Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

Just before noon on Thursday, December 29, 2022, reports of a tractor trailer hauling grain crashing off MO-126 near State Route M in western Barton County alerted the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Tpr S. Carpenter of Troop D tells us the driver of the hauler was not injured in the crash.

A semi truck careened off of Interstate 10 in Tucson on Tuesday after the driver passed out at the wheel. The accident happened on December 27th in Tucson, Arizona on Interstate 10 near Valencia Road. According to News 4 Tucson, the trucker was driving along I-10 wh

US shippers of grain, food and other products expect to face better prospects for logistics in 2023, hoping much of the COVID-induced issues are in the past as well as a nationwide strike by railroad workers that was averted by legislative action.

But compared to the trucking bloodbath of 2019, the industry hasnt seen a wave of large firms declaring bankruptcy. Trucking companies, instead, seem keen on expanding. Hiring activity, according to federal data that tracks preemployment queries for commercial drivers, has actually increased. Federal employment data reflects that trucking payrolls have increased by around 55,600 drivers, or a 3.6% increase, from January to November.

The Illinois Farm Bureau has significantly increased funds earmarked for commercial drivers license scholarships in 2023 to $100,000. President Rich Guebert tells Brownfield their members have been widely impacted by trucking shortages.

U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse says livestock haulers have different needs than other truckers because of the live cargo theyre carrying

Our rundown of OOIDAs biggest accomplishments in celebration of the Associations 50th anniversary continues with a look at hours of service. Through an onslaught of proposal and rulemakings, OOIDA has consistently had one goal at front of mind: providing truckers the flexibility to do their job.

When Carl Johnson founded City Dray Line in 1920, the Prohibition era had just begun, Warren G. Harding was elected president, and car production was starting to ramp up to meet the demands of middle-class Americans. The trucking industry as we know it today was in its infancy.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data shows the number of monthly net operating authority revocations in 2021 surpassed the most recent pre-pandemic peak in 2021. The current figure is roughly double 2019. But that doesnt mean each revocation resulted in a truck hitting the used market.

Lance Lillibridge, a farmer in east central Iowa, knows farmings ups and downs. He has been in this business since he was "knee-high to a grasshopper" and is the first of a family of farmers to own his land. But he said the sharp increase in fertilizer prices this year has put him in a challenging position.

One of the biggest problems in trucking is the way some shippers, receivers, brokers and others coerce truckers into situations where they end up violating the regulations. Of course, if things go south, its the trucker who faces the consequences. However, OOIDA some years ago fought to get a regulation on the books to combat that. Well find out how it all happened from Jay Grimes of OOIDA.

The $1.7 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, is an omnibus spending bill that combines 12 appropriations packages, including $106 billion to fund the U.S. Department of Transportation. Congress is expected to approve and pass the 4,155-page bill by the end of the week to avoid a partial government shutdown before the Christmas holiday.

The Atlantic Grains Council, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Grain Growers of Quebec, and Ontario Bean Growers are calling on the federal government to send the estimated $34.1 million paid in fertilizer tariffs up to June 30, 2022 directly to those farmers who paid it.

Heads of some publicly traded companies, including U.S. Xpress and Werner, suggested that smaller carriers could falter given market challenges. CEOs noted issues such as lower spot rates along with higher fuel costs and interest rates.

Several trucking companies, logistics firms and cold storage providers are collectively owed millions of dollars after an Iowa-based frozen meat importer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection recently. South American Beef Inc., headquartered in West Des Moines, filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Iowa last week.

In addition, continuing discussion about a coming recession isnt inspiring confidence. On Dec. 14, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the seventh time in 2022, this time by a mere half percent. The good news is that the increase was only 0.5% instead of the .75% amount of the previous four jumps, purportedly indicating that inf

Firefighters were battling a fire at The Andersons Inc. Hemlock elevator and storage facility, 485 S. Hemlock Road, for more than 13 hours that began Sunday night. According to Richland Township Fire Chief Jeremy Scott, firefighters from 29 different departments from across and outside of Saginaw County had the blaze 95% contained as of 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 19.

In August 1997, the Teamsters walked off the job at UPS Inc. in the first non-wildcat strike in the relationships long history. With an all-Teamsters labor force and no plans to call in replacement workers to deliver goods, UPS shuttered its massive U.S. ground delivery network rather than risk permanently damaging its reputation with customers.

"We have closed a few origination facilities in North Dakota due to travel concerns in the area," the spokesperson said, including "a few grain elevators and a few edible bean facilities."

And maintaining a truck is an expensive endeavor. And the stress of doing that is made all the worse by the economics of trucking right now, with low rates and high fuel costs, among other factors. And while most truckers are keeping up, is everyone?

New-truck, maintenance costs could sideline fleets, harm economy, industry warns

When I first met Missouri-based Jared Flinn, operating partner of the BulkLoads.com load board specializing in bulk freight, that business was at the two-guys-in-a-basement stage, following Flinns work trucking himself a little, then managing logistics for a big commodities outfit

Earlier emergency orders have been extended in Georgia for supply chain and oversize permits and in Nebraska for driving hours hauling fuel. Citing the ongoing need for relief due to regional fuel shortages, acting Gov. Mike Foley signed Executive Order 22-07 on Dec. 1 temporarily authorizing drivers in Nebraska to work extended hours when transporting diesel, biodiesel, gasoline or gasoline blends, fuel oil, ethanol and propane. Gov. Pete Ricketts (who was on overseas travel Dec. 1) issued t

A historic drought on the river has shuttered the critical node of barge transportation, leaving farmers and other shippers searching for alternative options to get their goods to port before winter. From the waterhead in Minnesota down to the port in New Orleans, barges deliver over 60 percent of corn and soybean exports and around $100 billion worth of cargo every year, including fuel, grain, industrial chemicals, and building materials.

Water shortages, supply chain issues, inflation create challenges, almond industry leaders say.

Grain contracts and the problems many farmers had during last years drought were discussed during a panel discussion at the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) annual general meeting in Saskatoon on Friday.