Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

Skyrocketing college costs and stagnant wages are causing many high schoolers to reevaluate their options as graduation nears. The old adage that a four-year college is the best road to the middle class is no longer the conventional wisdom. But, there are vital industries in todays economy that offer opportunities for steady, good-paying jobs without the exorbitant financial burden of an undergraduate degree. One such industry is trucking.

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Washington The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has extended by 14 days the comment period for a proposed rule the agency claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers, according to a notice published in the Sept. 19 Federal Register. The move comes in response to requests from industry groups, including the American Trucking Associations, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The n

Global Agriculture Market Forecast to 2022 provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global agriculture market.

Contract rates for trucking are still sliding while spot rates are flat to up, compressing freight brokerages gross margins. In a challenging freight environment for third-party logistics providers (3PLs) like the current market, brokerages that want to grow must figure out how to free up working capital. Commentary from the management at publicly-traded 3PLs confirms that tough conditions

HOUSTON A big rig driver made a mistake that nearly cost him his life Thursday afternoon in north Houston. But a hero with a hammer came to his rescue The trucker drove directly into floodwater on the 59 northbound feeder road, near the Beltway. A man named Nathan was walking above on 59 and saw it happen.

Iowa State University recently broke ground to mark the start of construction of its $21.2 million Kent Corporation Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex (name pending approval by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa).

Like an earthquake, the two major stories of the week hit trucking hard with the fallout yet to be fully measured as neither are fully resolved. The attack on Saudi Arabian oil production and the General Motors labor strike had an immediate impact to the freight market as wholesale diesel prices jumped $0.16/gallon on Monday (not including taxes), while outbound rejection rates spiked out of the Detroit market. Both events were quick and severe, but in the long run, several concerns for the t

America's $800 billion trucking industry has been in a recession since the beginning of 2019, according to ACT Research. The culprits: President Donald Trump's trade war and a glut of trucking capacity. And while some factors, like the uptick of retail indicators and a surge in truckload volumes, should give trucking companies hope for 2020, Cowen's third-quarter carrier survey indicates that truckers are getting more and more pessimistic about where the economy is headed.

Lately, American farmers have not been given much good news when it comes to trade. American Farm Bureau Chief Economist John Newton tells Ohio Farm Bureau Director of Media Relations Ty Higgins that big wins with the USMCA and Japan may get the ball rolling for more bilateral trade deals and could bring positive momentum to the upcoming trade talks with China.

The increasing primacy of e-commerce ensures that logistics and transport companies are well-represented on recent Inc. 500 lists. (Indeed, last year's top 10 featured two firms that serve that space, including the No. 1 company, SwanLeap.) That opportunity has drawn lots of new businesses. So how can you succeed amid all that competition? Matt Pyatt, the co-founder of Arrive Logistics--which brokers vacant space in trucks for clients like Kraft and Pepsi--knows how his company cracked the 50

If you are a trucker who is curious about CBD oil, take a look at this informative short video on how it could impact your trucking career. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) recently shared a useful video explaining how marijuana laws and CBD products could impact your commercial drivers license (CDL).

Benton County EMA Director Richard Kee said the call was actually for one semi truck hitting another, making a sound so loud drivers thought it was an explosion. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, around 4:45pm Sunday afternoon, one person suffered non life threatening injuries and was airlifted to Vanderbilt in Nashville from the 2 truck accident on I-40 near mile marker 130.

The USS Eagle 56 was only five miles off the coast of Maine when it exploded. The World War I-era patrol boat split in half, then slipped beneath the surface of the North Atlantic. The Eagle 56 had been carrying a crew of 62. Rescuers pulled 13 survivors from the water that day. It was April 23, 1945, just two weeks before the surrender of Nazi Germany.

Freight factoring company, Smart Freight Funding, helps trucking companies of all sizes keep their trucks moving by getting paid quicker. Smart Freight Funding works with single truck operations, individual owner-operator, and larger companies managing several trucks and drivers. We offer competitive low rates, quick pay, and superb customer service. The team behind Smart Freight Funding has more than 50 years combined driving, dispatching, contracting and accounting experience in the truckin

ST. PAUL, Minn. On Sept. 19, CHS Inc. announced plans for a significant renovation at its Fairmont, Minn., soybean processing plant. The expansion will increase market access for regional soybean growers and return value to its owners through increased production of high-demand soy-based food and feed ingredients. "CHS is always looking for ways to expand market access for farmers' crops and improve operational efficiencies. This renovation project will deliver value on several fronts

MULVANE, Kan. (KAKE) - Authorities say a 39-year-old man has died after he got trapped in a grain truck near Mulvane. Crews responded at around 12:15 p.m. Friday to the report of a man not breathing at a farm in the area of 111th Street South and Hillside. Capt. Brad Hoch with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office said employees were moving grain from one tractor-trailer when the incident happened. "One of the employees was actually down inside one of the tractor-trailers, and he was moving th

Late planting, excessive rains, flood damage and other environmental factors this year have resulted in a range of crop stage development across the area. For soybean producers, some fields are in late pod-fill while others are just starting harvest. In corn, some fields are starting to dent while others are reaching black layer or full maturity. Several producers in the area are cutting silage while others are finishing their last irrigation of the season. In the next few weeks, some produce

US agricultural exports are projected to reach $137bn in fiscal year (FY) 2020, up $2.5bn from the revised forecast for FY 2019. The anticipated increase will primarily be driven by higher exports of pork, beef, soybeans, and horticultural products, found a USDA outlook.

A coalition of 31 trucking and trade groups is urging Congress to halt four bills it claims would cost the industry billions of dollars in burdensome unfunded mandates. The coalition sent a letter on Sept. 16 to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), chairman, and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), ranking member, of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chairman, and Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, ranking member, of the Committee o

With harvest season coming up in a hurry, farmers want to make sure bins are ready to receive the new crop. However, that has been more of a challenge than normal for some. Fayette County, Iowa, farmer Mark Recker said while this is an exceptionally bad year for delays, its not uncommon to have a few delays.

Hardly a day goes by without someone suggesting that technologies like AI, machine learning, and robotics will transform the 21st century labor market. A prominent example of this has been in truck driving an occupation that spans multiples industries and moves over 70% of U.S. freight by weight which many speculate will see a widespread loss of jobs with the rise of self-driving technology. Some have forecast that autonomous vehicles will eliminate 2-3 million trucking jobs ov

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Association (FMCSA) data, carriers who operate smaller fleet sizes of one to six trucks continue to add power to their operation, with tractor counts growing 5% since last September. Over the same time, fleets who operate more than 1,000 units have decreased tractor count size by almost 3.5%. A byproduct of the sell-off has been continued increase in used truck prices for 3-year-old class 8 trucks, even as the freight market has softened from a year-over

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., the biggest freight broker in North America, will double its technology spending over the next five years as it fends off challenges from a growing field of digital startups. The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company plans to spend $1 billion to hire more data scientists, engineers and developers to expand its technology and develop new services in an estimated $86.5 billion U.S. domestic market for managing freight transportation.

Washington D.C. He did not plan to say it, but after a safety advocate urged regulators to tighten restrictions on truckers even more, fifteen-year trucking veteran and founder of the United States Transportation Alliance (USTA), Mike Landis, felt he had to respond. Landis did so by making a jaw-dropping admission to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) officials at Tuesdays public listening session regarding the Agencys proposed changes to h

Living in Saint Louis, I am acutely aware of the flow of water through Americas heartland. We are at the confluence of the countrys two longest rivers, the Missouri and the Mississippi [USGS]. Rainfall in any of a dozen Midwestern states and parts of Canada will eventually flow by Saint Louis. We are proud to be called the River City, but in years like this one, the name can be more of a curse than a blessing. As the two rivers overflowed their banks this past spring, it was cle

Mendota mill to replace three older facilities.

The history of early human advancement is the history of harvesting prosperity from agricultural innovation. In Harvesting Prosperity: Technology and Productivity Growth in Agriculture, we argue that this focus on raising agricultural productivity remains as urgent today as ever.

Blood on the tracks. Commodity blood. Dennis Haugen stared in disbelief at a wealth of frozen vegetables, seafood, butter, flour, lead ingots, lumber, and a motley array of odds-and-ends scattered across his land. As he walked the wreckage of a derailment with 50 cars crushed accordion-style or tossed like tin cans, the fibers of a farmers entrepreneurial bent went rigid. Opportunity was pounding and Haugen was ready to find out who was behind the door.

WASHINGTON Drivers and trucking industry representatives had another chance to voice comments on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations proposal to change certain hours-of-service requirements Sept. 17. FMCSA officials responded to participants concerns on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at a lively two-hour listening session held at the Department of Transportations headquarters. Many participants emphasized that the final rulemaking should include la

Two truck drivers cant sue the nations trucking regulator over inaccurate driver data because the entity isnt a consumer reporting agency, a federal district court in Washington ruled. The Sept. 16 ruling shows the difficulty of bringing a case against the U.S. government under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Most claims brought against a federal agency under the law have failed because government agencies typically dont provide consumer data to third parties absent

A local legislator and an area business are supporting state legislation that would allow trucks to specifically carry heavier loads of masonry products on Indiana highways. Most semi-tractor trailers on Indiana highways have an 80,000-pound weight limit. An exception was made in 2013 for agricultural and steel commodities, and now, an exception for brick manufacturers is being proposed. The law change is supported by state Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, who is asking an interim study committe

Insurance costs for many motor carriers have crept higher in recent years, particularly for commercial auto liability insurance. The trucking and insurance industry experts Ive spoken with over the past few years cite several factors for the rise, including the litigious environment the trucking industry is battling that is being fueled by certain trial lawyers.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. The owners of two trucking companies that hauled refuse and scrap metal through Rhode Island and Massachusetts have been sentenced to a year of probation each for telling their employees to falsify federal truck safety reports. Federal prosecutors say 54-year-old Leslie Cucino and 49-year-old Robert Cucino Jr., both of Foster, were also fined $1,250 each on Monday.

The coalition, which is led by OOIDA and includes dozens of trade associations, opposes bills that would mandate underride guards, speed limiters, automatic emergency braking systems, and a minimum of $4.9 million worth of liability insurance. As part of the coalition, a letter of opposition was sent on Monday, Sept. 16 to the leaders of the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation and the

Freight shipments within the US fell 3.0% in August 2019, compared to August 2018, the ninth month in a row of year-over-year declines, but it was only about half the rate of declines in May (-6.0%) and July (-5.9%), according to the Cass Freight Index for Shipments. The index tracks shipment volume by all modes of transportation truck, rail, air, and barge of consumer and industrial goods but not of bulk commodities. This decline was the least bad decline since March:

People may have seen a large convoy of trucks driving down Highway 1 and Highway 11 towards Regina on Saturday. Law enforcement and truckers from different parts of Saskatchewan joined together for the 13th Annual Truck Convoy for Special Olympics.

Daniel McCreary is a 47-year-old truck driver who lives in Centreville, Maryland. He's been in the trucking business for decades, and he now hauls chicken feed for short distances throughout his workday of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Automation and sinking trucker pay threaten America's millions of truckers. Business Insider asked McCreary what he thought about the state of trucking and where he saw his live

Were not quite halfway through our harvest here in Canada: The lentils and barley are done, the canola is starting to come in, and soon well get to the durum wheat and chickpeas. It has been a challenging year doing business with Mother Nature. As we begin to calculate this years yields, however, were starting to hear misleading reports in the media about our export opportunities. Ive been a little annoyed by the sentiments and insinuations in some stories.<

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) expects to see significant improvement in efficiency when it completes the commissioning of its new feed manufacturing facility in Quincy, Illinois, U.S. The facility, which features three milling lines, brings together into one building capacity that is currently spread across five mills on the east and west sides of the street that occupies a significant footprint. Along with efficiency, the consolidation will mean improved safety for the feed produced and t

In the last few years, Chris Adams has touched down in 11 countries. Business cards and brochures in hand, this young and business-savvy farmer-turned-globetrotter has one goal: build personal relationships with buyers for his North Dakota specialty crops. When I sit across the table from a customer in Dubai or Colombia or Peru, I can say, I planted these beans, I cared for them and I cleaned them, he says. They all want traceability, and you cant get

Diesel prices could spike by over 20% overnight due to the market coming to grips with the biggest blackswan event to hit oil in over a decade. On Friday night, while most of the U.S. was settling in for a weekend of high school, college and professional football, the worlds second largest oil producer was struck by a fleet of drones. The attack resulted in nearly half of Saudi Arabias oil production capacity taken off line, representing nearly 5% of global supply.

An Indiana woman was sentenced Sept. 11 to nearly five years in federal prison for embezzling more than $800,000 from a trucking company. Once released from federal prison, Lucy Owens, 42, of Hobart, Indiana, will serve one year of supervised release and has also been ordered to pay nearly $820,500 in restitution to James Djuric, owner of Djuric Trucking of Hammond, Indiana. A jury found Owens guilty of seven counts of wire fraud in May 2018, according to the United States Attorneys Of

As a board member for #TimberUnity Association, a grass-roots group, I recently attended the annual economic summit of coastal legislators in Florence. I wanted to hear firsthand lawmakers plans for the February session, specifically any attempts to revive the cap-and-trade tax that failed earlier this year. You see, Im one of those truck drivers who stormed the capitol in June. As a rural, sixth-generation Oregonian, Im one of the people Portland-area politicians think t

Trucking moves 71% of the freight in the United States. Most of the basic functions of society wouldn't be effective if truckers were to stop working. And naturally, your Amazon Prime packages would be delayed. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will exempt some agricultural products from additional tariffs on U.S. goods, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency said Friday, in the latest sign of easing Sino-U.S. tensions before a new rounds of talks aimed at curbing a bruising trade war.

Nikola Motor Co., a 5-year-old firm in Phoenix that most Americans have never heard of, says it has an order to lease 14,000 semitrucks that will run on hydrogen, an assertion that, if realized, could mark the start of a significant slowdown in transportation carbon emissions. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), "the growth in oil demand from trucks has outpaced all other sectors since 2000" and is projected to result in a "significant increase in CO2 emissions by 2050."

Bulkloads.com, The Largest Bulk Freight-Matching Marketplace, launched the newest version of the most popular mobile app for Bulk Truckers as part of an aggressive plan to bring useful technology to the Bulk Trucking Industry. Weve completely redesigned and redeveloped our mobile app from the ground up as part of our plan for future tech growth. Using ne

Siouxland truckers who stopped at the Loves Travel Center on Singing Hills Boulevard Thursday afternoon got a free lunch and other special surprises. Great West Casualty Company and Joe Morten & Son hosted a Truck Driver Appreciation Event to say thank you to the more than 32 million trucks moving America forward every day. John Joines, Vice President of Safety and Loss Prevention at Great West, says trucking is vital to the American economy:

California state Senators late on Tuesday passed AB5, proposed legislation that would set tougher standards for determining which workers can be properly classified as independent contractors. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has signaled support for the measure, which would take effect on Jan. 1.

AccuWeathers latest 2019 crop production analysis shows 2019 corn and soybeans will have reduced yield and quality when compared to recent years. The company pegs corn at 13.36 billion bu. of production, 2018 was 14.42 billion. The service predicts soybeans will come in at 3.658 billion bu., compared to 4.543 billion bu. in 2018. In 2012, corn production fell to 10.76 billion bu. Soybeans fell to 3.357 billion bu. in 2013. This year corn and soybean yields will be at their lowest since

American farmers in disbelief over the U.S. Department of Agricultures relatively lofty projections for crop production are vowing to put off harvest-time sales until prices recover from recent lows. Corn futures that surged mid-year as record rains interrupted U.S. planting have slumped back to where they started thanks largely to government yield estimates that indicate crops stood up to the weather better than feared. The next batch of USDA numbers will be released Thursday at noon

Steve Viscelli doesnt think of himself as a naysayer. Im more a yes-sayer with a pessimistic outlook, said Viscelli, an economic and political sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of The Big Rig: Trucking & the Decline of the American Dream. That book featured some serious, on-the-ground research, with Viscelli driving thousands of miles in a Class 8 truck. Hes currently at work on another book about trucking, this time about autonomy

There continues to be a lot of conversation about driver detention times, and the U.S. Department of Transportation was still taking input on the issue until Sept. 9.

Autonomous trucks are coming. But they will get here faster if states and the federal government invest in infrastructure to promote their development. Investments could include a lane on the highway that is restricted to autonomous trucks. The investments might also include special parking lots built near exits on the interstate where drivers take autonomous trucks from a regional warehouse, get out, and push the go button freeing the truck to drive autonomously to another parking lot near a

Since 2005 the American Trucking Associations (ATA) has been releasing reports on the driver shortage. The ATA is the largest national trade association for U.S. truck carriers. Most recently the ATA estimated that the trucking industry ended 2018 with a shortage of more than 60,000 truck drivers.

At one time, fuel pricing may have been the single biggest challenge to the trucking industry. It wasnt so long ago that surcharges were added to purchase orders as the cost of fuel escalated at an alarming rate.

While the technology behind autonomous trucking is certainly moving forward and has major proponents, there are many challenges and yearswith estimates from as soon as three to five or upwards of ten or fifteenbefore such trucks become commonplace on roadways. And investors cant even think about garnering public support for such an endeavor without getting those within the transportation and logistics sector fully on board first.

A new ranking of truck driver salaries was just published and an Illinois-based carrier made a surprisingly high appearance on the list. When the website truckdriverssalary.com updated their Top 10 Best Trucking Companies to Work For list on September 3, GP Transco appeared at the number 3 slot in terms of pay ranking and pay per hour, ranking only behind Walmart and Sysco making GP Transco the highest paying non-private fleet trucking company on this list.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker announced Friday the approval of $18.6 million in emergency relief to repair or reconstruct flood-damaged transportation infrastructure.

(Newswire.net -- September 6, 2019) -- For many Americans, truck driving is an excellent gig. More than 3.5 million Americans hold jobs as a truck driver, thanks to relatively low barriers of entry and high pay. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that truck drivers can make anywhere from $43,000 to $80,000 per year with no education other than on-the-job training. Its a great way to make a living, but its not devoid of safety hazards. Truck drivers are carefully trained in saf

Though a commercial truck seized in what ISP at the time described as its largest marijuana bust ever -- and which turned out to be a load of industrial hemp -- has been returned to its owner, the state has refused to return the more than $1 million in hemp that was the truck's cargo, writes Idaho Press reporter Tommy Simmons. And a federal appeals court has ruled that Idaho state courts are the ones that must rule on the fate of the cargo.

(Bloomberg) -- Stefan Soloviev is in his western officethe passenger seat of a Chevy Silverado bouncing along a dirt road near the Kansas-Colorado border, his farm manager at the wheel. Its a far cry from his desk on the 45th floor of 9 W. 57th St. in Manhattan, a skyscraper famed for its Central Park views, private equity tenants and irascible ownerSolovievs 91-year-old father, billionaire developer Sheldon Solow.

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) -- National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is celebrated Sept. 8 through Sept. 14, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA).The ATA says the week is celebrated "to honor all professional truck drivers for their hard work and commitment in tackling one of our economy's most demanding and important jobs." The association says more than three million are truck drivers who "not only deliver our goods safely, securely and on time, they also keep our highways safe

With Trucker Appreciation Week coming up, it is hard to think what are lives would be like…but here is a glimpse.

The demand for coal from utilities is expected to drop by 50% by 2030, which would lead to a $5 billion revenue loss for railroads, according to a research note from Moody's emailed to Supply Chain Dive.

MISSION, KANSAS, U.S. The Redwood Group, LLC announced on Sept. 4 that it has completed the acquisition of Ceres Commodities, LLC in Newport, Kentucky, U.S. Ceres Commodities is a supplier of premium food grade non-GMO and organic soybeans and other commodities domestically as well as directly into East and Southeast Asian food markets. The Redwood Group said the Ceres Commodities teams knowledge of the food soy export market complements Redwoods ability to continually s

Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), hopes to see reforms in trucker safety involving hours of service (HOS), the adoption of new technologies, as well as a crackdown on opioid use. These are just a few of the topics Spear addressed in a one-on-one sitdown with FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller as part of FreightWaves.TV Fuller Speed Ahead. Spear and ATA have applauded the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for its proposed changes to

LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. -- Our highways are crowded with tractor-trailers, and the big rigs are getting larger. Congressman Matt Cartwright says the combination is leading to more serious injuries in truck crashes, and he's calling for a steep increase in the insurance liability truckers carry. Truckers say higher insurance costs mean we'll pay more for almost everything we buy, and a Republican group claims Matt Cartwright's ties to personal injury law make this proposed law a conflict of int

Grain handling company Parrish & Heimbecker Limited today announced that it is significantly expanding its network of grain elevators and crop input retail centres in Western Canada. The Winnipeg-based company has reached a deal with Louis Dreyfus Commodities to acquire 10 Canadian-based facilities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

VAN WERT, Ohio (AP) Authorities say they shot and killed a truck driver during a chase in western Ohio after he intentionally drove the wrong way on a highway toward oncoming traffic. The Allen County Sheriff's Office says negotiators were talking to the driver during the chase Tuesday morning and that he was making repeated threats to kill people.

CORPUS CHRISTI Local sorghum farmers say they had an excellent harvest, but they don't have anywhere to sell their crops. They've also lost storage space for their sorghum because one of our local elevators isn't taking in any grain right now. The Interstate Grain Companys elevator sits empty on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, another casualty of the trade war with China. We haven't had much of a market this year because of the tariffs and the lack of trade with China,&

A vegan protester says that she was injured after a very close encounter with a semi truck driver hauling livestock. In a now-viral video shared on September 4, animal rights protester Kat Howard is holding a sign that says Everyone Deserves To Say Goodbye as she stands outside of a Olymel meat processing plant during an August 19 protest event. As a truck driver hauling pigs approaches the plant, Howard appears to be struck by the truck as she stands in its path.

“Scoular has been working with farmers and buying grain for 127 years,” said Greg Lickteig, director of The Scoular Company. “We are an employee-owned company which makes us different from our competition because our employees have a vested interest in ownership and success of our company.”

A recent article by the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics showed researchers at MITs Energy Initiative and Plasma Fusion and Science Center have developed a hybrid engine that runs on gasoline, costs less than diesel engines and performs as well as the traditional engines. The hybrid engine would also resolve the issue of having a large number of batteries when it comes to long-haul trucking. The weight of the batteries range between 10 and 15 tons, and this comprises a lar

ADM Agriculture, the UK arm of global food conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, saw a rise in profits as a result of the 2018 heatwave. The business, formerly known as ADM Arkady, posted a post-tax profit of 11.4m in the year ending December 2018, according to its latest set of accounts. The results compare favourably to the previous year, with the company suggesting the long winter followed by the summer drought led to record demand for livestock feed.

“We farm, we hunt, we fish. We try to be as sustainable as we can. The whole goat thing opens up a whole new opportunity of homesteading."