairman of one large privately-held truckload carrier told me that the driver shortage issue is more s

IT prompted community meetings and constant council discussion in the north, and now the Grain Harvest Management Scheme (GHMS) will be the subject of a NSW Government review. Roads Minister Duncan Gay announced the review on March 4, saying it would build on feedback from farmers and transport operators during harvest. The GHMS allowed a five per cent flexibility on general mass limits during the 2013-14 grain harvest, giving farmers more leniency for variations in crop weight and grain d

Trucking industry interests brought testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure Feb. 27, 2014, to encourage legislation that would increase maximum size and weight limits. Representatives from fleets, manufactures and transportation planning groups argued that increased limits would reduce traffic, improve road conditions and help the industry accommodate the growth expected in years to come. By 2035, trucks in the United States will haul t

By Brian Palmer, Published: March 3 Last month, President Obama announced an initiative to improve the fuel efficiency of trucks. That’s a lofty goal, but here’s an even better idea: Let’s make an effort to move more freight by rail and less by road. Trains are far more energy-efficient than trucks — and they always will be. Trains have a significant friction advantage over trucks. The degree of “stickiness” between two surfaces is expressed mathematically as the coefficient of friction. For

http://www.truckinginfo.com/ A former comptroller for a Missouri trucking company pleaded guilty last week to stealing more than $4.9 million from his employer. David VanWinkle of Frontier Leasing based in Joplin, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., to wire fraud, money laundering, and failure to pay taxes between June 2008 and December 2013, which he spent on personal expenses and gambling. Frontier Leasing operates aroun

The Idaho Supreme Court has issued a ruling that ends an unusual insurance practice related to independent truckers. Under the ruling, truck drivers whose services are commissioned by a broker will no longer be treated as employees of the brokerage for purposes related to unemployment insurance. The ruling is a win for both the truck drivers and the brokers. “The stakeholders are anyone who at any time may want to contract with an independent [trucking] contractor,” says Julie Pipal, executive

This Opinion piece appears in the March 3 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. By Joe White CEO CostDown Consulting Increasingly, trucking company owners and CEOs are establishing truck driver pay-for-performance programs comprising defined performance goals and bonus pay when goals are met. However, pay for performance (P4P) is part, and only part, of a bigger program called “performance management,” and truck drivers are part, and only part, of a tru

"Slow Pokes" on Georgia roads won't be able to live life in the fast lane anymore if a piece of state legislation becomes law. " If I have a slow car in front of me, I'm not going to stop," said Willie Cargill, a truck driver from Cleveland, Ohio, "I can't stop." Cargill has been driving trucks for 40 years and has seen his fair share of slow drivers. He says it's dangerous when going around curves on mountain roads. "It takes exactly three football fields to stop this truck if it's

Chuck Sheketoff The same company whose lawsuit made it possible for corporations to side-step Oregon’s corporate minimum tax turns out to be a federal corporate income tax avoider, as well. The trucking company Con-way had a negative effective federal income tax rate over the 2008 to 2012 period, despite making $587 million in profits over those five years. In other words, Con-way made money by filing federal tax returns. That’s one of the findings in The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes:

by Shellie Nelson Two workers were reportedly injured in an explosion at a grain facility just south of Warren, Illinois. Jo Daviess County Sheriff Kevin Turner said the blast was reported just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 25, 2014 at the Gavilon Group facility, 6979 Route 84. Initial reports indicated several people were injured in the explosion. Two Gavilon employees were reportedly treated at the scene by Warren County EMS. The injured workers were a 33-year-old man from Nora, Ill

by Todd Dills http://www.overdriveonline.com/ Longtime readers may recall this Channel 19 post from 2012 about the ScaleChek app for iPhone and Android — then a relatively new option for crowd-sourcing weigh-station status. At the time, the $4.99 app had joined Overdrive‘s Trucker Tools app with the ability for users to share information about scales they’re passing in order to give others a heads-up on open coops. Now, BulkLoads.com (formerly BulkLoadsNow.com), a load board and online co

By NICK MCCANN WASHINGTON (CN) - The U.S. Department of Transportation plans to create a database of information about commercial driver drug tests, it announced. The Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) plans to create the drug and alcohol test clearinghouse for information on commercial driver's licenses holders, as part of the implementation of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. Under FMCSA's proposal, employers

he non-union truckers promise not to disrupt traffic Jason Howe VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Non-union truckers are getting ready to pull their services from Port Metro Vancouver starting tomorrow, over complaints they’re not able to earn a decent living. Their complaints include long line-ups, wait times, and rates. If their protest goes ahead, the truckers promise they won’t disrupt traffic, but it could cost the economy more than $100 million a day. Manny Dosange with the United Trucke

By Jean Caspers-Simmet [email protected] The Iowa Organic Association and Iowa State University Extension Value Added Agriculture Program recently organized a tour of Grain Millers' small-grains processing facility at St. Ansgar. Grain Millers started in the 1980s in Oregon. It purchased the St. Ansgar mill and continued to grow through acquisitions. It merged with Agri Trading, purchased additional mills and got into the dairy and specialty grains businesses, said Melissa Edgington, hu

by Monica Truelsch http://logisticsviewpoints.com/ In the spring of 2013, TMW Systems released the results of a survey involving over-the-road, long-haul truckload carriers. Operating in one of the most competitive segments of the trucking market, truckload also represents the core business of most diversified transportation service companies. As we approach the release of the 2014 version of the TMW survey, we thought it might be interesting to revisit the key findings from the prior study a

By Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 24, 2014) — The state House is considering a Senate bill that would allow trucks hauling poultry, other livestock and agricultural products to carry 88,000 pounds instead of the current 80,000. The Kentucky Ambulance Providers Association, the state school-bus association and some law-enforcement groups are fighting the bill, which they say could be heard by the House Transportation Committee this week. The Coalition Against Bigger Trucks said i

James Dornbrook Reporter- Kansas City Business Journal Agspring LLC, a Kansas City-based company looking to make a name in the agribusiness industry, has added a grain storage company to its holdings. Agspring acquired Bayou Grain and Chemical Corp. for an undisclosed amount, beefing up the company's Big River Rice and Grain subsidiary. Established in 1967, Bayou Grain and Chemical has a storage capacity of 6.4 million bushels, including elevator storage in Parkdale, Ark. The company has e

by Ron Lyseng BRANDON — Loading a trailer to the exact legal limit on the first try is an art. Drivers often go to the scale two, three or four times to hit the mark. Correctly distributing the weight of the grain over the axles is the hardest part of the dance. This trial and error process can add up to one lost trip per day when it lasts too long. South Dakota grain farmer Shawn Gengerke thinks he has found a solution with his Load Judge hopper trailer sensor system, which he debut

By Amy Bickel The Hutchinson News Nearly 100 years ago, community-minded farmers gathered in the town of Halstead for a common purpose – to better market their grain. In 1918, a cooperative elevator formed – a single location serving farmers who eked out a living from 160 acres of land. Similar meetings were happening in other Kansas towns in the midst of this time of cooperation. And, through the middle 1900s, many communities supported single-location cooperatives where farmers brought th

Rich Keller A fire broke out at an agricultural shop and storage facility located at the Northwood Municipal Airport in Northwood, Iowa, and at least one small explosion occurred last Thursday morning. The fire was minor enough that it was not a widespread national media incident. To be cautious, authorities issued an evacuation order for the nearby town of Northwood, about four miles south of the Minnesota border. The town has less than 2,000 residents. The local and state media reports w

SIOUX CITY | A lane of Sioux City highway was blocked for four and one-half hours for a grain trailer crash Thursday. The rig wrecked in the 5000 block of the road, also called Highway 12, about 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Police say the driver went on the shoulder and then over-corrected. The rig overturned and spilled soybeans. No one was hurt. Workers scooped out soybeans left inside the trailer to lighten the rig so it could be towed away. The road was cleared and reopened around noon

Adam Robinson, Director of Marketing, Cerasis If you are a manufacturer or distributor, most likely you use many modes to ship your freight, such as less-than-truckload freight shipping or LTL shipping. If you have any experience in shipping LTL, you know how volatile, process driven, and challenging it can be to make sure you get the best carrier, best time, best rate, and are making the best long term decisions. There are many things that go into effectively managing LTL freight and many fa

New Zealand trucker Steven McCormack was working on his rig on the country's North Island's east coast when he slipped and fell onto a broken air valve that penetrated his left buttock, reported Jeremy Tanner of pix11.com. The 100-PSI pressure inflated the man to twice his normal size, despite efforts of his boss and other workers to separate him from the air line. “The sensation was like when you’re diving with the bends, and you have to go back down to let the air pressure come off your

Big rigs represent just 7 percent of the vehicles on the road in the U.S., but they account for more than 25 percent of the oil burned on our highways. It’s no wonder that President Obama is using his executive powers to clean up the 18-wheelers. On Feb. 18, Obama announced the development of new standards for heavy-duty trucks, jointly developed by the EPA and the Transportation Department. Remarkably, there hasn’t been much of an outcry from the truckers — which makes this a replay of the

Article by: CURT BROWN , Star Tribune Truck driver Phil Hegfors has been hauling lumber from the forests around his Ely, Minn., home to the paper mill in Cloquet for more than 20 years. But all that experience didn’t prepare him for a recent scare. Because of a discrepancy between federal and state weight limits for logging trucks, Hegfors was doing his usual “wiggling” last week, staying off the interstate and driving through Duluth streets with 99,000 pounds of logs. A Honda in front

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/ The largest trucking association in Mexico is suing the United States government for $30 billion over allegations that denying Mexican truckers access to the US violates the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The association, the National Chamber of Motor Cargo Carriers (CANACAR), has assembled over 30,000 signatures from Mexican truckers who are backing the action. NAFTA took effect in 1994, and requires that Mexican trucks be given access to th

Happy Valley, Ore.- When police officials started calling him on the phone, local entrepreneur Steve Rowe knew he was onto something. For almost ten years, his company Autohauler Supply has been designing and selling wheel straps and other products to auto transporters. His is the smallest of niche businesses, little known outside of the auto transport industry. But a few months ago, all that changed when they developed an improved tool for measuring the heights of loads on trucks. "Our cus

http://www.forbes.com/ A financial statement analysis shows that private companies in the general-freight trucking industry, on average, increased sales by about 7 percent. Industry sales growth slowed from 2012, although not quite as much as sales slowed among private companies of all types in Sageworks’ database. Private, 'Mom & Pop' Businesses Get Props For Trustworthiness Mary Ellen BieryMary Ellen Biery Contributor More Efficient Trucks Will Save Fuel -- But Only If Drivers Can

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Many port trucker drivers across the country are making fast-food wages. These truck drivers haul goods from ports to warehouses, distribution centers and rail yards so that products can get to stores. They make an average of $28,700 per year, working an average of 59 hours per week, according to a report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a labor rights advocacy group. That's about $9.30 per hour, or about what the average fast-food worker across the count

A Mexican trucking association has filed a lawsuit against the United States claiming that the U.S. has failed to comply with the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexican trade association Canacar and approximately 30,000 Mexican truck drivers have signed onto the arbitration, which asks for $30 billion in damages. They claim that the U.S. has not fully opened its border to Mexican trucks, a condition of NAFTA. “In no way has [the current U.S. program] served as a mechanism for U.S. compli

The Associated Press 2/18/2014 HARTFORD, Conn. — A new law requiring motorists to remove snow and ice from their vehicles has become a new source of revenue for Connecticut. The Connecticut Post reports (http://bit.ly/1bdJoxo ) that state police are aggressively ticketing drivers who ignore the so-called "ice missile" law. Since the law took effect Jan. 1, state police have issued at least 230 tickets to truckers and motorists who were driving snow-covered vehicles. At $120 per summons tha

http://www.truckinginfo.com/ Cummins and Peterbilt announced Tuesday their latest version of their SuperTruck demonstration tractor-trailer achieved 10.7 mpg last month under real-world driving conditions. It averaged a 75% increase in fuel economy, a 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and an 86% gain in freight efficiency in 24-hour, head-to-head testing against a 2009 baseline truck, according to a release. This surpasses the program goal of a 68% increase in freight-efficiency, a t

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE)-- Grain elevators have been the target of a recent string of thefts. Now, sheriff's departments are warning businesses that the problem may spread in Kansas. "We need our tools to keep things running," said David McBee, location manager of the Mid Kansas Coop in Wichita. "What the guys get out of it, that steal them are nothing compared to what it takes for us to replace them." Tools and equipment are among the items taken recently out of Kingman County, according to

By Charles D. Wilson The Associated Press 2/18/2014 INDIANAPOLIS — A lawyer for a former Indiana truck driver convicted of trying to sell U.S. secrets to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government said Monday that the 13-year sentence the man received is too harsh and he shouldn't be serving it in a federal Supermax prison. Federal prosecutors said Shaaban Shaaban traveled to Baghdad in late 2002 to sell Hussein's government the names of CIA operatives in Iraq for $3 million and to coordinate human