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Mar 27, 2015
Name of the game still fuel savings

LOUISVILLE, Ky. Volvo Trucks is still working on its DME or dimethyl ether diesel alternative fuel internally behind the scenes, OEM officials said today at the Mid-America Trucking Show here. But they havent decided, yet, on a release date because they recognize the market isnt developed enough, yet. The comments were made following the introduction of several different money-saving equipment and technology offerings by Volvo, including a packa

Mar 27, 2015
ATA again urges FMCSA to remove from CSA crashes not fault of truck
Mar 27, 2015
Freightliner SuperTruck hauls goods, sips fuel
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Mar 27, 2015
Name of the game still fuel savings

LOUISVILLE, Ky. Volvo Trucks is still working on its DME or dimethyl ether diesel alternative fuel internally behind the scenes, OEM officials said today at the Mid-America Trucking Show here. But they havent decided, yet, on a release date because they recognize the market isnt developed enough, yet. The comments were made following the introduction of several different money-saving equipment and technology offerings by Volvo, including a packa

Mar 27, 2015
ATA again urges FMCSA to remove from CSA crashes not fault of truck

ARLINGTON, Va. Citing three recent fatal accidents involving commercial vehicles at which the CV was not at fault, the American Trucking Associations has again urged the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to make a common sense change to its Compliance, Safety, Accountability safety measurement system, specifically the removal of crashes trucking companies and their drivers did not cause. ATA identified the inclusion of all crashe

Mar 27, 2015
Freightliner SuperTruck hauls goods, sips fuel

Freightliner has unveiled the result of its SuperTruck project, and it lives up to the name. The tractor-trailer was developed in partnership with a five-year, $115 million Department of Energy program that challenged truck makers to improve big rig fuel economy by at least 50 percent, and match the funding by the same amount. Related Image

Mar 26, 2015
Nearly $90M in truck freight stolen in cargo thefts in 2014, report shows

Just shy of $90 million in cargo was stolen in 2014 in truck-trailer cargo theft incidents, according to a report released this month by CargoNet. Nearly half of that was high-value electronics loads, which averaged $549,539 in stolen goods per theft incident and totaled $42 million in the year. CargoNets figures are similar to those also r

Mar 26, 2015
Trucker hauling beer fails breathalyzer

A semi-truck loaded with bottles of beer was impounded after the driver failed a breathalyzer test on the Trans-Canada Highway. The man behind the wheel of the big rig was spotted driving erratically, possibly impaired, in Langley during the day on March 9. After making an unspecified hand gesture to another commercial trucker passing by, that driver notified RCMP Fraser Valley Traffic Services and officers caught up with the white truck in Abbotsford

Mar 26, 2015
Freight Factoring Specifically for the Bulk Trucking Industry

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 t

Mar 25, 2015
Trucking Industry Sues Oregon Over Fuel Law

Oregons new governor Kate Brown two weeks ago signed into a law a bill requiring distributors to reduce the carbon intensity of vehicle fuel by 10 percent over the next decade. Now the American Trucking Associations has joined with the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the Consumer Energy Alliance in suing Oregon to block the fuel standards. The Oregon program is set up to give a big boost to Oregons small bio

Mar 25, 2015
Prepare for major changes in trucking environment, shippers told

ORLANDO, Florida Shippers are being warned to prepare for major and potentially costly changes in the way they contract or hire trucking companies to move freight across the U.S., as economic, regulatory and legal pressures reshape the transportation landscape. The days when a shipper or consignee could tell a trucking c

Mar 25, 2015
Missouri bills on the move cover liability, certain truck weights

By Keith Goble, Land Line state legislative editor Missouri state lawmakers are moving forward with changes to various rules that affect truck drivers. The Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee voted to advance one bill to remove joint and several liability from Missouri law and replace it with a several only liability provision. Mike Matousek,

Mar 24, 2015
Trucking firm using drones to drum up business

J.E. Oswalt & Sons, an 88-year-old Midlands company that got its start moving homes by rolling them atop logs out of the way of road construction, is embracing a new technology drones to entice customers to its heavy-duty cargo hauling business. David Oswalt, owner of the Batesburg company, which moves cargo for customers to and from the Port of Charleston, decided on a whim in January to let friend James P

Mar 24, 2015
Judge in Toledo blocks new Ohio law on traffic camera use

The Associated Press 3/23/2015 TOLEDO, Ohio A northwest Ohio judge has blocked in Toledo a new state law sharply restricting use of traffic camera enforcement around the state. The Blade newspaper of Toledo reports (http://bit.ly/1DO1aos ) that Lucas County Judge Dean Mandros on Sunday granted the city's request for a temporary injunction. Mandros says his ruling means the status quo remains for now

Mar 23, 2015
How Trucking Companies Escape Liability After Deadly Events Like the U.S. 27 Crash in South Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL--(Marketwired - March 20, 2015) - On Tuesday in Palm Beach County, a trailer came loose on U.S. 27 and caused a fatal trucking crash. A 2008 Ford Focus struck the trailer, killing the driver, Carolina Ortiz. Sadly, three children in the car, Luis Varona, Alejandro Varona and Melissa Varona, were also killed. "This is an incomprehensible loss, but it is unlikely that this is what the trucking company is focused on. How soon before the t

Mar 21, 2015
Challenges loom for key US truck safety intiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. The U.S. Department of Transportations key truck safety initiative the Compliance, Safety, Accountability or CSA program is coming under fresh fire on Capitol Hill and from a federal watchdog agency, even as federal truck safety regulators take that initiative mobile. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week introduced QCMobile, a smartphone app that puts trucking company safety ratings, CSA scores and

Mar 21, 2015
For Glencore’s Next Move Watch Agriculture Rather Than Iron Ore

(Bloomberg) -- With only one acquisition in the past 11 months, Glencore Plcs billionaire chief Ivan Glasenberg is in the midst of a deal-making drought. As the industry awaits his next move, the focus has been on whether hell make another run for the worlds second-biggest miner Rio Tinto Group, which spurned an approach last year. Underpinned by a stellar $800 million increase in profits from the division last year, agriculture may offer a more temp

Mar 21, 2015
North Dakota welcomes Paterson Grain

Paterson Grain is expanding its network of grain handling facilities into the United States.? The Winnipeg grain company has been given a green light to build a new grain terminal at Bottineau, North Dakota, 60 kilometres south of Deloraine, Man., and 20 kilometres south of the Canada-U.S. border.? Officials in Bottineau confirmed March 12 that city councillors ap-proved a conditional use permit that will allow Paterson to build a terminal and loop track siding on the south side

Mar 21, 2015
Mexican farmers are trucking produce where tons of it gets thrown into landfills

Mexican farmers are trucking produce into an Arizona townwhere tons of it gets thrown into landfills Nogales, Arizona, is the largest inland food port in the world. Much of the fresh produce trucked up the food superhighway of Mexicos west coast comes through thereand a shocking amount of it doesnt travel much far

Mar 20, 2015
U.S. Refiners Sue BNSF Over Tanker-Car Charge

By

Mar 20, 2015
LTL’s road to riches

Less-than-truckload growth accelerated in a big way in 2014 as total market revenue grew 7.5 percent to a record $35.4 billion. After years of losing share to parcel and truckload carriers, it seems the LTL industry is finally regaining some of its old business. SJ Consulting Group estimates that LTL tons grew 5.5 percent in 2014, or about 50 percent faster than the 3.5 percent increase in total truck tons reported by the American Trucking Associations.

Mar 20, 2015
How Will 3D Printing Affect Trucking?

Business is booming, fuel prices are down. So its time to start thinking about the next threat to the industry: 3D printing. Advocates of 3D printing have said it can transform manufacturing. This week, a new startup company announced a new 3D printing technique it says may actually deliver on that promise. In traditional 3D printing, the machine "prints" layers of material to create a 3D object. This takes time and leaves ripples showing where those layers were laid down

Mar 20, 2015
Trucker dies after being hit by trooper who was looking for him

TALLULAH, LA (WAFB) - Louisiana State Police reported an Alabama truck driver died after being hit by a trooper in north Louisiana early Tuesday morning while the trooper was looking for him after an 18-wheeler was found abandoned. The man who died was identified as David Watford, 47, of Cottonwood, AL. The trooper involved in the crash was identified as Master Trooper Kenny Baker. He is assigned to Troop F in Monroe. The crash happened around 12:30 a.

Mar 20, 2015
Bill would expand trucker drug testing options to hair samples

Both chambers of Congress introduced recently a bill that would allow trucking companies the option to drug test their drivers via hair sample rather than urine sample to satisfy federal drug testing requirements. Driver database rule made official: FMCSA unveils rule to implement drug/alcohol clearinghouse A proposed rule establishing a database of CDL holders who have failed or refused to take a drug test will soon be published, FMCSA announced

Mar 19, 2015
ATA, Nearly 40 Others Pressure Congress Not to 'Devolve' Federal Transportation Funding

American Trucking Associations and nearly 40 other trade groups and businesses have sent a letter calling on Congress to pass a long-term transportation bill while opposing any move toward devolution. Thats the notion voiced by some in Congress that federal funding for transportation programs should be eliminated and that the states should collect fuel taxes and support and maintain roads on their own. Last year, a measure known as the Transportation Empowerment Act was i

Mar 19, 2015
FMCSA Offers App for Truck Safety Information

Safety performance information on trucking and bus companies is available through a new smart phone application authorized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. QCMobile is made for Apple and Android devices, FMCSA said March 17. Law enforcement personnel and people in the insurance and third-party logistics industries make up the primary target group, but it is available to the public, the statement said. QC stands for query centr

Mar 19, 2015
Construction to begin in weeks on 10-acre, million-bushel grain elevator

GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP Construction of a grain elevator and grain storage facility in Greenwood Township is expected to begin in the coming weeks. We plan to break ground this spring as soon as we can, said Jenifer Pemberton, a spokeswoman for Deerfield Farms Service Inc. Were looking for completion (of the first phase) by the fall of 2015. A grain elevator is a tower

Mar 18, 2015
Agspring adds Idaho company to its acquisition bin

Fast-growing Leawood company Agspring announced on Monday that it acquired an Idaho grain company. Agspring purchased Moreland Grain and Seed for an undisclosed price. Moreland, based in Blackfoot, Idaho, has been in business for more than three decades and has the capacity to store 1.8 million bushels of grain. Agspring will merge Moreland Grain into its Thresher Artisan Wheat subsidiary. The subsidiary has o

Mar 18, 2015
Bunge sells Cincinnati grain elevator

ST. LOUIS Bunge North America has sold a grain elevator in Cincinnati to Vogt Warehouse, said Deb Seidel, a spokesperson for Bunge. While the grain elevator is located at 2885 Sharon Road in Cincinnati, Vogt Warehouse has a facility at 2795 Sharon Road. We had already determined the Cincinnati location did not fit our long-term strategy and intended to sell the facility, Ms. Seidel said. Bunge closed the elevator in Aug

Mar 18, 2015
Shots Fired at Trucker

Shots Fired at Trucker on Dan Ryan Expressway Trucker Matt Mackey with Dayton Freight Lines said he was traveling northbound on the Dan Ryan -- Interstate 90 -- when a gold Chevroley Impala drive up beside him Illinois State Police were working Tuesday morning to reopen lanes and ramps that were closed after shots were fired at a tractor trailer traveling on the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Mar 18, 2015
Third Circuit Says Trucker Entitled to Overtime

Professional motor carriers generally are exempt from overtime payment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Third Circuit recently held, however, in McMaster v. Eastern Armored Services, Inc., No. 14-1010 (3d Cir. Mar. 11, 2015), that this exemption did not apply to the plaintiff, a motor carrier employee of the defendant who drove vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds approximately 49% of her total work days. The Court based

Mar 18, 2015
Why the T in TSA doesn’t stand for trucking

Innovation leads to regulation. Nowhere is that more true than trucking. Seemingly every good idea to make trucking a more efficient business is met with a higher regulatory standard that makes the work seem hardly worth the effort. But being in front of Washingtons whims is a good thing, even if it doesnt always feel like it. When two airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center in 2001, air travel in U.S. changed forever. Maybe it was for the good,

Mar 18, 2015
Don't use FMCSA app for safety data, ATA warns public

The Trucker News Services 3/17/2015 ARLINGTON, Va. Less than eight hours after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced it had developed a user friendly app for the general public to find Compliance Safety Accountability scores on motor carriers and bus companies, the American Trucking Associations said the available CSA data was unreliable and urged the public not to use this app given the serious flaws that have been identified by t

Mar 17, 2015
Higher Insurance Rates Possible for Truckers

National Grain and Feed Association leaders are concerned about a proposed Department of Transportation Rule that could lead to significantly higher insurance levels for truckers. NGFA is urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to forego issuing the rule and to evaluate the impacts of additional premium costs on commercial freight transportation. Associations Director of Economics and Government Relations, Max Fisher says there are no specific figures as to how high a le

Mar 17, 2015
Judge Nixes FMCSA Motion to Dismiss Truck Driver DataQ Lawsuit

A federal court judge last week ruled in favor of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) in regards to the trucking associations ongoing DataQ lawsuit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the U.S. Department of Transportations motion to dismiss a complaint filed by OOIDA challenging the accuracy of the data the department maintains and reports about truck drivers under the Privacy Act. The defendants inc

Mar 17, 2015
Bigger Rigs Are Better In the Trucking Industry, Says the Third Circuit

The Third Circuit joined other circuits in its ruling this week that trucking companies are not relieved from the payment of overtime wages to their employees whose job in whole or in part affects the safe operation of vehicles lighter than 10,000 pounds. In general, the Fair Labor Standards Act provides that employers are required to pay employees 150% of wages for the hours they work over 40 hours per week. Prior to this decision, some trucking

Mar 17, 2015
Truckers not in any hurry to drive faster

Don't expect to see a lot of big trucks barreling down the interstate at 70 mph. That's what executives at trucking firms said last week after the Arkansas Highway Commission's decision to remove the 65 mph speed limit for heavy trucks on rural interstates. Arkansas Department of Highway and Transportation employees are scheduled to take down the old speed limit signs for trucks beginning today. Since 1996, trucks traveling in Arkansas have been

Mar 16, 2015
Long-haul truck driver has no tax home

A long-haul truck driver who spent most of the time on the road and had no other home did not have a tax home that would allow him to deduct his unreimbursed travel expenses because he was not away from home, the Tax Court held (Howard, T.C. Memo. 2015-38). The truck driver, who resided in Missouri, spent 358 days in 2009 on the road. His employer, a Nebraska trucking company, did

Mar 16, 2015
Coyote Logistics prepares for IPO of more than $2 billion: WSJ

(Reuters) - Transportation and logistics services company Coyote Logistics LLC is in talks with banks to prepare for an initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources. The Chicago-based company, backed by global private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC, could be valued at more than $2 billion including debt, the Journal said. (on.wsj.c

Mar 16, 2015
Man sentenced in anhydrous case at Atkinson Grain

Lisa Hammer, [email protected] A Kewanee man was sentenced Friday to five years of TASC probation in Henry County Circuit Court on three meth-related charges from 2013. Robert A. Oldeen, 30, pleaded guilty in December to Class 1 felony

Mar 16, 2015
Feds take South Dakota trucking company off the road

http://www.yankton.net/news/state_ap_sd/article_9a2a3446-3f99-5f2f-b68e-dd094ef58e33.html

Mar 16, 2015
Oil is on its way down again; will gasoline, diesel prices follow?

NEW YORK Good news heading into the weekend. The price of oil is on yet another ride down as swelling global supplies overwhelm rising but still relatively weak demand. The price of oil has fallen close to its lowest price in six years, and many expect it to fall much further in the coming weeks because supplies are still heading up and the summer driving season is still months away. The lower crude prices will mean gasoline prices wil

Mar 14, 2015
Fuel Efficiency Standard Could Save Biggest Trucking Fleets $1.7bn

FedEx, Walmart, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and UPS five of the countrys biggest trucking fleets could cut their fuel use by 500 million gallons a year under the new heavy duty truck fuel efficiency standard, saving $1.7 billion on fuel, according to a Union of Concerned Scientists study. The EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Mar 14, 2015
Grain scandal takes its toll on Delta farmers

By JACK WEATHERLY Harper Ross will not be planting this year for the first time in 24 years, he says, because of the losses he suffered at the hands of an Arkansas-based grain dealer. Ross sold off most of his 6,000 acres in Leland after he and five other Mississippi farmers lost $1.8 million on corn they sold last year to Turner Grain Merchandising of Brinkley. In addition to the corn, Ross individually booked rice valued at $1.8 million with T

Mar 13, 2015
Four Things Shipping Companies Don't Know about Surety Bonds

by Todd Bryant Are surety bonds becoming a chore for your shipping company? With all the tasks on a managers to-do list, it may feel like bonding requirements are just one more thing to take care of. However, the more you know about surety bonds, the more value they can bring to your shipping company. Even though you are legally required to have them, most shipping companies are still in the dark about surety bonds: how they work, how to reduce costs and how to make

Mar 13, 2015
Truckers Not Welcome in Ontario!

A list posted to the website Smart-Trucking.com highlights reasons why Ontario hates truckers. The whole list plus more can be found here. Do you agree with the points made? Heres the list: It isnt difficult to recognize the signs that indicate truckers are not welcome in Ontario, Canada. Its a Canadian province with an extremely high volume of domestic and U.S. truck

Mar 13, 2015
Ergon BioFuels Enters into Comprehensive Service Arrangement with Gavilon

VICKSBURG, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ergon BioFuels LLC, (Ergon BioFuels) a subsidiary of Ergon, Inc., today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive services arrangement with Gavilon to originate and market grain at the companys Vicksburg, Miss. facility. Under the terms of the agreement, Gavilon will operate the 3.2-million-bushel warehouse at the Ergon BioFuels facility and begin buying

Mar 12, 2015
Are 3,000 more heavy freight trucks headed our way?

Trucks, trucks and more trucks. A plan by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council that could recommend redirecting 3,000 heavy freight trucks per year from I-95 in Connecticut to the North Fork via the Cross Sound Ferry has Orient residents up in arms. Especially since the freight management plan could be approved without a local public hearing. This plan is off everyones radar, said Orient Association president

Mar 12, 2015
Paoli Coop, Scoular partner

WRITTEN BY HOLYOKE ENTERPRISE Paoli Farmers Cooperative and the Scoular Company jointly announce that the two companies have formed an agreement to partner on grain marketing and handling activities at the cooperatives facility in Paoli. Weve always been committed to serving area producers and staying current to meet their needs, from updati

Mar 12, 2015
New Central Kan. grain elevator set to open before harvest

Great Bend Post GREAT BEND -Bartlett Grain broke ground east of Great Bend last July for the location of their new grain elevator. The bulk of the structure is built but there are still electronics to be installed. Manager Andrew Fullerton says Bartlett Grain is right on schedule to be up and running by May 1, before the summer harvest. Now it is just a matter of getting their name out to the public to make them aware they are open. Folks that farm in the

Mar 11, 2015
Bunge buys assets of Heartland Harvest

Bunge North America said Friday it has purchased the assets of Heartland Harvest Inc., a North American producer of die cut pellets used to make extruded foods. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Heartland Harvest at its Kankakee, Illinois, facility produces die cut pellets made of starches that are expanded through popping, baking or frying to create food products. Bunge said it will keep the majority of employees working at the plant. "Consumer demand for innovative

Mar 11, 2015
Legislature asks Congress to raise truck weight limits

Idaho Legislature asks Congress to raise truck weight limits The Idaho Legislature has passed a memorial bill expressing its desire that the federal government increase truck weight limits on Idaho's interstate highways to 129,000 pounds. BOISE Idahos Hous

Mar 11, 2015
Trial lawyers vs. truckers: a feud over trucks, crashes, insurance and devastation

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It's truckers versus trial lawyers -- and the truckers sure aren't happy. The federal government is considering making commercial truck drivers or their employers raise the minimum amount of insurance they must carry. The $750,000 minimum insurance under federal law has not changed in 30 years. "We share the road with these guys every day," says Matthew Rizzi, an Akron attorney. "They can share some

Mar 11, 2015
President of trucking research institute indicates capacity shortage could get worse

Rebecca Brewster, president and chief operations officer of the American Transportation Research Institute, spoke with Stifel Nicolaus analysts about the key factors affecting the trucking industry. The American Trucking Research Institute identifies and analyzes the top challenges in the industry throughout the coun

Mar 11, 2015
Faster Freight Payments with Fuel Discounts up to $.20/gallon

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 t

Mar 10, 2015
Wrightspeed’s Ian Wright set to Electrify Trucking

Ian Wright, one of Tesla Motors co-founders, is setting his sights on transforming the trucking industry. He and his company, Wrightspeed, are set to electrify trucks, and not just one truck at a time. Elon Musk and company have transformed the way we view electric vehicles. From glorified golf carts, we now see them as zippy and sexy eco warriors on the road. It makes much more sense (economically) to go electric with trucks than with the family car.

Mar 10, 2015
5 reasons to start a freight brokerage in 2015

Sam Jermy - Logistics - 15 hours ago Follow @SupplyChainD on Twitter. For those who have been thinking about opening a freight brokerage in 2015, theres good news. Positive tr

Mar 10, 2015
Feds take trucker off the road

MITCHELL, S.D. A South Dakota one-man trucking company has been ordered to stop all commercial operations after safety violations were found in a federal investigation last year. After an unsatisfactory safety review, Roth Trucking, owned by Lonnie Roth of Mitchell, has been shut down by the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration after it found repeated instances of unsafe driving, including the use of alco

Mar 9, 2015
rial closer for man accused of setting fire to truck with another man inside

A Raleigh, N.C. man accused of setting a truck on fire with a Homestead man inside it nearly two years ago in Marathon might finally go to trial in May. Stuart Collins, 29, has been held at the Stock Island Detention Center since pleading not guilty to attempted second-degree murder, second-degree arson and criminal mischief stemming from the July 12, 2013, fire outside JJ's Doghouse, a bar. His bond is $1.05 million. Collins originally faced five charges but acting Monroe Count

Mar 9, 2015
Bunge purchases specialty extrusion business

ST. LOUIS, March 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), announced that it has purchased the assets of Heartland Harvest, Inc., a North American leader in the production of die cut pellets used to make extruded foods. Financial terms of the acquisition have not been released. Heartland Harvest produces die cut pellets made of a variety of starches which are

Mar 9, 2015
Trucker drove 90 mph during ice storm after accident

HANCOCK, N.Y. (AP) State police say a New York City truck driver drove 90 mph during an ice storm after failing to stop when he collided with another tractor-trailer on an upstate highway. Troopers say 24-year-old Juan Torres of Queens was driving west on Route 17 Wednesday morning when his tractor-trailer jack-knifed and hit a truck th

Mar 7, 2015
Ex-Oil Patch trucking company owner sentenced for smashing into wife's car

HALLIDAY, N.D. A judge has sentenced a former Oil Patch trucking company owner to five years in prison, with two years suspended, for intentionally slamming his car into his wifes, causing life-threatening injuries. George Misrasi, 58, gave up what likely would have been an appeal with the sentence deal as there was scientific evidence that went

Mar 6, 2015
Trucking Safety Chief Defends Driver Rest Regulations

The trucking industrys overseer is giving little ground to critics who asked Congress to loosen U.S. regulations and revise a rating system designed to root out unsafe carriers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations acting chief, Scott Darling, defendedrules ai

Mar 6, 2015
FMCSA asked by National Grain and Feed Association to reconsider raising insurance requirements on truckers

In recently submitted

Mar 6, 2015
Get Paid Faster and Save on Fuel Costs

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 t

Mar 6, 2015
30 fire departments called to fight fire at Deerfield grain mill

DEERFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Approximately 120 firefighters from 30 different communities in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire worked through Friday morning to put out a fire at an old, vacant grain mill in the Franklin County town of Deerfield. The fire call came in at around 3:00 A.M. Flames were contained mostly to the top floor of the at least four story building, according to Amherst Assistant

Mar 5, 2015
Two South Dakota grain companies announce merger plans

By: Jonathan Knutson, Agweek Two South Dakota-based grain companies announced Tuesday they want to merge. North Central Farmers Elevator and Wheat Growers plan to unify into a new cooperative, subject to a vote of the full membership of both cooperatives. The boards of directors of both cooperatives already have unanimously appro

Mar 5, 2015
U.S. shipping industry rate revenue expected to rise in 2015

Activity in the national shipping industry was likely up almost 3% in January, according to the Cass Freight Index. A national trucking index was up 1.2% in January. Both reports indicate the shipping industry recovery seen in 2014 is continuing into 2015. The Cass Freight Index reported that shipments were up 2.7% in January compared to January 2014, and freight expenditures were up 3%. However, January shipments were 4.7% below December numbers, and expenditures were down 5.7% compar

Mar 5, 2015
Shipper or broker: Who’s on the hook?

Q: Im in business helping carriers collect their freight charges from shippers when brokers and third-party logistics providers dont pay those charges. I have had a lot of success. In most cases, the shippers and their attorneys initially refuse to pay on the ground that theyve already made payment to the brokers, but when I challenge them they usually admit they owe the bills and send me a check. S

Mar 5, 2015
Bill puts reins in truckers' liability

Arkansas lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday to protect trucking companies from being held responsible for accidents that result from the negligence of a shipping company. At the request of the Arkansas Trucking Association, Senate Bill 755 was introduced by Sen. Jon Woods and Rep. Micah Neal, both Springdale Republicans. Shannon Newton, the association's president, described the bill as the group's No. 1 priority during the current legislative session. <

Mar 4, 2015
More than $4 million in gold stolen from N.C. transportation company

(WITN) Over $4 Million in gold was stolen from a transportation company's truck on Sunday after it broke down on I-95 in Wilson County, North Carolina. The two armed guards working for the company, Transvalue Inc., said that they were approached from behind by three armed men while they were stopped for mechanical issues. The men, who pulled over at the same time as the broken down truck, drove a white van and allegedly ordered the guards to the ground, binding

Mar 4, 2015
Trucking company fined over violations at Wallingford facility

WALLINGFORD >> An Ohio-based freight trucking company is facing $86,900 in fines after federal safety investigators determined that employees at the companys North Plains Industrial Road terminal were inadequately trained to handle a chemical spill that occurred there last October. The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the proposed fines against R+L Carriers on Monday. R+L officials now have 15

Mar 3, 2015
US House revives bill to set standards for hiring trucking companies

Companies tendering freight to U.S. truckers would have to check the carriers' federal registration, insurance levels and safety rating before using them under a bill introduced in Congress this week. The bill would create a national hiring standard and clarify the legal responsibility of U.S. brokers, third-party logistics operators and shippers, its supporters claim. The bill is identical to one

Mar 3, 2015
Truckers: There's no need for speed

Central Wisconsin-area trucking firms and drivers aren't too eager to see the passage of a bill to increase the speed limit in some parts of the state to 70 mph. The bill would allow the state Department of Transportation to increase the speed limit in approved areas. State Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, has proposed an amendment to set a lower speed for commercial vehicles. The Assembly transportation committee conducted a hearing where there was little opposition to the bill.

Mar 3, 2015
Freight Factoring at the Lowest Rates for the Bulk Industry

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 t

Mar 2, 2015
Heavier trucks: Safety threat or common sense?

A bill that would increase the weight limits for trucks hauling freight on Minnesota highways and county roads is attracting a lot of debate at the state Capitol. The bill would allow trucks up to 97,000 pounds spread over seven axles, more than 8 tons heavier than the current 80,000-pound limit. The proposal has the support of the aggregate and ready-mix industry, which points out that surrounding states and Canada have higher weight limits and Minnesota already allows some hea

Mar 2, 2015
Ag Study Shows Increasing Trucking Weights Have No Adverse Impact To Safety And Provide Economic Benefits

ASA Urges Congress to Boost Truck Capacity in Highway Bill USAgNet - 02/27/2015 The American Soybean Association is touting a research project released yesterday by the Soy Transportation Coalition that examines the effects of increasing truck weight limits on federal highways. The project, titled, 'Heavier Semis: A Good Idea?' was funded by the soybean checkoff and is an update of a 2009 report that looks at the impact o

Mar 2, 2015
Shippers conditions improve thanks to diesel pricing, HOS rules

FTRs Shippers Conditions Index for December 2014 improved to a near neutral reading of -0.6, reflecting the rapid drop in diesel prices along with positive capacity impacts from reversal of some of the Hours of Service rules, according to the research firm. FTR expects the conditions for shippers to deteriorate in 2015, under the pressure of building regulatory drag and good freight growth straining capacity. Howeve

Feb 28, 2015
New York Trucker Allegedly Avoided Tolls Using James Bond-Like Device

By Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK (Reuters) - A trucker accused of using a James Bond-style retractable bumper to evade a $95 toll on the George Washington Bridge has been charged with using burglary tools, police said on Thursday. Hauling a load of candy across the bridge toward New York City on Wednesday, Pablo Ortega flipped a switch on his dashboard as he approached the toll gates over the Hudson River. That engaged a device that tilted up the truck's bumper and attached lic

Feb 28, 2015
Want to get Paid Quicker with Fuel Card Savings.

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 t

Feb 28, 2015
Truckers say push to raise insurance requirements is bad for highway safety, bad for small businesses

(Grain Valley, Mo., Feb. 27, 2015) Raising insurance minimum requirements for interstate trucking companies would make highways less safe and harm small-business truckers unnecessarily. That is the message delivered by way of public comments submitted by professional truck drivers and owners of small-business trucking companies. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had sought comments to an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for financial respon

Feb 27, 2015
Bill would license, regulate grain dealers

A bill was filed Wednesday (Feb. 25) that would let the State Plant Board require grain dealers to post surety bonds, obtain a license, and temporarily rescind that license without a hearing. Senate Bill 555, the Arkansas Grain Dealers Act, is a reaction to the loss by Arkansas farmers of millions of dollars unpaid by Brinkley-based dealer Turner Grain Merchandising. Butch Calhoun, Arkansas' secretary of agriculture,

Feb 27, 2015
Iowa Legislature approves fuel tax, truck fee increases

By Keith Goble, Land Line state legislative editor The state of Iowa is in line for its first fuel tax increase in more than a quarter-century. Permit fees for certain truck loads could also be on the rise. Iowa lawmakers are working on possible solutions to address an annual transportation funding shortfall estimated at $215 million a year. Gov. Terry Branstad has called on

Feb 27, 2015
Speak up, drivers! How do shippers treat you?

TORONTO How do shippers and consignees routinely treat truck drivers on pickups and deliveries? The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) wants to hear from you on the matter. The OTA has launched the first-ever Operation UpGRADE survey, a five-minute survey that asks drivers to rate the best and worst facilities based on their performance and treatment of drivers. The surveys aim is to raise awareness of truck driver treatment among supply chain participants while recogniz

Feb 27, 2015
How To Be A Better Shipper

This is a REPRINT of an article I had printed in INBOUND LOGISTICS about 7 years ago. When employing a carrier to move loads, shippers often do not realize how big a part they actually play in the delivery of the shipment. When shipping loads, it is incumbent on all involved parties to provide accurate, complete, and detailed information to ensure the end customer receives the shipment in a timely manner. If you are entrusting a carrier to hand

Feb 26, 2015
Trucking companies target jobless oil workers

U.S. oil company job cuts that cost machinery operator Drew Sanford his spot at Halliburton Co. are shaping up as a boon for trucking companies desperate for big-rig drivers. Already equipped with a commercial licence, the 30-year-old Sanford left North Dakota and landed at Oklahoma City-based Stevens Trucking Co. He is sometimes on the road as long as four days at a stretch, but the working conditions are good, he said, and "I'll probably just stick here for a while." His caree

Feb 26, 2015
Snow removal bill would help but trucking industry will kill it

The bill requiring snow removal from trucks is a great start but it's also a joke. Fines will be between $25 to $75. Really? I do not see 95 percent of the drivers adhering to this. The time it takes to clean off the trailer will cost the driver more money than the fine. The fine should be at least $600, with $500 going to the damaged automobile if there is one. That $500 will at least cover the deductible to have the automobile fixed. As I have said about other trucking issues

Feb 26, 2015
Woman sentenced to five years in prison for ripping off trucking company

By Greg Grisolano, Land Line staff writer A former bookkeeper at a California trucking company was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to skimming almost $3.5 million from the company since 1998. Patricia A. Francisco, 62, of Huntington Beach, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney to 63 months in prison. Francisco pleaded guilty to four coun

Feb 26, 2015
Complying with FSMA: Direct drive technology

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that each year approximately 48 million people get sick,128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die from foodborne illness. To combat these effects, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) aims to restructure the food safety system to one of prevention rather than react

Feb 25, 2015
Hello CARB, Are You Listening?

John Dutra is a one-man band, running his custom-upfit 1991 Isuzu FSR for construction work in the South Bay of San Francisco. Dutra couldnt have known when he bought his truck so many years ago that today hed be staring down a government mandate to (in all practicality) buy a cleaner truck. Chris Brown is the top editor at Business Fleet Magazine, a sister publication to HDT under the Fleet Group banner at Bobit Business Media. Business Fleet is aimed at small private fl

Feb 25, 2015
Rogue truckers pushing the limits on Oregon highways

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Rogue truckers are pushing their limits and putting your safety at risk, from reckless driving for better travel times to taking stimulants to stay awake. Sergeant Yvette Shephard has been on the job with Oregon State Police for 21 years. She spends much of her day behind the wheel of her police cruiser. Her dad was a trucker; her brother is a trucker. KATU's Shellie Bailey-Shah asks her if she thinks truckers are better on the road than average drivers.

Feb 25, 2015
Driverless big rigs: new technologies aim to make trucking greener and safer

In the opening of Steven Spielbergs 1971 film Duel, an impatient salesman gets stuck behind a rattling, soot-belching tractor-trailer on a lonely stretch of California highway. Just before the trucks driver is revealed to be a homicidal maniac, the salesman has time to gripe about the vehicles billowing emissions. Talk about pollution, he coughs as he is enveloped in the rigs thick, black smoke. Pollution in the trucking industry has long been

Feb 24, 2015
Thieves hitting tractor-trailers in Eastern Arkansas

The Trucker News Services 2/23/2015 WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. Since late December, more than 80 tractor-trailers have been broken into in three East Arkansas counties, theArkansas Democrat-Gazettereported Monday, resulting in at least 15 thefts. The paper said several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were investigating the robberies, which took place in St. Francis, Crittenden and Mississippi counties.

Feb 24, 2015
Frac Sand Business is Still Booming

Select Sands Develops Fine Mesh Project Close to Well Heads According to a recent business article in Wisconsins Journal Sentinel, The state's sand patch shows few signs that crashing oil prices are having an effect. Plants and mines are still looking for workers, and development plans for new sand mines are moving forward. Wisconsin is the USAs top producer of sand used to unlock energy held in shale rock formations &

Feb 23, 2015
Trucking industry wants bigger loads? Then pay more for roads

This session has promised to debate our need for transportation dollars. Both parties agree, but differ on amount and extent. But it seems a little counterproductive to watch a bill that would increase the maximum truck load from 80,000 to 97,000 pounds weave its way through the legislature. The bill has bipartisan support and could very well pass this session. My question is: why is increasing loads on trucks moving faster than a comprehensive transportation package to f

Feb 21, 2015
ATA Looks To Lower Minimum Driver Age To 18

The American Trucking Association has announced their agenda for 2015 which predictably lists HOS fixes and highway funding at the top of their priorities, but they also have one goal thats a bit of a surprise. They want to lower the minimum driver age to 18 years old. Currently, the federally mandated minimum driver age for Class A CDL drivers is 21 years old. There are multiple reasons for this, but the prevailing logic is that driving is dangerous,

Feb 21, 2015
ATA Looks To Lower Minimum Driver Age To 18

The American Trucking Association has announced their agenda for 2015 which predictably lists HOS fixes and highway funding at the top of their priorities, but they also have one goal thats a bit of a surprise. They want to lower the minimum driver age to 18 years old. Currently, the federally mandated minimum driver age for Class A CDL drivers is 21 years old. There are multiple reasons for this, but the prevailing logic is that driving is dangerous,

Feb 21, 2015
Former trucker from Monona awarded millions in insurance case

A jury in western Iowa has awarded a former semi truck driver $25 million in punitive damages in connection with a civil case filed against his workers compensation insurance company. Thirty-seven-year old Toby Thornton, of Monona, was paralyzed from the chest down in a tractor-trailer accident that happened in June, 2009. At the time, he was an employee of Clayton County Recycling. After the wreck, the company fired Thornton, who began receiving So

Feb 20, 2015
CHS planning Gwinner grain loading addition, fertilizer plant

WINNER, N.D. Minnesota-based CHS Inc. is planning a grain shuttle loading facility, a 2.2 million bushel storage addition and a dry fertilizer hub plant in the southeastern North Dakota city of Gwinner. The farmer-owned cooperatives project would be on a 196-acre campus with a state-of-the-art grain loading facility served by a 120-rail car loop with a 3,800-foot spur track to speed up train loading on the

Feb 20, 2015
US regulators shut down three unsafe trucking companies

U.S. regulators shut down the third trucking company within a month, as they target motor carriers with flagrant violations of federal truck maintenance and driver work rules. The Federal Motor Carrier Administration said today it ordered Sorbon Transport, an Aurora, Colorado-based car-hauling trucking company, out of service and off the road Feb. 12. That out-of-service order followed a rapid investigation after a roadside inspection of a Sorbon tr

Feb 20, 2015
Six Reasons Why Freight Brokers Fail

BY VIC LANCE Sometimes a dream and an idea are not enough. Enthusiasm and vision are necessary for the future of your freight broker business, but those traits alone arent nearly enough to keep your business growing. A freight brokerage can be a very profitable business, and many are lured by the possibility of rapid growth and steady cash flow. And while some succeed, many

Feb 19, 2015
Simplicity Can Solve Soaring Shipping Costs

The most simplistic thoughts are rarely viewed as big ideas, but I believe the biggest things to happen in 2015 will be more simplistic than profound. We find ourselves as Americans in an all-too-familiar place as far as history is concerned. In an effort to reach our present-day technological heights, we have compromised the most basic of principles and over complicated simple structural values. We have a great many accomplishments and technological advances to pin to our board of

Feb 19, 2015
Poll shows 76 percent oppose increases in truck size and weight

By David Tanner, Land Line senior editor More than three-quarters of the people surveyed in a recent poll oppose attempts to increase truck sizes and weights on the nations highways. Another 9 percent said they were unsure, while just 15 percent said they would support an increase in truck size. The Coalition Against Bigger Trucks commissioned the study in part to

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