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Wireless Inspections By DOT

Think of it….not having to stop at the DOT inspection station. No waiting in line…no sitting on the scales or worrying about the inspector going page by page through your log book. No more being late for delivery appointments because you were held up at a surprise inspection. These thoughts, along with increased fuel efficiency, […]

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Qualifiying Core Carriers

“We are trying to create a national standard that would lead to federal precedent”~Transportation Intermediaries President Robert Voltmann on a new bill the TIA will present to congress later this month. The new legislation would help brokers, carriers and shippers choose and qualify new carriers in a more streamlined, effective manor. The law will not […]

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Driver Shortage, A Problem In Our Industry.

“Truck Drivers Needed!” “Get your CDL Today!” “Sign on Bonus for new drivers!” The ads and catch phrases go on and on…but they are there for a truly valid reason…The shortage of qualified drivers that the trucking industry has been facing for several years is a very real problem. As a 3PL, we feel the […]

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Women In The Trucking Industry

As Kelly and I get ready to head to Chicago to meet one of our biggest accounts, I can’t help but think about the roles of women in our industry. Kelly started this company in 2010 after separating from the company her sister started and ran for over twenty years. With over twenty years of […]

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Mid-America Trucking Show

This spring the Mid-American Trucking Show was held in Louisville KY on March 27-29. We were not lucky enough to be able to make it this year….hopefully next year! I just wanted to take a quick minute to share some of the highlights from this years show with some of you that missed it also! […]

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Diesel Declines 1.6¢ to $3.959 a Gallon; Gasoline Gains 1.7¢ in Ninth Straight Increase

Diesel dipped 1.6 cents to $3.959 a gallon, its fourth straight decline and fifth in six weeks, while gasoline rose for the ninth straight week, the Department of Energy reported April 7. Gasoline rose 1.7 cents to $3.596, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations. The price has jumped 30.4 cents in the […]

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Work Zone Awareness Week Targets Dangers of Speeding

This week is National Work Zone Awareness Week, and this year’s theme is highlighting the dangers and consequences of speeding through construction and work zones. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has coordinated and co-sponsored the event with other transportation groups since 1999. “Work Zone Speeding: A Costly Mistake,” is this year’s slogan, according to […]

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Worries Over Driver Shortage Outweigh Improving Market

GRAPEVINE, Texas — The truck driver shortage dominated the discussion here at the Truckload Carriers Association’s annual meeting, tempering an otherwise mostly positive outlook for the industry and the overall economy. The industry is doing well on most fronts, except for the seat in the truck cab. This is the year of the driver, a […]

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ELD’s Are In Our Future, and Coming to a Truck Near You.

Truck technology vendors said they see no major flaws in the federal government’s new proposal to require electronic logging devices in commercial trucks, but they are seeking further clarification on some facets of the expected rule. Based on their assessments of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed regulation, most ELD providers said software updates […]

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February Class 8 Sales Up 11% ……….Thats The Highest Gain in Four Months

This story appears in the March 17 print edition of Transport Topics. U.S. retail heavy-duty truck sales rose 11.2% to 13,949 units in February, the highest percentage gain in four months, Wards Auto.com reported. Sales have risen a cumulative 9% in the past three months — almost 4,000 units above the comparable three-month period a […]

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5 Predictions for The Future of Third Party Logistics in 2020

The third party logistics (3PL) landscape has altered significantly in the last decade and is tipped to experience further growth and change as mobile technologies and ‘smart’ working practices develop. With growth in third party logistics markets forecast to be as high as 15 percent, the demand to service these markets in 2020 will generate […]

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Service Advisory Report

We had hoped the past two weeks would bring significant relief to inter-modal and truckload operations, however, the compounding affect of several events has slowed the recovery process. For example, despite ongoing cleanup efforts, the Bethlehem and Philadelphia, PA ramps continue to experience delays of 36-72 hours. Additionally, early last week and into this week, […]

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Diesel Average Tops $4 After Fifth Straight Gain

The U.S. diesel average pushed past the $4 level for the first time in almost a year, gaining 2.8 cents to $4.017 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Feb. 24. Trucking’s main fuel, which has risen 14.4 cents over the past five weeks, last topped $4 on March 25. Despite the gain, diesel was […]

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Manufacturing The Backbone of American Economic Growth

Today, manufacturing is poised for a comeback, but for the first time in history, manufacturing in the United States surpassed the $2 trillion mark. Taken alone, the manufacturing sector would rank as the world’s eighth-largest economy. Manufacturing output has soared since the end of the recession, and manufacturing employment surged in the last months of […]

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Coming To a Highway Near You – Con-way Freight Deploys Nat-Gas Freightliners

Con-way Freight has started to add Freightliner Cascadia natural gas-powered trucks to its fleet, according to Freightliner parent Daimler Trucks North America. The trucks will operate in Texas as Con-way Freight evaluates how they operate in real-world fleet operations, DTNA said in a Dec. 23 statement. They are the first Cascadia day cab trucks to […]

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Trillium CNG to Have 77 Stations Open by June

Trillium CNG expects to have 77 compressed natural gas stations open by June, representatives said in a meeting with Transport Topics. The company has 35 stations open across the country and said it will open 11 stations in the first quarter, with the rest expected to come online afterward. The fueling stations will be built […]

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Trucking Adds 3,200 Jobs; Unemployment Rate Falls to 5-Year Low of 6.6%

Trucking accounted for 3,200 of the 113,000 jobs added in January, and the U.S. unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 6.6%, the Labor Department reported Feb. 7.The job increase was below economists’ forecasts of 180,000, and employment gains for December and January were revised upward by a total of 34,000, Bloomberg News reported. […]

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Retreads Help Wide-Base Tire Users Extend Life of Product, Say Fleets, Makers

Wide-base tires, new and retreaded, are providing an extended-mileage benefit for dry-van carrier Bear Trucking Inc., according to a company manager. “The mileage is excellent,” said Wayne Jacobi, operations manager for the San Bernardino, Calif.-based company. The fleet runs three brands of wide tires on about 45 tractors and 140 trailers, he added. Singling out […]

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Obama Orders Another Round of Greenhouse-Gas Rules for Trucks

Speaking at a Safeway Inc. distribution center in Maryland on Feb. 18, President Obama ordered his staff to develop a proposed rule further tightening greenhouse-gas emissions by heavy- and medium-duty trucks by March 2015 and to complete the process a year after that. Obama chose the Safeway facility in Upper Marlboro because of the grocery […]

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Drivewyze Launches Weigh-Station Alert Service

Drivewyze Inc. said it is offering a free alert service to go with the latest version of its PreClear weigh-station bypass mobile app. The new Weigh Station Heads Up alert service, available without a subscription to PreClear’s bypass service, provides audio and visual alerts two miles and one mile before a weigh station so a […]