Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

BAY CITY -- Come harvest time this autumn, residents of a South End neighborhood may see a few more trucks rumbling through, but they'll see far less dust thanks to upgrades being made at a grain elevator. Peavey Grain, a division of Omaha, Neb.-based Gavilon Grain, is updating its facility at 1205 Farragut St. between 24th and 25th streets. The elevator is surrounded by homes on three sides and the headquarters for Do-All Inc. on the other. "We haven't done anything like this in a long

Farmers may have to lead the way to achieving President Barack Obama's goal of doubling exports by 2015, farmers may have to lead the way. The factors needed to support rapid growth in agricultural exports are already in place: an increasingly affluent market in Asia with an affinity for U.S. grain products, a highly-productive agricultural sector in the U.S. and an efficient transportation system to ship commodities to the Far East. The northern tier states from Illinois to the Pacific

I know as you all read this the first thing that pops in your mind is the trucker arguing with the shipper or broker about what a load pays. I beg to differ. Many think they have no impact on the rates, that they are determined by someone else and set in stone. And I also know negotiating rates is a dreadful thing because it can be difficult and emotions can also interfere in a negative way. As I write this post I want to suggest some ways to handle when you're confronted with negotiating a

Transportation researcher Richard Mudge is looking for ways to make sure states can afford to fix and build roads and bridges, even as gas taxes become less effective. Like other experts, he wants to start taxing vehicles for how far they drive, instead of the current system based on how much gas they use. The difference is that Mudge wants to start using the system on trucks, not cars. Fuel taxes, levied by states and the federal government, provide most of the revenue for fixing and building

A loaded Wayne Farms chicken transport truck was involved in an accident about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday on Poole Creek Road in Jones County. There were no injuries, but units from Rustin and Powers volunteer fire departments responded to the scene where the truck lost its load of live chickens, reported Linda Cranford, Jones County Fire Council spokeswoman. The transport truck driver was traveling south on Poole Creek Road when he said a small maroon pickup rounded the curve at the intersection o

Shares of Swift Transportation Co. LLC jumped Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed that the trucking company's top executive had picked up more than a quarter of a million shares. THE SPARK: A Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that CEO Jerry Moyes acquired 280,000 shares at an average price of $6.91. The shares were purchased in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $6.76 to $6.98, the filing said. That's just off the stock's low of $6.33 hit last we

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- The Central Montana Cooperative plans to build a 110-car grain train shuttle loader at the site of its current elevator just west of Fort Benton, making it the fifth loader announced in recent months. "There will be a lot of competition," Keith Schumacher, general manager of Central Montana Cooperative, told the Great Falls Tribune for a story published Wednesday. The co-op owns the current 52-car train loader near Kershaw and has leased it to United Harvest fo

U.S. trucking companies may face a 30 percent surge in wage bills by 2014 as rising demand for freight shipments threatens to push the industry's driver shortage to the longest on record. The current shortfall will double in a year to about 300,000 full-time positions, or 10 percent of the workforce, said Noel Perry, managing director at consultant FTR Associates in Nashville, Indiana. A three-year deficiency would top the 300,000 vacancies lasting for about a year in 2004, he said. A ga

ELDRED, Minn. – A state fire marshal has been called to investigate the cause of an early morning fire that destroyed a grain elevator in Eldred, about 60 miles north of Moorhead on U.S. Highway 75. Firefighters were dispatched at 2:10 a.m. to a fully involved elevator fire at the Farmers Elevator Co. in Eldred. More than 20 Crookston firefighters responded, along with a dozen or so from Beltrami, Climax, Fertile and Fisher who shuttled water with tankers, Crookston Fire Capt. Brian Halos

If you've noticed more farmers markets around in recent years, you aren't imagining things -- local farmers markets in the U.S. doubled from 2,863 in 2000 to 6,132 in 2010 and over 100,000 farmers are selling their products to customers directly. So says an eye-opening report released this month by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) entitled Market Forces: Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems. The report shows that moderate assistance from the federal g

Inspectors from the Texas Department of Public Safety have found a million violations in trucks coming from Mexico into El Paso, Texas between 2007 and 2011, according to a report by the El Paso Times. The report comes just weeks before Mexican trucks will be allowed to begin shipping long-haul freight into U.S. territory. The statistics, obtained by Fox News Latino, show that between the fiscal years of 2007 and the first six months of 2011 the state completed 1.2 million inspections at th

Trucking joined several other sectors in a July slowdown that was the third pullback in the past four months, according to the latest data from the American Trucking Associations . The trade group's truck tonnage index fell 1.3 percent last month after accelerating a revised 2.6 percent in June. Even the June figure was lower. ATA's advance seasonally adjusted index of for-hire truck tonnage initially showed a 2.8 percent increase in June. The index now stands at 114, with the year 2

Central Montana Cooperative is building a 110-car train loader grain elevator at Kershaw, just outside Fort Benton along Highway 87. Construction will begin in September and is scheduled to be completed by fall of 2012. The elevator is within 15 miles of Columbia Grain's 110 car shuttle loader at Carter. EGT announced it will build a new 110-car grain elevator just east of Carter last week. "There will be a lot of competition," said Keith Schumacher, general manager of Central Montana C

KIRKLAND, Wash. - The aerodynamic Kenworth T700 equipped with the PACCAR MX engine will be featured in Kenworth's booth (No. 12137) at the Great American Trucking Show Aug. 25 -27 at the Dallas Convention Center. The fuel-efficient T700 equipped with the low-emission PACCAR MX engine was named the 2011 Commercial Heavy Duty Truck of the Year by the American Truck Dealers this past spring. The winning combination also was featured this year on the popular "Speedmakers" television show on Spee

Forecasters are calling for scorching weather in the Big D this weekend, but cool trucks will keep your mind off the heat. The Great American Trucking Show will be held at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, TX, Aug 25-27. It's the nation's second-largest trucking trade show. You can visit OOIDA at booth 14085. First Observer will also be on hand at booth 21124. Ride and Roll is partnering with Crete Carrier Corp. to give away a bicycle. Register for the drawing at the Ride and Roll

Only One Group of New Ag Funds Offers Individual Investors, Residing in the US, an Opportunity to Participate in the Income and Appreciation Generated by Domestic Grain Farms MILWAUKEE, WI--(Marketwire - Aug 23, 2011) - There are plenty of Funds that accommodate institutional investors, and opportunities abound for investing in farmland outside the U.S. and for investors who reside outside the U.S., but until now, no Fund existed for the small individual investor living in the U.S.

As truck drivers we are known by many names – some are good like " Long Hauler", "Parking Lot", or just plain "Driver". There are others that are bad like "Road Hog", "Truck Driver" (with a demeaning sneer in the voice), and other names that are not appropriate to include on this blog. One title which is not mentioned enough is "Professional Driver". Being a truck driver is not just a job - it is a profession, even if the media and the general public do not recognize it as such. This nega

This is the second in a series of quick profiles of start-up companies. Since 2008, ATDynamics has been selling the TrailerTail, an aerodynamic device that retails for $2,000 and mounts on the back of a semi-trailer to reduce drag and boost fuel efficiency. Employees: 30 full time. Location: South San Francisco, Calif. Founder: Andrew Smith, 35, started ATDynamics in 2006 as an M.B.A. student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where he met his first employee, the engineer J

NEW YORK, NY, Aug 23, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The trucking industry represents a very important component of the US economy. According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the trucking industry adds about 5 percent to the Gross Domestic product each year. With the sudden slowdown in the US economy and high fuel prices, trucking stocks have been on the downswing of late. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the trucking industry and provides equity research on YRC Wo

GALESBURG -- Archer Daniels Midland, 1021 S. Henderson St., notified its 31 employees Monday that the soybean processing facility is closing, effective immediately. Processing operations at the facility will be transferred to other ADM oilseeds facilities, according to an ADM news release. Roman Blahoski, media relations manager for ADM's corporate headquarters in Decatur, said Monday evening the facility has not been doing any processing since April. "During the down time, all

Due to recent growth, J.D. Heiskell & Co. is moving its management headquarters to a new location, according to a news release from the one of Tulare's largest employers. The new office, at 1939 Hillman St. in the Blackstone Professional Plaza, will also house the 125-year-old Tulare business' information technology and human resources departments. The move was made after the company joined with Land O'Lakes in the Golden State Feed and Grain venture. Additional space for new employees result

Local corn growers whose crops weathered the hot and dry conditions that struck unseasonably early this summer may benefit from higher commodity prices. Corn futures climbed in recent weeks as traders digested weekly field progress reports. The past month's roller coaster trading in global markets, though, hasn't helped, said Chris Stansbury, field merchandiser for the Alabama Farmers Cooperative in Decatur. On Monday, the price of corn for September delivery hit $7.21 per bushel, up about

After news of China's refusal to accept U.S. corn containing Syngenta's Agrisure Viptera trait, some grain terminals that send grain to the export market said they wouldn't take it. Now, that decision's coming under fire. •Read more: China spurns corn trait •Talk: China reportedly refuses some corn Officials with Syngenta announced Monday their decision to take legal action against Bunge North America, who they say is "attempting to block the legal merchandising of the Agrisure Viptera tr

Trucks are miserable when it comes to gas mileage. America's 2.2 million freight trucks get about six miles per gallon on average, usually with cargo. And they aren't getting much better. While the gas mileage of cars is exploding, between 1990 and 2006, the average fuel economy of the U.S. truck fleet went from just under six mpg to... a bit more under six mpg in 2009, the Department of Transportation reported in 2009. Since trucks burn more than 10% of total gasoline used in the U.S. each y

A recent Purdue University survey finds that Indiana farmland values are at an all-time high. According to the 2011 Purdue Farmland Value Survey, statewide increases ranged from 22.8 percent to 25.3 percent because of strong grain prices, low interest rates, strong farmland demand and a limited supply of farmland being brought to the market. Experts report that this is the highest rate increase since 1977. THE BACKGROUND The survey found that the value of poor-quality farmland avera

It scrapes the sky, but it's no towering office building. Nonetheless, the new grain silo rising at the Port of Vancouver is likely the tallest structure in Clark County. The silo, made of concrete and reinforced steel, climbs more than 300 feet -- the equivalent of roughly 20 stories. "I don't think any of the (Vancouver) downtown structures comes even close," said Curtis Shuck, the port's director of economic development and facilities. The looming silo was built using the "slipform"

WASHINGTON -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Aug. 18 he agreed with President Obama's statements Aug. 17 that farmers worried about impending regulation should check to make sure the regulations really are moving forward or are just fears being fed by lobbyists in Washington. Asked on a call to reporters whether the administration might address concerns farmers had expressed about regulation during Obama's Midwestern tour, Vilsack said when a farmer asked a related question Aug. 17 in

Farm income is up nationally, and grain prices are high. The economy is down, and Congress is in a cutting mood. So expect the folks in Washington to try to take a sharp knife to federal farm subsidies, which totaled more than $15 billion nationally and nearly $1 billion in Kansas in 2010. Farmers and agriculture groups are grimacing. Farm subsidy opponents are grinning. The direct-payment program is expected to be the main target. Most farmers are resigned to losing at least some of tha

No New Truck Regulations. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. The Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced it has no intention of proposing new regulations for agricultural vehicles. American Farm Bureau Federation Public Policy Director Mark Maslyn says that's a big relief for the nation's farmers and ranchers. MASLYN: This was a very important victory for agriculture. We commend the Department of Transportation for that quic

COLUMBIA -- High corn prices are forcing Missouri livestock producers to change their feeding practices. In addition to looking for substitutes to replace the corn used in feed rations, some are trying to fatten cattle faster than ever on less feed. And as livestock producers face high prices, many are giving up, selling their cattle and turning pasture land into more lucrative corn fields. Corn prices have risen steadily during the past year, and for the first time in 15 years, the price

Decline in weekly Longbow index indicates 'seasonal' uptick in truck supply Shippers had an easier time finding trucks last week after a two-week contraction in supply, according to the latest Longbow Research Truckload Barometer. The weekly index, which rises when truckload capacity tightens, dropped 9.5 percent after rising 15.4 percent in late July and early August. Capacity remains tighter than a year ago, however, Longbow said. Year-to-date, the average index reading is up 31 pe

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Railroad companies could be in for a headache as some major industries are partnering to threaten their record-breaking years. In January, the Surface Transportation Board -- the governmental agency that resolves railroad rates and service disputes and reviews railroad mergers -- said it would review competition in the railroad industry based on numerous complaints from companies that felt physically limited by a single rail carrier, called captive shippers. The

Williamsburg, Ia. - Her father's patented inventions made Kinze Manufacturing synonymous with grain carts and plows. Now 33-year-old Susanne Kinzenbaw Veatch is taking Kinze Manufacturing Inc. deep into agriculture's future of drone equipment. Last month Kinze demonstrated to dealers its new "autonomy" system, developed with Jaybridge Robotics of Cambridge, Mass., which uses guidance communications systems to allow tractors to run without human operators. The drone tractors, commanded e

COSHOCTON -- Although a government agency is predicting average farm income will go up by about 20 percent, area farmers say they're having a difficult time realizing the increase.The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts a 19.8 percent jump in net farm income in 2011. That projection puts U.S. farms at making $94.7 billion for the year. The Lower family has farmed on County Road 93 in Adams Township for more than 75 years. Dave and Mike Lower are the third generation to raise dairy cattle

Mark Lehenbauer still has plenty of questions about this year's crops. He'll get answers in a couple of weeks with an early start to harvest. "Early corn will be average to above average, but yield is going to continually decline as we continue through harvest," Lehenbauer said. "Harvest will move along rapidly. There won't be the volume of grain to move." The summer's hot, dry weather pushed crops to mature faster than usual and robbed a still-to-be-determined percentage of total yield of

Farm income is up nationally, and grain prices are high. The economy is down, and Congress is in a cutting mood. So expect the folks in Washington to try to take a sharp knife to federal farm subsidies, which totaled more than $15 billion nationally and nearly $1 billion in Kansas in 2010. Farmers and agriculture groups are grimacing. Farm subsidy opponents are grinning. The direct-payment program is expected to be the main target. Most farmers are resigned to losing at least some of tha

ZANESVILLE -- After months of financial haggling in Congress and the loss of the United States' AAA credit rating, many Americans are settling in for what could be a shaky financial future. But U.S. farmers are prepping their fields for a profitable year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts a 19.8 percent jump in net farm income in 2011. That projection puts U.S. farms at making $94.7 billion for the year. For Matt Bell, a sixth-generation Zanesville farmer, life on the farm is

Corn use for ethanol is projected to exceed the crop's use for animal feed for the first time in history, reflecting both the growth of the biofuels industry as well as record-high corn prices that are forcing livestock farmers to limit production or turn to other crops for feed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's supply and demand estimates for corn released earlier this month project that 20 million more bushels of corn will go to ethanol plants than to animal feed during the 2010-11 sea

No one wants to see another tractor-trailer crash shut down a highway in Monroe County. Consider Wednesday's scenario, in which a tractor-trailer's brakes failed and caused a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 East in Jackson Township. Or a crash Friday, in which a large amount of oil was spilled onto I-80 East near the Carbon/Monroe county line. The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, state police and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrati

CHICAGO – The overall U.S. economy may be struggling against a double-dip recession but in farm country, the boom times have rarely been better. Farmland prices are setting records and farmer incomes have been buoyed by exports and biofuels, easing the pain of some rough summer weather from drought, floods and fires. Amid China's voracious appetite for grains and worries about climate hurting crops and food supplies in many countries, U.S. agriculture's attraction as the world's breadbas

Lost in the corn hubbub has been the rise of wheat, barley, and other grains. Grains as a whole (pun intended) have risen 54% in the last year, an increase that is devastating for food manufacturers and consumers alike, who both end up sharing the burden. However, some manufacturers may be better suited than others to handle this environment and could come out ahead of their competition. What they're facing US Corn Price Chart by YCharts Since 2007, the average price of corn and whe

The governors of New York and New Jersey vowed not to raise taxes, but that's precisely what has happened in a deal struck Friday with the local port authority to increase truck tolls by 125 percent and car tolls by 67 percent. The fast-tracked plan has left truckers with feelings of betrayal as only a fraction of the new revenue will be used to improve infrastructure. As part of the plan, the $40 truck toll on the George Washington Bridge will become $50 on Sept. 1 of this year. Then the tru

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Crop insurance, research and export promotion should be among the top priorities in the next federal farm bill, say spokesmen for North Dakota agricultural groups, who are bracing for cuts in federal spending. "We'll have less resources to work with," said Shane Goettle, state director for U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. "It's very important that we're communicating solidly what the priorities for the farm bill will be, because those ... will dictate what has to give, and

CLINTON, Iowa-- One person has been injured in an explosion at the Archer Daniels Midland corn processing plant in Clinton. The Clinton Herald is reporting (http://bit.ly/qBsdTT ) the explosion occurred just after 9 p.m. Thursday in an area where welders had been working on duct work that was the exhaust system for corn dryers earlier in the day. XArcher Daniels Midland Incorporated Fire officials say the welders left about a half hour before the explosion occurred and heavy damage was r

CHICAGO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The overall U.S. economy may be struggling against a double-dip recession but in farm country the boom times have rarely been better. Farmland prices are setting records and farmer incomes have been buoyed by exports and biofuels, easing the pain of some rough summer weather from drought, floods and fires. Amid China's voracious appetite for grains and worries about climate hurting crops and food supplies in many countries, U.S. agriculture's attraction as the w

Oskaloosa, Iowa – What do you know of Cargill Corn Milling in Eddyville? You are about to learn more. The next Lunch & Learn sponsored by the Main Street Business Improvement Committee will be led by Erik Ingerslew, Mill Team Leader at Eddyville's facility. He and other colleagues from the facility will be giving an overview of what Cargill does in southern Mahaska County – the products and services provided, plus some history of the site and an overview of the company as a whole. They will shar

USDA's Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC), a program with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), is in its tenth year of protecting American agriculture from invasive pests and diseases. Some of SITC's efforts toward this goal include identifying and closing routes of illegal products originating in foreign countries and products from pest and disease quarantine areas of the U.S. So, what is a SITC Officer's average day like? Well, working in New York Cit

MAXWELL -- A man authorities said was a big-rig driver in training for Swift Transportation Corp. was killed late Wednesday night after he walked into traffic on Interstate 5 at the Maxwell rest stop and was struck by several vehicles. The man's name hasn't been released, pending notification of family members. California Highway Patrol spokesman John Waggoner said it's believed the man was from the Fresno area, and was with a driving instructor from the company when the two pulled into th

CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to report an increase in cattle sent to U.S. feedlots in July compared with a year ago, a sign that beef supplies will grow sharply later this year and then tighten in 2012. The USDA will release the new data in its monthly cattle-on-feed report, due out Friday at 3:00 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT). Brokers expect the data to show a surge in placements across the plains where cattle producers are shrinking their herds in the face

U.S. corn futures are expected to start higher Friday as an unusual purchase by Japan, the world's top buyer of the grain, fuels concerns that output will fall short of expectations. Traders predict corn for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, will open up 2 cents to 4 cents a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade. In overnight electronic trading, the contract rose 3 1/4 cents, or 0.5%, to $7.16 1/4 a bushel. Japan's purchase is expected to drive prices higher as it stru

A federal law requiring fuel companies to mix two per cent renewable fuel into home heating oil and diesel is in effect in the west, and truckers are complaining that will raise costs. The federal law started July 1, but provinces from Quebec east are exempt until the end of 2012 because of problems with supply. Truckers already under the law are complaining fuel prices have increased anywhere from two to eight cents a litre. "This is really a tax on fuel that will be paid by truckers, b

Grain Growers of Canada and Canadian Foodgrains Bank want to encourage farmers to respond to the needs of people experiencing famine and hunger in east Africa by making a donation to the Foodgrains Bank. "Many of us know what's it's like to lose a crop to drought," said Stephen Vandervalk, President of the Grain Growers of Canada, "but we've never faced the extreme challenges facing farmers in east Africa, with the total crop failures and no reserves." According to John Longhurst, who dire

KIMBALL -- Chuck Jepson is excited to see the dirt fly. Work on a massive grainloading facility has begun this week between Kimball and White Lake. Jepson, whose Liberty Grain LLC group plans to build what he's previously referred to as an "elevator on steroids" about six miles east of Kimball, said topsoil is being stripped for building sites and roads. Starting next week, he estimates 40,000 cubic yards of dirt will be moved per week. By the end of September 2012, he expects th

Federal highway officials have decided that farmers who operate tractors, combines and semitrailers can keep driving on rural roads without the kind of rules that apply to long-haul truckers. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week it won't require farmers to get commercial driver's licenses after agriculture groups and lawmakers from rural states flooded Washington with letters opposing the idea. It's a victory for farmers who argued that requiring them to carry commerci

While the condition of Nebraska's corn crop continues to decline slightly, it's still doing relatively well compared to most of the nation's corn. For the week ending Sunday, Nebraska's corn crop was rated 75 percent good or excellent, compared to the previous week's 79 percent good or excellent, as the impact of the crop's late start and the July heat wave continues to take a toll, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service, Nebraska Field Offi

The U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly released estimates it usually keeps under wraps, shedding more light on how much this year's flooding disrupted wheat plantings and roiling grain markets. Traders caught on to the new data set, posted on the USDA's web site, earlier this week and latched on to figures indicating that the size of the nation's prized fall wheat crop could be smaller than expected. View Full Image Associated Press Wheat being harvested last June in a field n

HILLS PRAIRIE -- Sitting patiently in a hay-strewn pen he made himself, Charles Schroeder, wearing dusty denim and a red gimme cap, makes an unlikely nanny. But in a soft and high voice, he coaxes his 2-week-old calf to nurse with all the gentleness of a mother. After all, he said, "I'm the cow." The 61-year-old Bastrop County rancher bottle-feeds this and two other calves twice a day because drought has forced Schroeder to sell off his older cows. More than 99 percent of Texas is in some

Steven Spielberg once got on the wrong side of truckers with his debut as a director, in a mediocre 1971 movie called "Duel." This was before many terrific Spielberg films, from "Jaws" to "The Color Purple" to "Schindler's List" to "Saving Private Ryan." Florida "Duel" was about a businessman in a little Plymouth Valiant being chased across a California desert by a huge and homicidal Peterbilt, apparently because the unseen truck driver was annoyed over being passed as he was trying to h

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says much of the state is dry and in need of rain as the quality of the corn crop dipped slightly. Northey released his weekly crop report Monday saying corn was in 67 percent good to excellent condition, down slightly from last week and 1 percentage point behind the average. Soybeans were in 70 percent good to excellent condition. Northey says the big issue for Iowa is the need for rain. Topsoil moisture was 46 percent short or very short w

GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- A joint venture between U.S., Japanese and Korean companies plans to build a third high-speed shuttle-loader grain elevator in Montana. The high-capacity grain elevators are capable of loading a 110-car train in less than 10 hours. The company, EGT, plans to complete the new elevator east of Carter by next summer. The Great Falls Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/qFhCfM ) that EGT is already completing two other grain elevators in Chester and near Nashua. The company

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM), the largest processor of grain in the world, has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Poland's Elstar Oils, a vegetable oils processing company. Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM)'s proposed acquisition's news has raised Elstar's shares 53 percent to z?.5.25 Brent Fenton, president of Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) Europe, said that, "Poland is an important origination and consumer market for Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM). Elstar's l

Federal highway officials have decided that farmers who operate tractors, combines and semitrailers can keep driving on rural roads without the same kind of regulations that apply to long-haul truckers. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that it won't require farmers to get commercial driver's licenses after agriculture organizations and lawmakers from farm states flooded Washington with letters opposed to the idea. It's a victory for farmers who argued that requirin

China's struggle to meet the growing demands of its middle class is fueling a sudden surge in demand for corn, sending vast ripples across the U.S. farm belt and potentially upending the grain's trade flows around the world. China's need for corn--which forms the basis of sweeteners, starch and alcohol as well as feed for livestock--was on stark display in July when the nation ordered 21 million bushels of U.S. corn in one hit, more than the U.S. government thought the country would buy in a

Bluestem has been following the Goodhue County controversy over a potential silica sand mine near Red Wing; the sand would be used for "fracking" shale to extract natural gas. Now the issue has trickled to another county. One in the heart of Drazistan. The Winona Daily News reports in Wabasha County puts moratorium on frac sand mines: Wabasha County put a moratorium this week on all new mining operations, a move primarily related to recent interest in mining silica sand - also know

EPA'10 versions of the Mack Pinnacle model are said to deliver a 10 percent or more improvement in fuel efficiency over EPA'07, demonstrating expertise the company plans to capitalize upon under SuperTruck. Mack Trucks, Inc. and Volvo Group's North American truck-related operations will participate in the development of technologies to improve the freight-moving efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of a SuperTruck contract with the U.S. Department of Ener

Cut Bank farmer Roger Sammons planted his wheat crop in mid-May and then drove south for more than two months. He was not leading the leisurely, laid-back lifestyle of a gentleman farmer. Far from it. Rather, Sammons was heading out for his eighth season leading a team of custom cutters who harvest wheat and other crops for farmers as far away as north-central Texas. They work their way back to Montana, serving some repeat customers with standing agreements while landing extra work w

President Obama last week set commercial truck fuel-economy standards for the first time, unveiling regulations that mandate up to a 20% cut in fuel use and address the complicated broad universe of vehicle sizes and applications. (L&MT Report, Aug. 9.) Reaction to the regulations was almost unanimously positive from trucking, truck and engine manufacturers, environmental groups and others. "Today's announcement by President Obama is welcome news to us in the trucking industry," American

FERGUS, Ont. -- At 49 years of age, Robert St. Vincent is by no means old. But old school? He'll wear that badge with pride. The 18th annual Truck News Owner/Operator of the Year got started in the trucking industry early. His father owned a small transfer company in the 1950s, instilling in St. Vincent a passion for trucking. "Every chance I had, I'd go with him for a ride and I just loved being in that truck," St. Vincent recalled. His aspirations, however, involved bigger trucks and far-o

A tractor-trailer driver died early Friday morning when police say he was run over by his own big rig. Police believe Reginald Bailey, 70, of Lebanon, N.H., pulled over on the side of Interstate 89 in Berlin to go to the bathroom. While standing in front of the cab, the truck rolled over Bailey, dragging him for several feet. The truck continued to roll across the northbound lanes and the median before coming to rest in the southbound lane. Bailey was pronounced dead at the hospital.

We all spend a lot of time trying to find business, but how much time do you spend making sure businesses can find you? Creating a demand for your services, and making yourself known, is just as important (if not more, some would argue) as going after business opportunities. Directory and profile listings, like on LinkedIn, are important for networking and posting your services for hire on places like BulkLoadsNow can be the start of creating a demand for yourself. Here are a few tips for mar

GRAND ISLAND, Neb.-- Eight drivers are representing the Nebraska trucking industry at the national competition in Orlando, Fla., this week. The drivers all won the chance to represent Nebraska by winning one of the categories at the Nebraska Truck Driving Championships in June. The competition is designed to promote safety while drivers showcase their skills in tests such as an alley dock, side park and right turn. Drivers also have to navigate an obstacle course that designed to represent c

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) has agreed to buy a majority stake in Polish biodiesel maker Elstar Oils SA, (ELS.WA). The Decatur, Ill., company did not disclose purchase terms for Elstar, of northern Poland, which also manufactures refined vegetable oils and fats for food companies. "Poland is an important origination and consumer market for ADM. Elstar's location in the heart of a rapeseed-growing region, with easy access to the ports of Gdansk and Gdynia, complements our existing pr

Gary Jones lost his job in December after working in construction for nearly 30 years. At 55 and retirement still years away, he needed a new career and a steady paycheck. He got his wish. Jones recently juggled six job offers and expects to earn $40,000 over the next year by joining the ranks of the 3.5 million truckers who shuttle freight on American roads. The transportation industry needs a lot more people like Jones to fill a nationwide shortage of truckers that may hit 300,000 next year

Cargill chief Greg Page, who runs the largest U.S. agricultural company, has a good idea whom to blame for the global surge in food prices at the end of 2010: governments. Page urged 708 delegates and guests at the National Grain and Feed Association convention in San Diego in March to take action. He said government hoarding was the biggest contributor to the rise in prices, which had soared 15 percent from October through January and pushed 44 million people into poverty, according to the W

Wheat is not something I think about a lot. Sure, I prefer unbleached flour, and I vacillate between buying white and whole wheat, but, as with most things in food, when I began digging a little I realized wheat has a complicated life story. One guy who has a lot of wheat history to share is Karl Kupers. Like many farmers I've met, he's homey but also sophisticated, a combination that seems necessary in an ever-consolidating world of farming. Rather than buy up neighbors' acreage to beco

Far more uncertainty is now projected for truck freight volumes going forward, according to the latest analysis conducted by research firm FTR Associates, largely because the U.S. economy is performing far more poorly than previously thought. Share Article Tools Bookmark Email Reprint Save Print Comment Advertisement Advertisement During its quarterly "State of Freight" webcast, FTR President Eric Starks said the firm's previous projection

Good news for farmers came from Washington this week as the U.S. Department of Transportation issued "common sense" guidelines for agricultural trucking, according to Kankakee County Farm Bureau Manager Chad Miller. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Wednesday released the guidelines, "designed to make sure states clearly understand the common sense exemptions that allow farmers, their employees and their families to accomplish their day-to-day work and transport their pr

LINCOLN – A Taiwanese company has agreed to buy $55 million worth of corn-based plastics made in Blair. Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy, on an Asian trade mission, announced Friday that Wei Mon Industry Co. has signed a letter of intent to make the purchases by the end of 2013. The bio-plastic is manufactured at the Cargill plant in Blair. The Taiwanese government has set goals for the reduction of conventional plastics, creating new markets for the corn-based material, Sheehy said in a news release.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Most truckers didn't do too well on a 14-question survey designed to determine driver understanding of CSA. In fact, it appears a majority of them flat out flunked the test. The questionnaire was part of a broader CSA survey among drivers conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the research arm of the American Trucking Associations. ATRI said the 14 questions covered the principal elements of CSA. In releasing the resu

McPherson County -- The long, hot, dry summer has taken its toll on the state's fall crops and Thursday the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service officially revised its production prospective to reflect a growing number of failed acres. Corn for grain production is forecasted at 495 million bushels this fall, down 15 percent from last year, despite a year-over-year increase in the number of acres planted to corn in 2011. The number of corn acres industry experts expect to be harvested

DECATUR, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced the appointment of Craig Huss to chief risk officer; Joe Taets to senior vice president and president, Agricultural Services; and Domingo Lastra to vice president, Business Growth. All three individuals will report to ADM Chief Operating Officer Juan R. Luciano, and their appointments are effective immediately. "ADM has an unrivaled business model and an exceptionally talented team with a strong commi

Bunge Ltd. (BG), Argentina's second- biggest corn exporter, owes about $100 million in taxes for fiscal 2006 and 2007, according to a claim by the country's tax agency, the company said. Last month, Bunge received a preliminary income tax audit report and claim from Argentina's tax authorities for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, the White Plains, New York-based grain trader said in a securities filing Aug. 9. Argentine tax authorities have inspected several Bunge locations in the country ove

Ten largest liquid, dry bulk tank truckers increased sales to $3.1 billion The nation's top bulk trucking companies increased revenue 12.3 percent in 2010, with combined sales reaching $3.1 billion, according to SJ Consulting Group. Ranked by revenue, Kenan Advantage Group was the largest of the tank-truck companies, with $772 million in sales last year, a 14.9 percent increase from 2009. Based in North Canton, Ohio, Kenan is the 21st largest trucking company in the U.S., SJ Consulti

Federal forecasts show U.S. farmers will harvest dramatically less grain and soybeans than expected this year, failing to ease high prices and rebuild low global supplies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its monthly crop report Thursday slashed its outlook for the autumn harvests after damaging heat and dryness took its toll on corn and soybean fields in July, while excessive rains hampered spring wheat plantings. The agency now forecast farmers to produce 12.914 billion bushels of

Commercial Motor, the UK's largest weekly road transport magazine, teamed up with Railways Illustrated to stage a "head to head" challenge pitting a truck against a freight train. The purpose: to prove in real-life operating conditions, which mode of transport could deliver the goods to their destination in the quickest time. Mercedes-BenzUKlaid on a flagship Euro 5 Actros 1860 MegaSpace 4x2 tractor unit, which was up against the latest GM Class 66 Train. Simultaneously departing from DIRFT (

These days, U.S. farm policy is blamed for a lot of things -- even the nation's obesity epidemic. The idea is that the roughly $15 billion in annual subsidies that the federal government gives to farmers encourages them to grow too much grain. As a result, the theory goes, prices drop, food gets cheaper and we end up eating too much. It seems like a simple equation. But the truth is rarely simple. Americans Eat Cheap The net effect of the whole set of farm supports is to make food more

Seaboard Corp. recorded large gains in sales and profits during the second quarter, helped by a $51.4 million gain on the sale of two power-generating facilities in the Dominican Republic. Here is a summary of Seaboard's financial results for the three months that ended July 2, compared with the same quarter the prior year: Net sales: $1.4 billion, up 33.4 percent Net earnings attributable to Seaboard: $113.49 million, up 46.2 percent Earnings per share: $93.34, compared with $63

LaBELLE, Mo. -- Archer Daniels Midland will dramatically expand its grain elevator in LaBelle, with parts of the expansion ready in time for this year's harvest, the company announced Tuesday. The elevator's storage capacity will triple as ADM builds a 720,000-bushel grain storage bin at the facility in western Lewis County, which buys corn, soybeans and wheat from local growers. The company also intends to add a new receiving pit, a load out and a 140,000-bushel wet storage bin, as well as

By Tom Webb [email protected] Updated: 08/09/2011 10:03:44 PM CDT Everything's big at Cargill. Including its profits. The agribusiness giant earned a record $4.2 billion in fiscal 2011, a whopping 63 percent jump from the previous year, when profits from its fertilizer company spinoff Mosaic are included. And Cargill on Tuesday cemented its place as Minnesota's largest corporation, as measured by sales, with $120 billion in annual revenue. That's four times the revenue of 3

Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to improve fuel economy for heavy-duty trucks will probably aim to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by about 20 percent by 2018, said Glen Kedzie, vice president at the American Trucking Associations. The standard will probably set a 6 percent engine- efficiency improvement target, said Kedzie, who is also environmental counsel at the Arlington, Virginia-based industry group and has been briefed by the Environmental Protection Agency and t

What to do with $100? I'm sure most of us can come with a never-ending list of things to spend the money on – new clothes, video games, maybe even bills. But for 55 Truckload Carriers Assn. (TCA) members, the challenge is simple: pay it forward. The idea, presented at the recent TCA Refrigerated Division annual meeting in Albuquerque, is not something new. In fact, a book and movie, starring Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey, and Haley Joel Osment, were created based on the concept. But in trucking

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 9, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Over 400 top professional truck drivers from all across the U.S. will be heading for Orlando, Fla. for the 2011 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC) and National Step Van Driving Championships (NSVDC), to be held August 9-13, 2011 in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The "Super Bowl of Safety" is sponsored annually by the American Trucking Associations. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100129/ATALOGO ) T

Tyson Foods Inc. said Monday that its profit fell 21 percent for its third fiscal quarter on higher grain costs and lagging results from its chicken business. An oversupply in the poultry industry has kept prices depressed. Poultry demand has remained stubbornly low as cash-strapped families cut back on restaurant dining and prepared meals that once underpinned chicken sales. At the same time, the cost of feeding a chicken has soared more than 10 cents a pound since 2009 because of sharp

BRIDGEVILLE -- Perdue Farms showed off a sprawling new, fully operational solar array on Monday, with seven football fields' worth of panels powering a feed mill and grain facility next door. Officials with the poultry company and Washington Gas Energy Services, which owns the panels, said that at 6,720 panels, it's currently Delaware's largest solar farm. It won't enjoy that distinction for long, as the Dover SunPark, a significantly larger solar facility, is expected to be dedicated late

CHATHAM, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 8, 2011) - AGRIS Co-operative Ltd. board president Larry Pajot is pleased to announce today that an agreement has been reached to donate property owned by AGRIS located in Comber, Ontario to the Comber Agricultural Society. The property located on 77 highway in Comber has become available as grain storage facilities became consolidated to other larger collection points better suited geographically for farmers. Robert Hornick, president of the Comber Agricu

In a reversal of historic patterns, the price of corn is higher than wheat, an anomaly that is upending commodities-trading strategies and changing what poultry producers feed their chickens. Tyson Foods Inc. and Pilgrim's Pride Corp., which together process 3.7 billion chickens a year, have begun sprinkling wheat into chicken feed, traditionally a corn-based concoction. Livestock and ethanol producers also are turning to wheat as a supplement to corn. The changes are a response to a surge

The telephone rang at 6:30 a.m. It was my wife. Her first sentence: "We had 24-hundredths of an inch of rain last night." I relished every word as if they were drops slowly soaking into parched earth. For the previous two days I had been moving our cattle to another paddock where there might just be enough grass to graze for one more week. The temperature had been 106 degrees yesterday, and 106 the day before. The water jug was never far out of sight, and breaks in the shade came often.

BRIGHTON, Colo., Aug. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mark Lannerd, of Denver, was named the best professional truck driver in Colorado after winning the three-axle competition at the 2011 Colorado Truck Driving Championships. The annual event is sponsored by Colorado Motor Carriers Association. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100129/ATALOGO ) Lannerd, who drives for Conway Freight, now qualifies to compete in the American Trucking Associations' National Truck Driving Champi

LUBBOCK - Every year Texas grain producers must also entrust their livelihoods with the grain buyers and warehouses they do business with. When grain producers deliver the bounty of their crops to grain elevators, they expect those companies to fulfill their contractual obligation to remit timely payments or adequately maintain the grain in storage. In light of a number of grain facility closures and financial failures across the state in recent years that resulted in millions of dollars in l

Tim Strobel has been driving a tractor for 20 years, so he's a bit puzzled that federal officials are kicking around an idea that could ultimately force him - and anyone else operating farm machinery - to get a commercial driver's license. Yes, the same kind of license that interstate truckers must have to operate their rigs. "I am not against some training, but this is going a little bit overboard," said Strobel, a dairy farmer from Watertown. The U.S. Department of Transportation has