Capacity remains tight despite trade and regualtion uncertainty: FTR
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The economy continues to be strong, with spot rates, employment rates, and load postings all reaching record-setting levels in the last several weeks, but trucking is still susceptible to coming changes say industry analysts.
Intermodal volumes on the rise
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Intermodal volumes and related rates are on the rise this year, buoyed by a strong U.S. economy, but a shortage of rail capacity is also pushing more of the freight onto trucks, FTR Transportation Intelligence reports. “We’re still expecting healthy growth in rates, even in the back half of the year,” said senior transportation analyst Todd Tanausky, during a webinar on the topic.
New CTA chairman looks to raise regional voices
TORONTO, Ont. -- This isn’t the first time Scott Smith has occupied a seat at the head of a boardroom table. The president and chief executive officer of Ontario-based JD Smith led the Ontario Trucking Association from 2004-06. Now, just a little over a decade later, he has been handed the gavel for the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA). As familiar as the role might appear, this is a time of significant change among some of Canada’s largest trucking associations. Stephen Laskowski is entering his first full year as chief executive officer of the Canadian Trucking Alliance itself. Recent months have seen changes to senior staff at the British Columbia Trucking Association and Alberta Motor Transport Association, too.
Mack VP: Will construction labor shortage harm growth?
LOUISVILLE, Ky.-- With truck order intake expected to hit near-record levels in 2018, Mack's senior vice-president for North American sales, Jonathan Randall, is worried about who will drive all the trucks the company is building. Speaking on the opening day of the 2018 Mid-America Trucking Show, Randall said the construction sector is seeing record spending, lots of job growth, and correspondingly strong order intake from the sector, but he says there are a couple of potentially dampening factors on the horizon. "There's a shortage of labor in that sector today, or more specifically, a shortage of construction workers," he said. "Who is going to drive all the trucks that we're selling?" Randall says U.S. GDP is expected to grow by 2.8% this year, and the strong economy is reflected in the strong order intake the industry is seeing this year. To says the economy is robust would probably be an understatement based on what Mack is seeing in truck orders
Strong 2017 leads Daimler to focus on uptime, expansion, and connectivity in 2018
PORTLAND, OR – Capturing nearly 40% of the North American Class 6-8 truck market, it was a banner year for Daimler Trucks North America, and according to president and CEO Roger Nielsen, the company isn’t done yet. Daimler sold more than 470,000 trucks worldwide last year to the tune of more than CAN $57.7 billion in revenue and a 6.7% return on sales. Nielsen credits the strong year on sales of the New Cascadia, with 46,000 orders for the truck in the first year. That number is a significant boost over the first-year sales of the original model which sold about 25,000 units in its debut year.
TTSAO announces a ‘Touch a Truck’ hiring event for adults
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO) is trying to drive more people into the industry by hosting a “touch a truck” event for adults. The group announced the event and sought marketing ideas for it during the carrier group townhall meeting at their annual conference. The event – to be held in Mississauga, Ont. On May 26 – will be a hiring event focused on bringing in employees to all areas of the industry, not just drivers.
Trucking is growing, but watch NAFTA and driver shortage
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trucking activity is surging thanks to an array of economic factors in the U.S., but there would be a steep price to pay if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on threats to pull out of NAFTA. “NAFTA trade via truck supports over 46,000 jobs in our industry, including nearly 31,000 truck driver jobs,” the ATA's Bob Costello observed during Omnitracs’ fourth-annual Outlook conference.
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