Spot Market Load Availability Falls as Rates Barely Move

While the number of available spot market loads fell and rates showed only little improvement in the final week of October, freight volume during the month was better than a year ago, according to DAT Solutions and its network of load boards.

The number of available spot market loads fell 3.6% for the week ending Oct. 29 compared to the previous week as the number of available trucks declined 1.2%.

Preliminary numbers show for the month of October, load availability rose 2.8% and truck capacity was up 3.4% compared to September.

However, freight rates did not catch up to the previous year's highs, with week-over-week, average rates slipping 1 cent for vans to $1.65 per mile. Reefers held firm at an average of $1.90 per mile while flatbeds increased 1 cent to an average of $1.92 per mile. All rates include fuel surcharges.

Load-to-truck ratios were mixed, with reefers increasing 2% to 6 to 1. Vans were unchanged at 2.7 to 1 while flatbeds declined 8% to 14.4 to 1.

Van load availability and truck posts both slipped 1%, which caused the load-to-truck ratio to be unchanged. Rates barely moved on a majority of lanes, but volumes rose significantly in Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles as van freight volume continued to gain from west to east. Rates fell in major Northeast markets.

Top van markets by region:

Reefer load posts declined less than 1% last week, while truck posts were down 2.5%. Reefer volumes in California slumped, which hurt the national picture last week. There was much ...Read the rest of this story

Alcoa Becomes Arconic

The separation of Alcoa Inc. into two distinct standalone companies– Alcoa Corp. and Arconic Inc.—took effect on Nov.1.

Back in Sept. 2015, Alcoa's board of directors unanimously approved a plan to separate the 128-year-old firm into two independent, publicly traded companies.

The aim was to create one entity (Alcoa Corp.) devoted to Alcoa's traditional lightweight metal manufacturing and other upstream businesses and another (Arconic) focused on engineered products and solutions, including truck wheels.

The spinoff was accomplished via a pro rata distribution by Arconic of 80% percent of the outstanding shares of newly formed Alcoa Corp. Alcoa Inc. shareholders received one share of Alcoa Corporation common stock for every three shares of Alcoa Inc. common stock, held as of the record date of Oct. 20. Alcoa Inc. shareholders also retained their shares of Alcoa Inc., which became Arconic Inc. shares.

“Today we launch Arconic as a strong independent company,” said Arconic Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld. “Our multi-year transformation while part of Alcoa Inc. substantially improved our competitiveness and profitability.”

Arconic stated in a news release on the separation that in the North American automotive market, it is at the “forefront of capturing growing demand for aluminum sheet as the industry shifts to light-weighting,” including for truck cabs and chassis. Arconic will also continue to offer its Alcoa-branded forced aluminum wheels for commercial vehicles.

The company added that across its North American automotive portfolio, 96% of its revenues come from products “where it is number one or number two in its market.”

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Volvo Group Hires Former Aramark Fleet Manager

Fisher

Kevin Fisher has joined the Volvo Group as its national account lease manager for the Northeast Region, the company has announced.

In his new role, Fisher will focus his expertise in leasing, fleet management, sustainability and technology with Volvo and Mack dealer teams and transportation clients, building on his more than 30 years of leasing, fleet management, technology, DOT compliance and logistics experience.

He will report to Matthew Peterson, director of North America Leasing and Contract Services.

Prior to joining Volvo Group, Fisher held the position of vice president of strategic fleet operations at Aramark.

Related: Aramark Hires Former PepsiCo Fleet Director as Fleet VP

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Arconic Inc. Launches as Independent Company, Separates from Alcoa Inc.

Arconic Inc. launched today as an independent, publicly-traded company after the separation of Alcoa Inc. into two standalone companies, which also includes Alcoa Corporation.

“Today we launch Arconic as a strong independent company,” said Arconic Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld. “Our multi-year transformation while part of Alcoa Inc. substantially improved our competitiveness and profitability. Our culture combines driving innovation with a relentless focus on operational excellence and cost control; this positions Arconic to create significant value for our customers and profitable growth for our shareholders.”

Arconic retained 19.9% interest in Alcoa Corporation, which is available for monetization. In the North American automotive market, Arconic invented the bonding process to enable the mass-market shift from steel to aluminum. The Company expects its North American automotive sheet revenues to grow six-fold, from $229 million in 2013 to $1.3 billion in 2018. Arconic representatives will mark the Company's trading debut as ARNC by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on November 2.

The Arconic Foundation, an independently endowed charitable organization, is also making its inaugural grant to an organization that reflects the Arconic vision: Engineers Without Borders (EWB). The $300,000 grant will support the mission of EWB in major countries where Arconic operates: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. EWB applies engineering and ingenuity to infrastructure projects worldwide to help build a resilient, sustainable future.

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Feds promise $10B to get goods to market

DOT extends comment period for speed limiter plan

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Specialty Vehicles Seen at SEMA 2016

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) puts on an annual convention that shows off a wide variety of highly customized vehicles, including light truck models, and the group's 2016 event – held this year in Las Vegas – is no exception. Here are just a few of the specialty trucks being displayed at SEMA '16 by the Detroit Three automakers: Ford Motor Co., General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).