Trucking: Page 181

August Spot Truckload Rates, Volume Post Gains

DAT Freight & Analytics

The national average van rate gained six cents, the reefer rate added three cents, and the flatbed rate picked up a penny after a mostly lackluster month.

Load-to-truck ratios got a healthy boost, an indication that the higher rates may outlast end-of-month and pre-holiday pressure.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

UPS to Raise Ground, Air and International Service Rates an Average of 4.9%

United Parcel Service (UPS)

Rate increases will support ongoing expansion and capabilities enhancements.

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Northern Transportation Faces Bankruptcy

Northern Transportation, which delivered construction material to the Distant Early Warning system during the Cold War and the first drilling rig to Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay in 1963, is sinking in debt and faces the end of court-ordered bankruptcy protection.

Owned by an Inuvialuit corporation, the company owes $130 million, most of it to a consortium of Canadian banks.

Kottke Trucking Acquires Walbon’s OTR Division

Kottke Trucking, Inc. has purchased Walbon & Company, Inc.’s over-the-road (OTR) operations, including Walbon’s routes, trucks, trailers and Wildwood, Fla.-based terminal.

The acquisition will not affect the Buffalo Lake, Minn. based operations that Kottke has held for nearly eight decades.

Fuel Efficiency

EPA and DOT Finalize GHG and Fuel-Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The final phase two program promotes a new generation of cleaner, more fuel-efficient trucks by encouraging the development and deployment of new and advanced cost-effective technologies.

The final standards are expected to lower CO2 emissions by approximately 1.1 billion metric tons, save vehicle owners fuel costs of about $170 billion, and reduce oil consumption by up to two billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the program.

Feds Investigate Flowers Foods Over Misclassifying Drivers as Contractors

U.S. Department of Labor

The company intends to cooperate with the department, and because the review process is confidential, the company has no further comment at this time.

The company is currently being sued by a number of truck drivers alleging they were wrongly classified as independent contractors, causing them to miss overtime pay and other employee benefits.

Judge Restores Class Action Lawsuit Against Swift Transportation Over Mileage-Based Pay

Knight-Swift Transportation

Class-action status for the suit filed by one truck driver would allow it to proceed on behalf of 80,000 employee drivers nationwide.

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Spot Truckload Volume Rises 10% for Past Week Ending

DAT Freight & Analytics

The national average van and reefer rate each gained 1 cent to $1.62/mile and $1.97/mile respectively while the average flatbed rate was $1.95/mile for the third consecutive week.

The national average van and reefer rate each gained 1 cent to $1.62/mile and $1.97/mile respectively while the average flatbed rate was $1.95/mile for the third consecutive week.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

Shippers Coalition Offers Guidance On Container Weight Verification

The amendments to International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) require packed shipping containers to have a verified gross mass (VGM) before they can be loaded on a ship for export.

The Port of New Orleans container yards stay busy year round.

Moran Transportation Corporation Acquires Mats Trucking

Moran Transportation Corporation has purchased the assets of Mats Trucking, a service-driven carrier within the forwarder and airline line haul/delivery network.

The company operates a network of terminals within the Midwest providing service between Chicago (ORD) and points serviced in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and parts of Iowa and Michigan.

Transportation Secretary Says CSA Reforms Two Years Away

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

The FAST Act called for by Congress in 2015 required the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to pull CSA SMS rankings from public view, though much of the underlying violation data is still available publicly.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told a Senate panel last week that two years is the same timeline the industry can expect to see the so-called “CSA scores” — the percentile rankings in the CSA Safety Measurement System’s seven BASICs — return to public view.

FMCSA: Commercial Truck Passengers Must Wear Seat Belts

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

In 2014, 37 passengers traveling unrestrained in the cab of a large truck were killed in roadway crashes, according to the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Effective Aug. 8, 2016, the final rule revises Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and holds motor carriers and drivers responsible for ensuring that passengers riding in large commercial trucks are using seat belts.

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