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Sean Kilcarr http://fleetowner.com/ One of the major trends highlighted at FTR’s annual Transportation Conference last week is how shipper/carrier collaboration will only increase as it remains one of the last ways both parties can control both capacity and costs in the years ahead. “Carriers have largely exhausted the ways they can save money,” explained Noel Perry, FTR’s senior consultant and president of research firm Transport Fundamentals. “Equipment is not getting cheaper, they must

http://www.truckinginfo.com/ Companies directly in trucking, as well as those that have an interest in it, are among many of the nation’s wealthiest public companies and are increasingly revealing their campaign-related contributions and political policies, and doing so voluntarily, according to The Center for Public Integrity. It reports a new study by the nonpartisan Center for Political Accountability and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the University of Pennsylvania

By Truckinginfo Staff UPDATED, 12:00 a.m.--Federal truck safety programs will continue to operate despite a partial government shutdown that took effect at midnight. By Diliff via Wikimedia Commons By Diliff via Wikimedia Commons Other Transportation Department activities will be curtailed, however. Congress had until the end of Monday to agree on a plan to continue funding government operations. The Senate on Monday afternoon rejected a House plan that would continue funding for t

By DOROTHY COX The Trucker Staff 9/30/2013 Truckers will keep on working should government funding come to a dead stop this week or after Nov. 15, and so will federal transportation agencies, possibly with fewer employees, according to two memos. And a U.S. Department of Transportation statement says contingency plans have been put in place just in case. A House government funding bill — which previously had included language to strip out Obamacare money — would keep federal agencies work

by MICHAEL CARL In less than two weeks, thousands of truckers will descend on Washington, D.C., driving their big-rigs and calling for the restoration of a constitutional republic – but now their plan has taken a new twist: Their friends and families will simultaneously join other Americans rallying on overpasses across the nation for Obama’s impeachment. The Truckers’ Ride for the Constitution movement has a new ally in their protest against what organizers say is corruption in government

BY CESAR NEYOY - BAJO EL SOL A seven-year legal battle came to an end recently as 10 former employees of San Luis Trucking received a total of $500,000 in compensation from the defunct firm’s parent company for what the workers alleged were unfair labor practices. Kathleen A. Mangas, an agent of the National Labor Relations Board, recently traveled to San Luis to deliver the payments representing lost wages to the ex-drivers who had filed a complaint against Factor Sales in 2006, the same

US commodities trader Cargill bought a large area of farming land in Colombia many times bigger than the legal limit by setting up dozens of “shell companies”, violating the spirit of agrarian reform laws, charity Oxfam said in a report yesterday. In the research report “Divide and Purchase,” Oxfam says Cargill set up the companies to buy land up to the legal limit for any individual or company, to farm all of the adjoining land as a single plantation and get around restrictions designed to p

MAUMEE, Ohio, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Andersons, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDE) announces today it has completed the purchase of Mile Rail, LLC, a railcar repair and cleaning provider. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081104/CLTU081LOGO) "The addition of Mile Rail complements our existing railcar repair network and expands our geographical footprint," says Rasesh Shah, president of The Andersons' Rail Group. "Additionally, the skilled and customer-service oriented 52-member workforce

By David Tanner, Land Line associate editor http://www.landlinemag.com/ The U.S. Department of Transportation and its agencies are making plans in the event Congress fails to pass an annual funding bill and government programs are shut down. As far as trucking and safety programs are concerned, most would go on functioning as normal – at least for a while – in the event of a shutdown. Passing an annual funding bill is a duty of Congress, but this year the U.S. House and Senate are at logg

The Trucker News Services 9/27/2013 Four of the five transportation modes carried more U.S.-NAFTA trade in July 2013 than in July 2012 as the value of overall U.S. trade with its NAFTA partners rose 6.3 percent from year to year, according to the July North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) freight data. It was released today by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative T

Deborah Whistler | Fleet Owner http://fleetowner.com/ Beginning Oct. 1 anyone acting as a broker or a freight forwarder, including motor carriers who broker loads, are required to register and obtain broker or freight forwarder authority from FMCSA. Brokers and freight forwarders will also now be subject to a minimum $75,000 financial security requirement. FMCSA acknowledged that there are motor carriers that occasionally broker loads that have not previously been required to obtain oper

"Truckers to Shut Down America" posted a press release today, letting Americans know that they are not sitting down and taking what they believe is an unconstitutional attack by Facebook on their right to freedom of speech. The group is calling for Americans to unite in demanding that the federal government cease and desist their repeated trampling on the United States Constitution with a "general strike" on October 11-13. They also seek to draw attention to the plight of truckers, who have b

(Reuters) - Bunge Ltd will restart its soybean processing plant in eastern Kansas within the next few weeks after it receives enough freshly harvested beans to crush, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday. The company anticipates resuming operations at the processor in Emporia during the "first week of October," spokeswoman Deb Seidel said. "Obviously, that depends on the weather and how quickly farmers get in the fields to harvest," she said. Two nearby soy processors owned by Cargill

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has ordered Laredo, Texas-based REDCO Transport, Ltd., USDOT No. 1670585, to immediately cease its trucking operations, declaring the company to be an imminent hazard to public safety. REDCO operates a fleet of 112 trucks transporting general freight. “It is unacceptable for commercial truck and bus companies to disregard critical safety regulations that serve to protect the motoring public,” said U.S.

Truck freight to see little near-term improvement, FTR Conference speakers say By Avery Vise http://www.ccjdigital.com/ The underlying fundamentals of the U.S. economy point to a freight market that probably will continue to improve over the next year or so but not necessarily enough to justify growth in carriers’ truck and trailer fleets. That was the overall message from the first day of the 2013 FTR Transportation Conference in Indianapolis. The current economic recovery is challengin

by Sean Kilcarr http://fleetowner.com/ INDIANAPOLIS. The economic and regulatory pressures faced by the trucking industry now and in the near future will continue to generate a large amount of uncertainty well into next year, according to a general overview of the themes FTR & Associates plans to address this week here at its annual transportation conference. “When is the last time in history we’ve seen the U.S. economy grow at an average of 2% for several years straight?” Jonathan Starks,

SAN PIERRE A fire damaged a grain elevator in the town of San Pierre in Starke County. It started around 9p.m. Tuesday, and we haven't yet learned why. So far, there haven't been any reports of injuries, but a viewer in the area says the tower of the elevator appears to be leaning. The elevator is located in the town of San Pierre, just off highway 421, across from the Oasis restaurant. The fire was put out before sunrise, though crews continued to monitor hot spots.

by Billy Hallowell There’s something to be said for faith and devotion. An example of these elements in practice comes from Green Bay, Wis., where 72-year-old Harold Scott has set out on a $750,000 effort to bring Christian messages to men, women and children who are traveling along some of the state’s most frequented highways. Christian Trucker Harold Scott Is Spending $750,000 of His Own Cash on Bible Billboards Photo credit: Harold Scott Scott, a truck driver, fears that society has b

by Lalit Kumar, The Motley Fool Pricing wars are never good for any industry. When any company or a group of companies try to gain market share by lowering prices, others often have to follow suit to protect their own market share, and the profitability of the whole industry suffers. The U.S. less-than-truckload, or LTL, industry has endured one such price war during the 2008-09 recession -- and it may now be poised for another. LTL industry and 2008-09 price war Before getting into de

Todd Dills http://www.overdriveonline.com/ In what seems to have started with a Facebook page launched by Florida resident Zeeda Andrews (aka Zeeda Hutton), a self-described “former country singer” with little connection to trucking other than long past truck-stop performances, an October 11-13 nationwide shutdown and concurrent convoy to the nation’s capitol drifted toward what could be called a mini semblance of organization over this past weekend. Andrews appeared Saturday, Sept. 21, o

By DAVID MERCER and SOPHIA TAREEN http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ DECATUR, Ill. — Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Company said Monday that after 44 years in the small central Illinois city of Decatur, it is looking for a new location for its headquarters with better access to its global customers. ADM said it is already considering a list of potential locations for what it's calling its new global headquarters, but doesn't plan to publicly discuss where it could be headed or how

http://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/police/article_bcb3406a-24d1-11e3-8d97-001a4bcf887a.html View Original Article

Since the enactment of MAP-21, there has a lot of confusion on what options freight brokers have and the differences amongst them. The confusion stems from inaccurate information flooding the online world on already confusing financial products. In this article we’ll explore what options are out there and provide a direct comparison of each to see which is best for you. We will go beyond costs and look at a comparison of what you’re actually buying and how likely you are to actually qualify for

by Matthew DiLallo, The Motley Fool The United States has an abundance of natural gas supplies. Some estimates suggest we have enough in reserve to supply our economy for more than 100 years. What we don't have is an ample supply of oil, and we're up against stiff global competition for every barrel that's produced. That mix of tight supplies and increasing global demand is the economic recipe for higher prices. This trend, when combined with what I'm about to point out , will put signifi

http://www.examiner.com/ The administrators of the group "Truckers To Shut Down America" were temporarily booted from posting in Facebook for saying "God Bless America." On Sunday afternoon, they were finally back up and posting on their Facebook page, which has gone viral. Today, the Examiner spoke with the group's founder, Zeeda Andrews. A former trucker herself, Andrews has tapped a nerve by calling for a "General Strike" to protest "the corruption that is destroying America." Americans

By BOB UNRUH http://www.wnd.com/ Bikers from across America roared into Washington Sept. 11 to get the attention of the White House and Congress with the message they’re really not fans of the “change America” themes pursued of late. Organized through a loose coalition of Facebook pages and a contingent of volunteers who each took care of their own state, it resulted in official estimates of about a million motorcycles descending on Washington. Now, the big rigs want Washington’s atten

By ANDREW TAYLOR The Associated Press 9/20/2013 WASHINGTON — Here's the truth about a government "shutdown." The government doesn't shut down. So the world won't end if a dysfunctional Washington can't find a way to pass a funding bill before the new budget year begins on Oct. 1. Social Security checks will still go out. Troops will remain at their posts. Doctors and hospitals will get their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. In fact, virtually every essential government agency, like

By John Caniglia, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio — The joke about the plane that couldn't fly refuses to go away for Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and his family business, Pilot Flying J. As lawsuits against the company mount, one stands out for its financial depth. A case brought last month in New Orleans by Western Express says that Pilot Flying J's scheme to defraud the trucking company cost it more than $75 million. Western's lawsuit comes months after an FBI affidavit, using secretl

By Dale Hildebrant - Farm & Ranch Guide WEST FARGO, N.D. - For over 40 years, Caterpillar and Cat dealers have supported the on-highway truck customers with industry leading products and support. Cat has now taken that one step further with the introduction of the Class 8 CT660 Vocational Truck line. There was a constant line of people at the recent Big Iron Farm Show here looking over the new Cat truck that was set up as a fifth-wheel equipped heavy hauler. But Rick Rhone, Jr., with Butle

By Ryan Crossingham, Farm & Ranch Guide Leading Edge Industries has developed a new innovative technology that will ensure that grain haulers and farmers can achieve optimal loads that maximize the value of every trailer load. The Load Judge, a new technology that debuted at the IDEAg Dakotafest in late August, uses patented, high-tech sensors and a user-friendly application to load grain trailers with high accuracy. "The process was inspired to accomplish some goals and problems loadin

http://www.truckinginfo.com/ Truck drivers supposedly knew of an alleged fuel scheme involving fraud in biofuels was going on but may not have said a word. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, announced on Wednesday the return of indictments against six individuals and three companies for offenses involving federal renewable fuel programs, allegedly creating losses to victims totaling more than $100 million. The 88 counts

Some safety advocates believe stricter trucking laws could save lives. September 20, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- According to the latest Department of Transportation data, trucking accidents that cause injury are becoming increasingly common. In 2009, there were approximately 51,000 large truck crashes that resulted in injury. By 2010, that number had crept up to 56,000, and it reached 60,000 in 2011. Final numbers have not yet been compiled for 2012 or 2013, but initial estimates indicate t

By Michael Dorstewitz, http://www.bizpacreview.com/ Email Mike at michael@bizpacreview and follow him on Twitter at @MikeBPR. A group of freedom-loving truckers appearing almost to have accepted a baton from the 9/11 Two Million Biker D.C. rally. They plan to shut down America on the weekend of Oct. 11-13, by calling a trucking general strike. Four days after the crowded Sept. 11 biker rally that far surpassed the paltry showing at the so-called “Million Muslim March,” the truckers set up

By Darrick Ignasiak The Dispatch JRJ Trucking in Thomasville has been fined by the N.C. Department of Labor after the entity conducted an investigation into a workplace fatality from earlier this year. Dolores Quesenberry, director of communications for the N.C. Department of Labor, confirmed this week that the company has been cited for two alleged serious violations and one alleged nonserious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina. The total of the fines a

The Emporia Gazette The Bunge Limited branch in Emporia will resume soybean processing operations this week. Employees were called back to work Monday, and beans could start arriving as soon as today, with operations resuming Oct. 1. Plant management confirmed the return of employees for local media outlets, but deferred questions to corporate offices. Unfortunately, Bunge representatives at the corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., neglected to return phone calls regarding the reopeni

The Associated Press EAST ST. LOUIS — The owner of a southwestern Illinois trucking business faces up to 50 years in federal prison after being convicted of filing false paperwork. Federal jurors in East St. Louis found 40-year-old William "Pat" Clark of Worden guilty of 10 felony counts of making a false statement on Friday. The trial lasted four days. Authorities say that as owner of Clark Trucking and Excavation in East St. Louis, Clark illegally profited from submitting bogus paperwork.

As many truckers face a Jan. 1 deadline to retrofit their engines with pollution controls, some big rig operators are anonymously turning in their competitors for driving vehicles that fail to comply with California’s tougher emission rules, the Los Angeles Times reports. Reporter Tony Barboza found that truckers themselves are “the No.1 tipsters” to the California Air Resources Board, which regulates car and truck emissions in the Golden State. They are “placing anonymous calls and sending

BY JONATHAN SHUGARTS REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN WATERBURY -- A Wisconsin truck driver was sentenced to two years in prison Monday in connection with a collision on Route 8 that killed a Department of Transportation worker. Gina Davies, of Janesville, Wis., a tractor-trailer driver, was arrested in February by state police after an accident on the northbound side of Route 8 that claimed the life of Daniel DiNardi, 41, who had spent half his adult life working for the DOT.

by Dan Charles Sep 17, 2013 (Morning Edition) — Farmers say they need to produce food as efficiently as possible in order to feed the world. It's high-tech agriculture's claim to the moral high ground in the debate over how best to grow food. But is it true? When critics of industrial agriculture complain that today's food production is too big and too dependent on pesticides, that it damages the environment and delivers mediocre food, there's a line that farmers offer in response: We're fe

By Bill Graves President and CEO American Trucking Associations We often fail to notice things until there’s a problem. When you go to the light switch, you expect when you hit it that the lights will come on. When you go to the faucet and turn the knob, you expect water to come out of the tap. It is only when the lights stay dark or the sink stays dry that you really start to have an appreciation for them. Our supply chain works the same way. Every day, millions of Americans drive t

One of the major problems in commercial transportation, fatigue, could be addressed by a newly introduced congressional bill that the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supports. OOIDA announced it supports the bill introduced by Reps. Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., and Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., that would require an FMCSA rulemaking and full industry cost analysis for apnea tests, and the American Trucking Associations and International Brotherhood of Teamsters also favor a rulemaking. "The

Jury finds Worden man submitted false paperwork Telegraph staff report EAST ST. LOUIS — A federal jury convicted a Worden man on 10 felony counts stemming from false paperwork he submitted in connection with his trucking business in East St. Louis. Stephen R. Wigginton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced Friday that after four days of trial in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, the jury returned guilty verdicts on each of 10 felony counts charging the making

Bloomberg Sep 11, 2013, 11.11AM IST (Former American International…) WASHINGTON: Former American International Group chief Maurice "Hank" Greenberg has a new business partner: the US taxpayer. Greenberg's Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. is one of 18 companies approved to get federal cash for insuring farmers against loss of crops or income. Wells Fargo, the nation's fourthlargest bank by assets, Zurichbased Ace and units of American Financial Group Deere and Archer-Daniels-Midland all

A trucking business cost $1.63 a mile to operate in 2012, according to a recently released report from the American Transportation Research Institute, down 4 percent from 2011 and driven mostly by a decrease in driver wages and benefits, says ATRI’s study. That number, however, is likely to spike as fuel costs grow and pressure to increase driver pay, says ATRI’s “An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking” report. In 2011, trucking cost $1.71 a mile. To use another metric, truckin

A federal grand jury indicted two local trucking company owners Wednesday for violation of U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. JARED FELKINS LEBANON SEP 12, 2013 A federal grand jury indicted two local trucking company owners Wednesday for violation of U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. Dorian Ayache, 65, of Lebanon, and Theresa Vincent, 53, of Murfreesboro, were indicted on multiple counts, according to acting U.S. attorney David Rivera for the Middle District

Jill Dunn |September 11, 2013 On Oct. 22, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will discontinue processing applications for transfers of operating authority and the associated $300 fee. The agency will no longer accept applications for transfer of authority, issue transfer approvals or require the $300 related fee on that day. The FMCSA clarified the change Aug. 23 in a separate notice from the Unified Registration System Final Rule published the same day. In that notice, t

By Greg Grisolano, Land Line staff writer Canadian truckers, shippers and law enforcement are launching a public awareness campaign on the scourge of cargo theft, which may be costing upward of half-a-million dollars per day in the greater Toronto area alone. Dubbed “Project Momentum”, the initiative’s main goal is to raise awareness of the economic impact of cargo theft on not only drivers and carriers, but shippers, insurers and the communities as well. The effort is a collaboration b

Middle Tennessee Limestone, Inc. of Doyle and Caney Fork & Western Railroad of McMinnville are constructing a multi-use rail facility along State Highway 55 which they refer to as a “strategic alliance” to bring new business into the area along the short railroad line that connects CSX in Tullahoma to Sparta. Together, the two companies hope to create a lower-cost alternative to traditional trucking of bulk commodities, such as gravel and grain, by using rail service instead. The limestone

A man is accused of using his Rowlett trucking company to drive large amounts of marijuana to Chicago and return with money. Esteban Argueta, owner of Argueta Trucking, is one of several men to be charged in federal court in connection with a large marijuana trafficking operation based in the Dallas area. On Monday, two more men were charged: Justino Diaz and Alex Padilla, according to a complaint filed by a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. In January, a confidential source told

Paul Hutchings Published on September 06, 2013 DEER LAKE A truck driver from Conception Bay South says he’s lucky to be alive after his truck hit a moose on the Trans-Canada Highway near the Howley exit last month. Contrary to police reports at the time, Bob Hewitt said he did not swerve to avoid the moose, which he called, “Small, possibly a yearling or a little older.” He hit the animal straight on just before sunrise on Aug. 1. He remembers hitting the shoulder of the road but after t

U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas September 04, 2013 HOUSTON—Sergio Lagos, 44, Aurelio “Jim” Aleman, 59, and Oscar Barbosa, 50, have been arrested following the return of a six-count federal indictment charging wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. The sealed indictment, returned August 27, 2013, was unsealed following the arrest of the McAllen residents today. They are expected to make their initial appearance

By JAMES OSBORNE Staff Writer [email protected] Published: 04 September 2013 08:55 PM Updated: 05 September 2013 11:06 AM At truck stops spread across the nation’s highways, they’re popping up like all-night diners and caffeine pill displays. Brand-new natural gas pumps in places like Mesquite and Midland sit mothballed alongside their diesel counterparts, waiting for enough trucking companies to sign on that it makes sense to flip on the switch and begin delivering fuel. But J

By ART HOVEY/Lincoln Journal Star(0) Comments Find us on Facebook Follow the Journal Star on Twitter Shaving time off pit stops is a top priority at the Indianapolis 500, and it’s no different in the race to complete grain harvest in Nebraska every fall. A surge in construction of multi-million-dollar grain-handling complexes is geared toward getting farmers in and out of unloading situations and dispatching grain on unit trains to major export and processing points. “Six minutes, sca

Investment supports hog finishing throughout region; benefits company's pork processing facilities in Iowa and Illinois By Cargill HEDRICK, IOWA, SEPT. 4, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill's pork business broke ground this week for construction of a new, $29-million, state-of-the-art, feed mill in Hedrick, Iowa. The new feed mill, capable of producing 350,000 tons of pelletized hog feed annually, is strategically located in proximity to feedstock raw material supplies; hog finishing operatio

A Spartanburg SC man was killed when a large rock came off the back of a truck driven by a Newland man, a truck owned by an Avery trucking firm. The 3:30pm accident occurred about 7 miles north of Marion in what the state patrol said was a straight level stretch of US 221. Their report says that a large bolder rolled off of the back of the Burleson Trucking ’88 Freightliner truck driven north-bound by 47-year old Randy Arnett. The rock bounced on the road, then through the windshield of a south-

The Trucker News Services 9/5/2013 National average rates held steady for the week of August 25-31 as rates rose in a handful of key markets due to increased demand for all trailer types, reports DAT Trendlines. For the month of August, vans added 1cent due to an increase in the fuel surcharge, while flatbeds lost 3 cents and reefers dropped 5 cents compared to July. Spot market loads were up 7.6 percent compared to the week prior, while reefer load to truck rates were up 13 percent. Flat

By Manolo Morales There could be more trouble for the trucking company that causes a major traffic jam on the H-1 Freeway over the weekend. SER trucking was hauling a load that spilled on the freeway Saturday, causing a massive traffic jam. The company could face fines for that spill, but according to the city SER trucking could face bigger problems. The sludge came from a dredging project at Hawaii Kai Marina. It’s been going on for several months on Waianae Valley Road. “This is

ATRI Releases Updated Operational Costs of Trucking Report ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) today released the findings of its 2013 update to An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking. The research, which identifies trucking costs from 2008 through 2012 derived directly from fleets' financial and operational data, provides carriers with an important high-level benchmarking tool and government agencies with re

By BEN BOTKIN LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Clark County’s fuel tax proposal has attracted an unusual ally: the long-haul trucking industry. Even though it means paying more at the pump, the industry is lining up with labor unions in support of the proposal which comes before county commissioners today. The reason: Legislative planning avoids the conundrum that came when a similar fuel tax for roads started in Washoe County in 2009. After lobbying in Carson City and meeting with local offi

Echo Global Logistics CEO Douglas Waggoner and Monroe Transportation President Jack Swierenga on the impact of unrest in the Middle East on the trucki... View Original Article

By Kevin Rutherford OverdriveOnline.com In 2007, I started working on a project that would combine everything I had learned in almost 20 years of testing fuel mileage strategies and technologies – and include a couple of new ideas. I started with a New Freightliner Glider kit and worked with Pittsburgh Power to build the most fuel-efficient pre-emission engine possible. I partnered with Fitzgerald Glider Kits to bring it together in what I called my Signature truck. The final truck was bou

By Kevin Jones OverdriveOnline.com The last capacity crunch, roughly 2004-08, is considered to have been a great time for the industry by some participants. Steve Williams, chief executive officer of Maverick USA, looks no further than his bottom line to know that the balance of transportation supply and demand again has shifted in favor of carriers, even if it’s not a repeat of 2004. “The capacity shortage is very real,” says Williams, a former chairman of the American Trucking Associ

By ANDREW SCHNEIDER NPR When goods arrive in Houston, they may come in containers stacked high on huge ships or strung out on long lines of rail cars. But to get to the customer, those goods need to be put on trucks and driven to their final destinations. And now with the oil and gas sectors booming, the demand for truckers is soaring. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says oil delivered to refineries by trucks shot up 38 percent between 2011 and 2012. But while the need for

MAUMEE, Ohio and OVERLAND PARK, Kan., July 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Andersons, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDE) and Lansing Trade Group, LLC announce today they have finalized the acquisition of Thompsons Limited, a grain and food-grade bean handler and agronomy input provider, headquartered in Blenheim, Ontario, and operating through 12 locations across Ontario and Minnesota. The business, which Lansing Trade Group and The Andersons will equally own, will continue to operate as Thompsons Limited. Lansi

Dealing with taxes can be difficult, especially if by the very nature of your job you’re always on the road. Sacramento is home to two major interstate trucker routes; interstate highway 5, and interstate highway 80. The truckers on the road this labor day weekend are getting some tax relief this year by way of the calendar because truckers have an extra weekend and a day to get their taxes done. The “trucker’s tax return”, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 2290, is normally due annually on

By: Doris Cooper, Grand Forks Herald In the trucking business, the scenery often changes for those behind the wheel. At Britton Transport, the corporate staff is enjoying a change of scenery and wide open spaces since moving into new headquarters in April. President Dave Britton said the company’s move caps off a series of exciting corporate changes in recent years. To celebrate, Britton Transport is hosting an open house from 3-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, with a ribbon-cutting event at 4 p

Labor Day travel is expected to rise this year as economic worries continue to abate, which means a lot more drivers out there for the holiday. In addition to staying safe, the best way to deal with it might be to conjure up the songs and spirit that kept America moving, and Burt Reynolds a star. I am secure enough to admit it: I like Jerry Reed. If I had a bassett hound, I would consider naming him Fred. Among his hits, “Eastbound and Down” stands as an iconic trucker anthem. Between the sp

By Jasen Lee, Deseret News SALT LAKE CITY — Utah-based trucking firm C.R. England laid off 81 workers on Friday. In a memo issued by company chief executive officer Chad England, the cuts come as the transportation industry struggles to grow this year "due to a stagnant economy, increasing federal regulations and a tightening market for drivers." "Scaling back our cost structure is a responsible business strategy in difficult times," England said. "Unfortunately, we found that the size

By Paul Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: August 30, 2013 After its investigation of a South Jersey school bus accident that killed 11-year-old Isabelle Tezsla, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended last month that all new vehicles be equipped with crash-avoidance technology to prevent similar tragedies. On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it "could be at the verge" of a breakthrough in such technology to allow vehicles to communicate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An Army sergeant based at Fort Campbell has pleaded guilty for his part in the theft of fuel from a military base in Afghanistan. The U.S. Justice Department said in a news release that Bilal Abdullah pleaded guilty to bribery on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell in the Western District of Kentucky. The statement says Abdullah admitted taking payments from a trucking company representative to facilitate the theft of 25 truckloads of fuel, causing

Early reports indicate pressure on high-service carriers August 2013, TruckingInfo.com - Feature By Oliver Patton Early experience with the hours-of-service changes bear out expectations that 24-7 truckload carriers will come under pressure to add personnel, change service levels or both. The changes in the 34-hour restart appear to be having the impact that both trucking interests and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration expected. The changes in the 34-hour restart appear t

Truck Broker Sentenced for Dumping Thousands of Tons of Asbestos Contaminated Debris in Violation of the Clean Water Act Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--August 29, 2013. Jonathan Deck, 59, of Norwood, N.J., was sentenced today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., to 15 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with the illegal dumping of thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris on a 28-acre piece of property on the Mohawk River in upstate New York, the J

By Peter Krouse, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cargill will gradually resume operations at a Lake Erie salt mine that was closed 10 days ago amid worries the roof could collapse. The company has determined that the "area of concern is isolated and that we can take measures to address the situation," spokesman Mark Klein said in an email. Klein said 45 of 100 miners sent home Aug. 19 would return to work today and that the remainder could be back by next week. The roof of th

BY TYREL LINKHORN BLADE BUSINESS WRITER Editor's note: This revised version shows The Douglas Co. being among those local firms that made the list. In less than a half-decade, Gary Whitacre has turned his upstart logistics company with annual revenues of $1 million into a major trucking firm with locations across the Midwest that generated nearly $20 million in revenue last year. That exceptional growth placed Whitacre Logistics LLC at No. 235 on Inc. magazine’s list of the 5,000 fast

http://www.chattanoogan.com/ I think the lowering of the speed limit on Main Street was appropriate. Thanks to the City Council, however, I believe a section of I-24 is more dangerous. I wish the Council would look into lowering the speed limit of tractor trailers coming through Chattanooga on I-24. Now the limit is 55 mph, however, many of these trucks go a little over that speed limit up to around 60 mph. There are many accidents and rollovers involving tractor trailers coming

Shanghai Wild Animal Park agreed Wednesday to take in a 1.63-meter-long crocodile that a local truck driver discovered on the side of the road in Fengxian district the previous night, local media reported. The truck driver, surnamed Hu, came across the reptile near the G20 highway around 10 pm Tuesday, according to a report on the police microblog. He later told police that the crocodile appeared to be "unconscious" when he found it with rubber bands holding its jaws shut, the report said

Empty Cabs: Are driverless vehicles the answer to Michigan’s trucker shortage? By Ted Roelofs/Bridge Magazine contributor See more at: http://bridgemi.com/2013/08/empty-cabs-are-driverless-vehicles-the-answer-michigans-trucker-shortage/#sthash.FDHLDQ21.dpuf With no obvious near-term answer to the shortage of truck drivers, could it be that science fiction delivers the final solution? Caterpillar is already operating driverless trucks in mining operations in remote parts of Australia,

CDC: Older Truckers and Other Workers Suffer More Highway Deaths http://www.truckinginfo.com/ Highway transportation incidents are the leading cause of occupational fatalities in the United States, with the highest fatality rates occurring among workers age 65 or older, according to a new Centers for Disease Control report. After analyzing data from 2003 through 2010 and comparing occupational highway transportation deaths among workers aged 18-54, 55–64 and 65 and older, CDC says it

By Ted Roelofs/Bridge Magazine contributor With a fleet of some 60 trucks, Ottawa County-based Luther Logistics is primed to expand. If only it could find the drivers. “I could put four or five people in a truck today,” said Jordan Luther, the firm’s owner and operations manager. “It used to be that we would get four or five people a week in here looking for jobs. Now we are lucky if we get two a month.” The story is much the same at E.L. Hollingsworth & Co., a freight company bas

Driver taken to hospital after truck tips The driver of a semi-truck hauling dried distillers grain took a curve on 20th Avenue SE too fast Monday morning, causing the load to shift and the truck to tip on its side. View Original Article

By BILL FRERICHS http://www.bnd.com/ We all know what it's like to make a mistake, but it takes courage to admit your fault and try to undo what's been done. I expect Washington to do the same. As a Belleville small-business owner, I am calling on the federal government to take a second look at what I--and many in my industry--believe were some serious mistakes. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently introduced new "hours of service" rules for commercial truck drivers

By Susan Weich [email protected] 636-493-9674 LINCOLN COUNTY • Three men are in custody after police say they stole a grain truck and set it on fire. On Wednesday, deputies were dispatched to the 400 block of Stanek Road in Silex, where the homeowner told police his 1975 Ford grain truck and a red and white Honda dirt bike were missing. Apparently, the burglars got the truck out of a garage by driving it through a wall. Deputies viewed surveillance footage from Silex Centra

From ASSOCIATED PRESS LAKE BUTLER, Fla. — Authorities say a longtime employee of a Florida trucking company killed himself after fatally shooting his former boss and a coworker and wounding two others. A news release from the Union County Sheriff's Office says gunman Hubert Allen Jr. drove to several locations Saturday morning and shot the four men. Three of them were Allen's former co-workers at Pritchett Trucking Inc., and the fourth was company owner Marvin Pritchett. The sheriff's o

By P. Sean Garney Manager, Safety Policy American Trucking Associations This Opinion piece appears in the Aug. 26 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enforcement mechanism dubbed Compliance, Safety, Accountability has been the topic of much discussion and controversy since its launch in 2010. All agree that safety is a paramount concern for the industry, FMCSA and the motoring public. All agree that r

James Jaillet http://www.overdriveonline.com/ Aimed at owner-operators who want to cut their sleeper loose in hopes of saving weight — and fuel — and giving themselves the opportunity at adding a little extra weight to their load is the Daycab Company, which makes specialized kits that enables truck owners to do just that. ?The company, which is showing at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, has been around 13 years and looks to remedy the negative impacts of supply and demand on t

Keith Naughton http://www.businessweek.com/ Ford Motor Co. (F:US) overcharged commercial truck dealers for 11 years, a lawyer said in the retrial in a lawsuit that initially resulted in a $2 billion judgment against the company. “This case is about Ford breaking a contract promise it made to treat all of its dealers equally,” Dennis Mulvihill, a lawyer for the dealers, said today in his opening statement in the trial in Cleveland state court. Ford engaged in “a secret pricing scheme” th

Todd Dills http://www.overdriveonline.com/ In a “Smart session” held in conjunction with the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas Aug. 22, Compliance Safety Systems head David Saunders connected the dots between provisions written into the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) highway bill and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s broadening authority to take action to shut down what it deems as high-risk carriers. Today, as outlined in this story, part of o

By John Futty The Columbus Dispatch The driver whose tanker-truck ran off the side of I-71 north of Polaris and killed an Ohio Department of Transportation worker this spring was sentenced today to 60 days in jail. Dwayne Allen Hill Sr., 59, of Ashland, Va., pleaded no contest in June in Delaware County Municipal Court to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter in the death of 27-year-old Lee Rizor. Investigators said that Hill fell asleep at the wheel of his truck about 9:20 a

by Tim Linden | August 23, 2013 Over the last several years, California has continually enacted stricter emission standards for trucks in an effort to have cleaner air in the state. The California Air Resource Board first levied fines on truckers who were not in compliance with the emission regulations on their transportation refrigeration units, and since January the regulations also target the provider of the transportation, regardless of whether that provider is located in California. I

By John D. Schulz, Contributing Editor August 21, 2013 The way the trucking industry and several major shipper groups see it, the candidate for the author of the dumbest bill in Congress belongs to Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., a rookie congressman who wants to jack up the minimum injury and property damage insurance level for trucking companies by nearly 500 percent. Rep. Cartwright, a personal injury attorney before winning his congressional seat last year, says the current truck insuran

Legislation that increased the freight broker bond to $75,000 continues to be a hot topic for freight brokers and forwarders everywhere, as well as those contemplating entering the industry for the first time. Although opposition to the new regulations has been widespread, right down to the filing of an injunction to overturn certain provisions in the new law, it would appear that all systems are “go" and brokers and forwarders will need to get this new bond in place by October

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS August 22, 2013 - 9:48 am EDT LAREDO, Texas — A trucker from Missouri has been convicted in a South Texas immigrant smuggling scheme in which six people were found hidden in the cab. A federal jury in Laredo on Wednesday convicted Miguel Granadeno of Carthage, Missouri U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson says Granadeno was convicted of conspiracy to transport and the transportation of undocumented persons. Magidson says evidence showed the six immigrants had entered t

By LYNDON FINNEY The Trucker Staff 8/22/2013 DALLAS — Trucking has not done well in compensating its drivers, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves told a room full of fellow industry executives Thursday morning. “This will be one of the key factors we will have to face if we are going to overcome the driver shortage,” Graves said during an address at the Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference under way here in conjunction with the Great American Trucking Show. “But n

Harvest trucks in Mississippi need to comply with regulations or face fines Hembree Brandon Mississippi farmers who hire out-of-state contract haulers to help move this year’s crops to market should make sure those haulers comply with the state’s licensing and fuel laws. Otherwise, delays could result if they’re stopped for violations by Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) enforcement officers. “We’re going to be paying close attention to these trucks during harvest seaso

PAGE, N.D. – Some bar banter ended in a night of felony-level property destruction when a suggestion by one man to another to “go jump off the elevator” here allegedly led to the trashing of the grain elevator’s office and pickup truck instead, resulting in thousands of dollars’ worth of damage. By: Emily Welker, INFORUM PAGE, N.D. – Some bar banter ended in a night of felony-level property destruction when a suggestion by one man to another to “go jump off the elevator” here allegedly led

By Chris Liedle http://www.kval.com/ EUGENE, Ore. - The majority of the stuff you buy gets to the store by truck, but truck drivers can barely keep up. Turnover is high. Time on the road away from family is long. But the trucking industry is important enough to warrant study. According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics released in 2009, over 70 percent of the commodities moving in the United States went by truck - nearly $8.3 trillion dollars worth. In recent years,

By Oliver Patton http://www.truckinginfo.com/ A bipartisan group of Representatives asked the Department of Transportation to consider the impact of heavier trucks on local roads and bridges as it studies national size and weight limits. “We are concerned that heavier or longer trucks could divert significant amounts of freight to highways, resulting in an increase in heavy truck traffic and increased costs to states and localities,” said the 45 Representatives in an August 7 letter to DOT

The Trucker Staff 8/20/2013 Oral arguments in a lawsuit brought by an alliance of trucking and transportation stakeholders alleging the federal government’s CSA Safety Measurement System is “back-door legislative rulemaking” will be heard Sept. 10, according to published news reports. The Alliance for Safe and Efficient Truck Transportation (ASECTT) filed the suit last year in federal district court against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration maintaining that the agency has enco

By McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON — For commercial truck drivers such as Charles Ryser, when the wheels aren't turning, you aren't earning. Until July, Ryser and his father — who drive in a team from a base in Forsyth, Ga. — worked on their own terms. Charles took the day shift, while his father, David Ryser, got behind the wheel at dusk. But because of a Department of Transportation attempt to cut down on fatigued drivers, Ryser has to comply with rules that lead to more downtime and for

Liam Migdail-Smith Reading Eagle PennDOT plans new weight restrictions to 28 bridges in Berks County, and the new limits would bar heavy trucks from critical travel routes such as the Penn Street Bridge and the northern stretch of Route 222. The move could disrupt trucking routes across the county and force big rigs onto back roads that aren't designed to handle them. "We're now going to reroute (truck) traffic through areas where it really shouldn't be," said Audrey Era, operations m