Transport Topics

The U.S. Department of Labor said it would withdraw a federal regulation for classification of independent contractors. The rule, posted in the Federal Register in the last month of former President Donald Trump’s tenure, would have introduced, quote, “substantial confusion and uncertainty on the topic,” end quote. It was generally regarded as favorable to the trucking industry’s use of independent contractors. That’s because it offered a federal standard other than the so-called ABC test used in California’s Assembly Bill 5 law to determine if a truck driver is an employee or a contractor. That law is currently being challenged in court by the California Trucking Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Class 8 truck orders in April hit 33,500, ACT Research reported, and the volume underscored how far the industry has rebounded from a year earlier when orders were the lowest since 1995. ACT, citing truck makers’ preliminary data, noted orders were 689% higher than the 4,251 in April 2020. The orders were 16% below the March number of 40,000 orders. The April orders also were the lowest since September, but that was to be expected, ACT President Kenny Vieth said. “The decline was strictly driven by the supply of open-build slots in 2021, rather than a change in new equipment demand,” Vieth said in a release. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

California Trucking Association will appeal a court decision on the state’s independent contractor law that many in the industry deem unfavorable, CEO Shawn Yadon said May 3. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on April 28 rejected a lower court’s preliminary injunction that halted implementation of a new California law aimed at reclassifying independent contractors as employees. According to Yadon, CTA will now seek a review by the full appellate court. The group claims the law, known as Assembly Bill 5, will make it impossible to continue with the independent operator model in the state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TFI International announced it has completed its acquisition of UPS Freight for $800 million. The deal was originally announced in January. Most of the UPS Freight unit will operate under a new name, TForce Freight. As part of the deal, TFI, a Canadian company, also has entered into a five-year contract to use the UPS domestic network to move packages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Production is set to resume today at Volvo's New River Valley truck assembly plant in Dublin, Va., ending a strike that began April 19. Volvo Trucks North America and the United Auto Workers union reached a tentative agreement April 30 on the terms of a five-year contract that would cover about 2,900 employees. The proposed agreement is subject to ratification by the UAW local membership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rep. Sam Graves, the top Republican on the House Transportation Committee, is calling for a bipartisan approach to infrastructure funding. In response to President Joe Biden’s recent address to Congress, Graves said, “Addressing America’s infrastructure is something Republicans and Democrats should be able to come to agreement on. But in order to get bipartisan legislation done, Republican priorities must be meaningfully addressed.” Congressional Republicans recently introduced a $600 billion infrastructure blueprint to contrast Biden’s $2.25 trillion proposal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The average used Class 8 truck in March brought the third-highest price ever. That’s the word from a new ACT Research report, which found demand raging on and supply remaining tight. The March price — $52,388 — was nearly $9,000 higher than at the same point in 2020. It also jumped up from $49,563 in February. ACT Vice President Steve Tam told Transport Topics that if the industry carries on at this clip, there will be an opportunity to hit a new all-time high. The current record was logged in 2015, when the average used Class 8 reeled in $55,000. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Technology giant Apple announced this week it would invest more than $400 billion over the next five years in U.S. innovation and manufacturing. As part of that investment, the company has picked XPO Logistics to operate a $100 million facility and distribution center in Indiana. XPO said it would use its automation and robotics technology to accelerate delivery times and personalize Apple products for consumers. The facility will consist of more than 1 million square feet of space and is expected to create some 500 jobs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Efforts to enhance access to parking for the nation’s truckers are alive in the House of Representatives. Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig called on the chamber’s transportation leaders to include her parking bill during consideration of the expansive highway funding bill. Craig argued her proposal would improve the safety of commercial motor vehicle drivers by authorizing $125 million for states to put toward parking for fiscal 2022. Proponents have said that demand for over-the-road transportation has continued to climb during the pandemic, but parking space availability hasn’t kept pace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a new round of Alternative Fuel Corridor designations as part of the Biden administration’s push to advance electric vehicle charging infrastructure.The Federal Highway Administration’s Alternative Fuel Corridors program recognizes highway segments that have infrastructure (or plans for infrastructure) that support alternative fuel options. The Round 5 Alternative Fuel Corridors designated “corridor-ready” by FHWA encompass stretches of roads in 27 states. The first five rounds of designations represent options along 134 interstates and 125 U.S. highways and state roads, covering approximately 165,722 miles of the National Highway System. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A group of Republican senators offered a $568 billion counter to President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion jobs package yesterday. Despite the lower total value, it in fact focuses more on traditional infrastructure like roads and bridges. It also doesn’t include a corporate tax hike. The five-year plan more than doubles the Biden proposal for roads and bridges — to $299 billion — and splits the rest among transit, rail, airports, water projects and broadband. But it offers few specifics on how to pay for the spending beyond references to electric car taxes and repurposing unspent funds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden is expected to pledge in front of 40 world leaders this week that the U.S. will halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The 50% reduction target would nearly double America’s previous commitment. Biden reportedly will make the pledge at a two-day virtual climate summit that begins today. China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, with the U.S. second, will be in attendance. Biden’s pledge would be nonbinding, but it is considered symbolically important on a global level. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truck tonnage in March declined almost 10% on an annual basis, but experts say the comparison isn’t exactly apples to apples. A year ago, COVID-19 had gripped the nation, noted American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello after the federation released its monthly For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index yesterday. On a month-to-month basis, the index decreased 5.1% in March after declining 2.3% in February. Costello said, “A year ago in March, we were delivering all that toilet paper and there was a surge of activity. There was panic buying.” Going forward, Costello says the U.S. economy is poised for a significant rebound due to vaccinations and increased spending from stimulus programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden’s top infrastructure lieutenants will appear April 20 before a Senate panel to attempt to drum up support for the administration’s $2.25 trillion comprehensive infrastructure plan. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will explain details of the plan to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Key Republicans have said the party may pitch its own plan, but any such plan is unlikely to reach even a trillion-dollar price tag. The White House says it is eager to consider any good-faith counterproposal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

J.B. Hunt Transport Services saw revenue and earnings increase during the first quarter due to strong segment growth. The Lowell, Ark.-based transportation and logistics company reported net earnings of $146.6 million for the three months ending March 31. That compared to net earnings of $104.8 million during the same time last year. The total revenue increased by 15% to $2.62 billion from $2.28 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recruiting military veterans for maintenance jobs in truck repair shops is an oft-discussed industry goal. In practice, however, it tends to be extremely challenging. According to a top veterans official with the U.S. Department of Labor, the government is currently exploring ways to change that. As Mark Toal said during a virtual session of the Technology & Maintenance Council’s spring meeting, “We give you the tools to fish, but at the end of the day, you got to do the fishing. But we’re going to set you up with the different lures, and the different ponds where you can fish for vets.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden has announced the nomination of Meera Joshi to serve as the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Joshi has been serving as the acting administrator of FMCSA since late January. She previously served as commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, which is the agency in charge of licensing and regulating the city’s medallion taxicabs, for-hire vehicles, commuter vans and paratransit vehicles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Darrel Harris was named president of Yellow Corporation yesterday, just six months after joining the Overland Park, Kan., less-than-truckload carrier as executive vice president of strategic initiatives. Harris has been tasked with not only instituting a companywide transformation to modernize the way freight is delivered, but also to expand and enhance the services available to Yellow’s 200,000 customers. He will assume some of the responsibilities of former CEO T.J. O’Connor, who recently announced his retirement, and former Chief Network Officer Scott Ware, who left the company. Yellow ranks No. 6 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Class 8 truck sales in March jumped 33.7% to 22,031 as all truck makers posted gains compared with a year earlier, according to WardsAuto.com. Freightliner led the way with a gain of nearly 48% to 8,839 trucks. Volvo was next with a 44% gain to 2,474 trucks. Peterbilt was third with better than a 41% improvement on sales of 3,181 trucks. This comes as ACT Research says the business conditions for trucking are the best it has seen in 35 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

General Motors and Ford are making deeper production cuts at their North American plants due to the constricting global supply of semiconductors. GM said it has managed steady production at the facilities that make the popular — and profitable — full-size pickup trucks and SUVs. The chip shortage already has had a profound impact in various markets since last summer, affecting the manufacturing of goods such as laptops, iPhones and video game consoles. Also, it didn’t help that a grounded containership blocking the Suez Canal for nearly a week halted the movement of chips headed from Asia to Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices