Truck orders remained strong in February

COLUMBUS, Ind. – North American Class 8 orders totaled 40,271 units in February, marking the seventh best ever order month, ACT Research reports. They slipped from January’s total, which was…

Carriers seeing most favorable rate environment in 14 years: FTR

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Trucking conditions in the U.S. continued their upturn in January, as demand remained well above supply according to the FTR Trucking Conditions Index. An 11.5 reading showed…

Challenger buys Ed Wiersma Trucking, raises driver pay

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. – Challenger Motor Freight has agreed to acquire the majority of Ed Wiersma Trucking’s assets. The company says the deal is expected to close by the end of…

Driver shortage leads to Wiersma sale

KITCHENER, Ont. – Challenger Motor Freight is acquiring the assets of Ed Wiersma Trucking in a deal expected to close at the end of March, expanding Challenger’s Special Commodities Division. The 16-truck, family-run fleet specialized in flatbed truckload freight moving between southern Ontario and the U.S. But while it had up-to-date equipment and freight to haul, it was no longer able to attract the drivers it needed.

ATA truck tonnage index dips slightly in February

ARLINGTON, Va. — American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) for-hire truck tonnage index decreased by 2.6% in February after rising 1.6% in January. In February, the index equaled 109.2…

Fleets negotiating better rates, raising pay

COLUMBUS, Ind. – Fleets have negotiating power and are increasing driver pay, according to findings from the latest ACT Research For-Hire Trucking Index. The index also shows fleet equipment purchase…

Remorques Lewis completes acquisition deal with BWS; introduces new trailer

Seen here: (left to right):Hugo St-Cyr, President of Remorques Lewis and new President de BWS Manufacturing with Randy MacDougall, new Chief of Operations for BWS Manufacturing.Photo provided by…

February spot market second strongest month ever

TORONTO, Ont. – TransCore has reported loads posted to its Loadlink freight matching service declined in February by 9% off historically high levels. However, TransCore said load volumes are still…

February trailer orders “red hot”: FTR

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – February marked a record month for trailer orders, according to preliminary data from FTR. Orders came in at 32,000 units, a 24% year-over-year increase but 20% off…

Swedish P.M. visits Hagerstown plant

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Volvo Group’s Hagerstown powertrain plant hosted Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven this week. Swedish ambassador to the U.S., Karin Olofsdotter also visited, and the delegation was hosted…

Volvo adds VNX heavy-hauler, anticipates strengthening truck market

DUBLIN, Va. – Volvo Trucks North America recently finished building legacy models at its truck plant here, and is now producing the new VNL and VNR. And the timing couldn’t…

Volvo projects robust truck market

DUBLIN, Va. -- Volvo expects a strong North American truck market in 2018 -- and its current projection of 280,000 Class 8 truck sales is expected to push “significantly higher” when a quarterly report is released in April, says Magnus Koeck, vice-president of marketing and brand management.

U.S. spot rates dip

The spot rate market in the U.S. took a seasonal dip in February, but was still strong. PORTLAND, Ore. — Spot truckload freight volumes and rates took a seasonal dip…

Gallagher acquires commercial insurance broker Palmer Atlantic

HARTLAND, N.B. – Gallagher has purchased Palmer Atlantic, a specialized commercial insurance broker based in Hartland, N.B. Palmer Atlantic’s services are tailored for risk management and commercial insurance solutions, with…

FTR boosts truck, trailer demand outlook

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Industry forecaster FTR is significantly increasing its outlook for Class 8 and commercial trailer shipments. It is now pegging North American Class 8 factory shipments for 2018…