Class 8 Truck Orders Rebound in July

Class 8 truck orders are expected to increase in July compared to the previous month and previous year, according to preliminary numbers from ACT Research and FTR.

Truck orders are expected to increase by 5% over June's number and by 79% compared to July 2016, according to FTR.

Orders have increased for the second month in a row and the market is stable but moving in a positive direction, said FTR.

Total Class 8 orders in the past year have totaled 224,000 units. A positive freight environment has tightened capacity and the equipment orders are starting to reflect this change, according to FTR.

“This is a great sign to see orders rising, even slightly, in mid-summer,” said Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles at FTR. “This is the beginning of a positive trend that we expect to continue the rest of this year, right into 2018. The Class 8 market is starting to move upward and orders are forecasted to accelerate in the fall.”

Medium-duty Class 5-7 truck orders have not fared as well, dropping in July to a 13-month low after averaging more than 22,100 units per month for seven months straight, according to ACT Research. However, July orders were still slightly better than in the same month a year ago.

Related: What Will the Class 8 Market Look Like in 2017?

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Intermodal Recovery Strengthens During Second Quarter

Intermodal service providers again demonstrated clear gains in the intermodal sector. Photo: Jim Park

Total intermodal freight volumes gained 4.5% in the second quarter of the year, the strongest growth in nearly three years, according to new figures from the Intermodal Association of North America.

International freight once again was the primary driver, rising 5.6%. Domestic containers and trailer volumes increased 3.2% and 3.9%, respectively.

"Growth in the second quarter indicates that economic conditions continue to improve for all segments of the intermodal market,” said Joni Casey, president and CEO of IANA. “Year-to-date performance is a healthy 3.3%, notwithstanding a weak year-over-year comparison for the second quarter."

Intermodal service providers again demonstrated clear gains in the intermodal sector. While highway loads declined 3.4%, intermodal volumes were up 5.8% for the quarter. The net result was a 0.6% improvement over the same period last year.

The seven highest-density trade corridors, accounting for 63.4% of total intermodal volume, collectively were up 4% in the second quarter. The Trans-Canada lane led the way with an 11.4% expansion, while the Midwest-Northwest, down by 0.6%, experienced the only decline. The remaining five corridors' growth in the second quarter ranged from a 1.3% to 4.6% improvement.

Of these seven lanes, five stood out in terms of directional activity, accounting for 42.9% of the three-month results. The Southwest-Midwest direction took the lion's share with 10.6%. Western Canada-Eastern Canada and the Eastern Canada-Western Canada both came in at 9.2%, while the Midwest-Southwest route added 7.4%. The final in the top five, the Northeast-Midwest, accounted for 6.5%.

Related: The Long and Short of Truckload Today

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Uber Freight expands, personalizes app for drivers

Since its public launch in May, Uber Freight announced today that it will expand its freight-matching services into a number of new metros and corridors in across the country. Uber Freight also noted the app has been updated to provide a more personalized experience for the trucker drivers who use it.

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Uber Freight Expands Geography, Personalization of Truck Load-Matching App

Uber Freight, a load-matching app and third-party logistics provider launched in May by the company known for its ride-sharing app, is expanding the geography servied beyond its initial focus on Texas and adding personalized load matching to its instant load booking/fast payment system.

The company announced it is expanding to major metros across California, Arizona, the Chicago-Midwest region, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

“In the last few months, we've heard from drivers that they want more loads in more places,” said Bill Driegart, director of Uber Freight, in a blog post announcing the changes. “These new areas represent where drivers like to run, which makes sense: these regions including Texas cover over a quarter of the country's drivers and freight. Unlocking this geography allows more carriers and their drivers to grow their businesses with Uber Freight's instant load booking and quick payment. While today we still have most of our loads in Texas, over the coming months drivers can expect to see an ever-increasing number of loads available on the app in these new markets.”

In addition, a new suite of features is designed to make the app “a completely personalized experience.” The app will now automatically learn drivers' preferences based on their past loads, their location, their home base, and more. When a new load is available that matches these preferences, the app will notify the driver.

In addition, over the coming weeks the app will start showing new packs of loads for drivers who prefer local, short haul, or long haul routes. And a new ‘For You' pack will show personalized recommendations. “Our recommendations are constantly getting smarter, so drivers will see improvements over time,” Driegart said.

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FMCSA updates ELD web pages, FAQs

FMCSA announced it has streamlined the ELD section of its website to create a more user-friendly system and highlight critical ELD information.

Questions and answers have been added that address a variety of questions to include:

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Beyond Telematics Ebook (Whitepaper)

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Colorado man named National Carriers’ driver of the month

National Carriers Inc. has named Chris Back of Colorado Springs, CO, as driver of the month for June 2017. Back drives a company truck throughout the United States. According to the company, he has delivered refrigerated goods to National Carrier's customers for the past 15 years.

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