Roadrunner LTL Becomes Roadrunner Freight

Roadrunner Transportation Systems has changed the name of its Roadrunner LTL operation to Roadrunner Freight as part of a rebranding effort to reposition the business as a cost-effective option.

“While our rebranding is represented through our new name, it's really our tagline that says it all: Less than Truckload, More than Expected,” said Grant Crawford, president of Roadrunner Freight. “Our dedication and investment in Roadrunner Freight is meant as a sign to our customers that we're devoted to their business in the less-than-truckload arena.”

The Roadrunner Freight business model is aimed at allowing for expansion without traditional inefficiencies and costs allowing the company to pass the savings onto its customers, according to RRTS. The company said it will provide customers with increased visibility into delivery dates, better management capabilities for supply chain operations, and more economical transportation costs.

“Roadrunner Freight will carry forward our quality less-than-truckload long haul offering, however, we have re-engineered it to remain economical while being highly reliable. We are excited to bring this increased value proposition to our current and new customers,” said Crawford.

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Economic Watch: Trucking Helps Boost Overall Employment, Factory Activity Up

Employers continued adding jobs in the U.S. during October, according to a new Labor Department report, and trucking was one of many industries that helped push the number higher.

Total nonfarm employment rose 161,000, pushing the nation's unemployment rate down a tenth of a percentage point to 4.9%.

While the number of job additions was just short of Wall Street expectations, the department also revised upward its estimates for August and September, adding a combined 44,000 jobs. Overall employment continued to trend up in health care, professional and business services, and in financial activities, according to the department.

In for-hire trucking, there was a net gain of 3,000 jobs from the month before while the wider transportation and warehouse sector added 7,500 jobs. Trucking numbers for September were revised higher from a first-reported 3,600 jobs loss to an 1,800 increase, marking the fourth month of trucking job gains.

The bottom line is that employment gains remain modest, according to Stifel Fixed Income Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza.

“For the Federal Reserve, a gain of 161,000 is hardly a green light for a December [interest] rate hike, nor does it, however, pull the plug on a plan to further remove accommodation just five weeks from now with a second-round hike of 25 basis points [.25%],” she said. “In other words, this morning's report simply leaves Open Market Committee members, and market participants alike, questioning the true direction and health of the U.S. labor market.”

Piegza noted that with 79 consecutive months of positive job creation, the hawks will argue the labor market is at or near full employment, albeit with the pace of hiring slowing dramatically since the first interest rate hike in ten years last December.

“Coupled with minimal wage pressures, the doves will argue lingering weakness in fundamentals,” she said. “According to this week's November FOMC ...Read the rest of this story

Omintracs Expands Telematics Offering for More Fleet Types

Image via Omnitracs

Omnitracs is offering two new telematics solutions, Omnitracs Roadnet Telematics and Omnitracs XRS, expanding the types of fleets that can benefit from real-time asset tracking and data-based visibility.

Omnitracs Roadnet Telematics is geared toward short-haul fleets, providing fleet managers with a big picture view to improve operations and productivity.

Its accelerometer technology offers sensitive detection of maneuvers in any direction, including high speed, harsh breaking, rapid acceleration, and even backing into a loading dock. In-cab alarms alert drivers to risky driving behaviors, providing them with real-time feedback that allows them to address the practices that put them at risk.

Omnitracs Roadnet Telematics is offered as a bundle that includes hardware, training, and data. Omnitracs also provides integration to Omnitracs Roadnet Telematics with Omnitracs Roadnet Anywhere, its route planning, dispatching, and delivery solution.

The company has also introduced the Omnitracs XRS platform, designed for carriers with smaller fleets looking to combine telematics and compliance solutions. Omnitracs XRS enables the use of smartphones and tablets to equip small fleets with the applications and data previously available to larger carriers.

The in-cab relay device provides diagnostic and positioning data via Bluetooth to the driver's Android or Windows Mobile device. Through mobile technology, the XRS compliance solution provides fleet managers with real-time intelligence, while minimizing drivers' time spent on tracking activities. Further, Omnitracs XRS offers customizable plans with add-on options for those with more complex performance and monitoring needs:

“Often these solutions have been seen as being geared for only larger carriers that could deploy and support these critical intelligence-based decision-making tools,” said Kevin Haugh, chief strategy and product officer. “Omnitracs' expanded telematics portfolio offers tailored plans and the simplicity of a ...Read the rest of this story

Intermodal Volumes Reflect Sluggish Market Conditions

Total intermodal volume fell in the third quarter of 2016, according to an Intermodal Association of North America quarterly report.

Intermodal trailer volumes fell by 26.9% and international shipments fell 6.7%, which contributed to the 4.6% overall loss for the quarter. The domestic container business gained 3.3%, which helped to offset the losses.

"The Q3 results were in line with the previous quarter, reflecting sluggish market conditions," said Joni Casey, president and CEO of IANA. "Projections for 2017 are more optimistic, based on continued increases in consumer spending and expectations that the international side of the equation will stabilize."

The seven highest-density trade corridors account for more than 63% of total intermodal volume. Collectively, volume on these corridors fell by 3.9% year-over-year.

The Midwest-Northwest corridor saw a 3% gain in traffic while all other corridors posted declines. The largest was an 11.2% reduction in volume in the South Central-Southwest corridor followed by a 5.3% reduction in the Midwest-Southwest corridor.

Regionally, losses were widespread due to weaker international traffic. The Mountain Central and Mexico regions were both in the negative at 11.5% while Western and Eastern Canada came closest to breaking even, falling 0.2% and 2.9% respectively. The Southwest, Midwest and Southeast regions all posted losses around 4.6%.

The two exceptions were the Northeast and Northwest, which benefited from a growth in international shipments, driving increases of 0.1% and 4.4% respectively.

Intermodal marketing companies demonstrated gains in the highway market sector. Thanks to excess trucking capacity, highway volumes were up 14.6% from the previous year. Intermodal loads fell 11.6 %. The net result for reporting IMCs was a total volume decrease of 0.1%.

The Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report is published quarterly by IANA and is available on a subscription and individual copy basis. The report features detailed analyses and reproducible graphical representations of Q3 2016 results. For ...Read the rest of this story

Court upholds dismissal of driver for refusing carrier-requested sleep study

A federal court last month ruled that a driver with a body mass index of 35 must submit to a sleep study or risk losing their job – even if they exhibit no other factors for sleep apnea.

read more

Steve Miller introduced as VT Hackney president, CEO

Mike Tucker has stepped down as president of VT Hackney Inc. after helming the company for 15 years. Steve Miller replaces Tucker as president and CEO, the company announced.

read more

Earnings Watch: USA Truck Reports Quarterly Loss

The trucking company USA Truck reported on Friday that its financial picture turned slightly negative in the third quarter of the year as it continues to move to a more asset-light business.

Its net loss was $700,000 million, or 9 cents per share, compared to net income of $2.7 million, or earnings of 26 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue in the most recent quarter totaled $105.5 million compared to $123.5 million for the prior-year period. Revenue, which excludes fuel surcharges, was $94.7 million compared to $109.8 million for the 2015 period.

“We marked significant progress toward our goals of expanding the scope of USAT Logistics, improving service levels in our truckload business and reducing operating costs in the third quarter,” said President and CEO Randy Rogers. “Those gains were, and for the near term will likely be, offset by a weak freight environment and unfavorable comparisons versus prior periods due to the loss of certain dedicated account customers earlier this year.”

He said that while he's encouraged by the company's progress, USA recognizes the results have fallen short of goals and hopes to achieve substantial improvements in profitability as the Arkansas-based company moves into the 2017 bid season.

“One of our principal goals is for our higher margin, asset-light brokerage operations to contribute 50% of the company's consolidated revenue,” Rogers said. “In support of this objective, during the quarter we expanded its sales channels to include agents in secondary markets and since have consolidated operations from smaller, inefficient offices into our larger regional centers while maintaining existing client manager relationships.”

USA Truck said it achieved a modest improvement in loaded rate per mile to $1.725 despite the difficult rate environment. The company also said it posted a 4.3% decrease in operating expenses from the previous quarter to the lowest in more than four years.

“In light ...Read the rest of this story