Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

SOURCE: THE ANDERSONS, INC. NEWS RELEASE CREATED: SEPTEMBER 6, 2012 The Andersons, Inc. announced on Aug. 27 that its newly constructed 3.8 million bushel elevator in Custer County, Nebraska, U.S., will be open for the 2012 harvest. "Opening the largest elevator in Custer County, with both train and truck loading capabilities, puts us in a great position to serve the local agricultural community," said Chief Executive Officer Mike Anderson. "While we realize this year's crop is challenge

2 hours ago • By ROD STETZER | [email protected](0) Comments BLOOMER -- Even Bruce Mlsna is impressed by the numbers. Four hundred tons of steel was used to construct a 105-foot wide, 119-foot tall bin to hold corn, beans, oats and wheat. "That's 735,000 bushels. One bin," said Mlsna, general manager and CEO of River Country Co-op, which finished work Wednesday on a new grain storage facility, called Bloomer Grain, off of County SS in rural Bloomer. A public open house for the faci

Logistics as Percent of US GDP could Soar, John Larkin Says; Driver Shortage, Changing Carrier Strategies, New Regulations and More Could Hit Shippers over next 2-3 Years SCDigest Editorial Staff As usual, the transportation sector analysts from Stifel, Nicolaus & Company did a great job refreshing the understanding of their clients and many others on the state of transportation during last week's annual "Shaking the Sand Out of the Sneakers" teleconference detailing key logistics theme

Lance Murray Digital Content Producer- Dallas Business Journal The American Trucking Association is asking the State of Texas to slow down, saying the state's approval of an 85 mile-per-hour speed limit on a stretch of Hill Country highway is not safe. In a statement issued this week, association President and CEO Bill Graves urged the state to reverse its decision for the nation's highest speed limit on the stretch of State Highway 130 that runs between Austin and San Antonio. "At the end

Trans Alliance, LLC and Trans Alliance Group, LLC are new companies in Greenville, OH. These companies will start operations officially January 1, 2013. Trans Alliance, a 25 truck, bulk and van freight Transportation Company, will serve the customers of the current Garber Ag Freight, Inc. Trans Alliance Group, a freight brokerage and warehouse provider, will serve the customers of the current Garber Logistics and Warehousing (GLW Group, LLC). Trans Alliance and Trans Alliance Group are owned by

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor There are still legions of drivers who are not practicing even the most basic fuel-saving techniques. Just hang around an intersection with a lot of truck traffic and listen to how drivers go through the gears coming away from a traffic light, or visit a truckstop on a mild spring or fall evening and listen for the idling engines. Here are five easy ways to reduce fuel consumption without investing a penny in additional technology. Progressive shifting

By Aaron Corvin Columbian Staff Reporter Monday, September 10, 2012 A group representing grain shippers in the region, including United Grain Corp. at the Port of Vancouver, said Monday it expects to reach an agreement on a new labor contract with union dockworkers that will keep wheat, soybeans and corn flowing to markets. "I don't think there's any reason to presume otherwise," said Pat McCormick, spokesman for the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association, a consortium of six Nort

Area farmers face winter wheat seeding dilemma by DOREEN HEINTZ News-Argus Staff Writer Published: Monday, September 10, 2012 10:10 AM MDT For the most part, harvest is near completion in Central Montana. According to a spokesperson from Gavilon Grain Company in Moore, area farmers have completed their harvest with the only grain still coming in from the White Sulphur Springs area. At the present time, Gavilon Grain has approximately one million bushels of winter wheat on the ground east of

A North Dakota man accused of defrauding agriculture customers out of more than $200,000 has pleaded guilty in state court. DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (AP) -- A North Dakota man accused of defrauding agriculture customers out of more than $200,000 has pleaded guilty in state court. Authorities say Michael Jelle sold grain dryers and parts as the "Dryer Guy" in Maddock, and failed to deliver goods to customers. KZZY radio reports that Jelle has agreed to plead guilty to six misdemeanor counts tha

The Associated Press 9/10/2012 AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas will soon open a stretch of highway with the highest speed limit in the country, giving eager drivers a chance to rip through a trip between two of the state's largest metropolitan areas. The Texas Transportation Commission has approved a speed limit of 85 mph for a 41-mile toll road several miles east of the increasingly crowded Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. "I would love it," Austin resident Alan Guckian said.

By ANN MARIE AMES JANESVILLE -- Rock County Judge Ken Forbeck all but banged on his podium when he said, "Show me the money!" He spent several minutes grilling Heidi Wieser of Sauk City, formerly of Roscoe, Ill., about what she did with nearly $1 million she embezzled from Rock Valley Trucking, a Janesville business that is a division of Hufcor. "For the benefit of the victims and the benefit of society, I would like to know where that money is and if any of it is available," Forbeck sa

Professional Driver from Port Huron: "I just want to say this is to all those who drive four-wheel vehicles in Michigan. Please don't text and drive. It is worse than drunken driving. If you're texting and driving and we see you doing so, we will give your plate number to the police department and let them take care of you." Click Here to Read Full Story

Foul play not suspected By Megan Erbacher Posted September 7, 2012 at 6:34 p.m EVANSVILLE -- A Georgia man was found dead in the cab of his semi tractor-trailer Friday afternoon after he failed to pick up his load from the T.J. Maxx warehouse. George Frey, Jr., 35, was found in his Premier Transportation truck parked on a dead-end street in the 1900 block of Lynch Road near the T.J. Maxx distribution center. Evansville Police Department Sgt. Jason Cullum said Central Dispatch receiv

By Daniel Ferry, The Motley Fool Posted 8:37PM 09/07/12 It's been a rough year for Navistar International (NYS: NAV) . The truck and engine manufacturer has been steadily losing market share, under EPA scrutiny over the production of engines that don't meet 2010 emissions standards. Now, facing a daunting turnaround effort, Navistar must race to come out with its own compliant engine technology and re-establish its reputation before its competitors capture its customers. Recently, the EPA n

Truck enthusiasts from across the country converge in Morris for Route 66 trip By Jessica Shumaker -- [email protected] Antique semi-trucks bearing license plates from locales as far-flung as Maine and British Columbia could be found in a grassy area north of the TA Travel Center in Morris Thursday night. Mack, Kenworth and Peterbilt were some of the top names on display as part of the first show associated with the American Truck Historical Society's cross-country convoy,

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor The ink on the new highway bill is hardly dry, yet one transportation group already is pushing for an amendment. The Association of Independent Property Brokers & Agents is lobbying to repeal the $75,000 bond requirement for brokers and freight forwarders that's in the law Congress passed in June. The provision is due to go into effect next July. Between now and then, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration must complete a rulemaking to im

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Family members of four people killed in a 2011 grain elevator explosion in northeast Kansas are suing employees of Bartlett Grain Co., including its current president Bob Knief, less than five months after federal investigators pinned the blame for the blast on the Kansas City, Mo., company. The wrongful death lawsuits were filed Aug. 27 in Jackson County Circuit Court in Missouri on behalf of Bartlett employees Chad Roberts, 20; Ryan Federinko, 21; Curtis Field, 21; an

YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC ZILLAH -- Investigators suspect fatigue got the better of a 22-year-old trucker, who rolled his semi off the highway in Zillah on Thursday morning. Feliciano F. Sanchez of Long Beach, Calif., veered off Interstate 82 as he headed east, overcorrected and rolled his 2013 Freightliner tractor and trailer into the median about 4:25 a.m., a Washington State Patrol news release said. Sanchez was not injured and his truck suffered moderate damage, the release said. In

By Terry Anderson, Midwest Producer News Editor | Last winter, when John Q. Farmer had time to work the numbers, he might have found some futures prices that looked awfully enticing. He may have been confident that his corn acres would produce at least 150 bushels per acre. After all, they had pushed or topped 200 bushels for the last five years. What he didn't consider is a summer with extended heat and no rain. When his 1,000 acres struggled to produce 50 bushels per acre, he couldn't del

by Innovation Trail Sep 06, 2012 -- Last summer, an anti-fracking group leaked a state transportation department document estimating the financial impact on New York's roads if hydro fracking for natural gas extraction goes ahead. The total expected was $200 to $400 million annually. As the Innovation Trail's Ryan Delaney reports, many local governments have been working to make sure drilling companies will be accountable. Hear this Listen with NCPR player Download audio Share this F

BY: ALLEN SMITH With thirteen million CDL holders and millions of currently active truck drivers in the United States, the 2012 Presidential candidates would be wise to listen to what they have to say. In an industry that has been hit hard by governmental regulations, both professional truck driver and motor carrier are also struggling with the environmental choke hold that has been placed upon them by the agency that actually runs the energy department: the EPA. So much in fact, that a

Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) -- A freight train struck the rear of another freight train in southwest Chicago early Sunday, derailing several rail cars and damaging a third freight train on an adjacent track, authorities said. Local reports said power was briefly knocked out to more than 2,500 people in the neighborhood. There were no immediate reports of any injuries following the derailment shortly before 2 a.m. CDT Sunday, CSX rail spokesman Bob Sullivan told The Associated Press. E

TruckingInfo.com The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered Tennessee-based trucking company Terri's Farm to immediately cease all interstate transportation services, based on evidence that it was a chameleon operation for an unsafe company previously shut down by the agency. Following a thorough review of the company's operations, FMCSA shut down Terri's Farm after finding that it was operating the same vehicles and maintaining the same operational and safety management struc

BY JOHN G. STIRLING, THE PROVINCE Truckers take some unhealthy risks in efforts to put bread and butter on your table and indeed their own. My friend Tim is a case in point. He has been driving for more than 40 years and is currently rehabilitating at home after a nasty accident. He was stepping out of his cab when he twisted his ankle on the side of the pavement and fell heavily. His wrist hit the cab door and came close to shattering. The doctors told him that though he'd not broken h

Transport | Posted by: Charles Pauka A truck fitted out with interactive games and information is taking toVictoria's highways and freeways in a two-month road show to encourage greater respect between car and truck drivers. Victorian minister for Roads Terry Mulder unveiled the 'Road to Respect' campaign today at Birrarung Marr, alongside the striking semi-trailer. "The Road to Respect campaign aims to encourage all road users to share the road, in particular focusing on the relationsh

The Associated Press 9/4/2012 JOPLIN, Mo. -- A 180-mile stretch of U.S. 71 from south Kansas City to Joplin will officially become Interstate 49 on Dec. 12, much to the delight of transportation officials and cities and towns along the route. U.S. 71 is already a divided highway with a 70 mph speed limit, but the change to an interstate meant eliminating all intersections and cross roads along the route. The Missouri Department of Transportation has awarded $63.3 million since 2009 to remov

By David Frum, CNN Contributor updated 11:01 AM EDT, Mon September 3, 2012 (CNN) -- Prediction: 2013 will be a year of serious global crisis. That crisis is predictable, and in fact has already begun. It will inescapably confront the next president of the United States. Yet this emerging crisis got not a mention at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. We'll see if the Democrats do better. The crisis originates in this summer's extreme weather. Almost 80% of the continental Unite

The Associated Press Published: Sunday, Sep. 2, 2012 - 11:02 am BUCYRUS, N.D. -- A Japanese conglomerate is building a new grain elevator in southwestern North Dakota, giving the company easier access to the wheat Japan already imports from the upper Great Plains. Jim Peterson, marketing director for the North Dakota Wheat Commission, said Japan buys about 24 million bushels of the state's hard red spring wheat annually. Hard red spring wheat is used to make bread, rolls and other baked goo

Friday, August 31, 2012 | Updated: Saturday, September 1, 2012 1:42am Let's face it, all that cheap American natural gas hasn't done much for your car lately. For 18-wheelers, however, it's a different story. Truckers nationwide have shown enough interest in the low-cost fuel to influence a rush of new vehicle manufacturing and bring about a wave of momentum behind the resource. Manufacturers are planning to release four new natural-gas-powered truck engines and several new truck models

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS August 31, 2012 - 2:18 pm EDT MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Federal officials have ordered Murfreesboro truck company Terri's Farm to cease all interstate transportation services. According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Terri's Farm is merely a reincarnation of horse transporter Three Angels Farms, which was shut down by the agency in June. The closing of Three Angels came after investigators found multiple safety violations. They include

Posted 8/31/2012 6:33 PM by Zacks Equity Research from Zacks.com in Investing, Business, Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2012-08/risk-reward-balance-ch-robinson-analyst-blog.aspx?storyid=169296#ixzz25EJ4tCf0 C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. ( CHRW ) is one of the first-in-class third-party logistics (3PL) companies given its consistent growth rate over the past few years. The company's asset light model, with diversified freight forwarding solutions, provides more earnings flexibil

BLADE STAFF STONY RIDGE -- A predawn crash of two tractor-trailers killed a trucker from Wisconsin and shut down the Ohio Turnpike's eastbound lanes near I-280 for about five hours Friday. Georgi Belchev, 54, of Franksville, Wis., died at the scene after his truck, loaded with cardboard boxes, crashed into the rear of another semi that had slowed and was pulling into the exit lane at the I-280 interchange, Exit 71, troopers at the Ohio Highway Patrol's Swanton post said. He was trapped in

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Bloomberg By David Wilson - Aug 28, 2012 11:00 PM CT Trucking companies are failing to show the kind of growth typical of an expanding U.S. economy, according to Christian Wetherbee, a Citigroup Inc. analyst. Shipments by truckload carriers this month are "barely positive" by comparison with a year ago and little changed from July, Wetherbee wrote yesterday in a report. The companies ship entire tractor-trailers of goods on behalf of one customer. As the CHART OF THE DAY depicts, the findi

Carriers transporting North America's bulk agriculture products rely on harvest seasons to increase trucking demand and trucking rates to keep them moving. This year due to the drought suffered across the United States many farmers are calling their crops a loss and bulk freight truck operators are feeling the farmers' pain. Impact to carriers may be minimal immediately but the loss of crops may be felt more during the non-harvesting seasons. Bulk freight carriers rely on from farm-to-elevator,

August 28, 2012 - 2:24pm A trucking firm has been ordered to reinstate a whistle-blower truck driver who refused to drive an explosive-filled truck with a co-driver who smoked and pay $315,000 in back wages and damages, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday. OSHA said it ordered M3 Transport L.L.C./SLT Expressway Inc., and its successors in interest, Lyons Capital L.L.C. and Glendale, Ariz.-based Roadmaster Group, to pay the truck driver $315,000 for allegedly viol

Bloomberg News By Alan Bjerga on August 29, 2012 A projection that U.S. farmers will make a record profit amid the worst drought in more than five decades shows that government help for producers can be scaled back, critics say. Higher prices and crop-insurance payments will outweigh losses from dry conditions, propelling aggregate farm profits to $122.2 billion this year, up 3.7 percent from 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast yesterday. "It's compelling evidence that

By Special to the Gazette Tuesday, August 28, 2012 Made For Agriculture Incorporated, headquartered in Columbia, Mo., announced that MFA Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of MFA Incorporated, has purchased Irsik & Doll's feed mill and grain elevator in Emporia and Emch Feed and Elevator Company, Inc., of Madison. The arrangement will bring MFA added feed manufacturing and grain merchandising strength provided by the addition of these facilities. MFA had 2011 fiscal year net sales

Posted: Aug 27, 2012 11:41 AM | Last Updated: Aug 27, 2012 11:41 AM HAPPY VALLEY/GOOSE BAY, NFLD. -- Have any freight sitting up in Labrador that has to come west? How about assigning it to the most experienced team in the world? While we haven't done any actual research to back this up, it only stands to reason that Vernon Erb and his buddy Harold LeBold would win the "most-experienced team" title. After all, Erb, 76 and LeBold, 78, grew up together and have been friends most of th

Emergency conditions allowing truckers to bypass normal restrictions PR Newswire SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- TheTruckersReport.com (http://www.thetruckersreport.com) has reported that truck drivers in many states have taken advantage of the temporary measures put into effect by the DOT, and that individual drivers are also expediting procedures in states that are not in an officially declared state of emergency by taking on larger loads and running routes more of

11 hours ago • By ART HOVEY / Lincoln Journal Star For now, the attitude of those on the front lines of Nebraska's corn harvest could be described as watchful waiting. That's because it's too early to say whether aflatoxin contamination is going to be a serious problem. But those in charge at grain elevators and grain inspection points are acutely aware that it could become one in this drought year. "Back in 2002, there was a high amount of aflatoxin in the crop," said Mark Fulmer of

Drought Leaves Shippers Scraping Bottom to Move on River By Brian K. Sullivan on August 26, 2012 The tow boat Major General John Peabody uses to survey his domain as regional head of the Corps of Engineers couldn't stop last week in Greenville, Mississippi. The water in the harbor was so low that the 241-foot Mississippi V had to dock in Arkansas, at the end of a gravel road where grain trucks kicked up clouds of dust that covered cars with silt. A year after the river flooded, drought

By Joel Makower Published August 27, 2012 Forget the Volt, the Leaf, the Prius, even the Tesla. An entirely different transportation revolution is happening when it comes to big rigs. In recent years, commercial truck fleets have begun changing course, steering toward next-gen technologies that embrace electric, hybrid-electric, and other fuels instead of petro-based diesel, and innovative drive-train technologies. It's a development that's born partly of concerns about carbon emissions and

The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) could later this week bring the country to its knees if they carry out their threat to strike. The union, which held its special Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting in Benoni at the weekend, yesterday said it supported the leadership of the ANC for a second term. Road Freight covers truck drivers and if the union goes on strike it might affect the delivery of goods such as petrol. The union said it was demanding a 12% s

"The Star of the South," by Dick Callaway, Walter R. Turner and Charles W. Wadelington. By Pete Prunkl For the Salisbury Post SALISBURY -- To many in Rowan County, trucking means Freightliner. But our Cleveland mega-employer was a latecomer to overland transportation. It was born in 1942 in Portland, Ore. Corbitt Truck Co., the subject of a new book, originated in 1910 in Henderson, N.C.; it was our state's only home-grown truck assembly plant. The plucky rural company didn't believe in

By Sandi Soendker, Land Line editor-in-chief A man whose name is synonymous with trucking radio has signed off the air. North America's legendary radio truck show host Dale Sommers, The Truckin' Bozo, died Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in a hospice facility near his home in Hernando, FL. He was 68. Sommers, widely known for his long-running talk and call-in show geared toward over-the-road truckers, enjoyed a successful broadcast career that spanned more than 50 years. Photo credit: Tampa Bay

The Associated Press Published: Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 - 6:54 pm RICHFIELD, Minn. -- A truck driver who stopped along Interstate 35W in Richfield to look at a blown tire was hit by a car and killed. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened about 7 p.m. Friday. The man was on the right shoulder, looking at a tire on his semitrailer, when a car drifted onto the shoulder and hit the semi, then hit the driver. The man's name hasn't been released. Read more here: http://www.sacbee

By Reed Black, Land Line Now staff reporter A truck driver who says he almost always stops at a restaurant in Newton, KS, says he decided to keep driving on June 26 , a decision that ultimately saved another driver's life. Steven Huett, who drives for Illinois-based Tennant Truck Lines, told "Land Line Now" that he came across another one of the company's trucks that day that was pulled off on the shoulder along Highway 50 near Peabody, KS. It was a 105-degree day, and when Huett checked

BY KERRY WILLS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012, 6:00 AM A Dallas trucker who faced decades in prison after making a wrong turn into Mexico will get his charges lessened and may only have to pay a fine, authorities said Thursday. A Mexican appeals judge reduced the charges of Jabin Bogan, who was stopped in Mexico while carrying a trailer full of ammunition. Bogan, who faced a potential 30-year prison sentence, says his GPS stopped functioning and he made a wrong turn from We

Todd Dills |August 23, 2012 The Association of Independent Property Brokers and Agents, founded by former DOT officer James Lamb and which I've written about in the context of the issue the organization was founded to fight -- the boost from $10,000 to $75,000 in minimum surety bond requirements for brokers that was in the highway bill package passed in June -- is calling that measure "inconsistent with the Federal Transportation Policy set forth in 49 USC § 13101? of the U.S. Code, which ass

By Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times August 22, 2012, 6:51 p.m. The worst drought in decades has destroyed more than half the U.S. corn crop, pushing prices to record levels and squeezing livestock owners as they struggle to feed their herds. To cope, one Kentucky cattle farmer has turned to a child-tested way to fatten his 1,400 cows: candy. "It's so hard to make any money when corn is eight or nine dollars a bushel," said Nick Smith, co-owner of United Livestock Commodities in Mayfield,

James Topham and Karl Plume Reuters 7:21 a.m. CDT, August 23, 2012 TOKYO/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The completion of Japanese trader Marubeni Corp's purchase of U.S. grain merchant Gavilon is being delayed by at least two months as talks on ownership of an important West Coast export terminal and regulatory reviews hold up the $5.6 billion deal, people familiar with the matter said. Marubeni's biggest acquisition catapults it into the top ranks of global grain merchants and puts it in pole p

A fire at a wooden grain elevator at Citizens L.L.C. location on N. Cochran Avenue has been contained after firefighters from several departments were called to the scene beginning around 8 a.m. Click Here to Read Full Story

August 22 2012 at 11:35am By HARRY RITCHIE Review: World's Most dangerous Jobs By Paula Reid (Summersdale) What's it like to be an astronaut? How do you get to be an undercover cop? How much do you earn as an ice-road trucker? In this compilation of interviews, Paula Reid asks 21 adrenalin junkies about the incredibly dangerous jobs they do - jobs that she arranges in alphabetical order, from astronaut and avalanche controller to volcanologist and world superbike champion, via bomb

By Audrey White / The Dallas Morning News Published: August 22. 2012 4:00AM PST The parking lot of a Pilot Flying J truck stop in Dallas is home to the first in a chain of fitness centers targeted at truck drivers, whose sedentary careers can lead to health problems. The facility, which opened in June, is the first of at least six gyms that partners Snap Fitness and Rolling Strong hope to open this year. "It's a tough job driving on the interstate all day long without access to exercis

By WILLIAM DOTINGA FRESNO, Calif. (CN) - A trucking company urged its female dispatchers and freight managers to snake a competitive advantage by having sex with clients, a former employee claims in court. Gust Express owner Michelle Gust encouraged female dispatchers and freight managers to "sexually flirt with customers to gain a business advantage," according to the complaint in Fresno County Superior Court. Julie Brannum said she endured the unwelcome orders while working for

By: Amy Dalrymple, INFORUM WILLISTON, N.D. – Truck traffic kept interrupting a press conference here Monday that marked the opening of a new truck bypass, and that couldn't have made Williston Mayor Ward Koeser any happier. Each truck that takes the new 16-mile route that officially opened Monday is one less truck that will travel through Williston, where traffic counts exceed 28,000 vehicles a day compared to the 4,000 vehicles that traveled there four years ago. "Every time a truck go

The Associated Press Published: Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012 - 5:16 am BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Authorities in central Illinois are working to determine what led to the death of a 48-year-old Heyworth man after a fall last week at a Cargill Inc. soybean-processing plant. Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/21/4743944/worker-dies-days-after-fall-at.html#storylink=cpy Click Here to Read F

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS August 19, 2012 - 10:07 am EDT RAVENNA, Ohio -- Troopers in Ohio say a Wisconsin truck driver is dead after his rig started rolling at a rest stop and pinned him against another truck. The State Highway Patrol says the accident happened Saturday afternoon at a rest area along Interstate 76. Troopers say that 57-year-old Frank Shackelford, of Lake Geneva, Wisc., got out of his truck but didn't put on the emergency brakes. The truck rolled forward as he was walk

ALTA, Iowa (KTIV) - In the firefighting world, you look for opportunities to sharpen your skills, outside of the real deal. So, when local crews got the chance to train on a massive scale, they jumped at the opportunity. Firefighters rarely get requests to start fires. "In fact, they're happy we do it," said Cliff McFarland, an organizer of this mass drill. The end has come for this old obsolete grain elevator. "With the size of farm equipment today, it just didn't provide a lot

The Trucker News Services 8/20/2012 The average U.S. diesel exhaust fluid pump price dropped dramatically between June and July, reports Integer Research in its monthly DEF Tracker. The fall comes after four straight months of rising prices and is the lowest average price recorded since DEF Tracker was launched in October 2011, Integer Research noted. Love's Travel Stops, which offers bulk DEF pumps at 150 of its locations, introduced a lower national pump price during July, according to t

Boston Business Journal by Galen Moore, Web Editor Date: Monday, August 20, 2012, 8:33am EDT Truck drivers carrying hazardous (hazmat) loads must now take a long detour under new policy from the state Department of Transportation. The new daytime regulation quietly took effect earlier this summer, the Boston Globe reports. It stops hazmat drivers from cutting through the North End and other Boston neighborhoods, en route to Interstate 93 and other points south of Boston. Instead, they'll h

Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. -- As the harvest season approaches, farmers in some areas of Missouri are carefully watching river levels in light of Missouri's extremely dry conditions. Lower water levels on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers can limit producers' ability to move grain and other farm products by barge. The Missouri Department of Agriculture requested, and the Missouri Department of Transportation agreed, to allow heavier than normal loads of grain throughout the harvest

08/17/2012 10:11:29 AM Coral Beach Transportation officials anticipate an audit report on the trucking pilot program with Mexico within a month, and U.S. produce professionals are a bit anxious, fearing a negative report could lead to another round of retaliatory tariffs. Mark Powers, vice president of international trade and transportation for the Northwest Horticultural Council, Yakima, Wash., said the apple, pear and cherry industry in the Northwest paid tens of millions of dollars durin

St. Louis Business Journal Date: Friday, August 17, 2012, 6:42am CDT - Last Modified: Friday, August 17, 2012, 7:11am CDT Grains trader Bunge Ltd has been exporting small quantities of Brazilian corn to the United States this year, and it may export more if drought continues to damage the United States crop. The company's vice-president of agribusiness and logistics, Murilo Braz Sant'anna, said Thursday he doesn't think current differences between a booming Brazilian crop and the shortfall

By John Maday, Managing Editor Livestock producers, along with several national and state elected officials, are calling for a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires fuel blenders to include a set volume of ethanol in gasoline. But whether or not a waiver would bring lower corn prices depends on a complex set of factors, according to a new report from Purdue University economists. The RFA always has been controversial, but this year's drought, which has pushed corn pri

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff A truck driver remains in the hospital today after getting an electrical shock when his truck snagged sagging power lines on Interstate 95 in Attleboro, State Police said. Joseph O. Irorere, 45, of Brockton was driving a 2001 Mack 600 tractor-trailer northbound when it hit the lines. He was taken to Sturdy Memorial Hospital. State Police said Thursday that the driver had received the shock when he exited his truck. Another tractor-trailer, this one on

By Sam Nelson (Reuters) - Dry weather will return to the drought-stricken U.S. Midwest crop region, with corn and soybeans ending their growing season on a negative note after this week's rains proved to be too little too late, an agricultural meteorologist said Friday. "There were some decent rains in central Illinois and west central Indiana yesterday, but it's too late for corn and too late for most of the bean crop," said Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather. The worst

By AP from Canadian Business SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- The owners of a southwest Missouri trucking company have been convicted in a conspiracy that defrauded boat maker Tracker Marine of at least $924,000. A federal judge on Wednesday found James Keith Ivey and his wife, Melinda Kay Ivey, guilty on numerous counts including fraud and money laundering. The Iveys owned J&M Trucking, in Lebanon, Mo. The company made deliveries for Springfield-based Tracker Marine, which sells boats and trai

By Keith Goble, Land Line state legislative editor One step closer to passage at the California statehouse is a bill that is intended to help subcontracted carriers with brokers. For the past 19 months California law has required a broker of construction trucking services to post a bond to ensure payment to a subcontracted carrier whose services were brokered. The broker also receives certification of the subcontracted company's permit to operate. Brokers are required to secure a surety

By Blake Nicholson Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. -- The federal government is on the verge of approving a grain mainly used as livestock feed to make a cleaner version of ethanol, a decision officials say could give farmers a new moneymaking opportunity, boost the biofuels industry and help the environment. A plant in western Kansas already is gearing up to take advantage, launching a multimillion-dollar renovation so it can be the first to turn sorghum -- a plant similar in appearance

By Dan Charles You've all heard a lot about this year's devastating drought in the Midwest, right? The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last Friday that the average U.S. cornfield this year will yield less per acre than it has since 1995. Soybean yields are down, too. So you'd think that farmers who grow these crops must be really hurting. And that's certainly the impression you get from media reports. Nick Guetterman, president of the Johnson County Farm Bureau in eastern Kansas,

Written by WKYC Web Staff BROOK PARK -- An employee has been arrested in an arson at a Brook Park trucking company. Fire raced through Valley Sterling Trucks on August 6 causing $4 million in damages. The fire could be seen for miles from the company's West 150th Street location. Police say a 54-year-old Canton man who worked at the company has been taken into custody and is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail pending a grand jury hearing on aggravated arson. "While no investigati

By Susan Morse Sewall's Bridge was reopened with a reduced weight limit Monday after a pickup truck had crashed through the wooden guardrail Sunday night and gone into the York River, according to York Police Sgt. Brian Curtin. Driver Michael E. Chandler, 50, 3 Harvard St., Schenectady, N.Y., escaped the submerged truck and swam to safety, according to a prepared statement from Curtin. A York ambulance transported Chandler to York Hospital, where he was treated and released, Curtin said.

Written by Andrew Taylor Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Come January, be prepared for fewer air traffic controllers, FBI agents, border patrol officers and park rangers, as well as lower farm and winter heating subsidies. Less meat might get inspected. Furloughs will likely sweep across the government. Even the weather service could be affected. The looming funding crisis in domestic spending is the result of automatic across-the-board cuts, called a sequester, that go into effect Jan. 2

The Associated Press PAOLA, Kan. -- Union Pacific Railroad is cleaning up after a train with 22 cars filled with grain derailed in eastern Kansas, sending at least two cars into the Marais Des Cygnes River. The Miami County Sheriff's Office says the train went off the tracks at 2:24 a.m. Wednesday near Osawatomie, but there were no injuries and no roads were blocked because of the derailment. Union Pacific officials were on the scene Wednesday morning to investigate the crash. A spokes

By Keith Veronese What incredibly important profession combines horrible hours, bad pay, and a poor lifestyle? Truck driving. This is a job that destroys so many lives that it could soon become unsustainable. Here's why. Lots of Work, Little Pay - Truck drivers are expected to drive up to fourteen hours straight a day, receiving roughly ten hours off prior to the beginning of the next shift. Legislation regulating the amount of driving a trucker performs over the course of a day and week

By Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa -- Cooler weather and rain in the middle of the country have slowed the deterioration of the nation's corn and soybean crops, but experts said the drought isn't over and the recent respite won't make much of a difference. The weekly crop condition report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture rated the corn and soybean almost the same as the week before and marked the first time months that the news wasn't significantly worse. In the

By Rick Jordahl, Associate Editor, Pork Network The 2012 drought is not only taking its toll on U.S. Midwest crop and livestock producers. Ethanol plants also are succumbing as high corn prices dry up their operating margins. Suspension of operations, along with reduced production at many plants, has reduced the supply of distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product of ethanol production widely-used in swine diets. "High corn prices are not only affecting pork producers, but

(Reuters) - A fire Saturday morning at an Oklahoma trucking company owned by Cheseapeake Energy was extinguished but the cause is under investigation, the company said on Monday. "The fire has been completely extinguished and the site is secure. The investigation to determine the cause of the fire is ongoing," said Chesapeake spokesman. Read Full Story and View Original Post Here

By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug 12 (Reuters) - After spring floods drowned his seeding plans two years straight, Canadian farmer Walter Finlay is harvesting what looks to be an average or slightly better crop of wheat and canola. Average will do just fine this year. The worst drought in a half century in the U.S. Midwest has scorched corn and soybean crops, igniting grain and oilseed prices and leaving farmers in Western Canada poised to profit nicely off the misery of U.S. grower

By KEN MILLER An explosion at an Elk City trucking company sent thick, black smoke billowing into the skies in southwest Oklahoma on Saturday and left two employees injured. Beckham County Emergency Management Director Lonnie Risenhoover said it wasn't immediately clear what caused the blast at Hodges Trucking Company, LLC, other than there was some kind of spark. He said investigators would need to interview the two people working when the explosion happened. The workers, whose names

By John W. Schoen, NBC News The worst American drought in more than half a century is driving up grain prices and deepening worries about global food shortages. With much of the corn crop already lost, farmers are holding out hope for some weather relief that could help salvage the harvest of soybeans and other. But the latest data from the government Friday showed that the damage to the food supply chain already has been done. "This is worse than 2008 -- we're in kind of a perfect stor

By Allan Janssen with Today's Trucking Meet Sergio, Matt, and Steve. They're 25 and they love driving truck. The question is, are there more where they came from? For Steve Andrusyshyn, it was either hockey or trucking. The 25-year-old Calgarian had his sights on the NHL for a while... but in the end, trucking won out. He's been hauling aggregate for three years now, learning the ropes from his owner-operator father, Ken. And he plans to make a go of it in the family trucking business, Nor

By Alex Breitler Record Staff Writer LODI - Tom Howard gestured toward his big rig. "Step inside my office," he said. With pleasure. It was 75 degrees in the cab, unlike the broiling asphalt parking lot at the Flying J truck stop. And Howard's "office" muffled the noise of an endless parade of trucks outside. This is the comfort and peace that a long-distance trucker needs to get a good night's sleep. And on Thursday, it got a lot easier to rest while complying with no-idling laws.

By Dan Piller and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave its assessment of the historic drought Friday, forecasting national corn production at 10.8 billion bushels, down 13% from 2011 and the lowest production since 2006. The report is the USDA's first official assessment of the impact of the drought that has hit the Corn Belt and is considered to be the worst since 1956. Analysts knew lower projections were coming but "this is a substantial drop. Wow," says

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave its assessment of the historic drought Friday, forecasting national corn production at 10.8 billion bushels, down 13% from 2011 and the lowest production since 2006. The report is the USDA's first official assessment of the impact of the drought that has hit the Corn Belt and is considered to be the worst since 1956. Analysts knew lower projections were coming but "this is a substantial drop. Wow," says Harry Kaiser, head of the Food and Agricultural

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Subsidiaries of The Gavilon Group, LLC today announced they have entered into multi-service commercial agreements with subsidiaries of Advanced BioEnergy, LLC with dry mill ethanol facilities located in Fairmont, Neb.; Aberdeen, S.D.; and Huron, S.D. Under the terms of the agreements, Gavilon will be Advanced BioEnergy's exclusive ethanol marketer for all three facilities effective immediately. It will also be the exclusive marketer for distillers dried grains with

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration asked for comments on changes in its CSA safety enforcement program, it got an earful. Almost everyone supports the concept of the overall CSA program, but the details do not get much love. The changes, part of an ongoing CSA revision process, apply to several of the seven safety performance categories that are at the heart of the program. The agency plans to move cargo and load-securement v

Submitted by Marissa Jasek on Wed, 08/08/2012 - 3:35pm WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- The morning commute got a little sticky for drivers trying to make their way to work in Wilmington. A truck spilled its load of liquid asphalt along a busy road, causing delays and damage to dozens of cars. Drivers along North College Road had to deal with the wet, sticky mess Wednesday morning after a Hilco Transport truck leaked much of its 52,000 pounds of liquid asphalt for about four miles. "I've got ta

Go short! By Mark B. Solomon Since the recession hit, truckload carriers have tried to push their shippers into one-year contracts rather than locking them in for two, three, or more years at a time. For the carriers, the reasoning was simple. With their costs rapidly escalating, they wanted the flexibility to change rates and contract terms on short notice and not be saddled with static multiyear pricing that lagged behind their dynamic expense structures. But short-term contracts mig

Associated Press TICONDEROGA, N.Y. -- A trucker is recovering after being rescued from an overturned rig partially submerged in a North Country lake. Officials say 40-year-old Michael J. Rodriguez apparently lost control of a tractor-trailer hauling paper at about 1 a.m. Tuesday on a sharp curve in Ticonderoga, near the Vermont border. The truck flipped over into Eagle Lake, leaving Rodriguez trapped in cab filled with eight feet of water. Rescuers told the Press-Republican of Plattsbur

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--A now-defunct North Carolina trucking company has been ordered to pay $120,000 for refusing to hire black loading dock workers, according to a settlement agreement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Caldwell Freight Lines Inc., which had been based in Lenoir, N.C., hired 38 white dock workers at its Newton, N.C., facility in April 2011, purposefully overlooking six equally qualified African-American applicants for the positions on the basis of their race,