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Our Forum is the all year around meeting place, where drivers and owners come for Information or discuss trucking and expediting related questions. Whether you drive a Tractor/Trailer, Expediter Straight Truck or Van, you are very welcome here in Expediter World. We bring you Expediting and Trucking News on a regular basis. Trucking Professionals as well as Newbie's enjoy our Photo Gallery and NEW Free Classifieds. You can also find the right job with our new website, please visit us at www.expediterjobsonline.com. You can also check diesel fuel prices with our National Truckstop fuel price locator. Join us in relaxing, having fun and playing games.
Trucker dies in 23-vehicle pileup on I-80 in Utah |  | 
A truck driver is said to have died and 16 other people were injured Monday morning in a large pileup on I-80 at mile marker 172 near Echo Junction in Utah. Utah police say some 23 vehicles — mostly tractor-trailers — were involved in the pileup. The Utah Highway Patrol identified the trucker who was killed as 61-year-old Oscar Longoria of Barling, Missouri. No cause for the pileup was given. WB I-80 will remain closed until further notice. Only one EB lane is open. Aerial photo courtesy of UHP accident investigation team. 20-30 vehicles involved in the multi-car accident at Echo Junction. One confirmed fatality. @UtahDOT and tow trucks are currently working to clear the road. It will remain closed until further notice. Source of article click here : Truckers News
Braco Inc. marks 10 years with very eye-catching truck | |
HENDERSON - How did Henderson-based Braco Inc. mark 10 years in business? With an extremely eye-catching custom truck. Brittany Hazelwood, seen here in photos celebrating the unveiling of a custom-order pink truck at an open house last Friday, has overseen operations for the roll-off dumpster company since 2010. Her father, Brad Hazelwood, started Braco is 2008
Braco Inc. President Brittany Hazelwood does a close-up inspection of the company's new pink truck. (Photo: Photo by Darrin Phegley)
Braco offers commercial, industrial and residential trash container services. In addition to its roll-off containers, Braco also has a flat-bed hauling service, trucking service and can provide temporary fence panels for job sites. The company also operates in Indiana. The relative youth of this under-30 boss isn't the only thing that sets Hazelwood apart. As far as she knows Hazelwood is the only woman in Western Kentucky, and possibly the entire state, who runs a roll-off trash container company. "I'm a female in a male industry," she told The Gleaner in an interview last year. Source of article click here : The Gleaner
Trucking, Automobile Groups Team Up Against Pennsylvania Toll Road | |
National Motorists Association and Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association demand refunds for excessive tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Chesterfield-based Abilene Motor Express sold to nation's largest truckload company; founder says it 'was time to step aside' | |
Chesterfield County-based Abilene Motor Express Inc. has been sold to the largest full truckload carrier in North America. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.’s acquired all of the equity interests of the family-owned Abilene Motor Express for an undisclosed price. "I figured it was time to step aside and let the younger generation take over," said Keith Jones, who with his brother Kolen founded Abilene Motor in 1986. Keith Jones, 74, served as Abilene Motor's CEO while Kolen Jones, 68, was the trucking company’s president. Both are leaving the company. Their nephew, Alan Jones, who had been vice president of operations, will stay on and become the company's president. Their brother Kurtis, who is the vice president for personnel, also will remain. The deal, completed Friday, is the first for Phoenix-based Knight-Swift since Knight Transportation purchased Swift Transportation in September, creating the nation's biggest full truckload carrier. Knight-Swift will be keeping the Abilene Motor name and brand, Keith Jones said. "The biggest thing is we will increase our buying power quite a bit since they are the largest truck load transportation company," he said. "We're a small fraction of that." Abilene Motor operates about 400 late-model tractors, providing truckload and volume less-than-truckload services in the U.S. and Canada. It has more than 500 employees. The trucking company generated about $100 million in annual revenue, according to a filing Knight-Swift made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Knight-Swift had $2.4 billion in revenue in 2017. Neither company disclosed the selling price or terms of the deal. But Knight-Swift said in its regulatory filing that it is buying a company that had an operating profit ratio in the low 90s, which Keith Jones said was about $9 million last year. The brothers started a storage trailer business where they bought and sold equipment. Some of their clients asked them to haul freight, so they did, creating Abilene Motor. They named it after a tiny community in Charlotte County where Joneses grew up. Besides its headquarters, Abilene Motor maintains facilities in Wytheville, as well as Oklahoma City, and West Memphis, Ark. Knight-Swift bought three businesses: Abilene Motor Express; AMX Leasing LLC, a truck leasing and storage business' and AT Services LLC, its brokerage services operations. Knight-Swift is leasing the 27-acre off Willis Road in Chesterfield where Abilene Motor operates its headquarters and main trucking terminal. It has a 5-year lease with an option to buy it after 12 months Keith Jones owns the property. He also owns the Keystone Tractor Works museum to display his vast collection of tractors. The 70,000-square-foot museum is off Interstate 95 in Colonial Heights
Truck Driver Turnover Dips as Pay Increases | |
An improving outlook for freight and higher pay is reducing chronic driver turnover at trucking companies. The turnover rate dropped 7 percent to 88 percent in the fourth quarter, down from the third quarter rate of 95 percent, according to the American Trucking Associations’ latest report. “Despite this dip in turnover, the driver market remains tight and the driver shortage remains a real concern for fleets and the industry,” Bob Costello, chief economist of the ATA, said Monday. The turnover rate at large truckload fleets with more than $30 million in revenue dipped below 90 percent since the first quarter of 2017. “We’ve rebounded strongly from the freight recession of the last few years, and 2018 is shaping up to be a record year,” said Todd Amen, chief executive of ATBS, a trucking industry accounting firm. Motor carriers are improving pay packages as the struggle to find drivers continues and the unemployment rate hovers at a low 4 percent. “There’s not a lot of folks that are stepping up to be truck drivers so that kind of puts a lid on truck capacity,” Amen said. K&B Transportation of South Sioux City, Neb., is launching a new mileage pay package in May, increasing its starting mileage pay from 45 cents to 50 cents, said Sean Barragan, director of recruiting of K&B. Drivers are also guaranteed 2,500 miles per week if they work the entire pay period, even if they only run 2,000, giving them a $1,250 per week minimum, up from $1,225 the company currently offers, Barragan said. “We want to offer a solid mileage pay package to make sure we get good drivers and retain them,” Barragan told Trucks.com. The trucking company, which has about 730 trucks in its fleet, offered a $1,650 sign-on bonus in November when it added several trucks but is ending the practice now that the new pay package has been announced. On Tuesday, ATBS said owner-operators who own their own big rigs averaged $60,182 in earnings in 2017, up $513 or 0.9 percent, from 2016. Truckers who hauled flatbed freight netted around $70,400 last year, up $6,518 or 10.2 percent, from the previous year. While rates remained “flat” for most of 2017, they picked up at the end of the year and continue to soar in the first quarter, which is typically a slow time for freight. “This is the best time in trucking in 30 years,” Amen said. Freight rates for loads paid per mile increased 5 percent on average from 2016, however, average miles driven went down by half a percent. Freight rates are expected to remain strong for the next 18 months, Amen said. Turnover at small trucking fleets — those with less than $30 million in annual revenue — dropped four points to 80 percent. The turnover rate at both large and small fleets is still 14 points higher than the same period a year ago, the ATA said. “While the driver market and capacity remain tight, freight volumes and driver pay factor into turnover,” Jeremy Kirkpatrick, ATA spokesman, told Trucks.com. “More freight means more miles, and an increased workload combined with several carriers announcing pay increases can serve to reduce turnover between fleets.” Over the past year, the trucking sector has added almost 19,000 jobs. According to seasonally adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the number of trucking jobs was 1.47 million in February 2018, up 1.4 percent from the same period a year earlier when the number of trucking jobs was around 1.45 million. “Based on the level of economic activity we had, I would have expected trucking jobs to be more in the neighborhood of 50,000 new hires,” Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research, told Trucks.com. “If you have 88 percent turnover, you don’t have a driver shortage, you have a retention shortage,” Vieth said. February marked the 10th consecutive month where demand for freight rose faster than any growth in the number of trucks on the road, according to ACT. “This clearly indicates pricing power rests with truckers in 2018 contract negotiations, and the data provides further support for large increases in truckload contract rates,” Vieth said. Latest winter storm bans truck travel in NY & NJ | |
New York and New Jersey joined Pennsylvania in banning commercial vehicle travel because of the latest winter storm on the East Coast. New York State banned tractor-trailers effective 8 a.m. this morning (Wednesday March 21) until further notice. Included are:
The New Jersey State Police announced a commercial vehicle travel ban due to the latest winter storm along the East Coast. Pennsylvania announced a similar ban with the storm expected to deliver as much as 18 inches of snow in some locations. The ban was announced Tuesday, March 20, at 8 p.m. for all of:
The commercial vehicle travel ban applies to: ·
Th New Jersey State Police encouraged drivers already in the state to use truck stops or rest areas during the ban. In order for road crews to effectively plow, drivers should not park on shoulders. The troopers also said residents and motorists should avoid driving unless they are essential employee needed for emergency response. |
Truck carrying Amazon packages crashes in Limington | |
A truck carrying Amazon packages rolled over in Limington early Monday morning, spilling fuel and transmission fluid on Sokokis Trail. Courtesy York County Sheriff's Department
A truck carrying Amazon packages rolled over in Limington Monday morning, spilling fuel and transmission fluid on Sokokis Trail. A Ryder rental box truck driven by 24-year-old Predrag Manjerovic of Washington state crashed around 5:20 a.m. on Sokokis Trail near Brackett’s Orchard. Sheriff Bill King said Manjerovic crossed the center line and over-corrected, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Manjerovic was delivering packages for Amazon and the truck was loaded with merchandise, King said. About five gallons of fuel and transmission fluid leaked onto the snow-covered ground. Manjerovic was not injured and was able to free himself from the truck following the crash. King said the road is passable, but will be closed while the truck is removed. King asked drivers to avoid the area until the scene is cleared. The Limingon and Limerick fire departments responded to the crash. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection was also called to the scene because of the fuel spill. The Limington Fire Department last week was ordered to “stand down” from responding to fires because of outdated gear, but town officials say the department will still respond to medical calls. Source of article click here : Press Herald Uber Stops Self-Driving Truck Tests After Autonomous Car Fatality | |
Uber was previously operating its fleet of self-driving trucks on the Uber Freight app in Arizona. The company has ceased operation of its autonomous trucks after one of its self-driving cars killed a pedestrian. (Photo: Uber Freight
Uber Technologies Inc. ceased operation of its self-driving trucks after one of its autonomous cars struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona on Sunday. The stop is part of a larger testing suspension the company instituted that covers all Uber self-driving operations in Tempe, Ariz., Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. The fatality occurred on Sunday night in Tempe, and is believed to be the first pedestrian death involving a self-driving car. An Uber vehicle operating in autonomous mode with a human operator in the front seat struck a woman as she was crossing the street outside of a crosswalk. The woman was taken to a local hospital and later died of her injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating. Uber is fully cooperating with authorities and investigations of the incident, according to a company spokesperson. It’s unclear whether other companies testing self-driving trucks are following suit. Waymo, the Alphabet-run autonomous vehicle venture, has been testing self-driving trucks in California and Arizona for the past year. Waymo did not respond to immediate request for comment. Several other companies piloting self-driving vehicle temporarily suspended their own tests to review safety procedures. Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it would halt testing self-driving cars on public roads in what it refers to as Chauffeur mode following the Uber collision. “We cannot speculate on the cause of the incident or what it may mean to the automated driving industry going forward. Because we feel the incident may have an emotional effect on our test drivers, we have decided to temporarily pause our Chauffeur mode testing on public roads,” the automaker said in a statement. Also on Tuesday, the Boston Transportation Department stopped an autonomous vehicle test it was conducting with Nutonomy and Optimus. “The Boston Transportation Department will be working with both companies to review their safety procedures to ensure each program can move forward,” Gina Fiandaca, the city’s transportation commissioner, said in a statement. Fiandaca called the move, “a precautionary measure.” Uber started testing autonomous trucks in Arizona in late 2017 as part of an experiment to blend self-driving and conventional driver-operated trucks. The company used human drivers to deliver freight to transfer hubs on Arizona’s eastern and western borders. The loaded trailers were then hooked to self-driving tractors to be hauled across the state. Because of state laws, human drivers remain behind the wheel of self-driving trucks. As of earlier this month, Uber had not recorded any safety-related incidents, a spokesperson for Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group told Trucks.com at the time. Outside of Arizona, Uber has tested self-driving trucks near its San Francisco headquarters and at an autonomous vehicles test center near Pittsburgh. The self-driving truck tests are run through Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group. It also manages the Uber Freight service, a smartphone app launched in May 2017 to match drivers with available loads near them. Driving You Crazy: Trucker, says it's "stupid" they can't haul heavy loads on Colorado interstates | |
Jeff from Colorado writes, “What’s driving you crazy? I am a truck driver. In Colorado we can go to 85,000lbs. But trucks over 80,000 lbs are not allowed on the Interstates. We must stay on secondary roads. This is a STUPID law. Heavy trucks, some with hazardous chemicals, routinely go through towns in school zones and hospital zones. The State trucking associations have for years trying to change this law. Please talk about this as it is unsafe for the people.”
Jeff, the law you are referring too I believe is in Title 42 concerning the regulation of vehicles and traffic and in particular part 4 dealing with the size, weight and loads allowed on Colorado roads. The issue here is that the interstate highway regulations are controlled by the United States Congress, not individual states. But what makes this federal/state weight conundrum even more confusing is the states are still playing a role in what the load limit is in each state on their federal interstate highways. More on that in a second. There is a federal set of standards that specify the maximum weight that is allowed on federally funded highways, which include the interstates and national network of highways. That way there is a standard set of rules that truck drivers follow that are common across the country. The National Gross Weight limit is set at 80,000 pounds. There are also bridge laws which restrict the spacing and weight of axle groupings to protect bridges from being damaged. The longer and the more axles a truck has, the more weight that it can carry. Study: Port Huron among worst for truck delays | |
Recent data suggests an area west of the Blue Water Bridge may be among the country’s worst congested bottlenecks for trucks, but state officials said it may not be what it seems. The American Transportation Research Institute's list of the top 100 bottlenecks ranks the freeway between the Interstate 94/I-69 interchange and the Blue Water Bridge the 12th worst in the county. The analysis used truck GPS data from more than 800,000 heavy-duty trucks, among other information, to track average speeds relative to posted speed limits. Dennis Nash, CEO at the Kenan Advantage Group, a bulk transportation and logistics provider, said ATRI’s report showed “increasingly our trucks are not moving because of congestion, choke points and bottlenecks on an aging highway system.” The I-94/69 interchange, however, was reconstructed as part of an $85 million project three years ago. Jocelyn Hall, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said the bottleneck data might be skewed by ramp speeds. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything to certainly indicate that there’s a bottlenecking (problem),” Hall said. “The data used in this study appears to be based on GPS feeds collected on truck traffic and because it’s an interchange, we know there’s trucks merging on and off, which accounts for the slower speeds.” Hall also added that “Blue Water Bridge traffic can back up a little bit,” which may contribute to a bigger presence of trucks passing through the area. The research institute conducts the analysis annually. According to ATRI, the freeway west of the bridge had average truck speeds at 29.3 mph, a decrease of 19.6 percent from the prior year. Truck traffic over the Blue Water Bridge increased overall by 4.55 percent between 2000 and 2017, according to data released this year by the Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association. Walter Heinritzi, executive director at the Michigan Trucking Association, said although the state’s traffic doesn’t necessarily originate in the state, a “very robust economy” has increased the demand for freight transportation via trucks, including over the Canadian border. He said his group does not track how crowded that traffic gets, but he estimated any increase to the “sheer volume may have slowed things down” with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. “The more trucks, the more trucks they have to inspect,” Heinritzi said. Customs spokesman Ken Hammond said the agency was not able to confirm or corroborate a third party's study of traffic flow. Port Huron was listed higher on the list than Detroit’s Interstate 94/I-7 interchange which had average truck speeds of 44.7 mph and was ranked 57th. The top 10 included two Atlanta exchanges; New York City; Fort Lee, New Jersey; Louisville, Kentucky; Los Angeles; Boston; Chicago and Baltimore. Love’s opens in Elizabethtown, Kentucky | |
Love’s recently opened its newest travel stop in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The new store, located at 601 South Ring Road (exit 133 off the Western Kentucky Parkway), has:
The Elizabethtown location is the 10th Love’s in the state. Source of article click here : Truckers News
Watch truck wipe out on highway near Truckee as CHP issues warning | |
In a powerfully visual way, the California Highway Patrol is warning drivers in the Sierra Nevada mountains to be aware of the dangers of sand on the roadway at this time of year. A video posted on CHP-Truckee's Facebook page taken from a big rig's dashboard camera shows a truck in the fast lane hit some sand, skid and wipe out in a cloud of dust. No one was injured in the accident, according to CHP. "We are really glad no one was hurt as this could have been way worse," the CHP wrote in the post. "But this serves as a great reminder to watch your speed on those downhill grades. Especially this time of year as sand tends to (accumulate) on the roadway shoulders in between storms." |
Independent groups that represent the interests of truckers and motorists are challenging the heavy tolls imposed on users of Pennsylvania's highways. The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents 160,000 commercial truck drivers who own their own rigs, teamed up with the National Motorists Association (NMA) last week to argue that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) uses excess toll profit to pad state coffers in violation of the interstate commerce clause.
- Semi truck carrying more than 100 hogs rolls over on Des Moines' northeast side
- Truck inspection leads to drug seizure in Childress Co.
- All-Electric Semis Are Hitting the Road
- Dem asks feds to clarify rule on how truckers record driving hours
- Employees at Zion Crossroads Trucking Company to be Laid-Off in April
- Kenworth will again donate T680 tractor as “Transition Trucking” award
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