Filed in Trucking

Monday, January 24, 2011

What I am about to tell you is not new but at the same time it bears repeating: the federal gasoline tax has not increased from its current levels of 23.4 cents for diesel and 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline since 1994.

Friday, January 21, 2011

In a wide-ranging speech at the SMC3 Winter Conference in Atlanta this week United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood provided an overview of various elements of the domestic transportation landscape from the White House’s perspective.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

On the heels of a promising projection for fourth quarter 2010 Class 8 vehicle net orders, ACT Research, a provider of data and analysis for trucks and other commercial vehicles, said that December net orders of heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles for North American markets at 27,044 units were up 128 percent year-over-year.

It’s hard to get Republicans and Democrats, shippers and carriers, administration officials and analysts, and practically everybody else in Washington to agree on much these days. Except this: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) trial balloon to reduce by one hour (from 11 to 10) the actual time a truck driver can be driving is a horrific idea, unbased in science or data, that would conservatively cost the U.S. economy $2 billion in lost productivity, and probably much more in inefficiency and additional infrastructure requirements.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told shippers at the SMC3 annual winter meeting in Atlanta yesterday that cross-border trucking would be revived “as soon as possible.”

Monday, January 17, 2011

The most important take-away for shippers at this point in time is that recent fuel price movements reflect emerging market conditions.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) was down 0.3 percent in November, following a 0.2 percent October gain and a 1.0 percent September gain.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

ACT said that total net orders for Class 8 vehicles and commercial trailers “surged” during the fourth quarter of 2010, signaling that trucking fleets are increasing the replacement levels of vehicles which have been put off to a large degree the last two years.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Logistics Management regrets to report that Joseph F. H. Cutrona, former executive director of NASSTRAC (the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council), passed away on December 25, 2010 in Naples, Florida.

On the heels of a 0.4 percent increase in November, the December edition of the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI) took a sharp turn north with a 2.4 percent increase. Prior to the gains of the last two months, the PCI was down 0.6 percent in November and 0.5 percent and 1.0 percent in September and August, respectively.