Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

A series of severe storms barreled across the U.S. Friday night, producing rare mid-December tornadoes. The system proved deadly as it ravaged areas across the Midwest and South. Officials said Sunday the current death toll in Kentucky could be as low as 50 or as high as 100, with at least 14 deaths reported in other states.

Producers are over-ordering supplies for 2022, farmers are considering new cash crops, while others are getting out of the business.

2100 employees will be laid off right before Christmas. Central Freight Lines is the largest trucking company to close since Celadon ceased operations in 2019.

One of several tornadoes that raked through the Mid-South and central sections of the U.S. Friday night and into early Saturday morning toppled big rigs along Interstate 55 near Steele, Missouri, before going on to create further devastation.

Amid what one trucking analyst calls an everything shortage, shippers enter 2022 with heavy volumes of truck shipments bracing for continued higher ground freight rates. Those rates can run in the double-digit percentage increaseson top of 2021s increases. Those increased freight rates tended to be upward of 10% for shippers whose freight did not match carriers needs in this sellers market.

STUTTGART, ARKANSAS, US Riceland Foods, Inc., the worlds largest miller and marketer of rice, will invest $13.2 million to expand its plant in Stuttgart. The move comes in response to unprecedented growth in the cooperatives domestic packaged business, Riceland said. As part of the expansion, Riceland will add two new packaging lines in Stuttgart. The cooperative also will invest in additional renovations of existing facilities and updates to existing produ

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US After two years of reorganizing, rightsizing the portfolio and getting the balance sheet where it needs to be the so-called fix phase, Bunge Ltd. is ready to embark on the growth phase, said Gregory A. Heckman, chief executive officer. The fix phase, Heckman said, was all about growing earnings and improving the underlying earning power of the business to grow off of. In the growth phase, Bunge gets to focus on expanding its

At a time when owner-operators and CDL holders of all types are seeing record income, rates, and demand for their services, Overdrive sister publication Commercial Carrier Journal's Solutions Summit brought together leaders from fleets small and large for a panel discussion focused on just what makes drivers want to stick around.

Jared brings on a popular guest, Tim Brady, to discuss business forecasting and the new year. Tim explains what steps a business owner should take to plan for the next year ahead. He goes over market trends and how to consider them while planning.

Trucking is one of the most profitable businesses in the industry. That is because its relevant to almost every field of work. Every company, store, market requires shipment of goods, and this import-export chain cannot commence without the involvement of a carrier company. Most entrepreneurs who seek to profit as truck business owners mainly start as owner-operators and drive a little themselves before the

As insurance costs balloon for motor carriers in the age of nuclear verdicts and reptile litigation, Jean Gardner and Schuie Yankelewitz, CEO and COO of the Central Analysis Bureau (CAB) respectively, told attendees at the CCJ Solutions Summit last week the secret to keeping insurance underwriters on your side: Tell your story before the driver data tells it for you.

Finding the right gift for the trucker in your life is hard. Land Line Magazines Tyson Fisher shares his Cool Gift guide for the holidays.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. While global supply chain issues are reportedly easing, Florida farmers told lawmakers this week that perishable items with short shelf lives continue to struggle in being moved from fields to markets.

Delaware Express represents another strategic acquisition that bolsters the Quantix fleet of specialized assets and reinforces the companys footprint in the Mid-Atlantic region, a release stated.

The driver shortage has been one of the transportation industrys hottest topics for years, and the coronavirus pandemic has put additional pressure on the shrinking driver workforce. In an industry reeling from early retirements and halted driving school programs, an effective strategy for recruiting and retaining drivers is more important than ever.

Timpte is recalling certain 2022 Bulk Commodity Hopper trailers based on information from ZF Wabco about iABS Electronic Control Unit assembly issues, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents.

When Bill Ross started farming, the investment in machinery was a lot different than the requirements for a farmer today. His dad bought a 1948 International B, a two-row planter, a two-row cultivator and a seven-foot sickle mower, thats what he started farming with, said his son, Jim.

Temporarily raising the 80,000 lb. truck weight limit in California to 88,000 lbs. largely misses the mark when it comes to relieving historic congestion at the states ports, according to trucking experts. Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced that the state will begin issuing temporary permits to allow trucks to gross upwards of 88,000 pounds on state and intrastate routes between statewide ports and distribution centers.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The trucking industry has been feeling the impact of the nationwide worker shortage for some time. Now, new federal regulations may make it even more difficult to find drivers. K & J Trucking Inc. President Shelley Koch has been part of her familys trucking business since she was a little girl. And, for years, K & J Trucking has been able to train some of its own drivers. Beginning in February, this will no longer be allowed.

The American Transportation Research Institutes latest trucking costs data suggest last year was good for carriers, but maybe not so much for drivers. ATRIs newest study, An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2021 Update, shows the average trucking costs per mile fell 3.1% in 2020 to $1.646 from $1.699. Per hour, costs are showing a similar trend. According to the data, costs actually went up in most categories. However, significant declines in fuel pri

The HOS rule limits truckers to 11 hours of driving time and 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time in any 24-hour period and requires prescribed rest periods. At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and prompted by NPPCs efforts to ensure pork producers could continue transporting hogs, the FMCSA included livestock haulers in an initial emergency declaration that provided an exemption from the HOS regulation for commercial truckers hauling essential supplies, including live

Were pleased the FMCSA recognized the challenges COVID still presents and the problems it has created, including supply chain issues, for the livestock industry and acted accordingly, said NPPC President Jen Sorenson. Extending the HOS waiver ensures that livestock truckers can get hogs to market safely and efficiently. Likewise, truckers hauling livestock feed can get those essential supplies to farms. In August, the FMCSA extended the waiver to Nov. 30, 20

Freight brokers are required to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations regulations for licensing. There are a few different types of operating authority licenses that freight brokers need to operate within the US, depending on the type of cargo they broker. All of the different types of freight broker operating authority require brokers to meet certain requirements, including being bonded with a freight broker surety bond. Here is some information about freight br

A group of Mississippi Delta farmers is suing Missouri-based UMB Bank in federal court after the bank seized their fall harvests as collateral from Express Grain, a Greenwood grain elevator and biodiesel refinery. The farmers, in a class action lawsuit, claim UMB Bank knew Express Grain was teetering on financial collapse and propped the company up through the fall soybean and corn harvest until it could fill its silos at the end of September.

Trucking is one of the most profitable businesses in the market today because almost every sales market requires the import and export of goods. How expensive it may seem to run a trucking business once you apprehend its features.

Labor shortages continue to plague the ag industry, and the livestock industry is no exception. Jara Settles with the Livestock Marketing Association says the labor squeeze goes beyond processing facilities. Even our own livestock auction markets members have been seeing labor as a huge challenge, she says. But particularly in the trucking context, going into the pandemic, we already had a trucking shortage. She tells Brownfield one of the unique challenges facing

Governor Bill Lee has joined 14 other Republican governors pushing Operation Open Road a combined effort to deregulate trucking as the nation experiences supply chain issues.

FMCSA grants another extension for hours of service waiver for haulers of water and livestock feed VIEW THIS RELEASE ONLINE: governor.ND.gov

Winding across a hilly, gravel road in Crockett, Virginia, is where youll find Allen Dix every day of the week except Sunday. This is part of my 75-mile mail route that I travel six days a week, he says.

Covid-19 clearly disrupted supply chains, but it also seems the pandemic had a measurable impact on the costs of trucking in 2020. The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) tracked a 1.2 mph increase in average truck speeds and 20.6% increase in deadhead miles compared to 2019, while average annual mileage per truck dropped to 143,808 km and fuel costs plunged. Overall, marginal costs per mile dropped 3.1% to $1.646, largely because of drops in fuel and driver benefit costs. (All

CGB Enterprises, Inc., a leader in the grain and transportation industries since 1969, today announced that its subsidiary, Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. (CGB), has acquired Agspring Logistics, LLC's business assets operated under the trade name Agforce Transport Services (Agforce).

American businesses are not facing a truck driver shortage as much as they are failing to fully utilize the drivers who are already on the job, a U.S. research scientist has argued. The issue of Americas truck drivers not as a crisis of head count, but rather of working hours, David Correll of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Transportation and Logistics said in a presentation to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and I

Ag Processing Inc. (AGP) is seeking approximately $1.5 million in state and local financing as part of a planned $72 million expansion of its soybean processing facility in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, US. AGP previously expanded the Sergeant Bluff facility in 2017 with the addition of a soybean oil refinery.

Arguably no image is more closely associated with trucking than a driver with a CB radio in one hand and the steering wheel in the other as the truck roars down the highway. Citizens band, or CB, radio, has been around since the 1940s but was popularized in the 1970s by movies like Smokey and the Bandit, Breaker! Breaker! and Convoy. While CB radios are almost synonymous with the commercial trucking industry in the public imagination, trucking compani

Jones and Company Insurors will be happy to provide a quote for your commercial insurance policy needs. Please fill out the attached quote sheet and return it to the following email address: Trucking@jonesinsurors.com. Please be sure to include a copy of your current commercial policy if you are able. We will work quickly to provide the best quote for your needs. Thank you.

St. Louis trucking company Red Bird Carriers is giving away hundreds of turkeys to police officers and firefighters at its downtown location on Friday. Frankly, its a very simple message for us, and its just a thank you! said Red Bird Vice President Brian Hayes. Red Bird Carriers said more than 200 turkeys will go to St. Louis police officers in Districts 3 and 4, more than 30 will go to the citys fire department, and more than 20 will go to the SWAT

A new platform is aiming to push the trucking industry forward by pairing independent truck owners with licensed drivers to create a scalable fleet.

American long-haul truck drivers are seriously underutilized, and the problem comes from the scheduling practices of shippers and receivers, an expert from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.

Laura Reny has been an over-the-road truck driver since 2014. The Idaho resident got into the trucking industry full time to pay the bills after her husband passed away from a long illness. She was 63 when she first took the wheel with her CDL as a widow. Shes now 70 and has no plans to stop anytime soon.

Growing Consumption of urea-based nitrogenous fertilizers will help to boost the global nitrogen fertilizer market in the forecasted time period. Nitrogen Fertilizer is one of the most common kinds of fertilizers created out of nitrogen (N) chemical combinations. It is considered as an organic fertilizer, the plant nutrient must contain 5% minimum of nitrogen. Urea is the most extensively used nitrogenous fertilizer around the world, mainly because of the high nitrogen content (46%). However,

More than 195,000 drivers still hold operating authority gained over past 16 months, FTR analysis shows