David Clark, who was the CEO of Flexport, a logistics company, resigned on Wednesday September 6, 2023. After leaving Amazon in June, Clark had a tough time transitioning and faced criticism over his leadership style. Flexport founder Ryan Peterson, the previous co-CEO, will be replacing David as he is reportedly considering a run for governor of Texas in 2026. Read more…
Category Archives: CDL
ALCOHOL HELPING TO FUEL THE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY
During the heart of the truck driver shortage last year, “Walmart decided its own ranks of 1.6 million employees might want to learn how to drive a big rig for Walmart,” so the company “dangled first-year truck driver salaries of up to $110,000 and a 12-week training program for its Walmart and Sam’s Club store and warehouse workers” Former retail employees recently constituted the first graduating class from a training center in Walmart’s Sanger distribution center in Denton County, Texas. Read more…
WALMART TRUCKING PROGRAM PRODUCES FIRST GRADUATING CLASS
During the heart of the truck driver shortage last year, “Walmart decided its own ranks of 1.6 million employees might want to learn how to drive a big rig for Walmart,” so the company “dangled first-year truck driver salaries of up to $110,000 and a 12-week training program for its Walmart and Sam’s Club store and warehouse workers” Former retail employees recently constituted the first graduating class from a training center in Walmart’s Sanger distribution center in Denton County, Texas. Read more…
SHUTDOWN OF YELLOW TO AFFECT TRUCKERS
About 30,000 workers are set to lose their jobs as the shipping company Yellow has apparently shut down operations. Being one of the country’s biggest carriers specializing in smaller freights that don’t fill up an entire truck, the closure will “likely affect how certain goods will continue to be delivered.” Read more…
TRUCKING INDUSTRY STAGNATION
According to experts, the trucking industry has “stumbled through the first first quarter amid a slowing economy and high inventories.” Allison Poliniak-Cusic, a Wells Fargo analyst, claims: “‘things are a bit muted than maybe we anticipated as we entered last year. A lot of macro uncertainty is still very much front-and-center. So, I would say from a volumes standpoint, earnings will be lower, volumes will be lower, pricing seems to be coming in at the lower end of where we thought originally.” Read More…
TRUCK OWNER-OPERATORS HAPPY WITH CAREER CHOICE
Despite critical, common challenges, trucking professionals are increasingly happy with their choice of career according to a new Truckstop commissioned survey of 500 U.S.-based owner-operator truck drivers. The report goes on to say that “close to two-thirds (65%) of owner-operators surveyed are currently extremely satisfied with their job and more than half (57%) say they are much more satisfied now compared to in 2021.” Read more…
NORTH AMERICAN TRUCK DRIVERS STILL IN HIGH DEMAND
With a shortage of drivers “impacting the ability to get goods, merchandise and other items shipped around the country,” the American Trucking Association believes the country needs at least another 80,000 more drivers on the road. On the bright side, requests to enroll in trucking schools have increased due to the desire of applicants to have a guaranteed job if a recession hits. Read more..
MATCHMAKING STARTUP TO MATCH TRUCKERS AND JOBS
A Cleveland-based startup has decided to tackle the supply chain trucker shortage head on – they’ve created a “matchmaking site” for truckers and jobs. The software company Drive My Way “lets drivers create profiles where they describe what they’re looking for in a working relationship. And then the algorithm finds employers that can meet their wants and needs.” If it can work for popular dating websites, why not for the trucking job market as well? Read more…
TRUCK DRIVER SHORTAGE CONTINUES
Numbers of drivers continue to decrease as the labor crisis in the trucking industry worsens. According to payroll data from the U.S. Labor Department, “the trucking sector lost 11,400 jobs month-over-month in September. That’s the largest decrease since April 2009.” With the average age of applicants too close to retirement, and a general lack of over-the-road drivers, there’s no immediate respite for the industry in sight. Read more…
BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION BRINGS TRUCKING COMMUNITY TOGETHER
With the availability of truck parking being a massive concern for drivers, Secretary Buttigieg spoke directly to truckers on the issue. The American Trucking Associations and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association sent a letter to the Department of Transportation earlier this year “citing that 98% percent of drivers report problems finding safe parking, costing drivers more than 56 minutes of drive-time to find parking. The wasted time is estimated to cause a $5,500 loss in annual compensation – roughly a 12% pay cut.” Read more…