Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

HUNTINGTON, W.VA. A trucking company owner in West Virginia is looking at a possible 20 years in jail after admitting he swapped drugs for tractor-trailer tires. According to several media sources Kenneth Cisco, 50, former owner of Cisco Trucking, of Huntington, W.Va., pleaded guilty this week to aiding and abetting the distribution of oxycodone. The judge in the case said an undercover federal agent met with Cisco last March and received 33 pills in exch

Archer Daniels Midland, the huge processor and trader of agricultural commodities, reported a rise in adjusted net profit as it used its sprawling North American transport network to store and move a record grain crop. The New York-listed company reported earning $1 per share in the fourth quarter of 2014, adjusting for items. That was up 5.2 per cent from $0.95 per share in the same period a year before and above expectations of $0.94, reports Gregory Meyer in New York.

Last month, I reported that a statutory review of the Canada Transportation Act has been launched and focused my comments on issues relating to the disjointed regulatory system governing extra-provincial trucking. In this column I will discuss CTAs response to the crux of the review. Namely, the extent to which the national transportation system has the capacity and adaptability to respond effectively to evolving international and domestic conditions and ma

Typical of the January season, spot rates for freight decreased or remained unchanged across the board for the fifth consecutive week for the week ending Saturday, Jan. 31. This is compared with the prior week, according to DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards. Van rates declined by 2 cents to $1.94. Chicago experienced rates as high as $2.08. Los Angeles dipped slightly below the national average for the first time this year. Rate

The Obama administrations fiscal 2016 budget unveiled Feb. 2 includes $18 billion for a six-year freight program designed to reduce roadway congestion, which the trucking industry says would improve efficiency. Dubbed the National Export Initiative, the program would fund regional multimodal, corridor-based projects to improve the delivery of goods that move around the country. In 2013, the American Transportation Research Institute found that congestion results in more t

Tight truck capacity and low fuel prices will shift the balance between over-the-road trucking and intermodal rail this year, with some intermodal freight being transferred to truck despite rising truckload rates, according to Cass Information Systems and Avondale Partners. The freight payment company and investment research firm expect truckload rates to climb 4 to 9 percent in 2015, while intermodal rates drop, Cass and Avondale said last week.

A truck driver was convicted Monday of stealing about $300,000 worth of Oakley eyewear bound for U.S. soldiers, then auctioning off the sunglasses online. Luis Albert Quintanilla, 47, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of felony grand theft, according to the Orange County district attorneys office. <

Often-overlooked physical demands of the trucking industry and changing demographics are factors driving safety issues that are growing more acute as the improving economy increases demand for truck drivers. The rate at which private-sector heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers miss work due to injury and illness is rising while all other industry sectors are on the decline, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released last month. Aside from obvious perils such as acc

This Editorial appears in the Feb. 2 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. Recently, weve fielded questions from acquaintances not in trucking who ask if fleet executives are deliriously happy because of the eye-catching plunge in diesel fuel prices. No, weve replied, while the 22% decline in 11 week

The owner of a defunct trucking company in Lesage, West Virginia has admitted swapping oxycodone for tractor-trailer tires. Kenneth Ray Cisco, 50, entered a guilty plea to aiding and abetting distribution of oxycodone, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said. Cisco and another individual met with an undercover federal agent in March 2014 at Cisco Trucking in Huntington, West Virginia, to swap 31 prescription pain pills for six tractor-trailer tires. The agent requested two additio

Fleet Owner With capacity tight and rates strong, its a good time to be in trucking, but theres a threat on the horizon 3D printing. By allowing manufacturers to simplify operations and move them closer to consumers, 3D printing has substantial implications for both domestic and international freight businesses, particularly in reducing the importance of some transportation lanes while possibly opening up new ones, according to a new report fr

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. Alabama authorities say a tractor-trailer crashed on Interstate 20 because the driver lost control while he was pulling one of his teeth. The Alabama Highway Patrol says the truck driver told troopers he had taken his hands off the wheel to pull a loose tooth when he wrecked near Tuscaloosa. The crash report states: He had the tooth in his shirt pocket as proof. The tractor-trailer veered off I-20 into a ditch late Sunday and smashed into a

A trucking company was robbed by thieves while all of its employees were away at the funeral of one of their co-workers who died helping others on the road. The driver was going to help a stranded motorist on the side of the road on SR-78 in California when he was struck and killed by a passing motorist. The accident and funeral were widely publicized in the local media which means a long list of people knew the trucking company would be abandoned and for ap

By Evan Lockridge Rates on the spot freight market continued falling the past week due to fewer loads available and increasing truck capacity, according to the freight matching service provider DAT Solutions. Flatbeds posted the biggest decline Jan. 18 through Jan. 24 compared to the previous seven days, shedding 1.8%, for an average of $2.21 per mile. About three quarters of this drop was due to a decline in the line haul portion of the rate while the rest was due to a low

The owner of a trucking company received the maximum sentence possible by a federal court in Missouri after pleading guilty last year for his role in a cargo theft scheme. Nu World Trucking owner Earl Stanley Nunn, of Memphis, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole, and ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution. On July 14, 2014, Nunn pleaded guilty to theft of an interstate shipment. Nunn was the leader of a cargo theft ring that used the resource

By Harold Reutter The Nebraska trucking industry is booming, according to Larry Johnson of the Nebraska Trucking Association. Johnson, speaking to the Grand Island Rotary Club on Tuesday, said two of the biggest challenges to Nebraska trucking is a driving shortage which c

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro told lawmakers last week hes considering raising gasoline prices. That might be a good idea. Its been two decades since the government last lifted state-set local prices, the result of politicians concern that the move could spark protests like those that swept across the oil-rich nation following an increase in 1989. In the interim, a string of currency devaluations has pu

The latest Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) from FTR indicates that the capacity crunch the industry has been feeling is easing, although the firm warns that the longer-term outlook remains negative for shippers. The SCI for November 2014 came in at a reading of -3.2, reflecting an easing of capacity tightness and lower fuel prices. FTR said rising rates, though, will continue to impact shippers throughout this year. The SCI will likely hit

Half of truckload carriers are now offering sign-on bonuses as a way to attract new drivers, according to the American Trucking Associations' recently released 2014 Driver Compensation Study. The average sign-on bonus was $2,300. Gordon Klemp with the National Transportation Institute says their pay package data tracking has shown bonuses as high as $15,000 for teams and $4,000 or more for solo drivers. "In the second half of 2010, we had zero companies offering sign-on bonuses,

By Mark B. Solomon It is one of those regulatory scenarios that companies pay trade associations good money to identify, monitor, and, if necessary, head off before it becomes another well-intentioned government rule that spawns unintended consequences. In late 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), proposed requirements for shippers, railroads, truckers and receivers involved in the move

A Rancho Cucamonga trucking company and its driver were found guilty Monday by a jury of transporting an illegally overweight load on Long Beach streets, the Long Beach City Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday. A court case filed on July 14, 2014 stated that truck driver Guadalupe Martinez was stopped by Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officers on April 9, 2014 for driving a Martinez Trucking and Logistic, Inc. truck with a load that exceeded the maximum legal weight limit by ove

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor Spot market truck rates for U.S. loads are taking a seasonal slide in January, as slower freight demand frees up more trucks. The DAT Solutions U.S. average dry van spot rate fell to $1.98 per gallon Jan. 17, dropping below $2 per mile for the first time since last May. The rate, which includes fuel surcharges, is 3 cents higher than a year ago, according to DA

A nighttime blaze ripped through a Fontana trucking yard, destroying big rigs and other vehicles, vehicle parts and nearby trees, say San Bernardino County Fire Department officials. The flames were reported at 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, near Washington Drive and Live Oak Avenue, just north of Interstate 10 and roughly a mile southeast of Auto Club Speedway. Strong winds of 25 to 40 mph hampered firefighters, and the lot was jammed with trucks and equipment, said fire departme

I couldnt believe that oil would drop this far, said Marubeni Corp. (8002) Chief Executive Officer Fumiya Kokubu. And this from a man who spent more than a decade trading energy and picking oil and gas deals in a 39-year career at the Japanese trading house. His confession of sorts came at a Monday afternoon Tokyo press conference where he ann

Manitobas main farm group is eyeing a plan that would see farmers directly fund insurance to cover losses when grain buyers cant pay their bills. Thats a different route than envisioned by Ottawa under sweeping changes to the Canada Grains Act introduced to Parliament last month. The plan is to replace the Canadian Grain Commissions current security program with one funded by companies. The fund would contain $5 million to $10 million, with contributions bas

American Trucking Associations is calling on members of the 114th Congress to approve an increase of federal fuel taxes to fund infrastructure programs under a long-term highway bill this year. In a letter Jan. 26, the federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AAA argued that raising the highway user fee would help avert a transportation funding crisis this spring. Congressional leaders have indicated recently they are considering several options, such as tax reform, to fu

Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) may soon unveil a highway funding bill that would direct money to the struggling Highway Trust Fund from taxes on companies overseas earnings, according to Politicos Morning Transportation report from Jan. 22. Paul, however, did not mention any specifics in his announcement about a potential bill of what m

Christopher Bergin , Contributor Did you ever notice that the government is like some of your relatives? When they find out youre doing well, thats when you start hearing from them and getting hit up for money. This brings us to the gas tax. If you drive a vehicle with an internal combustion engine like I do, youve

By SADIE GURMAN The Associated Press 1/26/2015 EVERGREEN, Colo. Every year on his daughter's birthday, Ian Sullivan visits the grave of the child he lost when a gunman slipped into a Colorado movie theater and fatally shot the 6-year-old as she sat with her mother in the fourth row. And every year, he finds a birthday card on the headstone from the man who was with Veronica when Sullivan couldn't be: the police officer

A driver has filed a lawsuit against his company alleging that they failed to properly maintain his vehicle, causing a brake failure that resulted in severe and permanent injuries. Donald Dotson, formerly employed by Elite Oil Field Services Inc, was driving his truck with an empty trailer when his brakes overheated and began to smoke. After he pulled over his vehicle, one of the brakes caught fire. Dotson reported the malfunction to his supervisor who arran

A driver has filed a lawsuit against his company alleging that they failed to properly maintain his vehicle, causing a brake failure that resulted in severe and permanent injuries. Donald Dotson, formerly employed by Elite Oil Field Services Inc, was driving his truck with an empty trailer when his brakes overheated and began to smoke. After he pulled over his vehicle, one of the brakes caught fire. Dotson reported the malfunction to his supervisor who arran

Jill Dunn New documentation requirements and a slightly reduced enrollment fee are on the horizon for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program. Truckers are among the more than 2.8 million workers enrolled in the Transportation Security Administration program, required for those needed unescorted access to secure maritime facilities. On Feb. 1, the fe

ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CHS Inc. (NASDAQ: CHSCP, CHSCO, CHSCN, CHSCM, CHSCL), North America'sleading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company, and Northern Partners Cooperative, Mendota, Ill., announced today that CHS will build a 47,000 ton capacity fertilizer warehouse with product blending capabilities that wil

JEFFERSON CITY, MO. Farmers praised legislation that would end weight limits for trucks carrying livestock and grain, but state transportation officials warned members of a Senate agriculture panel Wednesday that the bill could damage roads at a time when money for repairs is strained. The current law has no weight limits for trucks carrying milk. Under the bill, there'd be no weight limits on most Missouri roads for trucks transporting livestock,

Williston, N.D. (CNNMoney) Oil prices have been sinking for months. And while that's good news for most Americans, what happens to towns like Williston, N.D., that have built an entire economy around the oil industry? The drop in crude prices, while beneficial for drivers, has already cost thousands of oil jobs. Schlumberger (

Job: Freight broker Role: Freight brokers act as an intermediary between companies that need to transport goods and the transportation providers themselves. When companies need to ship large quantities of goods to multiple locations with various specifications concerning how those items need to be handled, they employ a freight brokerage to handle the logistics. The