Transport Topics

Meera Joshi, new acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, says automation has “extremely real and broad impacts.” Joshi was speaking at FMCSA’s 20th annual Analysis, Research, and Technology Forum, held virtually earlier this week. She said her tenure would include a focus on understanding the coming impacts of automation and preparing workforces for them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. Class 8 retail sales in February came in slightly below the year-ago figure. Yesterday WardsAuto.com reported that 15,369 Class 8s were sold in the month. Two truck makers — Volvo Trucks North America and Freightliner — notched monthly gains compared to 2020. For others, sales dropped. Class 8 orders have piled up in recent months, and experts have noted that persistent and various supply chain constraints are affecting production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A coalition of trucking groups has issued a letter urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to designate truck stops and travel plazas as COVID-19 vaccination sites. Natso, which represents truck stop owners and operators, said in the letter truckers generally are unable to access many facilities, including medical sites, while driving a Class 8 vehicle. The group also suggested truck drivers should be able to receive a vaccine in a state other than the one in which they reside and that they should be able to get their second vaccine at a different truck stop than their first injection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The House of Representatives will take up the new COVID-19 relief bill today, and it appears likely that lawmakers will clear it for President Joe Biden’s signature. Once that happens, the White House and decision-makers on Capitol Hill plan to turn their attention to infrastructure. Details of the Biden plan aren’t yet known, but it’s expected to include climate change provisions and updates to renewable energy policies. It has been previewed as potentially the largest infrastructure effort since the Great Depression-era New Deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has canceled this year’s North American Inspectors Championship, which had been scheduled to take place in August in Minneapolis. The championship event coincides with American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships, and ATA had previously announced that event was being canceled. Both organizations plan to hold their 2022 event in August in Indianapolis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Senate Democrats are zeroing in on passing a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that will include aid for transportation corridors. Policymakers have said they will soon push through a version similar to the House-passed bill, which included $30 billion for transit operations. House Democrats will then take up the revised legislation and clear it for President Joe Biden’s signature, all before March 14. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, have indicated they will oppose any proposal crafted without bipartisan input. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

North American Class 8 orders reached 43,800 in February, good for an astounding 212% increase over the same month in 2020. According to ACT Research, which published the information, the orders came as the U.S. economy showed strength in areas key to truck fleets’ profitability. ACT President Kenny Vieth said that even without the potential boons of new stimulus or an infrastructure bill, near- to mid-term freight trends look very positive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most people know Amazon as an online retail giant. But a report by DePaul University business professor Joseph Schweiterman says Amazon is fast becoming a direct competitor of UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service in the air cargo sector. The report said Amazon Air grew its daily flight schedule by 15% between August 2020 and February by adding 18 flights.This summer, that number could grow to more than 160. And expansion remains in the works — domestically and in Europe — with a focus on its largest hubs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shipping has started for the third COVID-19 vaccine. Johnson & Johnson’s version was cleared by U.S. regulators over the weekend, allowing for the delivery of almost 4 million doses early this week, according to CEO Alex Gorsky. The company is looking to immunize 20 million Americans by the end of March and a total of 100 million by the end of June. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine differs from the Pfizer and Moderna versions in that it consists of a single dose. Research has shown it to be slightly less efficacious than the other two. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TravelCenters of America Inc. reported a fourth-quarter loss and a decline in revenue while also noting it is preparing for the alternative energy market. The company reported a net loss of $7.2 million compared with a net profit of $43.1 million a year earlier. Revenue fell to $840 million compared with $1 billion in the 2019 period. TA said it will be onboarding dedicated leadership and finalizing a strategy for collaborations and ventures relating to alternative energy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Based on January sales of used Class 8 vehicles, ACT Research is projecting a 6% increase in total sales this year compared to 2020. Roughly 20,700 used Class 8’s were sold last month compared with 18,000 in the same period a year earlier. ACT Vice President Steve Tam expects demand to pick up in the coming months. In other news that reflects the demand, Ryder System announced it will purchase fleets’ used commercial vehicles in a one-for-one leasing exchange. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trucks traveled more swiftly on historically congested roads in 2020, as the pandemic kept some automobiles off the road. That’s the finding of a new report from the American Transportation Research Institute. The ease in traffic was substantial. ATRI’s 2021 Top Truck Bottlenecks List found that peak truck speeds across the top 100 worst sections improved 34% in 2020 compared with 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

January truck tonnage fell 2.1% compared with year-ago levels, but ticked up 1.4% over December 2020 — a continuation of several months’ worth of sequential gains, American Trucking Associations announced yesterday. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said tonnage has increased a total of 3.3% over the past four months. He also noted ATA’s truck tonnage index still is off 2.8% from the high in March 2020 as tonnage plunged 9% in April alone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yellow Corp., the company formerly known as YRC Worldwide, announced a new initiative yesterday that seeks to bring up to 1,500 new truck drivers to the industry. The effort comes amid a persistent driver shortage that some economists believe has worsened during the pandemic. Yellow will offer an eight-week paid CDL training program at 12 locations. If the student is away from home during the training, Yellow will pay for travel and accommodations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A district court judge in Chattanooga, Tenn., wants prosecutors and defense attorneys to decide on a fall date for the retrial of former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood and two other defendants. The three were convicted by a Chattanooga jury in February of 2018 in connection with a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme to siphon fuel rebates away from thousands of truckers. But in October a retrial was ordered by a three-judge panel for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that reversed the convictions. Prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee say they want to start the retrial Nov. 1, but defense attorneys suggest starting Sept. 13. Senior U.S. District Court Judge Curtis Collier asked the two parties to decide on a date, and put it in writing by March 15. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the second summer in a row, COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of the National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships. The competition had been scheduled for Aug. 11-14 in Minneapolis. American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear announced the news in a letter to the truck driving community this week. He said, “Know that we do not take this decision lightly. The Super Bowl of Safety had not been canceled since World War II until last year, which is a testament to just how unprecedented this present challenge is.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Details of the Biden administration’s infrastructure package haven’t been unveiled, but that day might come soon. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters this week that the Biden administration is considering shifting its focus to infrastructure once a new COVID-19 relief bill is signed. Federal policymakers from both parties have signaled support for considering legislation that would update freight and passenger transportation systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daimler Truck A-G announced Tuesday it appointed John O’Leary as the next president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America, the leading truck maker in North America, effective April 1. O’Leary succeeds Roger Nielsen, who will retire April 30 after 35 years with the Portland, Ore.-based company, the last four as president and CEO. O’Leary was chief transformation officer for Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Stuttgart, Germany, since 2010. He started at DTNA in 2000. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kenworth introduced its T680 Next Generation on-highway flagship truck that includes a 15-inch digital display, fully LED headlamps, additional advanced driver assistance systems and a high-tech design that balances aerodynamics and serviceability. Kenworth says the 15-inch high-definition digital display is the largest standard factory display available in any North American truck to date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Texas and Ohio, which serve as important freight hubs, earned mediocre grades on the infrastructure report cards released by the American Society of Civil Engineers.Texas earned a C grade, and Ohio earned a C-. For both states, road infrastructure remains a challenge, with each receiving a lower score on highways and roads than their overall grades. ASCE plans to release its national report card on March 3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices