Berkshire Hathaway invests in Pilot Flying J

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Pilot Flying J announced today that Berkshire has made a minority investment in Pilot Travel Centers LLC. The Haslam family will continue to own a majority of Pilot Flying J, and Jimmy Haslam will remain as chief executive officer.

Pilot Flying J President Ken Parent and the company's management team will also remain in place. The company will continue to be headquartered in Knoxville, TN.

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Continental hose plant celebrates 40th anniversary in Iowa

Continental's Mount Pleasant, IA, plant, its premier North American manufacturing facility for industrial and automotive hose products, celebrated its 40th anniversary over the weekend.

"We are proud to share in this celebration of a highly versatile and productive facility," said Jim Hill, ContiTech CEO for the North America region. "This plant has made hose for a variety of applications all over the world, and we are confident that it will continue that process into the future."

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PeopleNet releases ELD compliance solution for smaller fleets

PeopleNet, a provider of fleet mobility technology, last week announced it will sell ISE Fleet Services' eFleetSuite electronic logging devices (ELDs). The ELDs would help small fleets meet the nearing federal ELD mandate in December.

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Hornady guarantees drivers’ minimum weekly pay

Hornady Transportation, a Daseke company, recently increased its weekly minimum pay guarantee for its drivers to $1,000. The company already offers up 52 cents per mile to experienced drivers, it noted, in a press release last week.

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NFI Acquires CalCartage, Increases Supply Chain Capabilities

In a move to expand its port drayage, transloading, deconsolidation, customs examination, and warehousing solutions, NFI has acquired California Cartage and its affiliated companies, the supply chain solutions provider announced.

CalCartageis a port logistics provider serving several large companies in the U.S. With its roots in Long Beach, Calif., near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the company has operated at the country's busiest ports for more than 70 years.

The acquisition creates a family-owned, vertically integrated 3PL in North America with service offerings in dedicated transportation, distribution, and drayage. With a presence at nearly every major U.S. port, the acquisition enables NFI to service shippers in the transition of goods from import to port to final destination in North America.

The combined company is expected to generate approximately $2 billion in annual revenue in 2018.

The acquisition expands NFI's North American distribution footprint to 41.5 million square feet with a portfolio that consists of warehousing, e-commerce, automated, cross-dock, transloading, and customs examination facilities. In addition, NFI's dedicated transportation and drayage network grows to nearly 4,000 tractors and its brokerage and transportation management capacity to nearly 30,000 carrier partners.

With CalCartage's expertise, NFI says it can provide heightened specialization in the retail, e-commerce, footwear, and apparel sectors. NFI now employs nearly 10,000 associates throughout its more than 250 offices, warehouses, and transportation locations.

Related: NFI Acquires Canadian 3PL Dominion Warehouse & Distribution

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What’s New in Dump Trailers?

New Mac aluminum end-dumps gleam in the lights of the Mid-America Trucking Show earlier this year. Many lose their luster in day-to-day work, but are still are valued for their light weight and corrosion resistance. Photo: Tom Berg

Think you're seeing a lot of aluminum end-dump trailers in recent years? You are. Aluminum's light weight and resistance to corrosion means they now account for eight out of 10 new dump trailers in the United States, builders say. In addition, there has been a trend toward smooth-sided double-wall dumps and away from the outside-braced, sheet-and-post type. Meanwhile, hardened steel has become the chosen material for steel dump trailers and bodies, which are preferred for loading and hauling of rough materials.

“The market is somewhat regional and industry-specific, where industries transporting rock and demolition debris will use steel, and industries transporting processed materials will go with aluminum,” says Bill Riggs, president of J&J Truck Bodies and Trailers in Somerset, Pennsylvania. “Aluminum has been the material of choice for at least 20 years. Only recently has thin, very strong steel become available.” That makes it usable in some weight-sensitive operations formerly limited to more expensive aluminum. But “due to corrosion of steel, aluminum should continue to be popular for years to come.”

Smooth-sided aluminum dumps are now widely available, notes Charlie Wells, vice president, sales and marketing, at East Manufacturing in Randolph, Ohio. “We were the first, with our Genesis in 2001,” he claims, “and now everybody's pretty much copied it.” Genesis uses square-tube aluminum extrusions that are welded in a line to form the double-sided walls. The main advantages are inherent strength and confining of dings, dents and bulges to the inside surfaces. Lessons learned from early models required engineers to revise the types of alloys employed and certain structural details – an “expensive learning ...Read the rest of this story

ATA: Keep NAFTA’s Mexican Truck Proviso to Curb Border Congestion

Photo: México Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes

In no uncertain terms, the American Trucking Associations has made it clear it continues to support the provision within the North American Free Trade Agreement that allows approved Mexico-based motor carriers to operate in the U.S.

ATA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Robert Costello stated in a Sept. 29 letter to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that the trucking lobby supports the Mexican truck program because it has helped reduce congestion at U.S.-Mexico ports of entry.

“Congestion increases without NAFTA's trucking provisions because trailers often return empty after delivering freight across the border,” he wrote. “Sometimes ‘Bobtails' (tractors without trailers) deliver a trailer only one-way across the border and return solo; and, bobtails and empties are also required to be inspected at the port of entry just like loaded trailers.

“The additional unnecessary equipment increases congestion, delays, ‘overhandling' of shipments, costs, and the potential for lost and damaged freight,” he added. “As the industry looks well into the future, this provision will be more important as trade increases. It would be shortsighted to end the program now.”

Costello indicated that ATA was stressing its support for the program now because “there are groups fearmongering about Mexican trucks driving beyond the commercial border zone.” He said this is “not an open door policy” as Mexican carriers undergo a case-by-case review before the U.S Department of Transportation grants them authority to operate here.

He also advised out that “the largest Mexican-domiciled carrier in the program, representing over half of all the Mexican drivers permitted to drive beyond the commercial trade zone, is actually owned by an American trucking company.”

Costello added that Mexican carriers operating beyond the commercial border zones have an excellent safety record. “They are operating equipment similar to U.S. motor carriers and must adhere to all ...Read the rest of this story