Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

The Trucker News Services 2/21/2012 JOPLIN, Mo. -- Joplin 44 Petro, I-44 & Exit 4, Joplin, Mo., will host the 16th Annual Joplin Truckers Jamboree on May 18-19. The event will feature exhibits, an antique car and truck display, live entertainment, carnival rides, fireworks, a BBQ cookout and more. Last year's event concluded just one day prior to the devastating F5 tornado that hit the town of Joplin on May 22. "Joplin 44 Petro employees and customers have worked hard to help rebuild Jo

(Reuters) - Big energy companies like Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and commodity merchants like Cargill CARG.UL have a simple argument in pushing back against looming new swap market rules: We're not a bank, so don't regulate us like one. But their efforts to avoid being branded a "swap dealer," a designation that brings with it greater scrutiny and onerous new rules, tend to sidestep the fact that, in one small but important way, most of them trade exactly like a bank. For much of the past

By Ben Lefebvre (This article was originally published Friday.) --Ethanol inventories at record levels as production boomed before subsidy ended --Producers shut down plants, expected supply glut to cut into returns --Rebound in domestic, export demand needed to return inventories to more normal levels A surge in U.S. ethanol production and falling export demand are driving down prices for the corn-based fuel, curbing producer profits and causing some plants to shut. Ethanol inve

Higher fuel prices, upward pressure on driver pay and a suddenly more sluggish freight market are creating more challenges for the trucking industry– challenges that may continue to build as 2012 progresses. "There's still a lot of general uncertainty facing carriers," Mike Mulqueen, senior director for product development at Manhattan Associates, told Fleet Owner. "Fuel prices are more volatile and rising back near the high levels of four or five years ago and [carrier] fuel surcharges ar

By JUSTIN STORY, The Daily News, [email protected]/783-3256 | 0 comments A judge's rulings last week in a grain mill owner's lawsuit against the city have set the case on course for a trial later this year. Don Lowe, owner of Lowe's Feed and Grain, sued the city in 2007, alleging that negligence on the part of city electrical inspector Rick Maxwell temporarily put him out of business. At a hearing Monday, Judge John Grise denied the city's motion for summary judgment to rule in favor

Big shippers want to use much heavier trucks on U.S. highways to speed goods to market, but critics say supersize trucks tilting the scales at nearly 50 tons each would further scar an already crumbling national network of roads and bridges. "We want a common-sense approach to get some productivity gains," argues Tommy Hodges, owner of Titan Transfer, which runs a fleet of 350 long-haul trucks from Shelbyville, Tenn. "This is a way we can be a good steward to get goods to people at as low a c

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WHDH) -- A tractor truck crashed and burst into flames on a major highway in Fall River and the driver is alive because of a quick thinking Massachusetts state trooper. The fire was so intense the trooper could not pull her cruiser up to the wreck. The driver of the truck was listed in serious condition Monday morning. The Department of Transportation was on scene Sunday night assessing the damage to the roadway. Officials said there was concern there was damage to two of th

Trucking companies are going to court to fight Obama Administration rules designed to assure that commercial truckers on the road get proper rest. The American Trucking Association said it filed a petition this week with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia asking the court to review the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's recently published final rule changing the hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers. The trucking industry group mai

The owner of two South St. Paul trucking companies has been sentenced to more than a year in prison for defrauding drivers. Sixty-seven-year-old Marlon Louis Danner of Inver Grove Heights was sentenced Friday in federal court on one count of wire fraud. Danner also was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and $125,000 in restitution. Danner pleaded guilty last July. He admitted misleading truck drivers into returning to him settlement money they had received under an agreement between Danner a

The U.S. Transportation Department asked automakers to design devices allowing drivers access to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter so they can't be used while a car is moving. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in the non-binding guidelines issued today, also called for disabling manual texting, Internet browsing, 10-digit phone dialing and the ability to enter addresses into a built-in navigation system for drivers unless the car is in park. The department said it's considering f

(KMOV.com) -- Internal Revenue Service agents conducting a search of a trucking company in Hazelwood, Missouri Wednesday morning, but are mum about what they are looking for or what they expect to find. Federal investigators and Hazelwood Police officers have been at Krupp Trucking since about 8:30 Wednesday morning. A spokesman for the IRS would not comment on the nature of the investigation, but agents have been seen carrying out several boxes of paperwork and loading them into a van.

Cargill has signed a purchase agreement to acquire a pet food plant in Emporia from Emporia Pet Food Products. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in 60 days. The acquisition of the pet food plant will increase Cargill's manufacturing capacity of pet food by approximately 70,000 tons annually and allows for increased production of Cargill's Loyall® and River Run®-branded pet foods from this new facility. "Cargill is committed to providing quality pet fo

Agri-business Viterra Inc. (TSE:VT) said Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement to divest its North American livestock feed operations to Hi-Pro Feeds as the company seeks to focus on its grain handling and processing businesses. Hi-Pro is a newly formed company owned by the existing management team of Viterra's livestock feed business and Birch Hill Equity Partners. Viterra provides farmers with seed, fertilizer and fungicides as well as storage and chemical handling equipment. It al

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Feb 15, 2012 6:47PM GMT The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story Net profit more than doubled last year as higher rates, shipments fueled expansion New customers, higher truck freight volumes and significant rate hikes pushed revenue at Echo Global Logistics up 41 percent last year to $602.8 million. The third-party logistics operator more than doubled its profit in 2011. Non-GAAP net profit rose 118.4 percent year-over-year to $11.9 million for the f

THUNDER BAY -- One point seven million liters of diesel fuel. That's some big carbon footprint.* It's also an extremely conservative estimate of how much more diesel fuel trucks will consume every year if Thunder Bay's City Council goes through with plans to ban 15.2-meter (53-ft) trucks from one of the area's main thoroughfares. The stretch of highway in question is Dawson Road, a popular short cut for trucks traveling between The Lakehead and The West. Dawson runs northwest out of Thu

The largest U.S. trucking group filed a legal challenge to Transportation Department driver- fatigue rules that the industry says focus on the wrong safety problems and don't meet legal requirements. The American Trucking Associations, based in Arlington, Virginia, filed a petition today challenging the regulation at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. "We cannot allow this rulemaking, which was fueled by changed assumptions and analyses that do not meet the required legal standards, to r

Solutions to driver shortage elusive Higher pay and expanded training won't be enough. What we need is a comprehensive strategy and the committed engagement of industry and governmental players ... and maybe another look at immigration. By Art van Bodegraven and Kenneth B. Ackerman Yeah, yeah--we've heard this song before. It hasn't been all that long since the Chicken Littles of the industry were running in circles, squawking about impending doom--specifically, a looming shortage of wa

A California jury has awarded a traffic accident victim $4.68 million in his negligence suit against a Groveland trucking company. Attorneys Ven Johnson and Hunter Pyle won the verdict last week in Alameda Circuit County on behalf of Hector Zuniga, 53, who was severely injured on Nov. 17, 2008, when he was rear-ended by a truck driver for Carroll Fulmer Logistics Corporation, 8340 American Way, Groveland. The suit contended the truck driver quickly changed lanes and rear-ended Zuniga's 1990 Ho

EAST LANSING, Mich., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- While many Americans are willing to pay a premium for ethanol fuel, it doesn't justify a government mandate for the fuel, a U.S economist argues. Soren Anderson at Michigan State University studied the U.S. demand for ethanol -- called E85 -- and found when ethanol prices rose 10 cents per gallon, demand fell only 12 percent to 16 percent on average. "I was a bit surprised," Anderson said. "I was looking for this sharp decline in ethanol sales the mome

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The largest U.S. trucking group will go to court to challenge Transportation Department driver- fatigue rules that focus on the wrong safety problems and don't meet legal requirements, it said in a statement. "We cannot allow this rulemaking, which was fueled by changed assumptions and analyses that do not meet the required legal standards, to remain unchallenged," Bill Graves, president and chief executive officer of the American Trucking Associations, based in Arlingt

Shape up before you ship out. Those are the new federal guidelines for truckers, as the growing problem of obesity in the industry is about to create new problems for drivers. FOX News Radio's Jane Metzler reports: 86% of the nation's truckers are overweight – half are obese. Thin when he started driving in the '90?s, Richie Nehrings says the road weighs ya down...literally. Cooped up in a cab, it's a challenge to get exercise. Then, there's that truck stop fare. (Nehrings) "Breakfa

Have you heard about the "new" alternative transportation fuel? No, it's not hydrogen, corn ethanol, or biodiesel. It's natural gas, and here's what U.S. President Barack Obama has to say about it. In a recent speech in Las Vegas, he said his administration's Alternative Fuels Plan will help support development of natural gas refuelling infrastructure, along with tax incentives for conversion of truck and bus fleets. "Because of new technologies ... we can now access natural gas that we co

It's been almost 180 years since land that is now the state of Iowa was opened for settlers. The America of the 21st century is far different from the nation presided over by President Andrew Jackson in 1833. There is, however, one constant feature for Iowans - agriculture is at the very heart of economic life in the Hawkeye State. Consequently, it was a fitting celebration of agriculture and the generations of Iowans who have farmed here that in 1976 - as part of the nation's Bicentennial Ce

The 2011 Illinois Agricultural Statistics Annual Bulletin dropped on my desk the other day, and there were few surprises. Illinois was No. 2 in the nation in corn and soybean production in 2010, trailing Iowa once again. It's called the 2011 report, but its for the crop year of 2010. It's confusing, like doing your 2010 taxes in 2011. Anyway, surprisingly, the state is No. 4 in hog and pig production, with Clinton County the No. 1 county in the state. Nationally, the state is ninth in

LITTLE ROCK -- A resolution filed Thursday in the Legislature asks lawmakers to consider a non-appropriation bill in the upcoming fiscal session that would repeal a tax break for truckers. The fiscal session convenes Monday and under Amendment 86 of 2008, which mandated fiscal sessions in even-numbered years, non-appropriation bills can be considered only if a two-thirds majority in each chamber agree. House Concurrent Resolution 1006 by Rep. Larry Cowling, D-Foreman, would have lawmakers

Trucking, Rail Groups Call 'Truce' Over Big Trucks William B. Cassidy | Feb 10, 2012 5:30PM GMT The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story ATA, AAR urge passage of House transportation bill as approved by T&I committee The trucking and rail lobbies are calling a truce in their battle over truck size and weight limits, hoping a measure of intermodal unity will help push a controversial multi-year surface transportation bill through the House of Representatives. Bill Graves and

Tough to believe an entrepreneur that generated over $18 million last year could be lamenting about the hard times. Such is the case for Randy LaValley, CEO of LaValley trucking. As we all know revenues must exceed expenses and even a well-managed business can have a hard year, especially when a recession kicks at your bottom line. I dug into the trucking industry to learn how the recession affected it, and found a few nuggets of business gold – lessons on survival that translate across indu

Thanks in large part to donations from Margaret A. Cargill, heir to the agricultural and food conglomerate, the nation's 50 biggest donors gave $7.1 billion more last year than they did in 2010. Even with that boost to a total of $10.4 billion in charitable giving in 2011, giving still fell below the 2001 level of $12.5 billion, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which each year produces a list of the 50 most generous donors. Ms. Cargill, who died in 2006, topped the list with a

After announcing in January the elimination of 1,000 positions globally, Archer Daniels Midland officials confirm more than 40 positions will be eliminated at the polymer facility in Clinton, Iowa. The cuts, resulting from an end of ADM's relationship with Metabolix, could be followed by more. Long-term decisions depend on whether the company finds an alternative use for the Clinton polymer production facility. Affected employees will receive a severance and be offered the chance to appl

A record year for its grain business netted the The Andersons Inc. a record profit of $95.1 million in 2011, the company reported Wednesday. The Maumee-based agribusiness' profit, which equated to $5.09 a share, easily bested its previous record profit of $69 million set in 2007. It was a 47 percent increase over 2010, when it posted its then-second-best profit of $64.7 million, or $3.48 per share. For the year, The Andersons revenues totaled $4.6 billion, a 35 percent increase over the $3

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Feb 8, 2012 4:42PM GMT The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story John Larkin said prices could increese as much as 8 percent in coming years Truckload rates are likely to rise anywhere from 2 to 6 percent in 2012 and even as high as 8 percent in coming years, depending on the strength of the recovery and the effect of new truck safety regulations, according to a transportation analyst. New federal regulations are likely to have a cumulative impa

Tom Kretsinger, Jr. posted on 2012/02/08 Cliff got out of his truck at the shipper's dock. He had been there for two days turning down load offerings and was frustrated that he was not getting any miles. He was paid by the mile. Why wouldn't the company give him a load to Dallas? During that time, he had idled his truck to keep warm, but this was costing him about one gallon per hour. His dispatcher was refusing to give him any more advances and he was about out of money. Even though his inco

Every time you think that a nail is about to be put in the wheat price coffin, it bounces back from death. The market refuses to take the chance that wheat will not be available to feed the world. At this writing, the market chatter is about reduced world winter wheat production. Drought conditions are still prevalent in Texas, Oklahoma, and southern and western Kansas. Above average moisture and/or timely rains will be needed to produce an average wheat crop in these areas. Favorable cat

New FCMSA regulations for truckers might not go far enough to protect those who share the road with big trucks. February 08, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- At the end of 2011, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) set forth a new set of rules pertaining to truckers' work schedules. The updated FMCSA hours-of-service regulations for commercial vehicle operators were officially published on December 27. Some advocates are now applauding the United States Department of Transportati

REGINA -- Bunge Canada Holdings of Halifax, N.S., has pleaded guilty to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act for failing to ensure that a worker did not work within 4.6 metres of an exposed energized conductor. The company was fined $42,000 in Nipawin Provincial Court on Jan. 25. The charge relates to an incident that occurred on Aug. 13, 2009, at a Bunge site in Nipawin. A worker, who was inspecting a railcar, was injured as a result of receiving an electric shock wh

A Lancaster County trucking company and its owner were charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly handing over false records to the federal government. D.A. Landis Trucking was indicted and accused of allowing, encouraging and causing its commercial truck drivers to fill out two sets of drivers' logs. One had the real number of hours worked, the other with false information. Police say Owner Dean Landis, of Willow Street, enforced the foul practice in an effort to conceal dr

Here's why ethanol producers should care about the domestic shrimp industry. Hint, it's not just because they taste better fresh, never frozen. By Holly Jessen | February 07, 2012 When we first committed to sending out a monthly newsletter populated with stories about distillers grains, I admit I wasn't sure if we'd be able to find enough story ideas. So I signed up for a Google alert--I get daily emails containing a link to anything published with the words distillers grains or DDGS. T

U.S. farmers will plant the most acres in a generation this year, led by the biggest corn crop since World War II, taking advantage of the highest agricultural prices in at least four decades. They will sow corn, soybeans and wheat on 226.9 million acres, the most since 1984, a Bloomberg survey of 36 farmers, bankers and analysts showed. The 2.5 percent gain means an expansion the size of New Jersey, as growers target fields left fallow last year and land freed up from conservation programs.

Across the corn belt, more farmers are putting up their own grain bins --giant, metal cylindrical storage silos. In the past year alone, farmers nationwide have added some 300 million bushels of on-farm storage, up 2 percent from the previous year. By storing their own grain, farmers can choose when and at what price they want to sell. If they play the market right, they could bring in 20 or 30 cents more a bushel, which can translate into thousands of dollars in profit. Larry Stolte

Ammonia leaks forced evacuations at two Northwest Arkansas plants Monday morning. The Springdale Fire Department confirms they are investigating an ammonia leak at the Cargill Plant on 730 E. Randall Wobbe Lane and at the Tyson Berry Street plant. Ammonia leaked from a freezer line on the west side of the Berry Street Plant around 9:30 a.m., according to a statement from Worth Sparkman, Tyon's public relations manager. Now it's back up and running, but earlier today all 400 employees were

Walhalla, N.D. -- Archer Daniels Midland Co. is closing its ethanol plant in the northeastern North Dakota city of Walhalla in April, putting 61 people out of work. The Illinois-based agribusiness conglomerate said it will provide severance packages and give the workers opportunities to apply for jobs at other company facilities, but Walhalla Mayor Christopher Jackson told WDAZ-TV that the loss of jobs will hurt the city of about 1,000 people. "It is a big hit to the comm

By Ian Campbell The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. According to a popular, although probably erroneous, reading of an ancient Mayan calendar, the end of the world is scheduled for Dec. 21, 2012. A look at the Baltic Dry Index, which reflects commodity shipping rates, might suggest the Mayan doomsday is indeed at hand. The measure of bulk shipping costs plunged in 2008, warning of the 2009 global recession. On Feb. 3 it closed below its 2008

TRANSSEXUAL trucker Vikki-Marie Gaynor from Merseyside will star in a one-off Channel 4 documentary MotherTruckers following the lives of women lorry drivers. Vikki-Marie Gaynor, 41, will feature alongside a line-up of female truckers trying to make their way in a male-dominated industry. The Channel 4 show, MotherTruckers, which airs on Thursday, chronicles Vikki- Marie's struggle to find work and acceptance. Vikki-Marie, who lives in Seacombe, Wirral, told the ECHO: "I had such a f