News

With more and more Americans returning to the open road this summer, gas prices have risen above $3 per gallon and in some cases, the shortage of truck drivers has delayed fuel deliveries, according to some industry analysts. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNBC that a shortage of drivers is…

Trucking safety is on the agenda in Washington where the Senate, House and White House continue to wrangle over a comprehensive transportation infrastructure bill. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee said last week that safety is a top priority. “We’ve got a lot of congestion and growth and…

Higher prices to move goods across the country, coupled with a shortage of semi-conductors used in the production of new trucks is having a ripple effect across the U.S. economy. Bed Bath & Beyond and General Mills, for example, are citing the rising price of freight on their recent earning calls. “We continue seeing previously…

More than 100 companies and organizations are putting their weight behind proposed federal legislation that would allow truck drivers under 21 to transport loads across state lines. The companies and organizations, including heavyweights like the American Trucking Associations, Truckload Carriers Association, FedEx, Home Depot, Nestle, UPS, Walmart, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sent a…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Illinois) recently reintroduced Insurance Act legislation that would tie minimum insurance requirements for motor carriers to the inflation rate of medical costs. The current minimum coverage of $750,000 was established in 1980. Last year, Rep. Garcia introduced legislation that called for the minimum requirements to increase to $4.9…

The United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit last month upheld the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) authority to review state commercial vehicle rules, ruling that FMCSA could preempt truckers from California’s meal and rest break rules as they apply to truck drivers subject to federal hours-of-service regulations. “The Court’s ruling is a victory…

Momentum is gathering for a major investment into America’s crumbling infrastructure, according to American Trucking Associations’ CEO Chris Spear. “Once the finest in the world, America’s infrastructure has instead become a visible symbol of our challenges of governance. In the coming months, the American Society of Civil Engineers will issue its updated scorecard on American…

With Democrat Joe Biden now the projected winner of the White House, different sectors of the trucking industry are reacting to the 2020 presidential election. Chris Spear, president, and CEO of American Trucking Associations (ATA) offered up his congratulations on Nov. 7. “We congratulate President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris on their hard-earned victory, and…

In advance of the upcoming holiday season, retail warehouses are filling up and that may bode well for the trucking industry. Dale Rogers, a business professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, told Transport Topics that, “it’s incredible how all of the indicators are going up. I think people are…

The American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) annual survey of top issues facing the industry found driver shortage, truck parking, driver compensation and retention and insurance costs on the minds of industry survey respondents. “For a number of reasons, 2020 has been a tremendously challenging one for our industry and our country, but as ATRI’s survey…