A worker operates a forklift to carry boxes through the warehouse of the Black & Decker Inc. DeWalt brand production plant in Charlotte, N.C. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News) Orders placed with U.S. factories for business equipment rose in May for a second month, indicating companies continue to make longer-term investments despite high borrowing costs and economic ...more
River Valley Cooperative in Elkridge, Iowa, will spend its $125,000 in grant funding to provide 50 people with entry-level driver training. (River Valley Cooperative) Farmers that need financial help to offset costs from stricter federal driver’s education requirements are the big winners in $2.94 million in grants by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to bolster 46 ...more
Yellow insists that its restructuring plan “is necessary to compete against nonunion carriers that dominate the LTL business today.” (Yellow Corp.) Less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp. filed suit June 27 against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and certain affiliates in a Kansas court, alleging breach of contract and accusing the union of causing more than $137 ...more
The ELFA Monthly Leasing and Finance Index found that, in May, new business volume increased 1% from May 2022. But volume was down 2% from this April. (skynesher via Getty Images) A survey of companies in the equipment finance sector saw overall new business volume hit $9.5 billion in May, according to the Equipment Leasing ...more
A worker stands on a concrete berm at the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project at the Burnaby Terminal tank farm in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. (Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg News) Some of the largest oil producers in Canada are objecting to potentially rising costs and fees to ship their crude on the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, underscoring ...more
Volvo VNR Electric tractors recharge at a depot. (Performance Team, a Maersk Co.) Many of the major players in the trucking industry say they generally are supporters of the goals of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s aggressive Phase 3 proposed rule, but they have concerns that the phase-in is moving too fast. EPA’s “multipollutant” heavy ...more
Tesla's EV charging connector at a charging station in Anaheim, Calif. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press) DETROIT — A key U.S. automotive industry organization says it will set performance standards for Tesla’s electric vehicle charging cords in another move toward using the Tesla plug on all EVs. The move June 27 by SAE International, formerly the ...more
(vitpho/Getty Images) Federal trucking regulators have confirmed they plan to consider a controversial request by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association seeking a rulemaking to require broker-shipper pricing documents be shared with truckers carrying the load. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said in a June 16 Federal Register post on broker and bona fide agent ...more
Kodiak Robotics signed similar deals with other carriers over the past year, including Forward Air, Ikea Supply Chain Operations, and Werner Enterprises. (Kodiak Robotics) Kodiak Robotics Inc. is set to equip 800 trucks with self-driving technology for Loadsmith, a third-party Capacity-as-a-Service logistics provider, the companies said. Mountain View, Calif.-based Kodiak expects to begin delivering the ...more
A Lordstown Motors Baja truck at the Lordstown Motors complex in Lordstown, Ohio. (David Dermer/Associated Press) Commercial electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection nearly two months after it warned that it was in danger of failing. In early May, electronics company Foxconn wavered on a $170 million investment ...more
