Transport Topics

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he wants his chamber to vote on pivotal budget and infrastructure legislation before lawmakers break for their August recess. He also warns that he may delay that summer break to allow more time for work on President Joe Biden’s top domestic goals, which includes infrastructure. The first hurdle for Schumer and the Democrats is for Congress to approve a budget resolution. The budget would then let them push a massive spending bill through the Senate without facing a GOP filibuster. Separately, senators from both parties also have agreed to a framework for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which Schumer hopes will be approved in the Senate before the recess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Despite oppressive heat hitting the western United States, trucking operations are pressing on. Montana has issued regulatory relief for truckers as part of statewide emergency declarations, including relaxing hours-of-service requirements for commercial vehicle drivers providing support to fire suppression activities and suspending HOS requirements for drivers transporting certain agricultural products. For drivers operating in the area, experts recommend staying hydrated and being mindful of tire pressure, among other safety precautions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Class 8 orders in June cleared 25,000 and bounced 61% higher than those placed a year earlier in the pandemic, ACT Research reported, citing truck makers’ preliminary data. Orders reached 25,700 — the highest level since June 2018 — compared with 16,000 in the 2020 period. June’s volume was expected, according to ACT, as the backlog of orders is essentially filled and production slots for 2022 are not fully open. FTR pegged preliminary net orders at 26,700. It said it expected orders to surge, possibly as early as July, when truck makers open the order boards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings has announced plans to acquire less-than-truckload specialists AAA Cooper Transportation in a deal involving two companies on the Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire list. It’s Knight-Swift’s first foray into the less-than-truckload sector. CEO Dave Jackson said AAA Cooper fit the company’s criteria for LTL acquisition: It had significant market share, it was profitable and it had management depth to operate independently. Reid Dove will remain CEO of AAA Cooper, which is based in Dothan, Ala. AAA Cooper ranks No. 53 on the T-T Top 100 For-Hire list, and No. 15 on the list of largest LTL carriers. Knight-Swift, which is based in Phoenix, is No. 6 on the Top 100 For-Hire list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trucking and oil industry experts are warning of possible delays in fuel deliveries during the peak of the summer driving season as the pinch from the driver shortage — particularly among tanker truck drivers — could slow down service to fueling stations. Oil Price Information Service founder and industry analyst Tom Kloza said tank truck companies have enough equipment to move fuel to fueling stations, but industry officials tell him the sector is short about 16% of the drivers it needs on a day-to-day basis to keep stations supplied. Kloza said he worries that if a station is without fuel for just a few hours, the news could spread through social media and lead to panic buying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legislation that would update the country’s highway and wastewater policies was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 1, an effort by congressional Democrats to advance President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar infrastructure agenda. The chamber gave approval to the $715 billion measure by a vote of 221-201, mostly along party lines. The INVEST in America Act consists of a five-year surface transportation reauthorization as well as policy updates for wastewater management and water infrastructure programs. A 2015 highway policy law expires at the end of September. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced June 30 that the agency plans to award $905 million in grants through the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program. The funding will support 24 projects in 18 states, including efforts to facilitate the movement of goods. The discretionary grant program funds transportation projects of national and regional significance and is meant to improve safety and drive economic growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The average sales price for a used Class 8 vehicle sold in May set the all-time record, jumping ahead of April’s claim to that title, amid the trend of strong demand for trucks once again outpacing the available supply, ACT Research reported. The average price was $58,652 compared with $41,027 a year earlier — a price ACT revised from its initial estimate of $36,954 in the 2020 period after it subsequently added participants to its database. In April, the average price was $57,371.Sales hit 20,700 compared with 16,400 a year earlier when they were smacked down amid COVID-19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legislation designed to update the country’s surface transportation policies is scheduled for floor consideration this week, likely Tuesday or Wednesday, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The leaders of the chamber’s Democratic majority tout the legislation as a key piece of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure agenda. They intend to advance the bill prior to July 4. The five-year, $547 billion bill would reauthorize a federal highway policy law, which expires at the end of September. Learn more in this week's Capitol Agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The optimism surrounding the announcement of a bipartisan infrastructure deal on Thursday was doused with a bucket of sudden uncertainty on Friday, as Republican senators expressed shock to learn of conditions President Joe Biden set for signing the deal. In Biden’s second of two press conferences Thursday, he said he would only sign the infrastructure deal in tandem with a companion package of nearly $6 trillion containing funding for other administration priorities. Senators who were part of the bipartisan group were never told of such an explicit linking of the two packages, two people familiar with the discussions told the Associated Press. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tweeted Friday, “No deal by extortion!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden and a group of bipartisan lawmakers announced yesterday that they had come to an agreement on an infrastructure proposal. The deal includes some $559 billion in new spending, with more than $300 billion of that devoted to transportation. According to a fact sheet published by the White House, $109 billion would go to roads, bridges and major projects; $66 billion to passenger and freight rail; and $16 billion to ports and waterways. The plan would also include $7.5 billion for electric vehicle infrastructure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The latest in trucking and transportation news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truck tonnage rose 3.7% in May compared with year-ago levels, and is pacing well against comparisons to the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, according to American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. Through the first five months, the index is up 0.4% compared with 2020. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that freight will remain strong in the near term, but the industry is facing some significant challenges, such as difficulty finding qualified drivers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon announced that it has placed an order for 1,000 autonomous driving systems from Plus. The retail giant also has acquired an option to buy as much as 20% of the self-driving truck startup. Plus is planning a merger with a special purpose acquisition company and is set to have a valuation of $3.3 billion, the company said last month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some fleet operators, especially package couriers and final-mile delivery providers, achieved significant revenue growth in 2020 amid a surge in e-commerce volumes. Other trucking companies contended with severe supply chain disruptions and market volatility in the initial months of the coronavirus outbreak. This dichotomy is reflected in the 2021 Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers list, which is split nearly evenly between companies that reported a revenue decline in 2020 and those that still managed to grow during the year of COVID-19. A spate of major acquisitions among the largest for-hire carriers also has reshuffled this year’s Top 100 list. Check out the complete rankings, in print and now on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rep. Peter DeFazio says he is well aware that being stuck in traffic is bad for business. For that reason, he wants to remind the country that his new highway bill is designed to help everyone spend less time in traffic. DeFazio, chairman of the U.S. House transportation committee, is the author of a comprehensive five-year, $547 billion highway bill that he says would be the largest-ever single investment in surface transportation infrastructure. He said, “People are pretty tired of congestion. They’re pretty tired of repair costs [because] of potholes. They’re tired of detours.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. retail sales in May for Classes 4-7 improved 36% compared with a year earlier, as all but the heaviest class showed strong gains, WardsAuto.com reported. Sales reached 20,134 compared with 14,809 in the 2020 period. Year-to-date sales jumped 21.5% to 99,318 compared with 81,766 last year. Act Research Vice President Steve Tam said, “Private fleets and lease and rental fleets are driving the demand, largely, and most of what is occurring is replacement activity.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The American Transportation Research Institute released a white paper that analyzed truck driver perspectives regarding truck parking information systems. Among the 1,103 survey respondents, 32.8% said they use both truck parking apps and variable message signs. Also, 68.7% of drivers under 45 reported using these apps. ATRI said accuracy of information and standardization among states are needed to address the truck parking problem, which ranks No. 3 on ATRI's Top Industry Issues Report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Department of Transportation announced that it’s seeking to require or set standards for automatic emergency braking systems on new heavy trucks. DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has been studying use of the electronic systems, and it plans to publish a proposed rule in April 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two of the nation’s largest third-party logistics providers have announced that they will join forces. GlobalTranz and Worldwide Express, which rank No. 27 and No. 28 respectively on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest logistics companies in North America, will combine in a transaction expected to close in the third quarter. Tom Madine, CEO of Worldwide Express, will lead the combined company as chief executive and Bob Farrell, CEO of GlobalTranz, will serve as a member of the board of directors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices