Small-business truckers Archives - Maritime Shipping News

Telematics keeps smaller carriers competitive for peak season

12 October 2020

Peak season is upon us. Amazon moved its annual Prime Day to Oct. 13 and 14 and is actively hiring 100,000 logistics and fulfillment workers. FedEx ramped up its seasonal hiring of 70,000 workers, 27% more than last year, while UPS is cushioning its workforce with the usual 100,000 seasonal employees.

But in September, the Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) revealed new lows for transportation capacity, especially for “downstream firms,” representing the consumer-facing businesses that are...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/telematics-keeps-smaller-carriers-competitive-for-peak-season

Owner-operators seek one-year suspension of heavy vehicle tax

31 July 2020

Small-business truckers are countering a tax proposal by their big-business counterparts with one of their own: Suspend the heavy vehicle use tax (HVUT) — a better way to provide relief to the industry than suspending the federal excise tax (FET), they contend.

In a Thursday letter to congressional leaders, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) argued that a one-year suspension of the HVUT — an annual fee that costs about $550 per truck — would help every trucking business,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/owner-operators-seek-one-year-suspension-of-heavy-vehicle-tax

ELD risk gets new scrutiny after FBI warnings

29 July 2020

A warning last week from federal law enforcement on the cybersecurity risks associated with electronic logging devices (ELDs) has raised awareness in the trucking industry on the potential costs of getting hacked.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would not comment on whether the notice it sent to private companies involved in the trucking industry was based on recent ELD cyber threat activity. “There are no current ELD hacks that we are aware of,” Sharon Reynolds, Chief Information...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/eld-risk-gets-new-scrutiny-after-fbi-warnings

Owner-operators flag USMCA’s scrutiny of Mexican cross-border trucking

1 July 2020

Provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) meant to weed out unqualified trucking companies south of the border were highlighted today by small-business trucking companies as the trade pact goes into force.

“The USMCA creates a thorough review process to identify and remove Mexico-based carriers and operators that pose material economic harm to American truckers,” commented Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Trucking Association (OOIDA). “This means...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/owner-operators-flag-usmcas-scrutiny-of-mexican-cross-border-trucking

USTA’s Landis confirms progress on broker investigation

25 June 2020

While the battle over truck broker transparency and alleged misconduct has cooled somewhat in recent weeks, the fight continues in offices and backrooms in Washington.

Broker-carrier relationships have often been contentious, but tanking spot rates during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic brought with it new allegations of unethical behavior on the part of brokers by small business truckers.

What was initially anticipated as a weekend “May Day” rally in Washington by independent...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/ustas-landis-confirms-progress-on-broker-investigation

Werner adds predictive freight matching with Trucker Tools platform

4 June 2020

Continuing a trend that has seen major truckload carriers adopt flexible technology tools, Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) has gone live with a suite of freight management and carrier engagement tools from Trucker Tools.

Among the tools Trucker Tools is supplying to Werner’s brokerage operation is real-time shipment visibility, predictive freight matching, automated booking, and electronic document capture.

“Supply chain visibility is critically important, particularly in these unprecedented...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/werner-adds-predictive-freight-matching-with-trucker-tools-platform

Updated: Trump appointee reaches out to ‘Mayday’ trucker to set up possible meeting

24 May 20201 May 2020

Scott Jordan of Peculiar, Missouri, arrived at the nation’s Capitol early Friday morning with a mission – to meet with President Donald Trump and deliver his letter in person about how some small-business truckers are days or weeks away from shuttering operations because of low freight rates amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Jordan, the owner of Powerhouse Transportation, said he went to the U.S. Secret Service gate outside of the White House to ask for a meeting with the president and deliver his...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/updated-trump-appointee-reaches-out-to-mayday-trucker-to-set-up-possible-meeting

‘Mayday’ protest underway at nation’s Capitol as truckers protest low rates

24 May 20201 May 2020

A convoy of around 70 small-business truckers convoyed to the nation’s Capitol around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, May 1, to protest low freight rates amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group plans to remain parked along Constitution Avenue until May 4 in hopes of attracting the attention of President Donald Trump about the plight of small-business truckers, said Scott Jordan of Peculiar, Missouri, and owner of Powerhouse Transportation.

He has written a letter, which he hopes to deliver to Trump in person.

“...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/mayday-protest-underway-at-nations-capitol-as-truckers-protest-low-rates