Are open door policies overrated?
Cooper Tire adds to Roadmaster line
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company announced that it has added a new size to its Roadmaster RM332 WB commercial tire line, a wide-base steer tire for mixed service applications. The RM332 is now available in size 385/65R22.5 in load range L, in addition to size 425/65R22.5 in load range L introduced in April.
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Is unnecessary administrative work costing trucking big bucks?
Here's an unpleasant thought: all the workplace technology that's been deployed in recent years by the U.S. business community to make administrative work easier and more efficient is doing basically diddly squat.
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Economic Watch: Manufacturing, Leading Indicators Rebound
New preliminary numbers suggest U.S. manufacturers started the fourth quarter in a strong fashion, and other numbers point to an improving overall economy in the final three months of the year -- with manufacturing and housing, two key areas related to truck freight, helping lead the way.
The Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index from the financial information services provider IHS Markit rebounded to a level of 53.2 in October, from a three-month low of 51.5 in September. With the rate of improvement the fastest since October 2015, the report signaled a solid upturn in overall business conditions.
Stronger output and new business growth were the key factors boosting the headline PMI, which helped offset a drag from softer job hiring in October. A rebound in business conditions contributed to greater input buying among manufacturing firms and renewed pressures on capacity. At the same time, manufacturers sought to boost their stocks of inputs, with pre-production inventories rising for the first time since November 2015.
Manufacturing production has now increased for five months running, following a slight dip in May.Manufacturing production has now increased for five months running, following a slight dip in May. Survey respondents cited an accelerated pace of new business growth and, in some cases, efforts to boost production in anticipation of stronger client demand in the months ahead.
To that end, incoming new orders picked up at the fastest pace for 12 months. Anecdotal evidence suggested that new product launches and stronger domestic demand resulted in greater sales volumes. However, some firms continued to report delayed decision-making among clients, linked to uncertainty ahead of the presidential election.
New export orders increased only slightly in October, but this was an improvement on the fractional decline seen during the previous survey period.
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Trucking safety: It’s getting harder to make improvements
Rob Abbott will tell you that if you look at long-term motor carrier safety trends over the last 30 years, you'll note that there's been a steep decline in the crash rate for large trucks. But if you narrow that focus to the last decade or so, you'll note that the decline hasn't been as steep.
He told Fleet Owner the reason for this “leveling off” is simple: much of the “low hanging fruit” in terms of safety improvements, especially when it comes to vehicle technology, has already been picked.
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CarriersEdge offers vehicle inspection training courses
CarriersEdge announced a full suite of Vehicle Inspection courses for both U.S. transportation companies and their drivers.
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J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. to Participate in the 2016 Stephens Inc. Fall Investment and the Robert W. Baird & Co. 2016 Industrial Conferences