“Our usual customers are companies in the freight hauling sector—both private carriers and for-hire operators. Once we leave the various transportation applications, we see a lot of activity in agriculture and construction, in addition to service operations, for example landscapers, that come to us for equipment,” said John Diez, senior vice president of Asset Management at Ryder Systems. He’s the man responsible for moving his company’s equipment into secondary applications—the used truck market.
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How important is technology to today’s supply chains? Imagine operating a business without the tools that have become ubiquitous—Internet, telecommunications, automation—and it becomes very obvious how deeply imbedded technology has become, starting with sourcing and procurement and/or the growing and production process, all the way to transportation, distribution, and everything in between, including trade finance, tracking and tracing, and managing risk and compliance. Continue Reading

Trucking companies from across the country volunteered their services this month to deliver donated wreaths to veterans’ tombstones in conjunction with Wreaths Across America. Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of Transportation is considering lifting the deadlines it imposes on states to replace traffic signs, instead letting local and state transportation agencies decide when such markers should be upgraded. Currently, the DOT dictates how often traffic signs should be replaced, which can create a financial burden for states if new ones aren’t needed. The move could save local and state governments millions of dollars. Some deadlines deemed critical to public safety will be retained under the proposal. The FHWA also is soliciting Continue Reading

A new book chronicling the first cross-continent truck trip has recently been released by Canadian journalist Ron Corbett. “The Great Adventure” traces the journey of a Canadian driver named George MacLean who was commissioned by a trucking company to prove a motorized truck could outperform a mule train. That company, which would be the forerunner to Mack Trucks, and MacLean proved it possible with a trip from Denver to New York carrying about eight tons in a flatbed that more resembled a covered wagon than a truck. The book is Continue Reading

The recent demand from states for federal highway funds indicates how crucial the need for upgrading the nation’s infrastructure is. This week the U.S. Department of Transportation announced more than $417 million in grants awarded to states to fund various highway projects, ranging from expansion of congested areas to completion of projects already underway. Every state, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., in total submitted more than 1,800 applications for $13 billion of projects, which is more than 30 times the funds available. The federal Continue Reading

While the Obama adminstration released a plan that would allow states and municipalities more flexibility in collecting tolls on their roadways and bridges. This six-year surface transportation funding bill, the Transportation Opportunities Act, is viewed as a way to provide more flexibility to finance new construction and capacity and/or manage congestion. But the majority of the nation’s mayors, according to a survey of the Continue Reading

One Alabama carrier suffered damage in the wake of the destructive and deadly tornado systems that swept across the state on Thursday. Boyd Brothers Transportation, a flatbed carrier in Clayton, Ala., was damaged when a tornado touched down near its facility. Though the Boyd Bros. facility is out of commision for several months, several trucking companies in Birmingham and the surrounding area have stepped up to help the carrier continue its operations as seamlessly as possible. In addition to the structural damage, Boyd Bros. took some minor damage to about 50 trucks and a Continue Reading

The latest look into American trucking trends is now available in a report titled “American Trucking Trends 2011″ that has just been released by the American Trucking Associations (ATA). This annual report has been researched and published by the ATA for more than 60 years and contains insight into the factors shaping the industry every year. It is available exclusively from ATA Business Solutions and participating state trucking associations. To learn more or Continue Reading

The first of President Obama’s six-year funding plan for the U.S. Department of Transportation is drawing high praise from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The $129 billion budget will address infrastructure needs, such as repairing bridges and repaving roads, while also supporting the development of electric buses and high-speed rail lines that both boost efficiency and reduce emissions. The administration’s six-year proposal would provide $336 billion, a 48 percent increase over the previous authorization, to rebuild roads and bridges, and $119 billion, a 128 percent increase over the Continue Reading