Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

A long stretch of highway crammed with vehicles, most eagerly trying to get to their destinations, may be a big inconvenience to some. For Andrew Shaffer, its his job.

Truckers got their day in court on Wednesday, as a not-quite-complete slate of Supreme Court justices weighed arguments in a closely watched case that could saddle the industry with higher costs that could hit consumers and ripple throughout the economy. In New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, No. 17-340, the justices heard the case of Dominic Oliveira, a long-haul truck driver who filed a suit against the transportation outfit New Prime three years ago, alleging that the company failed to pay

Our number one goal since day one was to create an easy/more affordable way for trucking companies to receive freight payments without any contracts or minumum requirements. If YOU are struggling or hate the process or collecting freight bills contact us now at 800-838-2907 or email [email protected]. There's no cost to get setup and no contracts. You can still direct bill quicker paying shippers and allow us to pay you next day on longer payab

ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, U.S. Wilbur-Ellis Feed, LLC, an industry leader in the international marketing and distribution of nutrients for the livestock, pet food and aquaculture industries, on Oct. 1 announced the acquisition of the assets of Ameri-Pac Inc., a family-owned, value-added manufacturing business focused on animal health and nutrition specialty products for pet food, companion animals, livestock and aquaculture industries.

Grain prices have been grinding away at or near the bottom, as we harvest another very large crop.

After months of uncertainty over whether NAFTA would become unraveled and do inestimable harm to the economies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, there is tangible relief that an agreement has been reached that is satisfactory to all three sides.

Michael Tadin, whose Marina Cartage and MAT Leasing firms have done at least $100 million in business with the city of Chicago since the late 1980s, and his wife, Lee, have owned the 19th-century home on State Parkway since 2001.

Mike Cole with Bobeaux Trucking talks about trucking down in the Texas oilfields. Click here to listen https://new.bulkloads.com/forum/podcasts/listen/?podcast_id=11

There have a lot of questions regarding the state of capacity in the trucking market and whether the market is adding capacity or losing it. The surge of new truck orders suggests that the industry is growing, but most of the answers to date have been subjective. The challenge is that most of the sources for finding out the information are derived from the FMCSA and vehicle registration databases. But our data scientists believe that the answer can be found in near-time data, specifically ELD, t

A soybean seeding tractor is replenished with soybean seeds in a field in Gideon, Missouri, U.S., May 16, 2018. Picture taken May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Fred Whitford is the clinical engagement professor for Purdue Pesticide programs. He also is a leading expert in Indiana on the states rules and regulations for farm and ag retail trucking and has authored and co-authored a number of articles and papers on various topics related to farm and ag trucking.

We knew the losses would be significant because it was harvest time for so many of our major crops and the storm hit our top six agricultural counties especially hard," Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement. "These early estimates show just what a devastating and staggering blow this hurricane leveled at our agriculture industry." The losses far exceed the $400 million caused by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, officials said. The estimates were based on the perce

INTERSTATE 80, Nev.Many couples and empty-nesters dream about traveling the world together. Some are making it a realityin the cabs of 18-wheel freight trucks.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will propose a rule Thursday that will, if made final, set criteria by which the agency could immediately revoke the operating authority of brokers and freight forwarders whose surety bonds or trust funds fall below the federally required $75,000 minimum. The agency is also seeking public input on a

President Donald Trumps trade war with China may have a lasting impact on American agriculture if it drags on, with the Asian nation already halting U.S. soybean purchases, according to the head of Cargill Inc. A long-term dispute could shift perception of the U.S. as a reliable trade partner and prompt China, the worlds largest importer of soybeans and the biggest buyer from the U.S, to turn to other sources of protein to feed its chickens, pork and other livestock, Chie

Louis Dreyfus Company announced the surprise departures of its chief executive and head of finance on Tuesday, triggering another reshuffle at the commodities giant as it strives to recover from weak agricultural markets.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters applaud congressional leaders for removing a poison pill policy rider from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill which would have undercut the working conditions of tens of thousands of American truck drivers.

DES MOINES, Iowa Iowa farm truckers will get a break from state weight limits through Nov. 13. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation on Sept. 11 allowing the transport of overweight loads, without a permit, of specific farm commodities.

In a perfect world as we plan for corn and soybean grain harvest, weather provides favorable drying conditions in the field, lodging is non-existent and there are no worries regarding stalk quality deterioration so harvest can be planned and executed without any, or very minimal, grain drying expense. Hey, as long as its a perfect world, we might as well throw in that grain prices are so favorable there is no need to plan for grain storage because we can sell everything right a

"Our nation's lawmakers, the media, and our neighbors simply aren't familiar with the independent contractor business model in the trucking industry, and this coalition was formed to develop tools like the Independent Contractor Ambassador program in order to give these businesspeople a voice," said Bill Webb of the Coalition for Independent Truckers. "Independent Contractor Ambassadors have an important role to play. We are asking them to be the public face of the independent contractor busines

Take a look around your house. Its fair to say everything there has at one time or another been shipped on a truck. The food in your refrigerator and cupboard. The television on the wall. Even the chair youre sitting in.

ARVILLA, N.D. Farmers stuck with low-priced soybeans and edible beans due to trade war tariff retaliation are looking for places to store a big crop until marketing returns to normal perhaps six months away.

https://new.bulkloads.com/forum/podcasts/listen/?podcast_id=10

Henderson fire crews respond to a fire that damaged two semi-trucks and took a good chunk of a corn field as well. Two Dixon farm grain trucks were filling up with corn in a field near Trig Turner Road in Corydon Friday afternoon.

Drivers who deliver packages for Amazon described anxiety-ridden shifts where they drove in trucks with broken windows, cracked mirrors, jammed doors, faulty brakes, and tires with poor traction.

The U.S. Department of Transportations Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced recently that they are accepting public comment on possibly extending hour of service and revising break and rest times. The deadline for public comment is Sept. 24.

Law360 (September 20, 2018, 5:28 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation determined Thursday that federal law preempts California's meal and rest break requirements for all motor vehicle operators transporting hazardous materials, granting a request from a trucking group to harmonize what it viewed as inconsistent regulations.

FARMERSBURG -- Harvest time has taken on a new meaning for some Wabash Valley farmers, and Bobbi Hunt-Kincaid hopes her familys first Gift of Grain will be the beginning of a new fundraising trend for Ivy Tech Foundation. L.G. Hunt Farms Inc. in Farmersburg is supporting agricultural education at Ivy Tech Community College by donating a portion of its fall harvest to Ivy Tech Terre Hautes newest program Precision Agriculture Equipment Technology. It

I started driving a dry van in 2012, and in 2013 the company I was driving for was bought out by a bigger company, said Moss. And Ive been driving flatbed ever since. --Kenny Moss, Owner, Elite Trucking Services, Mayfield, KY

There will always be brokers, carriers and shippers who will want and try to get you to haul freight at a rate that is less than you feel is fair. But what is fair? Is there really a valid answer to this question?

Starting a new business is exciting for many, as it lays the groundwork for creating opportunities that are not readily available in the normal nine-to-five grind. That excitement extends to those wishing to start a business in the transportation and logistics industry, particularly because of the high growth rate in the marketplace. Licensed freight brokers have a significant chance of making a name for themselves in

Coyote Logistics recently released a white paper titled The Coyote Curve: A Model for Mitigating Risk and Uncertainty in Modern Supply Chain Operations explaining how the 3PL sees the dynamics of freight market cycles. Coyote created a complex model that involves three overlapping cycles, including seasonality, annual procurement, and market capacityand

The transportation sector is a reflection of the goods-based economy in the US. Demand has been blistering across all modes of transportation. Freight shipment volume (not pricing we'll get to pricing in a moment) by truck, rail, air, and barge, according to the Cass Freight Index jumped 10.6% in July compared to a year earlier. Thi

A former grain elevator manager is on the run after allegedly pocketing $2 million from the Ashby Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. in west-central Minnesota. Jerry Hennessey used the money for hunting trips, taxidermy and paying his personal Cabelas credit card.

Throughout most of the Sunflower State, fall crops wait for combines to begin harvest. Abundant rainfall during the last week of August and the first 10 days of September stopped any attempts to cut dry-land corn. Water stands in low places in fields and ditches throughout much of western Kansas. Country roads sport ruts from the late summer rains.

There is nothing like a meal at the Waffle House after driving more than 60 animals from the South Carolina coast to southern Alabama inside of a school bus. Tony Alsup can attest.

https://new.bulkloads.com/forum/podcasts/listen/?podcast_id=9

State Patrol troopers will be on the lookout for commercial motor vehicles with brake issues during Brake Safety Week from today through Saturday. Troopers will be on the special patrol in District 8, which serves Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Kitsap, Mason, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties.

Wall Street can be frustrating sometimes, not least because of the seemingly endless debate about when a cyclical industry, such as trucking, is about to hit peak sales. In a sense, it's perfectly understandable -- no one likes buying into a cyclical stock that looks cheap just before its earnings fall and then suddenly its valuation starts to look high. It's equally unpalatable to sell out of a cyclical stock just as sentiment is about to turn.

Attempts to reach Ergon for further information, including how many employees would be affected by the closure, were unsuccessful.

Trucking companies in northeastern and central Pennsylvania are on alert.

Small fleet operators are not suffering from the driver shortage nearly as much as the big trucking firms. There is an inherent desire among truck drivers to want to be your own boss, said Jeff Tucker, chief executive of Tucker Company Worldwide Inc., a freight broker in Haddonfield, N.J. We can get people to drive trucks if the money is there. And the money increasingly is the

They train truckers at Apex CDL Institute in Kansas City, Kan. So, yes, federal proposals to put teens at the wheel of big rigs crossing the nation would likely boost enrollment. But institute director Jeffrey Steinberg thinks most 18-year-olds would make bad long-haulers.

A west-central grain elevator is going belly up, alleging that its general manager spent more than $2 million of its funds for hunting safaris, taxidermy and other expenditures.

Authorities in Butts County, Georgia, say that a truck driver was shot this afternoon because of an argument with another truck driver over a fuel pump.

While shippers face the difficult market conditions of tight capacity and increased consumer demands, they are also being challenged to find transportation cost savings and improve customer satisfaction. As shippers compete for capacity, many are asking what they could be doing to secure the best truckload performance and rates. Why do some shippers receive better service, and which best practices can others learn from them?

Washington Ports are closing. Farmers are moving hogs to high ground. Dealers are moving cars into service bays for refuge. And up to 3 million energy customers in North and South Carolina could lose power for weeks. Across the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia, businesses are bracing for the economic damage Hurricane Florence is expected to inflict on the area. Industries like tourism and agriculture will likely

TUCSON A driverless truck company is expanding in Tucson. TuSimple already has trucks hauling freight on Interstate 10. An engineer and a commercially licensed driver are still on board.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. This has been the most disruptive time weve seen in domestic transportation. Those words, spoken by John Janson, director of global logistics for Sanmar, were spoken at the FTR Transportation Conference this morning, and echoed by many of his shipper peers.

With harvest season ramping up in the southeast, the arrival of Hurricane Florence cant come at a worse time. Peanuts in Georgia, soybeans and grain in North Carolina, and many other crops and agricultural products are being harvested in the region and loaded onto trucks for their next destination whether that be a processing plant of an end customer.

David Rivers is a freight brokerage expert with 18 years of experience. Hes moved hundreds of thousands of shipments. While he is an expert in moving freight from behind the desk, he never knew what it was like to be in the cab of a truck. Until he took an unusual step, tagging along with a driver to experience the road for himself.

Over the past 30 years we have witnessed the volatility of the Australian grain market worsen. For the past decade, our business has accepted the science, assumed increasing climatic variability and have changed how we manage grain supply to mitigate this risk. We are as prepared as we can be. But this year

In an effort to provide real-time harvest information to their farmer-members, on Sunday, Landus Cooperative launched their new customer portal. This single hub will provide customers access to all grain, agronomy and feed activity for their account. For example, a grain customer can view their deliveries, grain contracts and much more in a single, streamlined, simplified and unified location.

Although the implementation of the electronic logging device mandate sparked widespread compliance concerns and protests from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), the visibility to operational metrics can be beneficial for shippers, according to Descartes Systems Group.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) The former CEO of a Texas fracking sand company must serve 15 years in federal prison over a $6 million Ponzi scheme that also landed an ex-lawmaker behind bars.

Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a proclamation allowing overweight and oversized grain loads for 60 days of the harvest season. It allows vehicles that transport corn, soybeans, straw, hay, silage, and stover to be up to 90,000 pounds gross weight without a permit to be hauled. The proclamation is for loads transported on all highways in Iowa, excluding the interstate system and loads that don't exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, don't exceed the maximum axle weigh

In honor of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, the Trump Administration praised the dedication of Americas truck drivers, thanking drivers for the hard work they do every day.

From April 1, 2018, all commercial trucks must be equipped with electronic log devices, or ELDs. These electronically tally driving time, more accurately monitoring and enforcing hours behind the wheel and rest periods than do traditional logbooks.

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor, Ari Ashe, Associate Editor | Sep 10, 2018 4:58PM EDT

Few would argue that America's existing trucking industry provides the most efficient way to haul goods all over the country. Much in the same way that if you were starting a constitutional democracy from scratch today you would never decide to implement the Electoral College system, if you were to devise a system for hauling and delivering a variety of goods, many of them perishable, across thousands of miles, you probably wouldn't recommend an army of hundreds of thousands of gas-guzzling, pol

While your Labor Day weekend may have been stocked with food, refreshments, barbeque grills, beach toys and lots of other fun items, truck drivers across America made that happen. They were busy traveling and making deliveries door-to-door and then getting back on the road to the next safe delivery.

According to the executive order, regulations for vehicles responding to the following emergencies have been temporarily suspended: Vehicles/people transporting fuel, food water, medicine and medical supplies Vehicles/people transporting livestock, poultry and food for livestock and poultry Vehicles/people transporting materials needed for the restoration of utilities and debris removal

https://new.bulkloads.com/forum/podcasts/listen/?podcast_id=8

Trucking company payrolls soared in August, growing at the fastest 12-month pace since 2015 as logistics operators boosted hiring to keep pace with booming freight demand.

https://www.wbez.org/shows/fresh-air/a-truckers-stories-from-the-road-remembering-burt-reynolds/ae9ac05d-0dcb-460d-acfa-638a19d9f1fb

TWIN FALLS A proposed increase to the weight limit on sections of U.S. 93 and Idaho 75 could mean fewer, but heavier, trucks will cross a dozen south-central Idaho bridges each year including the iconic I.B. Perrine Bridge.

Recycling companies are seeing higher freight costs amid a tight trucking market, and the logistical challenges are predicted to increase in the coming years.

At the very least, the old chestnut that farmers sell two-thirds of their crops is the bottom third of the market does stick in the memory. But is it accurate? Um maybe. There isnt much hard proof either way, and as for anecdotal evidence, it seems to depend on who you talk to, which may in itself be a bit worrying.

Judge Eric F. Melgren in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas decertified the two classes of drivers in the case, effectively ending the suit that claimed TransAm Trucking misclassified drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The court also denied the drivers claims regarding minimum wage.

The trucking industry is well used to increasingly stringent emissions regulations impacting its cost of operation. Indeed, it could be argued quite reasonably that if there is a single defining characteristic that drives the commercial vehicle business, it is the regulation of emissions.

Existing law restricts drivers under 21 with a commercial drivers license to haul goods from one state to another, but the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act, or DRIVE-Safe Act would allow the drivers to complete an apprenticeship with an experienced driver before taking the wheel alone to haul interstate freight. On Aug. 16, Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, along with original co-sponsors U.S. Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced the bill

https://new.bulkloads.com/forum/podcasts/listen/?podcast_id=7

Shale fracking carries a political odor all its own, just as food whose genes were modified by primitive people is more acceptable that food modifiedgaspby scientists. As an example, the Massachusetts Sierra Club opposes gas pipeline expansion because The pipelines are