Mike Kucharski, a trucking executive who is the vice-president and co-owner of JKC Trucking, has exclaimed that the new emission standards put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would have a “catastrophic” impact on both the trucking industry and American food supply. The EPA rule, which went into effect on March 27, 2023, aims to lessen air pollution from heavy-duty engines and vehicles by making them more strict and covering a wider range of operating conditions. Read more…
Category Archives: Trucking
IMPORTERS DITCHING WEST COAST PORTS
U.S. importers have been moving their business away from West Coast ports due to the fraught nature of the labor dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse union. The Wall Street Journal reports that ports’ share of US containerized import cargo dropped from 37% to 35% year-over-year in June. Read more…
FLEXPORT CEO RESIGNS
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…
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…
WAREHOUSE RENTS TO GO AGAINST LOGISTICS TRANSPORTATION DROP
Even as supply-chain costs plummet from pandemic highs, Hamid Moghadam, the CEO of the world’s largest warehouse landlord, claims that warehouse rent prices will continue to rise. Warehouse lease prices “have proven far more resilient than air, ship, truck and train transportation rates which have dropped sharply due to the consumer spending shift from goods to services, inflation and higher borrowing costs.” But now, with markets returning to more normal conditions, warehouse rent hikes are likely to increase. Read more…
OPERATING AUTHORITY KEY IN BECOMING AN INDEPENDENT DRIVER
If you’re thinking of becoming an independent truck driver, it is key to remember that “the responsibility for complying with Operating Authority requirements falls squarely on the driver’s shoulders.” You must become completely familiar with “filing fees, the type(s) of authority your business will require and minimum insurance requirements.” Read more…
YELLOW TRUCK HEADED FOR BANKRUPTCY
Craig Fuller, founder/CEO of FreightWaves, American Shipper, and CEO of FLYING Magazine exclaims that Yellow Truck “company failed to make payments to its pension plan. The Teamsters have threatened to strike on Saturday if not resolved. In its weakened state, it’s doubtful that Yellow can recover from this.” With a massive surplus of truckers, a Yellow Truck bankruptcy might remove some of that supply. Read more…
AFTER FLOODING THE MARKET DURING COVID, DRIVERS NOW STRUGGLING TO PAY BILLS
With so many consumers snatching up goods for their pandemic lifestyles, many people took advantage of the snarled supply chains by joining the truck driving industry. One such person, Arnesha Barron, “saw a moment to make her dream of starting her own trucking company come true.” But what was first an optimistic bet on the COVID trucking boom, the wager soon became a more troubling realization. Read more…