Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

Details are skimpy at this point, but a lot more refiners are going to need to account for ethanol somehow in their operations The most recent shift in the Trump administrations policy on biofuels, particularly ethanol, is likely to have an impact in the transportation sector both on the rails and on the roads. Tracking the ups and downs of U.S. regulation on biofuels can be head-spinning. But what reports this week said is about to happen is that the administration is going to roll ba

Total Quality Logistics (TQL) has confirmed that it was the victim of a serious data breach that exposed sensitive carrier information. Just before 6 a.m. on February 27, TQL stated on their company website that We confirmed a data breach of our IT systems which compromised the security of our online portals for carriers. TQL says that so far, there have been less than 20 carriers identified where ACH (Automated Clearing House) payment theft may have occurred and that they are w

Anthony and Zach explain the primary cost drivers of operating a trucking company and the market influences that drive the pricing volatility on both contracted and transactional freight movements. Also, an update on the coronavirus situation and what we are seeing in the economy today that may affect your life tomorrow.

Since 1962, there have been almost 200 grain bin accidents in the state and Minnesota is one of the top three states, alongside Iowa and Indiana. In the past year, eight people have died from grain bin accidents. However, more than just user error is to blame. "I have a heavy heart thinking about that when you think about how that's affecting farm families, and young families especially," said local farmer Matt Alford.

The market in 2019 was brutal on us and we did everything in our power to survive, but then a couple of months after implementing [electronic logging devices] ELDs, the market tanked and we have not been able to recover for at least a year now, Phil Kiszkiel, co-founder of BK Trans, told FreightWaves. His company, which he owns with his father, a former owner-operator, also picked up a number of leased trucks to try and stay afloat, but the high weekly overhead didnt allo

For independent trucking operators, the largest chunk of their insurance costs is liability coverage, which pays for injuries and property damage from a wreck and are pinching their operations. For over-the-road drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires $750,000 in primary or liability coverage. However, most shippers and brokers do not do business with trucking companies that carry less than $1 million in liability coverage. Certain hazardous-materials (hazmat

A truck-only vehicle miles tax would increase truck transportation costs, lower market prices and reduce market share for U.S. agriculture, warns a coalition of agricultural commodities groups. In a Feb. 21 letter sent to both the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, a group of 29 national associations and 49 state and regional groups representing growers, livestock and dairy producers asked for the committee to include broad-based funding mechanisms to ens

Rail blockades are upending Canadian meat and grain supply chains, pushing storage capacity to its limit and squeezing the flow of feed and propane to farms as producers rack up millions in additional costs and lost sales. So far this year, grain shipments to Canadian ports have dropped by 1.2 million tonnes, with the most intense losses occurring over the past month, when environmental and Indigenous-rights activists erected random blockades protesting the construction of TC Energy Corp.&rsq

There is a great deal of confidence in the North American railway freight business model. This is because rail freight profitability is huge compared to the low returns in trucking. Rail enjoys margins close to 40% of gross revenues to operating income. While trucking unquestionably commands the largest modal freight business share, its operating profitability lags well behind railroading at a range of 8% to 12%.

A sense of calm has returned to grain and soy markets overnight as we appear to have weathered the latest tempest of Covid-19 risk-off selling. Now, if we have actually sailed beyond the worst of the storms or are just in the eye of the hurricane is yet to be determined, but at least the peace can allow our stomachs to settle a bit as we wait to find out. At a bare minimum, in this era when any part of the globe is within less than a days journey, this latest outbreak is a test as to h

The deal promised significant trade benefits to U.S. agricultural product exporters through $50 billion in purchases by China this year. American farm goods were heavily tariffed by the Chinese government in retaliation for U.S. tariffs levied on myriad Chinese product imports over the past two years.

REGULATING TESLA'S AUTOPILOT: Ahead of an NTSB meeting this afternoon that's expected to further scrutinize Teslas Autopilot system and the way its regulated, our team looked at how DOTs failure to get a handle on Autopilot raises questions about whether its up to the task of ensuring safety as vehicles become increasingly automated.

Truckers are indeed the backbone of America. Moving goods from coast to coast and everywhere in between. But with the job comes long, solitary hours on the road. But having a companion can make life on the road better. Less lonely. Fortunately, PEDIGREE and Mobil Delvac recognized this as an opportunity to help truckers and shelter dogs at the same time. So they created Mutts4Trucks, which brings truckers and shelter dogs together to live happily furever after. This fantastic program is provi

The good news for diesel consumers in the global sell-off of commodities and equities Monday is that diesel prices fell further than most other financial assets. The ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) contract on CME settled down 7.28 cents per gallon to $1.6091 per gallon, a drop of 4.32%. Contrast that with the decline in WTI crude (down $1.95 per barrel to $51.43, a decline of 3.79%) or Brent crude (down $2.20 per barrel to $56.30, a decline of 3.76%). RBOB gasoline fell 4.15 cents a gallon to

The dangers of out of condition grain are never far from Woodruffs mind as a District Manager for GSI. He is especially concerned this year as farmers start to handle the wet, damaged grain that was grown in 2019. Last season, many farmers harvested moldy, immature, or frost damaged grain. Going through the combine and other handling, it was damaged further, Woodruff says. These conditions resulted in a larger percentage of fines and grain possibly already impregnated with molds

In the 2017-2018 agricultural year, Russia exported a record 40.449 million tons of wheat to the global market; in 2018-2019 it delivered 35.2 million tons. This year's export crop may amount to 36 million tons, the Ministry of Agriculture says. Industry experts project deliveries in the range of 32-42 million tons. I think Russia will retain its leadership in wheat exports, said Igor Pavensky, director of the strategic marketing department at Rusagrotrans. He explained that, &l

Last week, February 16 to 22 was declared Grain Bin Safety Week. The intent is to put a spotlight on the importance of safety when working with grain bins on farms and agribusinesses. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has a very personal story to share about grain bin safety, and she came on AgriTalk Radio toward the end of the week:

Canadians are in many ways blessed geographicallywe share a continent with the worlds largest economy, the United States, and one of the more dynamic emerging economies of the world, Mexico. We have an Atlantic coastline facing the 500 million-plus rich consumers of Europe and a Pacific coastline, dotted with ports, facing the great continent of Eurasia with its nearly $5-billion consumers and encompassing the worlds second, third, and seventh-largest economies (China, Ja

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Area farmers will have an opportunity to finally get answers to questions about on the road motor vehicle rules and farm exemptions that can compound the problems with truck regulations. The Illinois Farm Bureau is offering a statewide program to help farmers find those answers with an On-the-Road Motor Vehicle Seminars designed to help inform attendees on new rules of the road, and brush up on old rules that are still in effect.

The training went along with grain bin safety awareness week. Turner County Emergency Manager Brad Georgeson says a person can become fully trapped in a grain bin in a matter of minutes. Think twice about going into the grain bin. If you can come up with anything inside of the box, outside of the box of thoughts, to keep yourself out of the grain bin, that is the best way to try and solve the problem, Brad Georgeson, Turner County Emergency Manager said. Gerogeson says if you do

While absolute costs are rising, the overall trend is toward lower average costs among a benchmark group of trucking companies tracked by the American Trucking Associations Technology & Maintenance Council and FleetNet America. Tires, brakes, lighting, power plant and cooling systems accounted for 65% of repairs. The average roadside repair includes towing and mechanical repairs and often involves more than one issue. The average cost of a tow was $1,485 in the past three quarters.

A panel of women from the trucking and engineering sectors are sending a message to other women looking to break into any male-dominated industry believe in yourself and anything is possible.

HALIFAX Maritime trucking companies have been busier than ever over the past few weeks. But most will tell you they are far from happy about it. With protests keeping trains in Eastern Canada parked, many companies that would otherwise move goods by rail are turning to the roads.

Since the first of the year, the grains seem to have been on a one-way ticket to the basement. December 2019 was a good month for the grains with most rallying enough to make a significant recovery for the year, but since 2020 has started, the grains have sold o

To be sure, there are jobs more dangerous than driving a truck. Dig down a bit deeper into the BLS data, which were released in December, and one finds fatality-rate estimates of 67.5 per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers for fishing, hunting and trapping, and 64 for logging (both are part of the larger agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting category in the chart above), albeit with double-digit margins of error because the number of workers involved is so small.

a multi-purpose trailer built for Essex farm MJ & SC Collins, where he had previously worked during harvest.He decided to do something about the tedious process of loading/unloading and strapping down two telehandler buckets, a grain pusher, man basket and a pair of weigh beams to lowloader trailers as the gang shifted between three different storage sites.His all-in-one load carrier started life as a Claas header trailer, which the farm had lying around after an accident with the combine

It is still early in the year, and there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome for carriers, but a often overlooked pattern has changed since last summer that may help their bottom line longhaul volumes (loads that move over 800 miles) have been averaging over 8% higher since September of last year. Through much of 2019 volumes were dramatically softer than the previous year before starting to recover later in the year. June volumes normally one of the two annual peaks of ac

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued a proclamation naming Feb. 16-22 Grain Bin Safety Week. Last week, the secretary sat down with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to talk about the importance of grain bin safety on the farm. Noem grew up on a farm in Hamlin County, South Dakota, and has a personal connection to farm safety her father was killed in a grain bin accident. She has been an advocate for increased grain bin safety efforts for years.

Robert Johansson, the U.S. Department of Agricultures chief economist, projected the area planted to wheat for harvest this year to be the smallest in records extending back to 1919. At the same time, Johansson forecast areas planted to corn, soybeans and rice to increase this year. He presented his plantings forecasts in an address before the USDAs 96th Agricultural Outlook Forum on Feb. 20 in Arlington. Johansson forecast the area planted to all wheat for harvest in 2020 at 45

And speaking of halves, the two halves of 2019 differed significantly, Amen said. Average net income in the first half of the year was down about $600 from the prior years first half. But in the second half, Amen said, the drop was about $1,400. Not all drivers are the same, and Amen said ATBS coached a lot of drivers going into 2019 that it was going to be a more difficult year. Those that made some changes, they actually did just fine, Amen said. Th

Farmers are struggling with mental health issues and mental health providers are going to have to go to them if they hope to get people help, a panel of local women in agriculture told a recent conference on mental health. High Plains Mental Health with a grant from the Robert E. and Patricia A. Schmidt Foundation sponsored "Hope in the Heartland" conference on Feb. 8 on the FHSU campus in Hays to focus on mental health issues for farmers, ranchers and others in the ag industry. Suicides amon

ERDAHL, Minn. Dale and Cindy Ekdahl got into the grain bin safety business more than a decade ago. Ekdahl and his family have trained first responders from 22 states on how to conduct grain bin rescues.

I WOULD HOPE THAT IF IT WERE MY KIDS, THAT SOMEONE WOULD STOP AND HELP THEM. WARREN BROWNLEE, ABF FREIGHT

Farmer's income depends on that crop. They might not be in a position to wait to harvest it and sell it.

Trucking generates more than $700 billion in annual revenue in the United States and is responsible for transporting nearly 70% of the nations freight annually. For many years, trucking was the lifeblood of US trade, but the glory days have come to an end. The industry is now facing a potentially life-threatening clot in the form of insurance costs that have risen so high, theyve rammed some trucking firms off the road.

A South Dakota man has been indicted in federal court on allegations that he was marketing conventional agricultural products as organic and using the proceeds to propel him to an extravagant lifestyle of yachts, jewelry and fancy vehicles in a Florida mansion.

Its been two years since the discovery of the grain glitch in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. A DTN report says farmer cooperatives are still asking Treasury Department officials to change provisions of Section 199A back to the way the tax deduction worked before the 2017 tax law was passed.

A truckers insurance company has been slammed with a $21 million verdict in a fatal crash case. Attorneys for the insurance company tried to claim that the trucker passing out behind the wheel was an Act of God, therefore, it was not liable for the crash.

A light harvest has weighed heavily on GrainCorp's financial position this season, but it has also triggered a $57.9 million insurance payout.

Air monitors, filter masks, better ventilation and more safety reminders among many options discussed Tuesday at the State Capitol as lawmakers focus on the recent spate of grain bin accidents and deaths on Minnesota farms. Plato farmer Brian Thalmann, past president of Minnesota Corn Growers Association, predicts more problems in 2020 because farmers were forced to put wetter-than-usual grain in their bins.

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) announced it submitted a $425 million offer Monday to buy some of bankrupt Dean Foods assets. DFAs stalking horse bid sets the floor price of the sale of Dean, the countrys largest milk producer, to prevent low-ball offers ahead of its April 13 deadline and potential auction set for April 20. If Dean, headquartered in Dallas, accepts a rival bid, it has agreed to pay a breakup fee of $15 million to DFA, according to court documents.

With this acquisition, company culture was an important factor for ALC. While doing our research, the executive team was very impressed with the people and the culture they have created at DMTB said Eddie Lund, president of Allen Lund Company. We can confidently say that DMTB has a group that is team-oriented, maintains a strong work ethic, values customer service, and enjoys what they do. We are certain they are a great fit for our company.

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A Missouri state lawmaker wants to prohibit driverless truck operations from using roadways around the state. Sponsored by Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, the bill would require a trained person to be present in an autonomous vehicle. Specifically, the legislation would forbid vehicles from being operated in automatic mode on a highway or street unless a licensed, trained person is present in the vehicle who has the ability to monitor the vehicles performance and take control of the vehic

A low pressure system in the central Great Plains will move through the Midwest the rest of today and tonight, dumping moderate to heavy snowfall mainly in the northern Great Lakes. The heaviest snowfall should remain north of Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit. Snow accumulations of 2 to 5 inches could impact drivers on several major interstate highways, including I-80, I-90 and I-94, just to name a few. Localized snow totals of 6 to 8 inches are possible, especially in northern lower Michigan,

AUSTRALIA is now the only country in the world with a permit to export feed grain to Indonesia after the ratification of a preferred trade agreement between the two countries earlier this week. The Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) was signed on Monday with a quota of Australian feed grain to Indonesia and a grains-specific economic co-operation initiative being just two of the key elements.

Fuel efficiency has long been an essential component to the feasibility of trucking operations globally, given the low rate of payment to truck drivers in the mining, agriculture, distribution trade and other sectors which are centred around dedicated fleets of vehicles. Very often, the value of a tank of diesel is well above the drivers salary. According to Julian Spence, the managing director of Stinga Limited, a company which offers a range of electronic-based solutions to farm thef

What a difference rain has made.! Grain prices continued fall in the past week as grain supply concerns ease and the focus turns to an expected large winter crop planting in the autumn. Stockfeed wheat prices into the Darling Downs fell $15 last week to $450 a tonne with barley down $5 to $383. Only three weeks ago, wheat bids into the Darling Downs reached $470 which exceeded the highs in late 2018.

Later this year, the first Tesla Semis will be rolling out of a gigafactory. As with many of Musks plans, schedule is the least firm thing about them, as the trucks were originally going to be rolling in 2019. But the question that this article deals with is: What dynamics will shift in the rail vs. road shipping equation?

Green Plains, Inc., one of the largest ethanol producers in the U.S., is rolling out a new, high-protein animal and fish feed product.

While truckers are widely being feted as heroic frontline workers by a suddenly adoring public, theres a growing sense theyre being taken advantage of within the industry by opportunistic or predatory brokers. Accusations of price gouging by brokers, while difficult to quantify, have even attracted the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who said during a recent appearance on Fox & Friends its his belief that brokers are gouging truckers. When truckers took thei

The 40-year trucking veteran is a tireless advocate for the trucking industry and uses humor and honesty to share her cancer story to save others.

The U.S. trucking industry is massive, sustaining millions of stakeholders in a market that is worth close to a trillion dollars annually. Its sheer scale brings in volatility to capacity and volumes available to haul, determined by macroeconomic factors that dictate supply-and-demand equations across the spectrum.

"My mother always had a big garden, and she had a lot of chickens, and I'd help her can," recalled Marcia Taylor, owner and operator of one of America's largest trucking companies. "My dad always had a lot of wheat, soybeans and corn, so I'd always help him in the fields. It was a great way to grow up."

Harvesting canola in the spring can be frustrating. That means a lot of frustrated prairie canola producers will be climbing into combines in the next few months. Based on industry estimates and data from Statistics Canada, western Canadian farmers left more than two million acres of canola in the field this winter. That includes an estimated 900,000 acres in Alberta and the Peace River area, about 200,000 acres in southwestern Manitoba, and a million acres in Saskatchewan, primarily in provi

The regulatory scope of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has steadily grown as the transportation industry itself has grown. Since its establishment in 2000, the administrations efforts to reduce highway crashes have generally been well-received by fleet owners and drivers alike. However, as the industrys go-to source for rules of the road, FMCSAs rulings often have failed to reach their intended audience drivers.

The Alberta government has introduced the Efficient Grain Dryer Program to cover half of the expenses associated with improving grain dryers. The announcement made on Monday is a $2-million grant that is funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP). Thirty-two per cent of crops in the Peace Region area were left unharvested during the last crop season because of an early snowfall. Agricultural and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen said the new grant will be key for northern Alber

WILLIAMSTON, Mich. (WDIV/CNN) Johnnie Lowe says hes a lucky man after a metal beam sliced through the windshield of his box truck and narrowly missed him.

As Aurora Cooperative's CEO suggests, farmers are looking to the future in virtual reality. The cooperatives annual meeting featured demonstrations on VR headsets. Its enough to make your head spin, which can also be said of the real deal as farmers battle uncertainty from the weather, markets, and trade.

Hundreds of trucking companies both large and small have shut their doors forever in the past few years, leaving thousands of drivers looking for new jobs. Unfortunately, there is no sign that these carrier closures are slowing down anytime soon. In the past year, companies including Celadon, Falcon Transport, HVH Transportation, and NEMF have all gone under for reasons including the loss of a major contract, increased regulatory burden, high insurance costs, or sky-high lawsu

Farmers in North and South America sued C.H. Robinson, the world's third-largest logistics company, alleging illegal business practices they say defrauded them, Texas Public Radio reported Friday.

Five individuals accused of participating in a two-year conspiracy to stage accidents with tractor-trailers in the New Orleans area have pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges. Three others also accused in an indictment last year of participating in the crash fraud scheme including the alleged ringleader were not included in the slate of plea bargains. One of the three accused died last year.

LONOKE -- Nearly 311,000 bushels of rice constituted 80% of a farm family's 2013 crop for which they never got paid, a farmer testified Tuesday in a trial related to the 2014 closing of Turner Grain Merchandising. The rice was shipped from Zero Grade Farms in Lonoke County to a Mississippi River port near West Memphis, where it was loaded onto barges for export, Mark Isbell, one of the five principals in Zero Grade Farms, said.

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John Kent, clinical associate professor of supply chain management and director of Supply Chain China Initiatives at the University of Arkansas, said heavy-duty truck purchases is one of the metrics he follows to gauge the health of the trucking industry and noted the numbers have been mixed over the past several months, indicating uncertainty in the market. Freight rates might rise in 2020 because of lower capacity as carriers go out of business and shippers have the same amount of freight t

The group of farmers filed the lawsuit in federal court in Minnensota mid-January seeking a total of $1.1 billion for reportedly overcharging shipping costs while pocketing the additional profits and underpaying farmers for various types of produce from both North and South America.

WALNUT GROVE, Mo. The Better Business Bureau is warning people about a new scam. One that has affected job seekers and a trucking company in Walnut Grove Westermans Express LLC Owner Joe Westerman said since October, he has received 200 calls from people hes never met. Each call was about the same thing. People said that they were working for me, Westerman said. It was a package handlers job, and I was like no were a local company out of Walnu

We live in the age of Amazon, Ebay, and Facebook Marketplace, yet most physical ag commodities are still traded offline. Brennan Turner is the CEO at FarmLead, a company that uses digital tools to make grain transactions easier. FarmLead just announced their next product called Combyne, which allows farmers and traders to take their grain transactions online.

Looking back on it, maybe Tuesday, Feb. 4 was not the best day for the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety to schedule a trucking safety hearing. Taking place during the closing days of the impeachment trial of President Trump, hours before his State of the Union address and on the same day as the Iowa caucus, it is understandable why trucking safety issues were not top of mind for many on Capitol Hill.

Independent truckers in the North State are scared about Californias new state law that reclassifies independent contractors with exceptions as employees who are entitled to benefits and other compensation. They believe it will take away their livelihood. One local insurance carrier said he fielded 45 calls in one month from truckers, which prompted him to call the office of the new laws author, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez.

When the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of thousands of flights in China and, in the process, wiped out demand for jet fuel, refiners there did what they normally do in such situations: They looked across the Pacific to California. The problem is, there was already a lot of fuel on the water. As of late Wednesday, almost 3 million barrels of Asian jet fuel, enough to fill 4,000 Boeing 777-200 airplanes, were headed to California ports, according to data intelligence firm Kpler.<

Cooperative Elevator Co. is expanding its geographic footprint with the acquisition of Scoulars edible bean operations, which includes processing facilities at Plum Coulee and Morden, Manitoba, and St. Hilaire, Minnesota, as well as receiving stations in Garske and Grafton, North Dakota.

Market conditions over the past 18 months have made the trucking industry a hotbed for acquisitions, with larger carriers snapping up smaller carriers while that capacitys cheap and as part of the industrys ongoing in-fight for available truck drivers.

Market conditions over the past 18 months have made the trucking industry a hotbed for acquisitions, with larger carriers snapping up smaller carriers while that capacitys cheap and as part of the industrys ongoing in-fight for available truck drivers.

Despite a drier than average year, farmers around the Mallee town of Rainbow have had cause to celebrate. The wheat harvest has yielded a record result, with huge piles of grain now under tarpaulins and awaiting transport from the town's main storage sites. Much of it is destined for farmers battling drought in other parts of Australia.

The livestock industry continues to press federal transportation officials to grant the sector an exemption from hours of service (HOS) limits on transport drivers, arguing the rules are onerous and ignore the unique pressures of hauling livestock and other perishable commodities.

As payouts from nuclear lawsuits continue to reach eight figures, trucking companies cannot afford to take chances with their insurance coverage. Workers comp insurance protects companies from lawsuits claiming negligence, as well as from massive medical expenses and lost wages of employees injured on the job, while providing employees with job-related injuries or illnesses rehabilitation and other assistance. Failure to provide it can result in hefty fines and even the c

The trucking industry is kind of a big deal in Indiana one of every 14 jobs in the state involves trucking, and more than 15,000 trucking companies are located in Indiana. The majority of those companies are small-scale operations, but others are larger and heavily involved in the industry at a national level. No matter the size and scale of an Indiana-based trucking company, however, technological and economic changes often equate industry vulnerability.

FARGO, N.D. Hundreds of farmers and ranchers came to the Fargodome on Feb. 4 for the 2020 Northern Corn and Soybean Expo, with many taking in a sobering safety lesson. Since last fall, 21 people across the Midwest have died in grain bin accidents. On Feb

Lansing Trade Group is suing the four biggest U.S. freight railroads, claiming they're colluding to artificially inflate prices.

A bipartisan bill to create a dedicated pool of competitive grant funding for new truck parking capacity will be introduced in Congress in the coming weeks, according to backers of the proposal. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which has been working over the past year to help craft language in the bill, wants to see the bill incorporated into the next surface transportation reauthorization.

Falling asleep at the wheel is a truckers worst nightmare. Fatigue comes with the job of driving an eighteen-wheeler, even with rules requiring rest stops and limiting driving hours. Now, new technologies are becoming available to alert drowsy drivers, sometimes even before they feel tired. Such tech has been slow to enter big rigs cabs, but that may be changing. The trucking

The trucking business used to be an offshoot of the farm business. Now, they are two totally separate businesses and treated as such. The trucking business is more profitable than the farming business today, he says.

Revenue per truck per week is defined as the total amount of linehaul and accessorial revenue generated by a trucking company, divided by the count of a carriers trucks, within a given week. The TCA Profitability Program (TPP) considers this measure a leading indicator, as higher readings (relative to historical or peer group results) should result in higher margins and profitability, unless it is consumed or absorbed by higher variable and fixed costs. When you invest in

When rates soared and capacity tightened in 2018, brokers recognized the value of building stronger relationships with their carriers. However, when capacity loosened in 2019, carriers lost pricing power and many of those relationships ended when hundreds of trucking companies went out of business. The current freight recession has caused many brokers to make changes to prevent further erosion of their carriers. Some have responded by identifying carriers they believe are critical to servicin

A coalition of railroads, local government, labor and other organizations is asking U.S. congressional transportation leaders to oppose proposed legislation that would increase truck size or weight limits on federal highways. In a letter sent yesterday to the chairs and ranking members of transportation committees in the House and Senate, the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) called on Congress to reject proposed increases in truck size or weight as it prepares legislation to reauthorize

Theres no sugarcoating the situation facing the small group of trucking companies dedicated to hauling fuel from the Co-op Refinery Complex in Saskatchewan to gas stations and customers in Western Canada. Its bad. Really bad. The 26 companies, with 160 trucks and more than 300 drivers, havent been able to service the Regina facility on all but a single day since Jan. 20. The reason: a barricade by the union Unifor, whose members are in a bitter contract dispute with the r

Photos of a Peterbilt with solar panels on top and a Batman logo on the side of the sleeper have made their rounds online with sightings and posts from Pennsylvania to Arizona. Social media trucking groups are buzzing as many wonder whos truck is that? and how do you put solar panels on a truck? Well, The Trucker tracked down the owner of this striking Peterbilt and luckily, he was willing to share the details of what he says is just a work truck.&rdq

WASHINGTON A bill that would pave the way for commercial drivers younger than 21 to drive trucks across state lines received a resounding endorsement from an organization that represents freight industry interests nationwide during a Feb. 4 Senate hearing. Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, applauded legislation sponsored by Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young that would lower the age requirement of 21 to 18 for interstate commercial driving.

In 1965, Continental Grain, a family company run to this day by the Fribourg family in New York, acquired a majority share of Allied Mills, breaking off a division dedicated exclusively to poultry that officially became Wayne Farms. Subsequently, Wayne Farms grew into the powerhouse it is today the sixth largest fully integrated poultry company in the United States with seven feeds mills, seven processing plants, and US$2.2bn in sales. With a vision of being the partner of choice for

For more than a century in big cities and small towns, grain elevators have stood tall as part of Minnesota's agricultural past. One such structure in St. Louis Park has a history that rises above them all. The world's first circular concrete grain elevator stands near the intersection of highways 7 and 100. The grain elevator was the idea of businessman Frank Peavy. After teaming up with an engineer, construction began and skeptics dubbed it "Peavey's folly," thinking it would never work. "C

Corn producers in the Texas Panhandle are banking on an increase in international exports to help offset prices remaining flat. Conditions appear right for a large supply of corn to be exported in 2020, but questions about a global public health emergency leaving some wondering how much seed or kernel to plant. We hope for good yields and good yields will turn to a good profit, said Dustin Babcock, farmer. I think the biggest struggle with corn in 2019, was the wet condit

(Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. American farmers waiting for all the benefits of Donald Trumps trade deal with China are going to have to wait a while. Theres been skepticism about Chinas ability to buy as much as $50 billion in U.S. farm goods ever since the pact was signed in mid-January. And while the head of Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., one of the worlds top agricultural commodity

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A convoy of truck drivers, farmers and others from Central Oregon opposed to the revised, still-controversial cap and trade" climate change legislation are heading back to the state Capitol early Thursday to join a major statewide protest rally. Since the initial bill, HB 2020, failed in the last session, lawmakers have made changes to the new bill, Senate Bill 1530. This will be the third year Democrats have tried to pass a cap and trade bill.

State legislators in Connecticut have scheduled a vote on a controversial plan to toll tractor-trailer trucks, paving the way for a fee on heavy-duty vehicles to pay for deteriorating highway infrastructure, news outlets reported. The vote, slated for the week of Feb. 10, was announced as hundreds of people packed a nine-hour public hearing on Friday to discuss Gov. Ned Lamonts latest transportation plan, part of a 10-year, $19.4 billion infrastructure plan to improve roads, bridges, a

A series of high profile crashes involving tractor-trailers recently has put highway safety and training for commercial truckers into question. How much training is required and is it enough? If you drive I-80, Highway 99 or I-5 on a regular basis, it may seem like more and more truckers are on the road. Did you know some qualify to drive in as little as a day? Its something the feds are trying to put the brakes on.

After a year of falling rates and closing companies, the trucking market seems to be stabilizing. This is good news for carriers who cannot afford another hit, but 2020 is not expected to bring surging rates. Carriers will have to think strategically to take advantage of moderate rate increases this year. The freight market appears to have pushed through the contractionary period and has stabilized entering 2020, FreightWaves Director of Freight Intelligence Zach Strickland said

In October, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that they are considering making major changes to the rules truck drivers currently must follow. They are not yet passed, but if they are, it could complicate driving hours. These rules have bred contention throughout the trucking industry for years. Currently, these rules limit the number of time drivers can stay on the roads to 14 hours. After that time, drivers must rest for at least ten hours in a row. After eig

ATLANTA Saturday morning, two people perished in a fiery wreck on Interstate 85 near the Gwinnett-DeKalb county border that involved a tanker truck and two other cars. In the wake of the crash and the massive back-up that followed, there have been renewed calls for separating truck traffic from vehicular traffic in and around metro Atlanta.