“The Nuclear Showdown” author Gordon Chang discusses whether the U.S. will be able to negotiate with North Korea about its nuclear weapons program and Russia's involvement in the matter.
Find out how these stocks led the market higher.
A 21-year-old gunman who disguised himself as a student to get into a New Mexico high school where he killed two students had caught the attention of U.S. investigators more than a year ago, authorities ...
Map of wildfires burning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties Source: CalFire
">Despite several wildfires breaking out across Southern California in recent days, the impact on trucking spot rates is not expected to exceed levels seen during the October wildfires in Northern California.
The current fires were driven by low humidity and unpredictable windy conditions hitting several spots in the Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Diego counties. An unusually strong rainy season earlier this year followed by months of low precipitation may have also contributed to the volatile conditions.
So far, the six wildfires have burned nearly 160,000 acres in total and forcing 190,000 people to evacuate, according to CNN.com.
While the fires have mostly stayed in the hilly, more sparsely populated areas of the region, several of the fires have approached and threatened major north-south highway arteries in the state.
Fires have hit key areas along Interstates 5, 101, and 405, which run the length of the state and are used to transport goods throughout California. So far, however, the closures have been short and located outside of major metropolitan areas.
FTR Transportation Intelligence, which tracks weekly spot truck rates, has yet to publish official numbers for the week but told HDT that the impact on freight rates is approaching what was seen during the October wild fires around Sonoma county.
According to FTR chief operating officer Jonathan Starks, when the October fires hit, West Coast spot volumes dropped by more than a quarter but returned to normal within three weeks. Rates also dipped by a small amount but returned to normal within two weeks.
Starks said he expects a similar impact from this recent spate of fires, though maybe not as strong.
Because the fires have been occurring on the outskirts of metroplitan Los Angeles, the impact on freight moves coming to and ...Read the rest of this story
The driver turnover rate at large truckload fleets rose five percentage points in the third quarter to an annualized rate of 95%, according to American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello.
“Since bottoming out at the end of 2016, the turnover rate at larger fleets has steadily risen – a function of an improving economy, rising demand for freight transportation, and fierce competition for drivers,” said Costello. “The tightening of the driver market has raised fears about the driver shortage, which will hit an all-time high this year.”
Turnover at small truckload fleets – those with less than $30 million in annual revenue – dipped slightly in the same time period, falling one percentage point to an annualized rate of 84%, two points higher than the same period in 2016.
The rate also fell at less-than-truckload fleets, dipping two points to 7% for the quarter, the lowest the rate has been since the second quarter of 2016.
“Fleets continue to tell us that competition for good, safe and experienced drivers is fierce, pushing wages higher in hopes of attracting the best talent,” said Costello. “However, unless steps are taken to make it easier for individuals to pursue careers in trucking, demand for drivers will continue to outstrip supply – eventually even leading to supply chain disruptions.”
Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter
...Read the rest of this storyManufacturing employment has had a strong year in 2017.
Truck-Lite has added the Roadmax headlight system to its line of custom LED headlight products. The custom LED headlight system for the medium-duty market is now available as a factory-installed option on new Freightliner M2 models 106 and 112, the Thomas Built C2 bus, as well as for retrofit on previous generations.
Truck-Lite developed the technology that was used for custom headlights in Class 8 trucks and adapted it for short-haul applications.
Truck-Lite's LED headlights offer improved driver visibility by using an advanced beam pattern and producing a color temperature identical to that of sunlight, leading to enhanced object recognition at night and increased visibility by day. In addition to reducing eyestrain for drivers, Truck-Lite's LED beam pattern increases reach while reducing potential glare to oncoming traffic. Truck-Lite's Diamond Shell 2.0 lens coating prevents hazing, and crazing that plague typical headlight lenses.
The Roadmax system is rated for 30,000 hours compared to a typical halogen system's rating of 1,000 hours. Light output of a halogen bulb can decrease by as much as 25% in the first 100 hours of use while RoadmaxLED headlights may experience only a 7% drop in output over 25,000 hours. Finally, the Roadmax system exerts far less draw on a vehicle's electrical system, freeing up power for other energy-hungry devices.
Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter
...Read the rest of this story
