ATA Tonnage Index Jumps 2.2 Percent - Truckinginfo.com

1/26/2011

From Truckinginfo.com
ATA Tonnage Index Jumps 2.2 Percent

The American Trucking Associations' advance seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.2 percent in December after falling a revised 0.6 percent in November. The latest improvement put the index at its highest level since September 2008.

The seasonally adjusted index for December is was 111.6 (2000=100) in December. In November, the SA index equaled 109.2.

Image via Wikipedia

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 107.2 in December, down 1 percent from the previous month.

Compared with December 2009, seasonally adjusted tonnage climbed 4.2 percent, which was higher than November's 3.3 percent year-over-year increase. For all of 2010, tonnage was up 5.7 percent compared with 2009. In 2009, the index plunged 8.7 percent.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that December's improvement fits well with the sea-saw pattern that many carriers are reporting. "Fleets continue to tell me that freight volumes are very choppy - up one week, but down the next. That is a trend that is likely to continue this year as the economy is not growing across the board yet."

Still, Costello said it was a positive sign for the economy that SA tonnage reached the highest level in 27 months. "I continue to expect truck freight tonnage to grow modestly during the first half of 2011 and accelerate in the later half of the year into 2012."

-----------------------------

Related articles

• UPDATE 1-U.S. truck tonnage up 0.8 pct in October - ATA (reuters.com)
• Another Sign That The Rock-Solid Recovery Is In Place (businessinsider.com)
• Is the Trucking Sector Slipping Again? (fool.com)
• Aging big-rig fleets may boost truck sales from Paccar, Navistar (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Oldest Trucks Since 1979 May Mean Output to Rise 56% (businessweek.com)
• CPI Index Jumps Half a Percent in December, Biggest Increase Since June 2009 (realestatechannel.com)
• Truck production expected to climb by 56% in 2011 (sfgate.com)
• UPDATE 3-Arkansas Best Q2 tops est, prepares for modest recovery (reuters.com)
• Truck Productivity Must Improve to Accommodate Growing Population, says ATA's Graves (prnewswire.com)

Truck rules to hike costs - Business - Citizens Voice

CitizensVoice.com

 by James Haggarty

 January 21, 2011

New federal regulations aimed at improving truck and bus safety might drive up shipping costs and consumer prices.

"It's going to ultimately have an impact on shipping rates," said Mark Laurusevage, a state safety representative for Great West Casualty Co., a Nebraska-based truck insurer. "There's a lot of carriers who are a little shaken by this."

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new reporting system rates trucking and bus companies on expanded measures, including infractions from safety-related roadside inspections and more-extensive driver assessments. Trucking companies may discharge drivers whose safety records harm their ratings, cutting further into a tight supply of drivers.

Trucking company executives, though, say tighter regulations will root out competitors who compromise on safety to compete on price. The transportation, warehousing and utilities sector employs 16,700 people in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton metro area.

to read the full article click HERE


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related articles

• Trucking executive: Too few drivers, too many rules (commercialappeal.com)
• Atlanta Truck Accident Attorney Says Proposed Hours-of-Service Regulations are Steps in the Right Direction (prweb.com)
• Pennsylvania Truck Accident Attorney Supports FMCSA's Proposed Hours of Service Revisions (prweb.com)
• U.S. Proposes Reopening Roads to Mexican Trucking Companies (dailyfinance.com)
• Despite Strides in 2010 to Reduce Tired Driving, More Needs to be Done in 2011, South Carolina Truck Accident Attorney Says (prweb.com)

Oil Finishes Week Over $91 a Barrel | Transport Topics Online | Trucking, Freight Transportation and Logistics News

From Transport Topics
January 2011





Oil finished the week over $91 a barrel, up more than $3 from last Friday, Bloomberg reported.
Benchmark light sweet crude futures finished the day Friday at $91.54 a barrel, up 14 cents from Thursday on the Mercantile Exchange.

The increased price this week was due in part to U.S. economic data showing stronger factory output and continuing worldwide demand, Bloomberg said,

Diesel and gasoline have both risen for the past six weeks in the Department of Energy’s weekly price surveys, with diesel topping $3.33 and gasoline near $3.09 per gallon.
DOE’s next survey will be released Tuesday afternoon in Washington due to the federal holiday Monday.

DOT proposal seeks to resolve trucking dispute with Mexico

 From Refrigerated Transporter
Jan 7/2011


The US Department of Transportation has unveiled an initial proposal for a long-haul cross-border Mexican trucking program that complies with US obligations under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), while prioritizing the safety of products transported across the border.
 Image via Wikipedia
This proposal contains general conditions that Mexican long-haul truckers would have to meet, including a safety audit, US emissions standards, and driver background checks.

Mexico has protested the lack of access as a NAFTA violation. In March 2009, after the US Congress failed to renew a pilot program that let a limited number of Mexican trucking companies haul freight beyond a 25-mile US commercial zone, Mexico placed higher tariffs on 89 US products. In August, Mexico added new products to the list after the United States failed to present a plan for resolving the trucking issue.

To read the full article click HERE

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

2" Beehive Style Marker Lights

SKU: 162245

• Red or Amber
• Polycarbonate Lens & Housing
• Popular for Cab Marker or Corner Trailer Application

-------------------------------------------------------------------


for ordering information click HERE

Related articles

• U.S., Mexico See End of Truck Dispute (online.wsj.com)
• Mexico to halt tariff changes as U.S. seeks truck deal (reuters.com)
• DOT seeks to resolve trucking dispute with Mexico (usatoday.com)
• "Cheers To Cross-Border Trucking" and related posts (wallstreetpit.com)
• Proposal Opens Door to Mexican Trucks (latino.foxnews.com)
• GREAT! OUR ROADS ARE SOON TO BE OPEN TO MEXICAN TRUCKERS! NAFTA rears its ugly head once again for American workers. (iflizwerequeen.com)
• DOT seeks to resolve trucking dispute with Mexico (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• U.S. proposes to open roads to Mexican trucks (reuters.com)
• Obama Plan Aims to Ease Mexican Trucking Ban (nytimes.com)
• Mexico stops rotating tariffs on US truck dispute (sfgate.com)
• DOT seeks to resolve trucking dispute with Mexico (sfgate.com)

Fed Sees Mixed Transportation Demand in U.S. | Transport Topics Online | Trucking, Freight Transportation and Logistics News

From Transport Topics
January 12, 2011

U.S. economic activity continued to “expand moderately” between mid-November early January, but demand for transportation services was mixed, the Federal Reserve said.

Fed districts based in Cleveland, Atlanta and Kansas City, Mo., saw “stable to slowing” demand for shipping services, the Fed said in its latest “beige book” report, released Wednesday.

The Richmond, Va., district was one where trucking firms saw an increase in demand.

In the Cleveland district, demand for freight transportation was stable during the report period, while in Atlanta, freight volume had level after increases earlier in the year.


To read the full article click here

Related articles

• Con-way Inc. Provides Fourth Quarter Update for Con-way Freight (prnewswire.com)
• Atlanta weather | Storm costly to Atlanta trucking industry (ajc.com)
• Fed's Beige Bk:Jobs Mkts,Econ Improve Somewhat;Concerns Remain (forexlive.com)
• Beige Book-Cleveland: Mfg Sees Some Demand Improvemnt -1- (forexlive.com)
• Truck Productivity Must Improve to Accommodate Growing Population, says ATA's Graves (prnewswire.com)

Mexico Ends Rotating Tariffs in Truck Dispute | Transport Topics Online | Trucking, Freight Transportation and Logistics News

From Transport Topics
Updated: 1/11/2011 9:00:00 AM

Mexico will maintain its existing tariffs on U.S. goods but will stop rotating tariffs on other products in a gesture to end the ongoing dispute over the U.S. cross-border trucking program, the Associated Press reported.

Mexican Economy Secretary Bruno Ferrari called the move a show of goodwill following a U.S. Department of Transportation announcement last week that DOT will seek to end the impasse over the status of allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. roads, AP said.

Ferrari made his comments after meeting U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk Monday, AP said. The Mexican government has protested the U.S. ban on Mexican trucks as a violation of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. 

Kirk said the tariffs have caused U.S. companies about $2 billion in commercial losses, AP reported.

DOT’s said last week said it would consider reopening U.S. roads to Mexican trucking companies if they met certain conditions including a safety audit, meeting U.S. emissions standards and driver background checks, AP reported.

Mexico, which currently has tariffs on 99 U.S. products, put the tariffs on U.S. goods in 2009 after Congress passed a measure failing to renew the pilot program between the two countries after U.S. safety and labor groups cited safety and environmental concerns.

---------------------------------------------------





Towing Parts: Custom Towing Signs

30" x 24" Custom Sign
non reflective vinyl

*black or red available. Please supply correct email and phone number for contact purposes*

For more information and pricing click HERE

The mother of all driver shortages

This was pulled from Heavy Duty Trucking Magazine Online



By 2012, the industry will be looking at shortage of 400,000 drivers, according to Eric Starks, president of FTR Associates.

The issues the industry has been facing for years have not gone away, including an aging driver population and a minimum driving age that precludes recruiting recent high-school graduates.

Add to that a shrunken recruiting pipeline. During the recession, fleets slashed recruiting, human resources and training departments. Driving schools closed down. As a result, Starks says the industry can hire only about 100,000 drivers into the market each quarter. It's like a funnel. Even if you have a million people that want to be truckers, only a certain number can fit through that hiring/processing funnel at a time.

Then there's the regulatory issue. CSA 2010 will result in drivers who appear to be unsafe getting pushed out of the system as carriers refuse to hire them. Likely changes to hours of service regulations could affect productivity by 6 percent, FTR estimates ­- meaning an extra 150,000 trucks, and drivers, needed to move the same amount of freight.

Image via WikipediaCrackdowns in documentation required to get a commercial driver's license, designed to address the hot-button issue of illegal immigrants, also will pull a significant number of drivers out of the available labor pool. Some believe this could have an even more chilling effect than hours of service changes.

Further complicating the driver situation are attacks by the federal government and state agencies on the use of independent contractors. Although these efforts aim to crack down on the improper "misclassification" of employees as contractors to avoid taxes, many legitimate owner-operators could be affected. The Obama administration has upped its efforts to ferret out such "misclassification." And one bill has been introduced in Washington, D.C., that would remove the Section 530 "safe harbor" provision much of the trucking industry relies on to justify its use of independent contractors.

http://www.truckinginfo.com/washington-report/news-detail.asp?news_id=72554&news_category_id=84

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trucking Part: Oversize load banner

Poly mesh vinyl material allows air to flow through
Heavy-duty cord with steel hooks
Bungee style attachment
18" x 84" with 12 letters, Black and Yellow
14" x 60" - Escort Vehicle Size
 $ 20.69

For more information click HERE

----------------------------------------------------------