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Trucking Markets: spot rates stabilize |  | 
Trucking spot rates are finding their floor as volumes start grinding higher. In the next few weeks we have our eye on two important volume stories. We’ll watch to see what effect the re-opening of Texas has (restaurants, movie theaters and malls will re-open with limited capacity beginning Friday) on southern California, Phoenix, Dallas and Houston volumes. That could provide an important boost for national truckload volumes, as early April rallies in Los Angeles and Dallas have largely faded. There are, of course, a number of other states planning to re-open sooner rather than later, but with New York and California closed, Texas is the most populous, and most consequential for freight volumes. Secondly, we’re concerned about food supply chains, especially meat processing and packing in the Midwest. Low levels of automation and close quarters in meat plants have contributed to hundreds of infections and a number of plant shutdowns, which have disproportionately affected the Midwest. Although there may be some gamesmanship in executives’ reports of ‘broken’ meat supply chains – especially as companies look to pump sales and angle for government assistance – we also hear from freight brokerage executives that reefer capacity in those markets has been affected. Check our ‘freight demand’ section for more details on which Midwest markets have seen reefer volumes drop. 201 new truck parking spaces open up in Michigan, Illinois | |
 Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores opened two new truck stop locations, adding hundreds of truck parking spaces to their nationwide network, the company announced on Monday. One of the new Love’s locations is in Sauget, Illinois, off of I-225. Amenities at this location include 85 truck parking spaces, Chester’s Chicken, Godfather’s Pizza, and Subway restaurants (the Chester’s Chicken is currently closed), nine diesel bays, seven showers, laundry facilities, and a CAT scale. The other new store is located in Watertown Township, Michigan, off of I-69 and I-96. Amenities at this location include 116 truck parking spots, Hardee’s and Subway restaurants, seven diesel bays, nine showers, an on-site Speedco, laundry facilities, and a CAT scale. “Love’s is glad to open two new locations for customers in Illinois and Michigan,” said Tom Love, founder and executive chairman of Love’s. “We are continuing to open new locations in order to help get customers back on the road quickly, especially professional drivers as they continue to deliver vital goods throughout the country.” In January, Love’s announced plans to open up 40 new store locations nationwide in 2020, adding a total of approximately 3000 new trucking parking spaces to their network. Truckers say they’re facing another pandemic — ‘cheap rates’ from brokers | |
 As truckers have been working harder than ever to keep the nation moving during the COVID-19 crisis, many say that they’re also having to fight back against plummeting rates from freight brokers. Things have looked bleak for many truckers during the month of April as non-essential businesses across the country shuttered, oil prices fell dramatically, and consumer demand cooled following a flurry of buying during the early days of the pandemic. According to DAT Solutions, rates hit a four-year low of $1.48 per mile nationally. “Truckload rates fell lower again last week for dry van equipment, and there’s no clear sign of when they might rebound. It could be a couple more weeks before rate trends even flatten out. There’s no good news for truckers this week, although some markets and lanes are less terrible than others,” DAT Solutions wrote in an April 22 blog post. In response to these conditions, major trucker protests took place in Houston, Los Angeles, and Phoenix last week as independent truckers took to the streets to protest low rates from freight brokers. During each of the protest activities, truckers asked for fair prices on loads and regulations on freight brokers. Many displayed signs urging their fellow drivers to “say no to cheap freight.” The drivers say that freight brokers are taking advantage of the chaos and uncertainty caused by the pandemic to slash rates and pad their own profit margin. As a result of the Houston protest activities, the Houston Police Department announced that they planned to investigate driver claims of wage theft by brokers. Police also cited dozens of truck drivers and arrested one woman. Drivers are also looking for other ways to raise awareness about alleged bad behavior by brokers. More than 8,200 people have signed a new petition created by independent contractor Rodney Lara asking for “Changes to how brokers manage the trucking industry. No to CHEAP LOADS.” Lara detailed how he believes brokers are taking advantage of truckers during the pandemic:
You can click here to view or sign the petition. As the problem persists, trucker protests to raise awareness about low rates and the costs associated with trucking are planned again this week as part of the “Mayday” movement. Source of this article and other great articles
Fargo truck driver says delivering supplies is challenging during pandemic | |
FARGO (KFGO) – Just like for many people, the daily routines of truck drivers have changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vern Thompson of Fargo has been a commercial truck driver for several years and currently hauls petroleum products from the North Dakota oil patch to Canada. Thompson says that trying to find fuel, a shower and a place to sit down for a hot meal is a challenge because many truck stops remain closed. “You have to figure out where you can go to fuel up and get the things that you need. It takes some planning before you start the day as to what you’re going to do and where you’re going to go” Thompson said. “I’m brown bagging it all day long. One of the things truck stops provide is a seating area to sit down for a hot meal. It also gives you a break. You can’t just go 24 hours a day. You’ve got to stop, get out of the truck and have a little time and space. That isn’t happening now.” Thompson, a former state senator from Minnewaukan, N.D., says the recent collapse of oil prices caused by the pandemic has led to “thousands of lay-offs” in the Oil Patch. “Trucking companies have shut down because of this. I don’t see any turnaround until the virus goes away, or oil prices come back up.” Source of this article and other great articles
Semi truck carrying N95 masks, gowns catches fire on I-40 in Smith County | |
SMITH COUNTY, Tenn. (WZTV) — A semi-trailer truck carrying a shipment of N95 masks and surgical gowns reportedly caught fire on I-40 West in Smith County on Saturday morning. The crash took place near the Gordonsville exit at 5:00 a.m., according to Smith County Insider. Smith County EMA Director Sonny Carter told Smith County Insider that the truck is belived to have caught fire in the rear wheels of the trailer. No injuries have been reported as of Saturday afternoon. Drivewyze helping truckers locate safe rest areas amid pandemic | |
 Connected services company adds notifications for opened, closed trucking parking in Arizona, Virginia, Ohio
While the evolving COVID-19 impact on state’s rest area operations has created confusion over which sites remain open for truckers, the need for drivers to find safe parking hasn’t subsided. “Not knowing where drivers will find available parking at the end of each day continues to be a challenge and a stressor for truckers,” said Brian Heath, CEO of Drivewyze. In response to this need, Drivewyze says it is expanding its temporary rest area parking notifications to include Arizona, Virginia and Ohio. “Drivers are busy driving and don’t have time to keep track of changing open/close statuses at traditional parking areas,” Heath said. “This problem is exacerbated when you add temporary parking sites to the equation. New temporary parking is welcome, but how do drivers know where those are on a timely basis?” Arizona recently opened two temporary sites, and Virginia is now allowing long-term parking at 10 weigh stations. In Ohio, the state DOT requested Drivewyze provide messaging to truckers as an extension of the state’s decision to keep all rest areas open, patrolled and safe. According to Heath, Drivewyze leveraged its GPS-based Safety Notification service to help drivers out in these three states. “We volunteered to map out all the sites in these effected states and put our technology to work,” he said. “Truckers now receive an automated heads up notification with open/close status 25 miles and 5 miles prior to the rest areas in Arizona and weigh stations in Virginia. In Ohio, the notification that all sites are open goes out when a trucker crosses the state line. The goal is to give drivers in all three states a sense of relief in knowing where they can park. This work was done in conjunction with our state DOT partners—we saw it as a joint mission to help drivers and the alerts will continue as long as COVID-19 is impacting parking. We will add states and sites as circumstances change. It’s truly a liquid situation.” In addition to the three new states added, Drivewyze also provides temporary parking notifications in Pennsylvania and Florida. Notifications are available and free to carriers subscribed to the Drivewyze Safety Notifications service. The notification format is familiar to drivers already receiving similar Drivewyze Safety Notifications. Both the Drivewyze PreClear weigh station bypass service, and the Drivewyze Safety Notifications service, are available to carriers on supported ELDs and other in-cab devices, through the Drivewyze partner network at drivewyze.com/drivewyze-on-your-eld. Subscribers interested in deploying the Drivewyze Safety Notifications Service, and Rest Area alerts, should contact their ELD or in-cab device provider, or their Drivewyze Customer Success Manager. |
10 tips for truckers driving through the pandemic | |
 Zonar provides resources to help drivers to stay safe as they continue to deliver essential goods through the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Right now, many commercial truck drivers are struggling to find restaurants and fast food locations that are open to them while they are on the road serving the rest of the country through the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. Drivers also might need help finding grants and financial assistance during the current economic downturn that the COVID-19 health crisis has created. To help truckers find factually correct materials, Zonar, a provider of smart fleet technology, has compiled practical safety tips and comprehensive resources for drivers and operators who cannot self-quarantine at this time. Zonar is also providing additional support for businesses, truck drivers and operators via a free weekly webinar hosted by the company's Safety & Compliance team, including on-demand replays and Q&A sessions. The team, led by industry veteran Fred Fakkema, has also committed to providing one-on-one advice for drivers and businesses around compliance and regulations. “Amidst this global crisis, our workforce has been divided into essential and nonessential labor, with commercial vehicle drivers becoming some of the most indispensable—and most exposed—people in the U.S.,” said Fakkema, vice president of safety and compliance at Zonar. “Now more than ever, we want to proactively help them stay safe and healthy in any way we can by making it easy to find and ask for help and advice and factual information when they need it.” Compiled with the help of other industry experts and authorities, the following tips are meant to be considered in addition to adherence to directions provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and federal and state officials. These tips were crafted with understanding of real-life situations that many drivers cannot avoid or control, noted Zonar. 10 tips for drivers while on the road
FMCSA is handing out 800K free masks to truckers — here’s where you can get one | |
 Federal authorities will be soon be handing out hundreds of thousands of masks to truckers all across the U.S. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced that it will coordinate the distribution of 800,000 free masks for truck drivers at dozens of locations across the country in the coming days. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) will be assisting in the mask distribution operation. FMCSA is currently delivering the masks and plans to distribute them to drivers over the next few days. You can view mask distribution locations below. Arkansas:
California:
Georgia:
Georgia Inspection Stations
Illinois:
Indiana:
Indiana Rest Areas:
Nebraska:
NE Two-day event locations:Day 1 (April 29):
Day 2 (April 30):
New York:
Texas:
All Texas inspection sites:
The move to distribute masks comes after the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) wrote to President Trump early in April asking the government to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for truck drivers, who are considered essential workers and at the front lines of the fight against Coronavirus. Similarly, the trucking trade group Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) called on Trump to provide truckers with PPE in an April 22 letter: “Truckers are traveling around the country without access to masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer. With an operational budget of $665 million for FY 2019, surely the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has funding available in its budget to make this a reality in accordance with the National Transportation Policy to keep the supply chain intact.” Since the Coronavirus outbreak began, a growing number of locations require all people who are out in public to wear a mask. In some areas, those who don’t comply can be denied services, fined, or even jailed. FMCSA Reviews Seizure Policy | |
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is reviewing the agency’s current seizure medical policy with an eye toward possibly eliminating a requirement that truck drivers with the condition request a special exemption from the agency. In an update at an April 28 meeting of the medical review board, Christine Hydock, chief of FMCSA’s medical programs division, said the agency soon will begin a review of the literature related to recurrence for commercial motor vehicle drivers who have experienced at least one seizure.
In addition, FMCSA will contract outside research this fall on the condition that currently disqualifies a driver, but allows the driver to seek an exemption with the agency. However, obtaining an exemption can be exhausting and result in drivers waiting months for approval to get behind the wheel. The pool of drivers with the condition is small, Hydock said. Currently, about 300 drivers have been granted exemptions, she said. The agency’s goal is to send a report to the medical review board in September 2021 for the board to consider any recommendations for an update to the policy, Hydock said. “While the research is being conducted, the exemption program stays in place,” Hydock told the board. “Once it is finalized, we’ll make the determination whether or not the information supports moving forward, and how we would update the standard.” Larry Minor, FMCSA’s associate administrator for policy, said the agency is considering eliminating the exemption requirement for drivers with a history of seizures, much like it did in February 2019 for drivers with diabetes. The diabetes policy now allows a certified medical examiner to make the final decision whether a driver with the condition is issued a medical card. The current seizure exemption standard requires an analysis of the driver’s history, the medication a driver has used or is using and a look at his or her driving history for the past three years. Minor said the agency will further study the topic so FMCSA can determine if it’s possible to “go forward with a rulemaking at some point in the future so we can update the seizure standard and get out of the seizure exemption program.” “Is it possible that there’s better data out there that lets us make a determination for a shorter time frame to ensure that the drivers are safe?” Minor added. Besides the literature review and research, the agency plans to:
In a 2017 meeting, the medical board declined to alter the seizure policy after discussing a 2007 study that outlined the pitfalls of ensuring that drivers with a history of seizures are qualified to drive. At its April 28 meeting, the medical board also conducted a review of the agency’s new certified handbook, which acts as a detailed best practices reference for medical examiners. The handbook has been in the process of a major rewrite over the past few years to upgrade improvements in medical diagnosis, new treatments and advances in medications. The handbook’s subject matter ranges from serious heart conditions and electroconvulsive therapy to vision and drug and alcohol abuse. FMCSA’s Minor said the revised handbook will be sent out for public review and comment. The board’s discussions on the handbook have been at times challenging, as members attempted to carefully offer help for examiners without presenting the information as regulatory requirements or formal guidance. “This is a constant struggle for the medical review board and medical examiners,” said Abigail Potter, manager of safety and occupational health policy for American Trucking Associations. “Federal regulations require a lot from medical examiners in that they have a lot of authority to interpret medical conditions on a very individual basis.” In their deliberations, board members also have had to be cognizant that all examiners are not medical doctors, but can range from chiropractors to nurses. Natalie Hartenbaum, a medical doctor who is widely recognized as an expert in occupational fitness, attends all medical board meetings. She frequently dispenses advice requested by board members on a variety of medical and regulatory issues. Speaking to the board after the meeting, she was critical of the revised handbook. “I think we’ve kind of lost our way because many of the [examiner] training programs teach only what was in the medical examiner handbook — that’s fortunately only taught as this is the requirement,” She added, “We got here because the clear delineation between this is regulation, this is official guidance, this is literature, this is current best practice got all merged together. “It really has not been pushed apart to make examiners really understand that. … I really worry about the safety of the general public on the highways.” Source of this article and other great articles
Michigan closes more restroom facilities | |
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan has announced the closure of restroom facilities at five more Welcome Centers following the layoff of maintenance employees due to Covid-19. Restrooms at Sault Ste. Marie, Monroe, Coldwater, New Buffalo, and Detroit will be closed until May 10, the Michigan Department of Transportation said in an announcement posted on its website. “During the facility closures the ramps and parking lots will be closed as well (due to security and sanitary concerns), with the exception of the Detroit Welcome Center, which has a shared parking lot,” it said. Facilities at Menominee and Iron Mountain had already been closed until further notice. Source of this article and other great articles
Charger Logistics taps Istobal for truck washing solutions | |
Istobal’s HW’Intrawash autonomous cleaning system for refrigerated and dry van trailers is engineered to clean a 53-foot trailer in about 13 minutes.With the coronavirus pandemic ongoing in the United States and Canada, Charger Logistics aims to keep its fleet of trucks clean and ready for work. Charger Logistics recently became one of the first U.S. companies to install an HW’Intrawash autonomous trailer cleaning unit from Istobal for its facility in Laredo, Texas. Istobal, based in Valencia, Spain, is a multinational company that designs and manufactures vehicle washing solutions. Jon Drohan, director at Charger Logistics, said the intrawash unit reduces the time it takes to clean trailers, while sanitizing them more consistently. “The automated washing machine is mounted to our dock, it’s a fully autonomous telescopic wash head that goes inside the trailer,” Drohan said. “You back the trailer up to the docks, mount the telescopic equipment into the trailer. And then you choose what you want the machine to do.” Drohan said the unit has several modes, including a hot high pressure rinse, a wash using degreasing agents, as well as a full sterilization of the trailer. “It’s quick too, if you’re just doing a rinse out of the trailer it takes three minutes. If you do a full sterilization, it’s about 13 minutes from start to finish, from backing it into the dock to driving it away,” Drohan said. The HW’Intrawash units can be operated by one person and can clean up to 300 trailers a week, Drohan said. The company is in the process of installing an Istobal intrawash unit at Charger Logistics facility in Brampton, Canada. “We are told that we will be the first in Canada once the Istobal cleaning unit at our Brampton head office-terminal goes online,” Drohan said. Charger Logistics was founded in 2003 in Canada, and has a fleet of more than 800 trucks and 2,000 trailers, including reefers, dry vans, chassis, flat beds and step decks. The company also opened a 30-acre Laredo cross-border facility in May 2019, and is in the process of opening an office in Mexico. Charger Logistics purchased the Intrawash units before the coronavirus pandemic started, but they are more important than ever, said company spokesman Ryan Kent. “It is really important to recognize how we’re controlling and ensuring the safe movement of the freight for our customers in these really unprecedented times,” Kent said. Trucker busted with 80 pounds of cocaine, fentanyl | |
Drugs seized at the Blue Water Bridge in Michigan Friday, April 17 Canadian trucker was arrested Friday, April 17, for allegedly trying to take more than 80 pounds of suspected drugs out of the U.S. at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan. .S. Customs and Border Patrol officers were conducting outbound enforcement examinations on vehicles leaving Michigan for Canada. A Canadian truck driver was referred for a cab check by officers at about 2 p.m. The driver became increasingly nervous and visibly shaken as officers performed a physical inspection of his truck’s cab, Boarder Patrol officials report. Officers eventually found several bricks of suspected cocaine and fentanyl. The unidentified driver was arrested, and faces federal prosecution related to the exportation of illegal drugs. Source of this article and other great articles
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- NY City opens two truck parking facilities
- Covenant closing Southern Refrigerated Transport terminal
- Independent truckers stage rally along Houston freeway to protest low pay
- Tornado snatches building off of big rig, sends it flying into pickup
- Delivery truck tips, leaving Maryland road covered in beer
- Houston police will investigate broker wage theft claims after driver protest
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