Spot Truckload Posts Inch Higher, Effects of Harvey Still to Come

While Hurricane Harvey hit on Friday, Aug. 25, its effect on supply chains and spot truckload rates won't be fully reflected until a week later, according to the freight matching service provider DAT Solutions, which reported spot truckload rates were stable for the seven day period ending Aug. 26.

It reported there was a continuation of unusually high demand for truckload capacity during the week, falling just 1.8% from the week before, as the number of posted loads increased 1%, according to its load boards

Van load posts increased 6% and truck posts declined 1%; flatbed load posts declined 7% while truck posts dipped 3%; and reefer load posts increased 5% and truck posts fell 2%. Reefer volumes continue to tick up, with reefer demand being especially strong in the Upper Midwest.

Load-to-truck ratios rose 7% for vans, hitting 5.2 to 1, while reefers increased 7% to 10 to 1. The flatbed ratio fell 4% to 26.5 to 1. Of course, all this could change once the current week is in the books with relief supplies heading to the flooding zone.

National average rates were unchanged compared to the previous week, with vans at $1.78 per mile, flatbeds at $2.18 per mile and reefers at $2.07 per mile. All rates include fuel surcharges.

During this time the national average on-highway diesel price added a penny to $2.61 per gallon. Fuel prices are likely to rise more in the coming weeks because so many refineries are offline in Houston, however diesel prices have failed to spike like they did following Hurrican Katrina in 2004.

In Houston, the average outbound van rate was up a penny to $1.69 per mile, with the bulk of activity taking place before the weekend. Looking ahead, spot rates are expected to rise for loads heading into Houston and staging areas for relief ...Read the rest of this story

Tapping trucking telematics when foul weather strikes

Over the last several years, there's been a noted uptick in weather-related telematics offerings within the trucking industry and now that technology is getting a workout in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

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Manhattan adds to TMS mobile app

Manhattan Associates, Inc. announced new additions to its Transportation Management System (TMS) to allow shippers to utilize the transportation market's sharing economy.

Available as a free download from the Apple App Store or Google Play, Manhattan noted its new TMS Mobile application leverages the ubiquity of smartphones to reduce the barrier to entry and give small and medium-sized contract carriers access to constant, real-time visibility.

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DAT: Supply chain already feeling effects on Hurricane Harvey

As Hurricane Harvey continues to devastate Houston, the shocking images are drawing comparisons to Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans in 2005.

Unfortunately, Houston's unique location means the supply chain is already feeling Harvey's effects, even before the rain stops falling, according to executives with DAT load board.

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Quick Spin: ZF’s Reax Electronic Steering System

A single index finger was all that was needed to whip this Peterbilt through a Figure-8 course with ZF's Reax steering system. Photo: Jack Roberts

For all the angst out there concerning self-driving cars and trucks, I've been saying for some time that – in the early stages, at least – there will be a lot for drivers to like about autonomous vehicle technology. That's because, if we're talking Level 2 or Level 3 vehicle control systems (which make up the bulk of the various autonomous technologies available today), then we're really talking about systems that are designed to work with, and compliment, a driver and make their lives a little easier, or safer, as they're going down the road.”

ZF's new Reax electronic steering augmentation system, showcased early in August at the company's Commercial Vehicle Steering Technology Center in Lafayette, Ind., is a prime example of this trend. Reax is a smart, electronic control system that takes input data from various sensors around the vehicle, including the driver, and either loosens or tightens steering response based on what the truck is doing and what the driver needs in terms of steering inputs to do it safely.

Mark Cartwright, global product planning manager for ZF, noted before a test drive in mid-August that Reax is a speed-proportional control system, meaning it tightens up at low speeds and you're cutting the wheels back and forth quickly in backing or parking operations, and it tightens it up at highway speeds when you need a better “feel” for the road and the ability to react quickly and precisely to other vehicles or debris in the road. More than that, though, Reax can look at what a driver is doing and help compensate for steering offsets to ease fatigue and increase safety.

If, for example, you're holding ...Read the rest of this story

Clinic Owner Given 5 Years Probation for Invalid Medical Exams

David L. Biersmith, owner and president of Industrial Medical center in Independence, Mo., was sentenced for his role in a fraud scheme involving false medical examinations truckers and veterans.

He was sentenced to 60 months of probation, serving the first 4 months under house arrest and ordered to pay $39,155 in restitution. In April 2017, Biersmith was charged with and pleaded guilty to health care fraud and making false statements to government agents

His company offered medical services to commercial vehicle drivers, including drug tests and physical exams required by the FMCSA. Biersmith did not have a medical license or other medical credentials and signed the name of a legitimate chiropractor, without permission, on the medical examination reports and certificates of at least 65 drivers. He also signed off on the invalid examinations of 53 military veterans between Aug. 2013 and Dec. 2013.

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with the Department of Veterans Affairs OIG, DOL's OIG and Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services OIG, with assistance from FMCSA.

Related: Woman Indicted for Impersonating CDL Medical Examiner

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Harvey Damage Raises Fuel Prices, Lowers Oil Prices

Photo: U.S. Coast Guard District 5/ Petty Officer 3rd Class Corinne Zilnicki

As a result of the flood damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, fuel prices are rising across the country – but curiously, crude oil prices have dropped at the same time.

In the oil-producing Gulf region affected by the storm, eight Texas refineries have been shut down with as much as 2.7 million barrels per day of oil processing potential, according to the Oil Price Information Service. In the most recent report from the Energy Department, diesel prices hit a yearly high of $2.60 per gallon on average for the week, but the price reflected less than 1 cent of increase nationally. Much of the price increase will likely be reflected in next week's numbers, as rain and flooding from Harvey could continue until Thursday, Aug. 31.

While the refineries were shut off as a precaution for the storm, flood damage has occurred at some facilities. ExxonMobil revealed that its Baytown and Beaumont refineries were flooded and unable to contain certain chemical pollutants as a result.

The immediate area of the Gulf States and the Northeast are expected to be hardest hit by the interruption in oil refining capacity, with OPIS saying that unbranded fuel prices will increase in most parts of the U.S. as well.

The hurricane is having the opposite effect on crude oil, however, with prices hitting their lowest point in two months, according to CNN Money. With so many refineries shutting down, the demand for crude oil has slipped as well, and a glut of supply from the shale oil industry is also offsetting the storm's effect on prices. Demand was also decreased because Houston, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the U.S., has been put out of commission, so the need for gas ...Read the rest of this story