Topic: Motor Freight

Even though the economy and the freight transportation market are still on a bumpy road, truck tonnage took a step forward, with September volumes up compared to August, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

As five leading U.S. trucking companies are calling for federal regulations that would require all interstate trucking companies to install electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) on all their trucks to verify legal duty status of their drivers, their customers are being urged to make changes as well.

As various economic indices, freight metrics, and trucking companies are reporting declining and stagnant volumes during the second half of the year, the most recent Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI) appears to be following suit, as the PCI declined 0.5 percent in September, following a 1.0 dip in August.

Preliminary data recently released this week by freight transportation forecasting firm and consultancy FTR Associates indicates that September Class 8 truck total net orders for North American OEM’s at 14,872 units are up 21.6 percent over August and 38.8 percent year-over-year.

Even though the economy remains stuck in neutral, it appears that the trucking market may be gaining some sustained momentum, based on the September edition of the Cass Information Systems Freight Index.

Truck tonnage continued its path on an uneven road, with August volumes seeing a sequential decline for the third time in four months, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

New bill Would require Electronic On Board Recorder

Transportation companies, spurred on by shippers and manufacturers, are joining the green revolution in a big way.

On the heels of recent news that White House last week has agreed to a request from Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to permanently enact a pilot program allowing trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on federal interstate highways in Maine, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) has made it clear it does not support this push.

Third-party logistics (3PL) services provider Evans announced this week it s rolled out a freight brokerage division, entitled Evans Freight Services (EFS).

A looming truck driver shortage, driven to a large degree by a piece of unpopular legislation, appears to be a matter of “when” rather than “if,” according to trucking and 3PL executives speaking at this week’s eyefortransport 3PL Summit in Atlanta.

The resurgence in truck orders and production got more good news, with net orders for heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles going up 84 percent in May year-over-year, according to data from ACT Research, a provider of data and analysis for trucks and other commercial vehicles.

Legislation focused on providing increased regulatory oversight of brokers and freight forwarders in the trucking industry was introduced this week.

As truckload capacity continues to tighten, spot market rates continue to rise. That appears to be the consensus based on research released by Avondale Partners and TransCore.

Citing a strengthening North American economy and improving supply/demand balance of freight hauling truck capacity, ACT Research recently said that a continuing rebound of orders and production of commercial vehicles is underway.

While the ubiquitous social networking tool Twitter has been used by myriad shippers, carriers, and industry associations, freight transportation services provider Con-way has taken an entirely different approach in terms of gaining new business via the “Twit-a-sphere.”

As the months go by in 2010, the Cass Information Systems Freight Index continues to show sustained growth.

The American Trucking Associations recently reported this week that its advanced seasonally-adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index was up in April for the sixth time in seven months.

Earlier this week, the Federal Highway Administration and the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released the findings of a new survey, which assesses the level of truck-oriented congestion at 100 locations on the U.S. national highway system.

As trucking capacity continues to tighten and freight demand returns, many freight transportation stakeholders maintain that the specter of a future truck driver shortage is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.’