17 Jan Amazon Begins to Act as Its Own Freight Broker Over the past two years Amazon.com Inc. has dabbled in the transportation and logistics industry. But recently, the e-commerce behemoth began to directly broker freight to truck drivers, rather than solely rely upon third-party firms such as C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Transport Topics has learned. Read more...
17 Jan Manufacturing Output Rose in December for a Fourth Month U.S. factory production rose for a fourth straight month in December, capping the strongest quarter since 2010 and underscoring a resurgence in manufacturing that’s primed for further advances, Federal Reserve data showed Jan. 17. Read more...
16 Jan FHWA Monitoring States' Progress on Modernizing Roadway Inventory Data WASHINGTON — Back in 2016, the Federal Highway Administration gave states a 10-year window to modernize their data collection systems to help better pinpoint hot spots for accidents and congestion on their roads. Nearly two years into the project, it appears that the decadelong grace period was a good idea. Read more...
16 Jan Diesel Hits Three-Year High, Rises 3.2¢ to $3.028 a Gallon The U.S. average retail price of diesel rose 3.2 cents to $3.028, its highest price in three years, while the cost of crude slipped below $64 a barrel. Read more...
16 Jan Minority Fellow Studies Truck Air Quality The Transportation Research Board this year named 21 students from 14 schools its TRB Minority Student Fellows as part of its work promoting minority participation in transportation. The 9-year-old program provides funding for students from select historically black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions to attend TRB’s annual meeting and present their research papers. Read more...
16 Jan Ports of Virginia, Oakland Set Records in 2017 The Port of Virginia and the Port of Oakland, Calif., set records for annual container traffic in 2017, according to two announcements. Read more...
16 Jan Oak Hill Capital Agrees To Buy Safe Fleet Holdings Ownership of Safe Fleet Holdings has changed hands, with Oak Hill Capital Partners agreeing to buy the business from The Sterling Group. Read more...
16 Jan FMC Urged to Set Guidelines for Detention, Demurrage Charges WASHINGTON — Cargo owners and trucking companies urged the Federal Maritime Commission to set guidelines on detention and demurrage charges when unforeseen circumstances take place, such as a weather emergency or labor slowdown. Read more...
16 Jan Medium-Duty Segment Ends Year With Steady Growth U.S. retail sales of medium-duty trucks climbed 5.4% in December, with only Class 6 volumes dipping from a year earlier, WardsAuto.com reported. Read more...
16 Jan Federal Agency in Design Phase of Long-Term Research on Truck Driver Health WASHINGTON — A federal research agency that focuses on the study of worker safety and health is in the design stages of a major longitudinal study to track changes in longhaul truck drivers’ health status and the factors associated with those changes. Read more...