Gina Raimondo

Federal panel recommends military drivers help clear ports

A federal advisory committee is recommending that the Biden administration work out a plan to give voluntary and paid truck driving jobs to active military, veterans and National Guardsmen to clear cargo containers from congested ports.

The recommendation, part of several made earlier this week by the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) to address the ongoing freight supply chain crisis, adds to growing pressure on federal agencies to take more decisive action.

ACSCC, a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/federal-panel-recommends-military-drivers-help-clear-ports

OOIDA urges Biden administration to bust driver shortage ‘myth’

The Biden administration should reject the notion that there is a shortage of truck drivers and instead focus on why carriers find it difficult to keep drivers in their ranks, according to the largest small-business trucking lobby.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association pressed the department’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) to resolve the underlying causes of excessive driver turnover – also known...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ooida-urges-biden-administration-to-bust-driver-shortage-myth

Federal panel urges Biden administration to attack driver shortage

Supply chain experts advising the Biden administration want the U.S. Department of Commerce to lead a multiagency effort to address a truck driver shortage they warn has “likely reached an all-time high.”

The International Trade Administration’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC), a 45-member panel of industry officials that advises the secretary of commerce on national freight policy, voted at an ad hoc meeting on Wednesday to recommend that the department “take a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/federal-panel-urges-biden-administration-to-attack-driver-shortage

The Daily Dash: Activist investor talks Forward Air; FedEx Ground exec retiring

Forward Air investor talks change

The Daily Dash is a quick look at what is happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, one of the activist investors pushing for changes at Forward Air talks with FreightWaves on what potential he sees for the company. Plus, a key executive is retiring from FedEx Ground and UPS’ divestiture of UPS Freight was a long time in the making.

Forward progress?

Former Forward Air (NASDAQ: FWRD) CFO Andy Clark sat down with FreightWaves to discuss his role as one of several activist investors...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-daily-dash-activist-investor-talks-forward-air-fedex-ground-exec-retiring

Raimondo vows to pursue pro-worker industrial, climate policies

Mug shot of Commerce Secretary-designate Gina Raimondo with container vessel image in background.

Gina Raimondo will play a significant role implementing President Biden’s economic and trade agenda for lifting up the working class if the U.S. Senate, as expected, confirms her as secretary of commerce. 

Lawmakers view her as a steady hand who will return the department to many of its traditional roles supporting business in stark contrast to predecessor Wilbur Ross, the billionaire businessman who mostly disappeared in the second half of the Trump administration after initially pushing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/raimondo-vows-to-pursue-pro-worker-industrial-climate-policies