Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

Carriers transporting North America's bulk agriculture products rely on harvest seasons to increase trucking demand and trucking rates to keep them moving. This year due to the drought suffered across the United States many farmers are calling their crops a loss and bulk freight truck operators are feeling the farmers' pain. Impact to carriers may be minimal immediately but the loss of crops may be felt more during the non-harvesting seasons. Bulk freight carriers rely on from farm-to-elevator,

August 28, 2012 - 2:24pm A trucking firm has been ordered to reinstate a whistle-blower truck driver who refused to drive an explosive-filled truck with a co-driver who smoked and pay $315,000 in back wages and damages, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday. OSHA said it ordered M3 Transport L.L.C./SLT Expressway Inc., and its successors in interest, Lyons Capital L.L.C. and Glendale, Ariz.-based Roadmaster Group, to pay the truck driver $315,000 for allegedly viol

Bloomberg News By Alan Bjerga on August 29, 2012 A projection that U.S. farmers will make a record profit amid the worst drought in more than five decades shows that government help for producers can be scaled back, critics say. Higher prices and crop-insurance payments will outweigh losses from dry conditions, propelling aggregate farm profits to $122.2 billion this year, up 3.7 percent from 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast yesterday. "It's compelling evidence that

By Special to the Gazette Tuesday, August 28, 2012 Made For Agriculture Incorporated, headquartered in Columbia, Mo., announced that MFA Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of MFA Incorporated, has purchased Irsik & Doll's feed mill and grain elevator in Emporia and Emch Feed and Elevator Company, Inc., of Madison. The arrangement will bring MFA added feed manufacturing and grain merchandising strength provided by the addition of these facilities. MFA had 2011 fiscal year net sales

Posted: Aug 27, 2012 11:41 AM | Last Updated: Aug 27, 2012 11:41 AM HAPPY VALLEY/GOOSE BAY, NFLD. -- Have any freight sitting up in Labrador that has to come west? How about assigning it to the most experienced team in the world? While we haven't done any actual research to back this up, it only stands to reason that Vernon Erb and his buddy Harold LeBold would win the "most-experienced team" title. After all, Erb, 76 and LeBold, 78, grew up together and have been friends most of th

Emergency conditions allowing truckers to bypass normal restrictions PR Newswire SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- TheTruckersReport.com (http://www.thetruckersreport.com) has reported that truck drivers in many states have taken advantage of the temporary measures put into effect by the DOT, and that individual drivers are also expediting procedures in states that are not in an officially declared state of emergency by taking on larger loads and running routes more of

11 hours ago • By ART HOVEY / Lincoln Journal Star For now, the attitude of those on the front lines of Nebraska's corn harvest could be described as watchful waiting. That's because it's too early to say whether aflatoxin contamination is going to be a serious problem. But those in charge at grain elevators and grain inspection points are acutely aware that it could become one in this drought year. "Back in 2002, there was a high amount of aflatoxin in the crop," said Mark Fulmer of

Drought Leaves Shippers Scraping Bottom to Move on River By Brian K. Sullivan on August 26, 2012 The tow boat Major General John Peabody uses to survey his domain as regional head of the Corps of Engineers couldn't stop last week in Greenville, Mississippi. The water in the harbor was so low that the 241-foot Mississippi V had to dock in Arkansas, at the end of a gravel road where grain trucks kicked up clouds of dust that covered cars with silt. A year after the river flooded, drought

By Joel Makower Published August 27, 2012 Forget the Volt, the Leaf, the Prius, even the Tesla. An entirely different transportation revolution is happening when it comes to big rigs. In recent years, commercial truck fleets have begun changing course, steering toward next-gen technologies that embrace electric, hybrid-electric, and other fuels instead of petro-based diesel, and innovative drive-train technologies. It's a development that's born partly of concerns about carbon emissions and

The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) could later this week bring the country to its knees if they carry out their threat to strike. The union, which held its special Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting in Benoni at the weekend, yesterday said it supported the leadership of the ANC for a second term. Road Freight covers truck drivers and if the union goes on strike it might affect the delivery of goods such as petrol. The union said it was demanding a 12% s

"The Star of the South," by Dick Callaway, Walter R. Turner and Charles W. Wadelington. By Pete Prunkl For the Salisbury Post SALISBURY -- To many in Rowan County, trucking means Freightliner. But our Cleveland mega-employer was a latecomer to overland transportation. It was born in 1942 in Portland, Ore. Corbitt Truck Co., the subject of a new book, originated in 1910 in Henderson, N.C.; it was our state's only home-grown truck assembly plant. The plucky rural company didn't believe in

By Sandi Soendker, Land Line editor-in-chief A man whose name is synonymous with trucking radio has signed off the air. North America's legendary radio truck show host Dale Sommers, The Truckin' Bozo, died Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in a hospice facility near his home in Hernando, FL. He was 68. Sommers, widely known for his long-running talk and call-in show geared toward over-the-road truckers, enjoyed a successful broadcast career that spanned more than 50 years. Photo credit: Tampa Bay

The Associated Press Published: Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 - 6:54 pm RICHFIELD, Minn. -- A truck driver who stopped along Interstate 35W in Richfield to look at a blown tire was hit by a car and killed. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened about 7 p.m. Friday. The man was on the right shoulder, looking at a tire on his semitrailer, when a car drifted onto the shoulder and hit the semi, then hit the driver. The man's name hasn't been released. Read more here: http://www.sacbee

By Reed Black, Land Line Now staff reporter A truck driver who says he almost always stops at a restaurant in Newton, KS, says he decided to keep driving on June 26 , a decision that ultimately saved another driver's life. Steven Huett, who drives for Illinois-based Tennant Truck Lines, told "Land Line Now" that he came across another one of the company's trucks that day that was pulled off on the shoulder along Highway 50 near Peabody, KS. It was a 105-degree day, and when Huett checked

BY KERRY WILLS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012, 6:00 AM A Dallas trucker who faced decades in prison after making a wrong turn into Mexico will get his charges lessened and may only have to pay a fine, authorities said Thursday. A Mexican appeals judge reduced the charges of Jabin Bogan, who was stopped in Mexico while carrying a trailer full of ammunition. Bogan, who faced a potential 30-year prison sentence, says his GPS stopped functioning and he made a wrong turn from We

Todd Dills |August 23, 2012 The Association of Independent Property Brokers and Agents, founded by former DOT officer James Lamb and which I've written about in the context of the issue the organization was founded to fight -- the boost from $10,000 to $75,000 in minimum surety bond requirements for brokers that was in the highway bill package passed in June -- is calling that measure "inconsistent with the Federal Transportation Policy set forth in 49 USC § 13101? of the U.S. Code, which ass

By Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times August 22, 2012, 6:51 p.m. The worst drought in decades has destroyed more than half the U.S. corn crop, pushing prices to record levels and squeezing livestock owners as they struggle to feed their herds. To cope, one Kentucky cattle farmer has turned to a child-tested way to fatten his 1,400 cows: candy. "It's so hard to make any money when corn is eight or nine dollars a bushel," said Nick Smith, co-owner of United Livestock Commodities in Mayfield,

James Topham and Karl Plume Reuters 7:21 a.m. CDT, August 23, 2012 TOKYO/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The completion of Japanese trader Marubeni Corp's purchase of U.S. grain merchant Gavilon is being delayed by at least two months as talks on ownership of an important West Coast export terminal and regulatory reviews hold up the $5.6 billion deal, people familiar with the matter said. Marubeni's biggest acquisition catapults it into the top ranks of global grain merchants and puts it in pole p

A fire at a wooden grain elevator at Citizens L.L.C. location on N. Cochran Avenue has been contained after firefighters from several departments were called to the scene beginning around 8 a.m. Click Here to Read Full Story

August 22 2012 at 11:35am By HARRY RITCHIE Review: World's Most dangerous Jobs By Paula Reid (Summersdale) What's it like to be an astronaut? How do you get to be an undercover cop? How much do you earn as an ice-road trucker? In this compilation of interviews, Paula Reid asks 21 adrenalin junkies about the incredibly dangerous jobs they do - jobs that she arranges in alphabetical order, from astronaut and avalanche controller to volcanologist and world superbike champion, via bomb

By Audrey White / The Dallas Morning News Published: August 22. 2012 4:00AM PST The parking lot of a Pilot Flying J truck stop in Dallas is home to the first in a chain of fitness centers targeted at truck drivers, whose sedentary careers can lead to health problems. The facility, which opened in June, is the first of at least six gyms that partners Snap Fitness and Rolling Strong hope to open this year. "It's a tough job driving on the interstate all day long without access to exercis

By WILLIAM DOTINGA FRESNO, Calif. (CN) - A trucking company urged its female dispatchers and freight managers to snake a competitive advantage by having sex with clients, a former employee claims in court. Gust Express owner Michelle Gust encouraged female dispatchers and freight managers to "sexually flirt with customers to gain a business advantage," according to the complaint in Fresno County Superior Court. Julie Brannum said she endured the unwelcome orders while working for

By: Amy Dalrymple, INFORUM WILLISTON, N.D. – Truck traffic kept interrupting a press conference here Monday that marked the opening of a new truck bypass, and that couldn't have made Williston Mayor Ward Koeser any happier. Each truck that takes the new 16-mile route that officially opened Monday is one less truck that will travel through Williston, where traffic counts exceed 28,000 vehicles a day compared to the 4,000 vehicles that traveled there four years ago. "Every time a truck go

The Associated Press Published: Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012 - 5:16 am BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Authorities in central Illinois are working to determine what led to the death of a 48-year-old Heyworth man after a fall last week at a Cargill Inc. soybean-processing plant. Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/21/4743944/worker-dies-days-after-fall-at.html#storylink=cpy Click Here to Read F

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS August 19, 2012 - 10:07 am EDT RAVENNA, Ohio -- Troopers in Ohio say a Wisconsin truck driver is dead after his rig started rolling at a rest stop and pinned him against another truck. The State Highway Patrol says the accident happened Saturday afternoon at a rest area along Interstate 76. Troopers say that 57-year-old Frank Shackelford, of Lake Geneva, Wisc., got out of his truck but didn't put on the emergency brakes. The truck rolled forward as he was walk

ALTA, Iowa (KTIV) - In the firefighting world, you look for opportunities to sharpen your skills, outside of the real deal. So, when local crews got the chance to train on a massive scale, they jumped at the opportunity. Firefighters rarely get requests to start fires. "In fact, they're happy we do it," said Cliff McFarland, an organizer of this mass drill. The end has come for this old obsolete grain elevator. "With the size of farm equipment today, it just didn't provide a lot

The Trucker News Services 8/20/2012 The average U.S. diesel exhaust fluid pump price dropped dramatically between June and July, reports Integer Research in its monthly DEF Tracker. The fall comes after four straight months of rising prices and is the lowest average price recorded since DEF Tracker was launched in October 2011, Integer Research noted. Love's Travel Stops, which offers bulk DEF pumps at 150 of its locations, introduced a lower national pump price during July, according to t

Boston Business Journal by Galen Moore, Web Editor Date: Monday, August 20, 2012, 8:33am EDT Truck drivers carrying hazardous (hazmat) loads must now take a long detour under new policy from the state Department of Transportation. The new daytime regulation quietly took effect earlier this summer, the Boston Globe reports. It stops hazmat drivers from cutting through the North End and other Boston neighborhoods, en route to Interstate 93 and other points south of Boston. Instead, they'll h

Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. -- As the harvest season approaches, farmers in some areas of Missouri are carefully watching river levels in light of Missouri's extremely dry conditions. Lower water levels on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers can limit producers' ability to move grain and other farm products by barge. The Missouri Department of Agriculture requested, and the Missouri Department of Transportation agreed, to allow heavier than normal loads of grain throughout the harvest

08/17/2012 10:11:29 AM Coral Beach Transportation officials anticipate an audit report on the trucking pilot program with Mexico within a month, and U.S. produce professionals are a bit anxious, fearing a negative report could lead to another round of retaliatory tariffs. Mark Powers, vice president of international trade and transportation for the Northwest Horticultural Council, Yakima, Wash., said the apple, pear and cherry industry in the Northwest paid tens of millions of dollars durin

St. Louis Business Journal Date: Friday, August 17, 2012, 6:42am CDT - Last Modified: Friday, August 17, 2012, 7:11am CDT Grains trader Bunge Ltd has been exporting small quantities of Brazilian corn to the United States this year, and it may export more if drought continues to damage the United States crop. The company's vice-president of agribusiness and logistics, Murilo Braz Sant'anna, said Thursday he doesn't think current differences between a booming Brazilian crop and the shortfall

By John Maday, Managing Editor Livestock producers, along with several national and state elected officials, are calling for a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires fuel blenders to include a set volume of ethanol in gasoline. But whether or not a waiver would bring lower corn prices depends on a complex set of factors, according to a new report from Purdue University economists. The RFA always has been controversial, but this year's drought, which has pushed corn pri

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff A truck driver remains in the hospital today after getting an electrical shock when his truck snagged sagging power lines on Interstate 95 in Attleboro, State Police said. Joseph O. Irorere, 45, of Brockton was driving a 2001 Mack 600 tractor-trailer northbound when it hit the lines. He was taken to Sturdy Memorial Hospital. State Police said Thursday that the driver had received the shock when he exited his truck. Another tractor-trailer, this one on

By Sam Nelson (Reuters) - Dry weather will return to the drought-stricken U.S. Midwest crop region, with corn and soybeans ending their growing season on a negative note after this week's rains proved to be too little too late, an agricultural meteorologist said Friday. "There were some decent rains in central Illinois and west central Indiana yesterday, but it's too late for corn and too late for most of the bean crop," said Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather. The worst

By AP from Canadian Business SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- The owners of a southwest Missouri trucking company have been convicted in a conspiracy that defrauded boat maker Tracker Marine of at least $924,000. A federal judge on Wednesday found James Keith Ivey and his wife, Melinda Kay Ivey, guilty on numerous counts including fraud and money laundering. The Iveys owned J&M Trucking, in Lebanon, Mo. The company made deliveries for Springfield-based Tracker Marine, which sells boats and trai

By Keith Goble, Land Line state legislative editor One step closer to passage at the California statehouse is a bill that is intended to help subcontracted carriers with brokers. For the past 19 months California law has required a broker of construction trucking services to post a bond to ensure payment to a subcontracted carrier whose services were brokered. The broker also receives certification of the subcontracted company's permit to operate. Brokers are required to secure a surety

By Blake Nicholson Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. -- The federal government is on the verge of approving a grain mainly used as livestock feed to make a cleaner version of ethanol, a decision officials say could give farmers a new moneymaking opportunity, boost the biofuels industry and help the environment. A plant in western Kansas already is gearing up to take advantage, launching a multimillion-dollar renovation so it can be the first to turn sorghum -- a plant similar in appearance

By Dan Charles You've all heard a lot about this year's devastating drought in the Midwest, right? The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last Friday that the average U.S. cornfield this year will yield less per acre than it has since 1995. Soybean yields are down, too. So you'd think that farmers who grow these crops must be really hurting. And that's certainly the impression you get from media reports. Nick Guetterman, president of the Johnson County Farm Bureau in eastern Kansas,

Written by WKYC Web Staff BROOK PARK -- An employee has been arrested in an arson at a Brook Park trucking company. Fire raced through Valley Sterling Trucks on August 6 causing $4 million in damages. The fire could be seen for miles from the company's West 150th Street location. Police say a 54-year-old Canton man who worked at the company has been taken into custody and is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail pending a grand jury hearing on aggravated arson. "While no investigati

By Susan Morse Sewall's Bridge was reopened with a reduced weight limit Monday after a pickup truck had crashed through the wooden guardrail Sunday night and gone into the York River, according to York Police Sgt. Brian Curtin. Driver Michael E. Chandler, 50, 3 Harvard St., Schenectady, N.Y., escaped the submerged truck and swam to safety, according to a prepared statement from Curtin. A York ambulance transported Chandler to York Hospital, where he was treated and released, Curtin said.

Written by Andrew Taylor Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Come January, be prepared for fewer air traffic controllers, FBI agents, border patrol officers and park rangers, as well as lower farm and winter heating subsidies. Less meat might get inspected. Furloughs will likely sweep across the government. Even the weather service could be affected. The looming funding crisis in domestic spending is the result of automatic across-the-board cuts, called a sequester, that go into effect Jan. 2

The Associated Press PAOLA, Kan. -- Union Pacific Railroad is cleaning up after a train with 22 cars filled with grain derailed in eastern Kansas, sending at least two cars into the Marais Des Cygnes River. The Miami County Sheriff's Office says the train went off the tracks at 2:24 a.m. Wednesday near Osawatomie, but there were no injuries and no roads were blocked because of the derailment. Union Pacific officials were on the scene Wednesday morning to investigate the crash. A spokes

By Keith Veronese What incredibly important profession combines horrible hours, bad pay, and a poor lifestyle? Truck driving. This is a job that destroys so many lives that it could soon become unsustainable. Here's why. Lots of Work, Little Pay - Truck drivers are expected to drive up to fourteen hours straight a day, receiving roughly ten hours off prior to the beginning of the next shift. Legislation regulating the amount of driving a trucker performs over the course of a day and week

By Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa -- Cooler weather and rain in the middle of the country have slowed the deterioration of the nation's corn and soybean crops, but experts said the drought isn't over and the recent respite won't make much of a difference. The weekly crop condition report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture rated the corn and soybean almost the same as the week before and marked the first time months that the news wasn't significantly worse. In the

By Rick Jordahl, Associate Editor, Pork Network The 2012 drought is not only taking its toll on U.S. Midwest crop and livestock producers. Ethanol plants also are succumbing as high corn prices dry up their operating margins. Suspension of operations, along with reduced production at many plants, has reduced the supply of distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product of ethanol production widely-used in swine diets. "High corn prices are not only affecting pork producers, but

(Reuters) - A fire Saturday morning at an Oklahoma trucking company owned by Cheseapeake Energy was extinguished but the cause is under investigation, the company said on Monday. "The fire has been completely extinguished and the site is secure. The investigation to determine the cause of the fire is ongoing," said Chesapeake spokesman. Read Full Story and View Original Post Here

By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug 12 (Reuters) - After spring floods drowned his seeding plans two years straight, Canadian farmer Walter Finlay is harvesting what looks to be an average or slightly better crop of wheat and canola. Average will do just fine this year. The worst drought in a half century in the U.S. Midwest has scorched corn and soybean crops, igniting grain and oilseed prices and leaving farmers in Western Canada poised to profit nicely off the misery of U.S. grower

By KEN MILLER An explosion at an Elk City trucking company sent thick, black smoke billowing into the skies in southwest Oklahoma on Saturday and left two employees injured. Beckham County Emergency Management Director Lonnie Risenhoover said it wasn't immediately clear what caused the blast at Hodges Trucking Company, LLC, other than there was some kind of spark. He said investigators would need to interview the two people working when the explosion happened. The workers, whose names

By John W. Schoen, NBC News The worst American drought in more than half a century is driving up grain prices and deepening worries about global food shortages. With much of the corn crop already lost, farmers are holding out hope for some weather relief that could help salvage the harvest of soybeans and other. But the latest data from the government Friday showed that the damage to the food supply chain already has been done. "This is worse than 2008 -- we're in kind of a perfect stor

By Allan Janssen with Today's Trucking Meet Sergio, Matt, and Steve. They're 25 and they love driving truck. The question is, are there more where they came from? For Steve Andrusyshyn, it was either hockey or trucking. The 25-year-old Calgarian had his sights on the NHL for a while... but in the end, trucking won out. He's been hauling aggregate for three years now, learning the ropes from his owner-operator father, Ken. And he plans to make a go of it in the family trucking business, Nor

By Alex Breitler Record Staff Writer LODI - Tom Howard gestured toward his big rig. "Step inside my office," he said. With pleasure. It was 75 degrees in the cab, unlike the broiling asphalt parking lot at the Flying J truck stop. And Howard's "office" muffled the noise of an endless parade of trucks outside. This is the comfort and peace that a long-distance trucker needs to get a good night's sleep. And on Thursday, it got a lot easier to rest while complying with no-idling laws.

By Dan Piller and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave its assessment of the historic drought Friday, forecasting national corn production at 10.8 billion bushels, down 13% from 2011 and the lowest production since 2006. The report is the USDA's first official assessment of the impact of the drought that has hit the Corn Belt and is considered to be the worst since 1956. Analysts knew lower projections were coming but "this is a substantial drop. Wow," says

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave its assessment of the historic drought Friday, forecasting national corn production at 10.8 billion bushels, down 13% from 2011 and the lowest production since 2006. The report is the USDA's first official assessment of the impact of the drought that has hit the Corn Belt and is considered to be the worst since 1956. Analysts knew lower projections were coming but "this is a substantial drop. Wow," says Harry Kaiser, head of the Food and Agricultural

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Subsidiaries of The Gavilon Group, LLC today announced they have entered into multi-service commercial agreements with subsidiaries of Advanced BioEnergy, LLC with dry mill ethanol facilities located in Fairmont, Neb.; Aberdeen, S.D.; and Huron, S.D. Under the terms of the agreements, Gavilon will be Advanced BioEnergy's exclusive ethanol marketer for all three facilities effective immediately. It will also be the exclusive marketer for distillers dried grains with

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration asked for comments on changes in its CSA safety enforcement program, it got an earful. Almost everyone supports the concept of the overall CSA program, but the details do not get much love. The changes, part of an ongoing CSA revision process, apply to several of the seven safety performance categories that are at the heart of the program. The agency plans to move cargo and load-securement v

Submitted by Marissa Jasek on Wed, 08/08/2012 - 3:35pm WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- The morning commute got a little sticky for drivers trying to make their way to work in Wilmington. A truck spilled its load of liquid asphalt along a busy road, causing delays and damage to dozens of cars. Drivers along North College Road had to deal with the wet, sticky mess Wednesday morning after a Hilco Transport truck leaked much of its 52,000 pounds of liquid asphalt for about four miles. "I've got ta

Go short! By Mark B. Solomon Since the recession hit, truckload carriers have tried to push their shippers into one-year contracts rather than locking them in for two, three, or more years at a time. For the carriers, the reasoning was simple. With their costs rapidly escalating, they wanted the flexibility to change rates and contract terms on short notice and not be saddled with static multiyear pricing that lagged behind their dynamic expense structures. But short-term contracts mig

Associated Press TICONDEROGA, N.Y. -- A trucker is recovering after being rescued from an overturned rig partially submerged in a North Country lake. Officials say 40-year-old Michael J. Rodriguez apparently lost control of a tractor-trailer hauling paper at about 1 a.m. Tuesday on a sharp curve in Ticonderoga, near the Vermont border. The truck flipped over into Eagle Lake, leaving Rodriguez trapped in cab filled with eight feet of water. Rescuers told the Press-Republican of Plattsbur

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--A now-defunct North Carolina trucking company has been ordered to pay $120,000 for refusing to hire black loading dock workers, according to a settlement agreement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Caldwell Freight Lines Inc., which had been based in Lenoir, N.C., hired 38 white dock workers at its Newton, N.C., facility in April 2011, purposefully overlooking six equally qualified African-American applicants for the positions on the basis of their race,