Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

By Land Line staff http://www.landlinemag.com/ Starting Dec. 1 enforcement has begun on a new regulation mandating all brokers and freight forwarders have a $75,000 bond. The new regulation, which upped the broker bond from $10,000 to $75,000, was enacted as part of the highway funding law, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21 Century Act, or MAP-21, which was signed in July 2012. All brokers and freight forwarders who engage in interstate brokerage or freight forwarding operations mu

http://www.ttnews.com/ E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. is developing aerial drones that it said could deliver products directly to consumers’ homes within the next five years. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed the unmanned aircraft project Dec. 1 on CBS program “60 Minutes.” The vehicles could deliver up to five pounds in a 10-mile radius of Amazon’s 96 warehouses within 30 minutes, Bezos said. “It will work, and it will happen, and it’s gonna be a lot of fun,” he said, according to Bloom

http://www.todaystrucking.com/ MONTREAL, QC— You can name your own price on more than 2,900 equipment items and trucks at the Ritchie Bros. unreserved public auction, which will take place in Montreal on December 5 and 6. "We are selling a huge selection of equipment in this auction—more than 400 pieces—from lifting and material handling equipment to light and heavy construction equipment, along with attachments and more," said André Véronneau, president and CEO of Simplex Equipment Rental

Article by: MIKE FERNANDEZ A recent commentary deeply misunderstood Cargill’s mission. Bonnie Blodgett’s commentary “Agriculture’s deal with the dark side” (Nov. 24) stokes unwarranted fear of “industrial agriculture” and mischaracterizes Cargill’s role in agriculture worldwide. For one thing, 96 percent of crop-producing farms in the United States are family-owned, and they represent 87 percent of all agricultural value. For another, Cargill (where I work) is committed, like most of thes

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A Wisconsin truck driver who joined a cyberattack on Wichita-based Koch Industries will learn his fate for the onslaught that briefly took the company's website offline. Eric Rosol, of Black Creek, Wis., faced sentencing Monday in U.S. District Court in Wichita on one misdemeanor count of accessing a protected computer. Prosecutors agreed in Rosol's plea deal to recommend a sentence at the low end of federal guidelines. Koch's website was offline for about 15 minute

By Marc Levy The Associated Press 11/29/2013 HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania's new transportation law will raise fuel taxes Jan. 1 and the companies that supply gas and diesel in Pennsylvania say razor-thin profit margins leave them little choice but to pass the entire cost increase to the pump. John Reilly, president of Reilly & Sons in the Philadelphia suburb of Exton, says fuel distributors like his can't just absorb the cost of doing business. Gov. Tom Corbett and lawmakers who support

By Jim McBride [email protected] Subfreezing wind chills and biting cold temperatures recently brought Lee Anderson’s trip to Jasper, N.Y., to a grinding halt at Amarillo’s Flying J Travel Plaza. Anderson, 60, a veteran Alabama owner-operator who has been a trucker for about four decades, said he stops here about once a month to take on fuel, grab something to eat and, on this day, have his truck repaired. “My brakes froze up and one of my brake chains came apart, so we had to f

http://www.todaystrucking.com/ TORONTO— The Canadian Trucking Alliance is asking the federal government to invalidate contract clauses compensating shippers from liability in case of incidents involving dangerous goods such as crude oil. CTA’s president and CEO, David Bradley, commented: “We strongly believe the most effective thing governments can do is to take the recommended actions to reduce the risk of highway accidents and to make sure that the parties whose negligence causes an acci

Special to the Daily News The California Air Resources Board recently announced that it will provide relief to truckers working to meet state deadlines for upgrades to their aging diesel fleets. The change comes following letters from the Tehama County Air Pollution Control District and other rural air districts seeking various changes in the mandate, said district controller Alan Abbs. The relief is detailed in a regulatory advisory which recognizes good faith efforts of fleets to me

Trucker to enter Stanislaus County Ag Hall of Fame BY JOHN HOLLAND [email protected] STANISLAUS COUNTY — Ed Rocha has a photo of himself at about 5 years old, standing on the bumper of a milk truck owned by his father, John Rocha. The kid looked mighty proud in this snapshot from the late 1930s, taken at the family home at 14th and D streets in Modesto. Ed Rocha’s lifelong devotion to trucking has earned him and his company, now known as Rocha’s Valley Enterprises, a place in the

Overdrive Staff We asked, and you answered. Following find a round-up of readers’ answers to the question What are you thankful for? As for Matt Owens, commenting on our Facebook page, he kept it simple. “I’m thankful for a 650-hp Kenworth T800 with three functional drive axles” to keep his business rolling, he wrote. Sage words. And driver David O’Malley wrote in with this well-considered dispatch: Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I guess I could complain about being unemploy

By Aaron Huff http://www.ccjdigital.com/ Karen Worcester watched the Gold Star mother meticulously lay a wreath by a headstone in section 60 of the Arlington National Cemetery. The mother paused and ran her fingers across her son’s name engraved in the white marble. The year was 2007 and it would soon be the first of many Christmases her son would not be coming home. Both women were crying as the mother stood and placed her hands on Worcester’s shoulders. “Karen, don’t remember my dea

CINCINNATI -- For some workers, Thanksgiving dinner with the family will have to wait. Their work must go on, meaning many truckers will be on the clock and behind the wheel for the Thanksgiving holiday. View Original Article

By Brandon Fried Freight and the Recent Government Shutdown My morning commute is roughly a seven-mile journey that takes 45 minutes in typical Washington, D.C., bumper-to-bumper traffic. The trip tends to vary based on the number of backups caused by motorcades whisking high-ranking government officials to work. There is normally some blessed relief to this during the Christmas season and in late summer, when many workers leave our transient city to return to their home cities or towns, t

http://www.truckinginfo.com The Association of Independent Property Brokers & Agents lost a challenge on Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to delay enforcement of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new broker bond requirement that takes full effect on Dec. 1. The “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” Act makes sweeping changes to the laws governing transportation in the United States. Section 32918 requires FMCSA to raise the bond req

By John O'Brien | [email protected] SYRACUSE, NY -- A federal jury today convicted the owner of a Baldwinsville trucking company of falsely claiming on his tax returns that he had no taxable income for five years. Carmen D'Agostino, 44, of Geddes, was convicted of five counts of filing false income tax returns for the tax years 2006 through 2010. D'Agostino cited multiple tax-protester schemes for not paying his taxes, federal prosecutors said. He was a follower of tax-protester

U.S. Government to Small Truck Broker Businesses: Pay $75,000 or Close after Thanksgiving By AIPBA FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 25, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Independent Property Brokers & Agents (AIPBA) has filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit for an injunction that could prevent thousands of small business owners across the U.S. who operate freight brokerage companies from having to shut down on December 1, 2013. These independent companies,

No one starts the day expecting to be injured in a motor vehicle accident. But when a tragedy occurs, one of the first questions is whether insurance will cover lost wages, excess medical bills, home nursing services and fair compensation for sometimes permanent pain. In his Nov. 22 letter, Steve Bixler, president of a Schuylkill County trucking company, targets U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright for introducing HR 2730 in support of higher insurance liability limits for commercial truck operators. He

Some truck drivers admit to taking drugs or drinking behind the wheel, both of which could cause accidents. November 24, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- New study examines why some truckers rely on drugs or alcohol A recent study released by the State University of Londrina, Brazil, examined the substance abuse of truck drivers from countries around the world. America, with its massive amounts of land freight moved annually (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that aro

By Clarissa Hawes, Land Line staff writer A New York trucking company owner has been found guilty on five counts of filing false tax returns from 2006 to 2010. Carmen D’Agostino, 44, owner of Carmen D’Agostino Trucking of Baldwinsville, NY, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine after being found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Court in Syracuse, New York. His sentencing is scheduled for March 2014. According to court documents, on his tax returns that he filed with the In

The Trucker News Services 11/22/2013 Editor's note: article courtesy of Rice Lake Online A Chetek, Wis., man died Wednesday from injuries he sustained in a two-vehicle/deer collision early Tuesday. Over the past 7 days more than 40 deer and bear collisions with vehicles have been reported to the Barron County Sheriff's Department. This included five in a just an hour late Tuesday afternoon. Jacob Haas, 35, was behind the wheel of a Jennie-O big rig on Highway 8 traveling westbound just ea

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/ Two drivers have won a lawsuit against their previous employer, awarding them $300,000 and a return to their old jobs. Both drivers had been fired after refusing to drive unsafe vehicles that were not displaying the proper information. The lawsuit was filed against Star Air, Inc and its owner Robert R. Custer by the U.S. Department of Labor, which said that the terminations violated whistleblower protections afforded by the 1982 Surface Transportation Assi

Diversified TransportationFinance serves as a lender and accounting department for some businesses In an era where about 86 percent of all products are shipped by land, the old saying, “if you bought it, then a truck brought it,” couldn’t be truer. Locally owned Diversified Lenders has built a new company based on the trucking industry’s massive impact called Diversified Transportation Finance. For 28 years, Diversified Lenders has served businesses in Lubbock and across the nation as an a

Agribusiness giant Cargill Inc said on Wednesday it formed an equal partnership to operate a South Dakota grain elevator with a storage capacity of 2.5 million bushels of grain along rail tracks owned by BNSF Railway Co. By: Reuters, INFORUM Agribusiness giant Cargill Inc said on Wednesday it formed an equal partnership to operate a South Dakota grain elevator with a storage capacity of 2.5 million bushels of grain along rail tracks owned by BNSF Railway Co. Cargill formed the joint ven

By Scott Waltman [email protected] South Dakota cannot afford to lose more rail lines, a representative from a local elevator said at a Tuesday evening meeting in Aberdeen that will help the state set a long-term rail plan. Whether the state ultimately owns more lines or finds private buyers for them, the current railroad infrastructure has to be maintained, said Mike Nickolas, general manager for the Ipswich-based North Central Farmers Elevator. Elevator representatives said that

By Chris Baraniuk, The Atlantic Because his truck is fitted with a refrigerator unit, Dick Pingel often hauls food: usually sausage or cheese, products long associated with his home state, Wisconsin. He’s been a professional trucker for 30 years, covered over three and a half million miles, and never had a single chargeable accident. + “One of the reasons that most of us came out here, myself included,” he explains, “was because of the independence. After the Vietnam War, a lot of vets came

By LUKE RUNYON Farmers in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska harvest about one-third of the nation’s wheat acres, according to the most recent Agricultural Census. Fall is planting time for wheat across the Great Plains and this year’s crop went into the ground while big changes were underway in the wheat market. Some of the biggest players in the flour milling industry are joining forces to make the country’s largest miller even larger. The biggest flour miller in the U.S., Horizon

By ABC News Loren West, a former long-haul trucker from Wisconsin, gave ABC News “20/20? a glimpse of what life is like behind the wheel of a big rig. After spending 15 months on the road, West has decided to take a break from trucking. He is substitute teaching high school English and spending nights at home with his family, but he isn’t ruling out another stint behind the wheel. Below, West reflected on becoming one of America’s roughly 1.6 million truck drivers, and what it means to cri

By Kevin Jones http://www.ccjdigital.com/ The third-quarter uptick in GDP and stable fuel prices are “good news” stories for trucking, an industry economist says – but an aggressive regulatory agenda will continue to impact profitability more than modest economic gains. Perry Perry Indeed, recent economic stability has also made for unprecedented stability in logistics costs, according to FTR Senior Consultant Noël Perry. FTR forecasts faster growth in those costs, but not nearly so dr

by Todd Dills http://www.overdriveonline.com/ Owner-operator Cary Goodman joined others in commenting on October news about Congressional hearings on the notion of raising the weight limit on federal highways to 97,000 lbs. with the addition of a third trailer axle. It’s been a perennial subject of discussion led by shipper interests, among others — find in this linked post mention of reporting on the issue from the year 2007, when the collapse of the Minneapolis I-35W bridge put a halt to th

By Amelia Robinson Staff Writer A local trucker says a rule that forces him to wear special equipment that monitors his breathing is unnecessary and akin to big brother watching him in his bedroom. The federal government says it is matter of public safety. WHIO-TV anchor John Paul dives into this controversial issue related to truckers and sleep apnea during a special report on NewsCenter 7 today at 5 p.m. He’ll tell you about one lawmaker’s campaign against the law and about the financia

TTS, LLC and LemcoStar, LLC launch proprietary liquid transportation system aiming to increase shipping options DALLAS/HOUSTON, TX-- TTS, LLC and LemcoStar, LLC are launching a new bulk liquid transportation system to provide a "highly efficient and significantly less expensive method of transporting liquid freight," the companies said. The TransiTank™ turns a regular 53-foot dry van into a liquid bulk carrier, thereby expanding shipping opportunities for trucks, providing another option t

by Mark Steil, Minnesota Public Radio Worthington, Minn. — A federal Environmental Protection Agency proposal to lower ethanol use in gasoline next year has upset grain farmers and drawn praise from oil and livestock producers. The EPA wants to change the nation's Renewable Fuel Standards to lower the number of gallons of ethanol blended into gasoline supplies. Ethanol companies and grain farmers generally oppose the move on the grounds it would hurt the growth of alternative fuels. It

By LEAH TODD Star Tribune staff writer View Original Article

TULSA, Oklahoma - A Green Country boy is without a mother after a deadly crash in Claremore. Troopers said the toddler was buckled into his car seat when the car flipped off the County Road 4220 bridge and on to the Will Rogers Turnpike. His mother died on the scene. That little boy is alive today, thanks to a truck driver who was in the right place at the right time. Troopers say Michelle Hall was driving with her son down the county road and she came around the corner and crashed int

By Sharon McBrayer [email protected] HICKORY, NC — Gaines Motor Lines will have to pay employees who federal officials say were fired in violation of whistleblower protection. The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered Gaines Motor Lines Inc., and individuals Tim Gaines and Rick Tompkins, to compensate four former truck drivers more than $1 million in back pay wages, interest, compensatory and punitive damages. “The whistleblower compla

http://www.businessweek.com/ Add truck driver to the list of jobs Americans don’t want to do anymore. Long weeks on the road away from home and family and stagnant salaries are making it hard to recruit drivers. The average age of a commercial driver in the U.S. is 55, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and retirements in recent years have long-haul carriers worried about filling their spots. Many would-be younger drivers are instead drawn to construction and other jobs that pay mor

Wisconsin Ag Connection - 11/14/2013 Four Wisconsin banks and 13 corn growers have submitted their names to a special program that reimburses producers in the event that they are not paid for their goods. The applicants are asking for tens of thousands of dollars from Ruby Grain, LLC, a Wausau-area grain elevator that is accused of bilking them out of money owed for their crops. Last month, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture announced it has initiated a default proceeding against the

November 2013, TruckingInfo.com - WebXclusive by Svetlana Guineva, Bryant Surety Bonds Freight brokers, like trucking companies, have traditionally represented the American spirit of independence and entrepreneurship. Some people, however, fear that the changes brought about by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which recently took effect, are about to change this. What is MAP-21 about? On July 6, 2012, President Barack Obama signed MAP-21, dealing with fund

By Liz Segrist [email protected] The truck-driving industry today has a 20,000-driver shortage that is expected to grow, S.C. Trucking Association President Rick Todd said Wednesday to more than 200 business leaders. Additionally, new regulations that restrict truck drivers’ consecutive driving hours can affect delivery times. Rick Todd, president of the S.C. Trucking Association, said the shortage of truck drivers and new regulations are impacting local supply chains. (Photo/Ki

Victorian Mallee farmers owed millions are still waiting to see if they'll get any money back from a collapsed grain company. Convector Grain went into voluntary administration in August, owing about $15 million to farmers, transport companies and the bank. Liquidator Andrew Yeo, from Pitcher Partners in Melbourne, says he hopes to sell the business within weeks. "The sale process is continuing," he said. "Expressions of interests have now closed and we're presently dealing with part

By KYLE BARNETT http://louisianarecord.com/ GRETNA – The family of a man who died after a personal lift failed is suing the corporate agribusiness facility where the incident occurred. Melissa C. Feucht, individually and on behalf of her minor child, filed suit against Cargill Incorporated in the 24th Judicial District Court on Oct. 15. Feucht claims her husband Jeffrey Feucht was hired to work at the Cargill grain elevator located at 933 River Road in Westwego. During the scope of his

Overdrive Staff http://www.overdriveonline.com/ One of the country’s largest carriers, Heartland Express (No. 39 on the CCJ Top 250), has acquired 100 percent of the stock of another major carrier, Gordon Trucking (No. 58 in the CCJ Top 250), in a transaction valued at around $300 million. Heartland says it will now have a total revenue of $1 billion annually and its terminal network will span from Washington state to Florida and from Pennsylvania to Southern California. The new combinati

Overdrive Staff Such sentiment has been front and center since this latest raft of hours of service changes, implemented July 1. At once, many readers hark back farther to a time when things were even less broke than they were some six months ago. Hear a variety of viewpoints in Overdrive‘s latest special-edition podcast, Voices edition, on the hours of service rules and attempts in Congress to force the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to truly research economic impacts and roll b

Jack Roberts http://www.overdriveonline.com/ Are we about to pass the 10-mile-per-gallon threshold in long-haul trucking? Owner-operator Henry Albert certainly thinks so. Albert, owner of Albert Transport out of Mooresville, N.C., is a member of Freightliner Trucks’ Team Run Smart. These are five drivers who each represent a positive aspect of the owner-operator business and lifestyle. Albert, Overdrive’s 2007 Trucker of the Year, is the “face” of Team Run Smart when it comes to provi

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — The Rhode Island State Police have issued about $11 million in fines to truck drivers and their employers at the old Route 95 bridge in Pawtucket, but far less has been collected. The Providence Journal reports (http://bit.ly/17iGKPE ) that in the nearly five years the old Route 95 bridge in Pawtucket was off limits to big trucks, police stopped more than 27,000 trucks and issued nearly $11.3 million in fines. It's not known how much has been collected because the st

Nebraska Grain Industry Safety- A Special Report by Megan Johnson In the last ten years Nebraska's Occupational Safety and Health Administration office has investigated 21 grain industry accidents. Fourteen of them were deadly. The death toll has OSHA, grain groups, and Nebraska families searching for ways to make the industry safer. Cousins Tonya Ford and Jessica Johnson remember Johnson's father as a caring and family first kind of man. "My father was our number one fan, I have a y

By Jennifer M. Latzke Hey there, white Toyota Camry with the Missouri tags! Yeah, you there, the one who just whizzed around me in the white pickup and the large grain truck ahead of me on the highway. You blew our doors off just us as I was slowing down to allow that grain semi in front of me room to safely turn from a blind corner on the road into a field outside of Lyons, Kan., on Oct. 26. You, sir, are a world class, A-1 jerk. You could have caused a horrible accident, all because you we

http://www.tristatehomepage.com/story/grain-truck-overturns-in-dubois-co/d/story/8RRhOe-MBkS6hjs8SKsHCA View Original Article

Overdrive Staff The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in light of an in-house study says it wants to implement some regulation changes to help former military personnel U.S. veterans more easily transition to civilian truck driving jobs. The agency says it plans to implement the changes “as soon as possible.” RELATED DOT giving $1 million to train veterans for trucking, driving jobs The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has allotted $1 million in grant money to hel

by Brian Straight in Trucking Straight Talk http://fleetowner.com/ If you don’t read this blog entry … Well, I’m not going to finish that thought because it might be construed as bullying you into reading something you don’t want to read. But you really should read it. By now, most of you have probably heard about the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal in which one player is accused of bullying another until he left the team. The player alleged to have carried out the bullying has been s

The Trucker Staff 11/7/2013 WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board Thursday recommended an audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s oversight processes in light of four deadly crashes that the NTSB investigated, saying that the accidents might have been prevented if the FMCSA had not overlooked operational and equipment deficiencies involving the carriers during compliance reviews. “The findings from these investigations raise serious questions about the ove

By Ryan McDermott The Postal Service didn't identify and recover about $9.9 million in fuel overpayments to trucking contractors in 2009 and 2010 through its Voyager Card Program, which allows drivers to expense gas on a credit card, an Oct. 30 USPS inspector general report says. The USPS IG found (.pdf) that in 2009 and 2010 the Postal Service calculated and recovered $12.6 million in overpayments, but when the IG did its own calculations, it found $22.5 million in overpayments. USPS f

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW - Analyst Report) reported third quarter 2013 adjusted earnings per share of 69 cents, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by four cents. Adjusted earnings fell 4.2% from 72 cents in the year-ago quarter. Total revenue in the third quarter escalated 15.1% year over year to $3.32 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.27 billion. Total operating expenses increased 16.9% year over year to $287 million in the third quarter, resulting

The Columbus Dispatch By Rick Rouan About 120,000 commercial drivers in Ohio risk losing their licenses if they don’t meet new federal requirements to register medical certificates with the state and disclose the type of driving they do. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles plans to mail letters today to license holders who haven’t completed registrations required under federal regulations that went into effect nearly two years ago. The deadline to submit the forms is Jan.?30. The regula

By Cargill Published: Monday, Nov. 4, 2013 - 12:36 pm FORT DODGE, Iowa, Nov. 4, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill announced today that it has begun operating its corn wet mill ethanol plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Cargill purchased the idled facility from Tate & Lyle in 2011. "We are excited to be operational in Fort Dodge," said Al Viaene, Fort Dodge facility manager, Cargill Corn Milling North America. "When full production capacity is reached, the plant will consume 150,000 bushels of corn

By Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration WASHINGTON, NOV. 5, 2013 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has ordered a Cherryville, N.C.-based trucking company, owned by Rocky Lee Brown and doing business as Moonlight Express, USDOT No. 2403330, to immediately cease operations, declaring the company to be an imminent hazard to public safety. Moonlight Express operates a small fleet of trucks transporting

Truck accidents do not take up a large portion of the traffic crashes that occur in Pennsylvania according to the state's Department of Transportation. November 06, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Encountering tractor trailers is a daily experience on the roads around Harrisburg as they transport needed goods to stores, manufacturers and retailers. Because of their much larger size, they pose a danger to drivers if they are not handled carefully. Truck accidents happen quite often and when they

By Mark B. Solomon http://www.dcvelocity.com/ Being asset-poor has long been the path to riches. But as truck users face what may be a lengthy period of supply contraction, will a new type of intermediary come to rule the roost? For more than 30 years, nonasset-based third-party logistics service providers (3PLs) have been on the right side of virtually every meaningful trend. A multidecade buyer's market for truck capacity has given 3PLs enormous pricing power and the flexibility to match

By: Julia Kuzeljevich http://www.trucknews.com/ TORONTO, Ont.-- In a panel discussion on fuel surcharges at the CITT’s National Conference on Supply Chain & Logistics today, Lou Smyrlis, editorial director of Truck News, asked shippers, carriers, and oil industry experts to weigh in on the discussion about types of fuel surcharges and the need to re-examine the processes around them. Smyrlis also said he hoped the discussion would “spark an understanding of the different points of view an

By Chris Hubbuch | Lee Newspapers In 2005, Allan McCormick relocated his La Crosse Technology company to a warehouse on Losey Boulevard, about 500 yards from Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s tracks. A rail spur serving the nearby Trane Co. and City Brewing Co. passed just feet from his loading dock. McCormick figured he’d be able to use the tracks to receive shipments of his weather clocks and radios, which are manufactured in China and shipped in uniform steel containers. “I thought, ‘Th

by THE HR SPECIALIST: PENNSYLVANIA EMPLOYMENT LAW The EEOC doesn’t win every case it pursues. An angry judge has ordered the EEOC to pay $4.7 million in legal fees incurred when the national trucking firm CRST had to defend itself against a flurry of sexual harassment suits, many of which eventually turned out to be baseless. In 2007, female employees claimed that managers and trainers sexually harassed them. CRST settled one case for $50,000, but then the EEOC filed a “pattern or practice

By: John Lundy, Duluth News Tribune Truck driving is one of the least healthy careers, according to medical experts and those in the profession. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics supports that claim, calling trucking one of the highest-risk occupations in the U.S. in a 2007 study. While the risk obviously includes the danger posed by highway accidents, unhealthy lifestyles also play a part, said Dr. Clayton Cowl, who practices occupational medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “

By Jake Kurtz Hometown News Group Decent weather across south central Wisconsin allowed local farmers to make significant gains last week toward completion of this year's grain harvest. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report Monday, 60 percent of Wisconsin corn harvested for grain was complete as of Sunday, and 84 percent for soybeans — both tops in the state. As a whole, 39 percent of corn has been collected on average statewide and 69 percent of all

By Meredith Yeomans DENISON -- There's a shortage of truck drivers nationwide so why are the majority of students at a Texoma truck driving school being turned away? WATCH VIDEO: http://youtu.be/lfI3hdZYscg Right now, tens of thousands of truck drivers are needed to fill positions nationwide. But recent funding cuts and the booming oil business are making certain jobs even more difficult to fill. When Tom Randolph lost his job at a plant in the Metroplex to outsourcing, he enrolle

Robert Bowman Forbes Shippers who are dependent upon a single railroad to move their freight are asking regulators and legislators for relief. Producers of coal, steel, grain, energy and other commodities located in certain rural areas complain that a lack of transportation options places them at the mercy of just one railroad, which is free to charge whatever it wants - or even not to haul their goods at all. These "captive" shippers further argue that the Surface Transportation Board

Sherman Brothers Trucking Inc., doing business as Team Transport Inc., has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 11 safety and health violations and fined $113,400 following the death of a worker at its Crossett, Ark. The OSHA citations include one willful, for deficiencies of its permit-required confined space program and other workplace hazards at its Crossett facility. An inspection began in April after a temporary worker, who was cl

http://www.truckinginfo.com/ Legislation has been introduced on Capitol Hill allowing trucking companies the option of using hair testing for illegal drugs as an approved method of screening drivers. Companion bills introduced Wednesday in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to recognize hair testing as an optional method to comply with the U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing requirements for commercial truck

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, heavy trucks were involved in 5,846 crashes during 2010. November 01, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Is distraction becoming more common with truck drivers? Tractor trailers and large commercial trucks are a common sight on the roads and freeways around Pittsburgh and many drivers likely have their own stories to tell about close encounters. However, while most truck drivers are aware of their environment and do everything they can to p

by Allan Dawson in News Record crop? Meet plugged elevator. Shippers say it’s a match made in purgatory for farmers and exporters trying to get this year’s harvest to market — and the railways are to blame. “We’re not getting enough rail capacity to move the crop right now,” Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association said Oct. 25. “We’re getting maybe half of what people have put in for orders.” Sobkowich said new legislation the federal government

Nat Williams, Field Editor MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Illinois Soybean Association is at the forefront of an effort by a coalition of mayors and others to improve freight movement on the Mississippi River. A proposal for the utilization of container shipping on barges is one of the steps announced here at the first-ever Mississippi River Economy Summit. The event was the culmination of the conference held by the Mississippi Rivers and Towns Initiative, a coalition comprised of 59 mayors of cities

By Karen Kaplan Warning: Driving a truck for a living can be hazardous to your health — if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, researchers said Tuesday. Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in men, and in most cases it’s basically harmless. As the National Cancer Institute says, even patients who never get their tumors treated are likely to die of something other than prostate cancer. So, instead of looking at prostate cancer risk, the researchers who did the new

Weighing demand for drivers, Part 1: Shippers prepare for capacity crunch - See more at: http://www.ccjdigital.com/weighing-demand-for-drivers-part-1-shippers-prepare-for-capacity-crunch/#sthash.zJiKUnDM.dpuf arriers are becoming increasingly anxious about finding good drivers. Good drivers want to know why, in a time of shortage, they are not being rewarded better. And shippers are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping trucks will continue to be readily available – and affordable. The sol

Community lends hand on farm after owner’s death By David Proeber | [email protected] More than 60 area farmers, truckers and their families gathered north of Lexington on Sunday morning to pay back a friend who had helped them out at one time or another during his 71-year lifetime. Some 16 combines harvested more than 300 acres of corn as friends of Dave Thomas brought in Thomas’ last harvest. Thomas died of a heart attack on July 22 and his wife, Sharon, and four sons, decided

By Ryan Crossingham, Lee Agri-Media | 0 comments Leading Edge Industries has developed a new innovative technology that will ensure that grain haulers and farmers can achieve optimal loads that maximize the value of every trailer load. The Load Judge, a new technology that debuted at the IDEAg Dakotafest in late August, uses patented, high-tech sensors and a user-friendly application to load grain trailers with high accuracy. "The process was inspired to accomplish some goals and problems loa

North West grain growers will benefit during the region’s upcoming grain harvest after the NSW Government introduced a new scheme allowing grain haulage trucks to carry heavier loads. “The new Grain Harvest Management Scheme will result in an increase in road freight productivity during the grain harvest season which will lead to fewer truck movements on state, regional and local roads,” Roads Minister Duncan Gay said. See your ad here “Under the new scheme, a typical 19 metre six-axle

Shipping record U.S. corn crop burdens railroads, barge lines By Julie Ingwersen and Karl Plume CHICAGO | Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:21pm EDT (Reuters) - Harvesting the largest U.S. corn crop on record and transporting it on railroads and rivers to markets here and abroad is driving up costs for rail cars, barges and trucks in the world's top crop producer and exporter. After three years of crop shortfalls that left grain supply pipelines all but empty by late summer, the U.S. grain handling sys

St. Louis Business Journal Bunge Ltd.’s new CEO Soren Schroder is shaking things up at the agricultural company as Bunge’s share price has failed to keep pace with that of rival Archer Daniels Midland Co. Bunge’s shares are up 14 percent this year, while ADM’s share have climbed nearly 46 percent, Reuters reports. During a conference call last week, Schroder said Bunge would be exploring options, including a possible sale, for its struggling Brazilian sugar milling business. Schroder also i

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ordered three truck drivers off the road, declaring each an “imminent hazard to public safety,” the agency reported. The orders were issued against Stewart Snedeker, 59, licensed in Illinois; Scotty Arnst, licensed in Texas; and Tracy Ferrell, 41, licensed in Michigan, FMCSA said in Oct. 25 statements. All three were licensed commercial drivers and violated federal safety regulations before collisions in which people were killed or injure

Written by Reuters (Reuters) - U.S. agribusiness conglomerate Cargill Inc said it will close its Lockney, Texas, feedlot next summer due to shrinking supplies of cattle and high feed costs. The pending closure comes months after the company shut one of its Texas beef packing plants also because of fewer cattle. "Due to the drought-depleted beef cattle supply in the region, and after a careful examination of the region's overall beef production situation, Cargill determined that it could

http://www.truckinginfo.com/ As the American Trucking Associations annual Management Conference and Exhibition started winding down on Tuesday afternoon in Orlando, Fla., after a hot-and-humid four days, one announcement made near the end following many other press conferences made me wonder if hell was about to freeze over and was I going to have to ice skate back home rather than going to the airport. It was the launch of Trucking Moves America Forward, described as a “fundraising effo

McALLEN — Federal authorities have arrested the owner of a trucking company accused of using his employees to move marijuana loads to various northern cities. Javier Casas, the owner of Heavenly Transport LLC, was arrested Tuesday afternoon by agents with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement as part of an ongoing investigation that began Jan. 12 into the use of tractor-trailers to move drugs, court records show. On Wednesday, Casas went before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos, who forma

OSHA said it has ordered North Branford, Conn.-based Palumbo Trucking Inc. and owner David Palumbo "to withdraw a retaliatory lawsuit filed against two former workers of the commercial motor carrier who raised safety concerns." The agency also has ordered Palumbo to pay the whistleblowers $60,000 and take other corrective actions. "Filing a baseless, retaliatory lawsuit against workers who engaged in protected activity has a profound, chilling effect," said Marthe Kent, OSHA's New England

By Kim Wilson, Multimedia Produce RUTHVEN, Iowa (KTIV) - A big mess after a train collides with a semi-truck, hauling grain. It happened about 11:30 Wednesday morning on Stewart Street in Ruthven, Iowa, near the Pro-CoOp Elevator. Authorities say 62-year-old Ernest Pooler of Ruthven saw the train as he crossed, but didn't realize it was moving. The train struck the rear axles of his semi, and tore the trailer in half. Most of the corn inside the truck spilled onto the road. No o

By The Scoular Company | October 24, 2013 Pratt Energy’s plant in Pratt, Kan., restarted operations in September. The Scoular Co. Pratt Energy’s plant in Pratt, Kan., restarted operations in September. The Scoular Co. After being shut down and idle for more than five years, the ethanol plant in Pratt, Kan., is back in business under the ownership of Pratt Energy, a partnership between The Scoular Company and Pratt Biofuel Investors. Pratt Energy is operating the plant

The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a trucking company in North Branford to pay $60,000 to two former workers, plus legal fees. In September 2012, a mechanic and a driver reported to the North Branford police and the state Department of Motor Vehicles that a truck in the fleet was unsafe. Polumbo Trucking, owned by David Polumbo, terminated both workers within a month of the complaint, but the federal government's investigation determined that their job losses were not retaliation.

by Sean Kilcarr in Trucks at Work http://fleetowner.com/blog/freight-expert-shares-his-views I’ve had the good fortune to listen to John Larkin speak numerous times and have leafed through untold numbers of freight analysis updates he’s penned over last decade, dating back to my days covering the air cargo markets (when the cameras I owned only used FILM!) Currently managing director and head of transportation capital markets research for Wall Street firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Larkin (

The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of a stolen grain truck with 250 bushels of high moisture corn that had been left in a field overnight off County Highway 35 near Dent. A 1969 red Chevy pickup was also reported stolen. The incident occurred sometime between midnight and 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning, according to reports from the department. The approximate value of the corn is $2,000. There are no suspects in the theft and the incident is under investigatio

By Clarissa Hawes, Land Line staff writer http://www.landlinemag.com/ The owner of a Massachusetts-based trucking company has been charged with one count of bribery after allegedly offering a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator investigator $1,000 to avoid a negative safety review. Irfan Dushku, 60, owner of Korca Enterprises Inc., of Worcester, Mass., was charged with bribery of a public official in the U.S. District Court in Worcester on Sept. 26. An FMCSA investigator had report

by Sean Kilcarr in Trucks at Work There’s been a ton of mixed indicators recently on the imminent direction of the U.S. economy in terms of whether it’ll grow or continue stagnating. Yet most experts now seem to think things will continue to muddle along in positive territory – with some dubbing this the “Great OK” – even if they retain some significant doubts about how sustainable both global and U.S. economic growth will be. Of course, all of this boils down into fairly simple terms: wil

Nixa, MO (PRWEB) October 23, 2013 Fall harvest activity caught up to bulk truck freight capacity creating tightness across the truck freight industry. BulkLoadsNow.com, a leading load posting site for the dry and liquid freight industry, reached 35% more loads posted in the third week of October compared to the previous month. The youngest load posting site online, launched in 2011, has far exceeded projected growth and is now one of the most used online resources for bulk freight. “Shipper

By: Lou Smyrlis 2013-10-20 ORLANDO, Fla -- US trucking is "on the cusp" of a capacity crunch, according to American Trucking Associations vice president and chief economist Bob Costello. Costello told the popular All Eyes on the Economy panel that eventually demand for freight services will outstrip the slowly growing supply of trucks and drivers and lead to a capacity crunch that will drive freight rates upwards. "We just need to wait till late next year or 2015. We need two or three

Associated Press WICHITA, Kan. — To steal huge shipments of valuable cargo, thieves are turning to a deceptively simple tactic: They pose as truckers, load the freight onto their own tractor-trailers and drive away with it. It's an increasingly common form of commercial identity theft that has allowed con men to make off each year with millions of dollars in merchandise, often food and beverages. And experts say the practice is growing so rapidly that it will soon become the most common way

The Globe and Mail On a cool weekend earlier this fall, someone sneaked into a gated truck yard west of Hamilton and drove off with a tractor trailer, stealing its load of 18 tonnes of frozen beef from Texas. The theft generated some brief news items and social-media jokes about barbecue maniacs needing Flintstone-style servings of meat. But the reality is that there is no shortage of people willing to buy discounted meat from a dubious source. Or electronics. Or liquor and tobacco. Or eve

By Stephen J. Lee, Grand Forks Herald The Associated Press 10/20/2013 Editors Note: This article is an AP Member Exchange Feature by the Grand Forks Herald OSLOW, Minn. — Every October, Ryan Scott moonlights from his day job in Grand Forks to work an eight-hour night shift hauling sugar beets for friends from their farm to giant piling sites during the Red River Valley's most unusual harvest. Starting Oct. 1 — it was Oct. 2 this year because the first day was too warm to start piling suga

By Grace Ryan Harvest will be a little easier this year as the NSW Roads Minister, Duncan Gay announced a five per cent increase on the General Mass Limits (GML) in grain trucks last week. "The new Grain Harvest Management Scheme will result in an increase in road freight productivity during the grain harvest season which will lead to fewer truck movements on state, regional and local roads," he said. See your ad here "Under the new scheme, a typical 19-metre six-axle semi-trailer,

By CHRIS LUSVARDI - H&R Staff Writer DECATUR — State lawmakers who could soon help determine the future location of a new global headquarters for Archer Daniels Midland Co. are trying to ensure their concerns are taken into consideration. Those representing the Decatur area want to do what they can to lessen the impact ADM’s planned changes, announced in September, would have on the region. State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said discussions have been taking place with the company on an

http://www.dcvelocity.com/authors/Mark_B_Solomon/ The federal government's new rules governing a commercial truck driver's hours of service (HOS) has reduced median driver wages by between 3.2 and 5.6 percent by cutting the number of hours in a driver's workweek, according to a survey by the National Transportation Institute (NTI), a Kansas City-based consultancy. The survey, to be released later this month, canvassed 412 trucking firms. Specific wage reductions will depend on the nature

Posted by Mark Williams Ever worry about the safety record of the guy or gal behind the wheel of a big rig? These are just about the biggest vehicles you'll see sharing the highway with your full-size or midsize pickup truck, but don't jump to conclusions about their safety records. According to the Commercial Carriers Journal, fatality rates for all vehicles have been dramatically falling for the last 35 years, but in rear-end collisions involving a big rig and a passenger vehicle, cars a

By Jeff Sturgeon The Associated Press 10/19/2013 ROANOKE, Va. — Virginia Department of Transportation officials describe the latest project happening at their Hanging Rock Area Headquarters near Salem as a national model. Yet, they also understand that the initiative — composting road kill carcasses — can turn some stomachs. "We don't necessarily want to put one of these right next to a subdivision," said Jimmy White, VDOT project manager. The Hanging Rock composter is set just inside a