Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

TodaysTrucking.com NASHVILLE, IN -- FTR Associates' Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) for February declined by a full point from the previous month as demand for trucking services grew in what is typically a lax month. An SCI reading above zero means a favorable environment for shippers, while a negative reading is unfavorable. The SCI is currently at -5.6. This shows a still-strengthening economy and a reduction in available capacity for shippers, FTR said. "February was unusually str

Crain's Insider The trucking industry says a state bill to keep employers from fraudulently labeling workers as contractors is a solution in search of a problem. But a report to be published today says transport companies routinely evade taxes... Click Here to View Full Story

April 18, 2012 Messenger News Recent action by the federal regulators could provide a big boost to the ethanol industry. Proponents of ethanol have long sought government approval for an increase in the proportion of ethanol in the fuel mix sold to power vehicles. Currently, the fuel sold for this purpose contains 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. A blend with 15 percent ethanol - known as E15 - could be used by many cars and trucks manufactured in 2001 or later. This month,

http://www.ifw-net.com/freightpubs/ifw/index/blame-the-bankers-sorry-brokers/20017953445.htm Tue, 17 Apr 2012 Some freight folk blame financial folk for container rate volatility. That might not be fair, says Loade

By: TED HART | NBC4i.com Published: April 16, 2012 Updated: April 16, 2012 - 6:08 PM COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In areas of the state where new oil and gas wells are being drilled, the trucks come and go all day. They're carrying loads of water, sand, chemicals and construction supplies to support the drilling operations. As the industry expands over the next few years, the need for truck drivers will grow. Read More: http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/apr/16/3/new-trucking-jobs-fracking-industry

Hydrogen cars aren't taking off because hydrogen is hard to make and put in cars. But there is a lot of the gas in our waste treatment plants, and one in California will now let you fill up. Have they opened the door to a hydrogen economy? In the future, instead of visiting the gas station, you may be going to the sewage treatment plant. Yes, sewage. A six-month-old project at a wastewater treatment plant, in Fountain Valley, California, shows how communities could produce both electricity

By Tom Fontaine, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Local communities struggled in recent years with road salt shortages that sent demand and prices for the material through the roof. Now, because of a mild winter, communities that used just a fraction of the salt they ordered have it stockpiled to the roofs of maintenance sheds, garages and, in at least one case, a former railroad tunnel. Some still have to buy hundreds of tons of salt to meet minimum purchasing requirements in the contracts th

By Dimitrios Kalantzis dkalantzis@daily-journal.com 815-802-5144 Three months ago, a Kankakee County committee nixed a plan to give one of the area's largest grain traders, Eastern Grain Marketing LLC, special tax breaks to build a $12 million grain elevator and train shuttle in Limestone Township. Kankakee County Chairman Mike Bossert attempted to push the plan through anyway before EGM pulled out altogether. But late last month, EGM purchased 160 acres in that initial footprint

Overland Park, KS--Four Cargill agricultural businesses spread out in the Kansas City metro area will share a common address starting in May when the company opens a regional office in Overland Park. A total of 65 employees will be based in the office at 5200 Metcalf Ave. "With its proximity to Interstates 635 and 35, the new address will be a good location for our teams who are involved with Cargill grain businesses in the region," said Rob Nordmeyer, Twin Rivers Farm Services Group Gener

By: Christopher Bjorke, Grand Forks Herald The name Britton has been associated with trucking companies since Dave Britton started a transportation brokerage firm in his basement in Grand Forks in 1980 and earned $374,000 in sales that year. In 2012, Britton expects to make $30 million in sales, build a new $3.9 million terminal on the city's west side and see the Britton name have a growing presence on highways around the country. "We expect to have double-digit growth for the next fiv

CHEERS: To Michael Hawthorne, the Somerdale truck driver who's had an amazing run of helping to save lives and help see the beginning of new lives in the course of his travels across the nation. Since 1999 Hawthorne has three times helped deliver babies. The latest came just last month when Hawthorne stopped his truck on the side of a lonely stretch of highway in North Texas. Hawthorne was ready for the father who came running to him from a nearby parked car. He carries a "birthing kit" in hi

* Grain marketers to get C$9 per tonne * Port Churchill may suffer from loss of CWB monopoly (Reuters) - The Canadian government said on Friday it will offer grain handlers a subsidy for shipping grain through the country's only Arctic port, which stands to lose volume once the western grains market opens for competition. The Canadian Wheat Board is by far the biggest shipper through Manitoba's Port of Churchill, but the CWB will lose its marketing monopoly over wheat and barley with th

Apparently the east-west highway has again emerged from the crypt; this time as a private toll expressway stretching from one Canadian border to the other that promises untold riches for Maine's north country. What's not to like? Well, aside from environmental concerns and the costly and cumbersome business of obtaining rights-of-way, there is the small matter that we are no longer in the big-tail-fin-era of cheap oil when similar four-lane highways were built. Gas, diesel and asphalt are n

The FMCSA has created a new system, the CSA, to help improve truck safety by examining more closely driver records and to help truck drivers and companies stay in compliance with safety regulations. April 13, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) new Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program is designed to improve overall safety performance by allowing greater scrutiny of truck companies and their drivers. The program uses "compliance, enfo

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOVELAND, Colo. -- An 82-year-old Colorado farmer was allowed to board a plane after airport security officials determined bomb-making chemicals found on a suitcase were probably fertilizer. Larry Bodaness of Brush was detained by security at Fort Collins-Loveland airport security on Thursday after a Transportation Security Administration employee wiped a chemically treated cloth over his suitcase, which tested positive for the chemicals. According to the Loveland R

By The Associated Press A trucker who led police on a chase through three northeast Kansas counties last year has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison. Fifty-five-year-old Robert Smith was sentenced Thursday to two years and eight months in prison. He will serve the sentence in Pottawatomie County. He will also be on probation for two years after his release. KMAN reports Smith entered a no contest plea last month to attempted aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer an

A 19-year-old North Augusta man died Wednesday evening after he was accidentally trapped between two trailers at Southeastern Freight Lines. Cole Kugler was helping a fellow employee attach a tandem trailer to a truck when he became trapped between the two trailers, Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton said. The driver of the 2012 Freightliner was backing up to the second trailer and did not see Kugler. The driver found Kugler's body after getting out of the truck cab, Carlton said. Aiken Country

The Associated Press MILLSTADT, Ill. -- A southwestern Illinois grain elevator has closed and surrendered its license because it doesn't have enough assets to meet the state's grain code. The Illinois Department of Agriculture says the Handy Feed Handyscape Inc. of Millstadt was closed April 2 after the department discovered the elevator lacked enough assets. The business handed over its license Thursday, allowing the department to liquidate those assets and pay valid grain claims. The g

By Vicki Vaughan Since the drilling frenzy began in the Eagle Ford Shale, the need for truck drivers has boomed along with it. Every company in the shale, it seems, needs commercial drivers to haul equipment, oil, water, sand and hazardous materials. Yet there aren't enough qualified drivers. "Open any local newspaper and they're just full of jobs for truckers," said Glynis Holm Strause, dean of institutional advancement at Coastal Bend College, which offers training at its South Texas camp

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CHS Inc. CHSCP, the nation's leading producer-owned cooperative, today reported earnings of $494.7 million through the second quarter of its 2012 fiscal year. Earnings attributed to CHS operations for the first six months of fiscal 2012 (Sept. 1, 2011 – Feb. 29, 2012) increased 25 percent over the $396.3 million for the first half of fiscal 2011. Revenues for the six-month period of fiscal 2012 were $18.6 billion, compared with $15.8 billion for

Kristin Hoppa St. Joseph News-Press On Twitter: @SJNPHoppa ATCHISON, Kan. -- More than five months after an Oct. 29 explosion rocked the Atchison community, the small agricultural-based town will welcome the return of the new Bartlett Grain Co. facility. "It is really exciting to see this positive growth for the city," said City Manager Trey Cocking. "It's a rebirth for the city." Mr. Cocking said between the grain elevator explosion, which killed six and seriously injured two, and early

(Strafford, MO) -- The unemployment rate is a little more than 8 percent, but the unemployment rate for veterans is even higher. That's why Route 66 CDL and Apprenticeship, Inc. -- a truck driver training program -- helps veterans and supplies drivers for the industry. The men KOZL's Melissa Stern spoke to at Route 66 all agreed that after being so used to life in the military, transitioning back into normal life was a challenge. They say their lack of experience, education, and being olde

by KTVB.COM KTVB Posted on April 11, 2012 at 6:55 AM Related: Mega Millions expected to hit $363 million BOISE-- A trucker from southeastern Idaho has claimed a $250,000 Mega Millions prize, but he hasn't quit his day job just yet. Joseph Graham's winning ticket matched the first five numbers of the March 23 national lottery drawing -- all but the Mega Ball. But Graham says he waited so long to cash in his winning ticket because he needed a day off of work.. The American Falls r

The Associated Press CHICAGO -- The family of a Michigan truck driver who died after crashing into a Chicago train station will get more than $1 million in a lawsuit claiming he was denied prompt medical attention. In 2008, a semitrailer driven by Donald Wells careened off an expressway and crashed into the Chinatown Red Line station, striking pedestrians and the elevated station's main stairwell entrance. The crash killed two people at the station and injured 21. Wells' family claimed that

By Mark B. Solomon Hold the hand-wringing over rising motor freight rates, at least for now. A monthly index of freight trends published Monday by Cass Information Systems found that shipment expenditures in March rose a scant 1 percent over February levels. Shipments expanded 2.1 percent over February, a relatively sluggish month-over-month increase and a decline of 1.3 percent from March 2011, the Brighton, Mo.-based auditing and payment firm said. Shipment expenditures in March rose

Firefighters are continuing to keep an eye on a North Portland grain terminal after dousing a fire in one of the facility's 30 elevators this morning. Crews were called to Columbia Grain, Inc., located along the Willamette River at 15660 N. Lombard St., about 11:15 a.m. after an employee smelled smoke in one of the silos, said Paul Corah, a spokesman for Portland Fire & Rescue. After arriving on scene, firefighters found smoke coming out of the 125-foot silo, which was about a quarter fu

By LYNDON FINNEY The Trucker Staff WASHINGTON -- Congress may be ready to change its color concerning chameleon carriers. Since 1996, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and its predecessor -- the Interstate Commerce Commission -- have been under mandate to do something about the agency's archaic information system, which often delays -- or even prohibits -- FMCSA from being able to keep track of carriers that "reincarnate" themselves after being shut down for egregious safety v

An Arizona trucker essentially got a "death sentence" Monday for a 45-minute crime spree in December 2010 that ended with him taking a shot at a Weld County Sheriff's commander and then dropping his pants to moon officers who arrested him. Weld District Court Judge Thomas Quammen sentenced Scott Walker, 47, of Arizona, to 45 years in prison, essentially one year for every minute he spent terrorizing the southwest Greeley community on Dec. 28, 2010, that started with him menacing people at an

An Omaha couple tried to stop an out-of-control trucker Sunday night. At one point, they drove side-by-side and shouted at each other. The Nebraska State Patrol eventually arrested the truck driver on Interstate 80. ADVERTISEMENT Tina Schmidt and her boyfriend, Bob Davey, were returning home to Omaha Sunday night around 9:30 when they saw a semi weaving across two lanes of traffic near Ashland on I-80. They thought the driver had fallen asleep until they pulled closer to the cab.

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio, Apr 10, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Progressive® Insurance is giving truckers across the country the opportunity to be recognized for their everyday courage with the Real Life Trucking Hero Contest. From April 1 until October 31, Progressive will award six cash prizes of $1,000, one of whom will win $15,000 and the title of "Real Life Trucking Hero." "Truckers help keep this country running, and deserve to be recognized for their efforts," said Tom Corpus, Commercial Auto

By David Tanner, Land Line associate editor Until the FMCSA issues a new rule to scale back its definition of "tank vehicle" that has been on the books for the past 11 months, truckers hauling commonplace loads in fluid bins remain exposed to potential out-of-service orders and serious violations at roadside. The good news is the FMCSA has taken the first steps to re-examine the issue. Prior to a May 2011 final rule on CDL testing and learner's permit standards, the definition of tank vehicl

WASHINGTON -- The National Grain and Feed Association is urging the Senate Agriculture Committee to make dramatic changes to reduce the size of the Conservation Reserve Program, which is currently authorized to pay farmers to idle up to 32 million acres of farmland. NGFA, whose members make money selling inputs and moving and processing agricultural products, has viewed the CRP suspiciously since it was established in 1985, when the United States had an oversupply of grain, and environmental

ANN ARBOR, MI, Apr 10, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Understanding the energy impact of different types of light bulbs is important, and plays a much larger role in energy efficiency than most realize. Short of turning the lights off, one way to cut back on this energy consumption is to install T8 linear fluorescent lights in place of older, less efficient technologies like incandescent, metal halide or high-pressure sodium. Another is to install motion and daylight sensors to ensure lights on

Article by: STEVE ALEXANDER , Star Tribune Transportation broker C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. thrives when the world is a bit off balance. As the summer peach harvest approaches, for example, trucks needed to move the fruit to market will become scarce in Georgia. As oil prices rise, as they are doing now, demand for freight trains tends to go up while demand for truck transportation dips. To solve those imbalances, shippers turn to the low-profile Eden Prairie-based company that owns n

By: Chris Mueller, The Daily Republic KIMBALL -- With two new towering grain silos casting long shadows on the plains between Kimball and White Lake, area grain loaders predict competition will increase. Concrete began pouring at the Liberty Grain shuttle-loading facility in December. Chuck Jepson, of Liberty Grain LLC, said recently that all of the site's upright storage bins are completely poured. The facility has two 150-foot silos that hold 472,000 bushels of grain each, plus eight

By Susan Montoya Bryan, Monday, April 9, 7:49 AM ALBUQUERQUE -- Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic sweeping across America's farmland. It has little to do with the usual challenges, such as drought, rising fuel and feed prices, and crop-eating pests. The country's farmers and ranchers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place. New Mexico has the highest average age of farmers and ranchers of any state at nearly 60, an

DELTA, Ohio -- A 258-ton electrical transformer that will be trucked to a repair site will cause traffic disruptions for three days this week along its special route across northwest Ohio, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced. The oversize load is to start its journey from Delta at 8:30 a.m. Monday and follow a rather circuitous route through 13 counties before reaching the repair facility in the Stark County community of Louisville on Wednesday, officials said. Although the tra