Truck Driver Issues

Newly public Proficient has strong Q2, makes first post-IPO acquisition

Proficient Auto Logistics has two quarters in the books – at least in terms of financial reports – giving investors a better look at the auto carrier, which is also getting bigger.

The company, essentially a rollup of several auto carriers under the Proficient banner that went public in May, posted an operating ratio of 91.8% for the quarter. A year ago, the components of the current company posted a unified OR of 92.7%.

Proficient (NASDAQ: PAL) , in order to comply with Securities and Exchange...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/newly-public-proficient-has-strong-q2-makes-first-post-ipo-acquisition

OOIDA appeal: AB5 will kill off lease drivers, raising Commerce Clause issues

Faced with dwindling legal avenues to prevent California independent contractor law AB5 from governing the state’s trucking sector, one of the two plaintiffs is continuing to fight an uphill battle with a new argument in its latest brief.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in the first brief filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in the latest appeal of an earlier decision, uses the Business to Business Exemption in AB5 as an argument for why the courts...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ooida-appeal-ab5-will-kill-off-lease-drivers-raising-commerce-clause-issues

Record heat in 2024 is making the tough job of trucking tougher

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.

By Jeff Borgman, director of transportation programs, Aon
Hauling large amounts of cargo is hard enough during the summer, and this year’s record temperatures and natural disasters aren’t making it easier for truckers. In fact, extreme weather has forced more truckers into dangerous driving situations. This has had a knock-on effect by delaying consumer shipments.

Ho...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/record-heat-in-2024-is-making-the-tough-job-of-trucking-tougher

Uber Freight EBITDA still in the red, and revenue continues to slide

Uber Freight continues to struggle to get into positive EBITDA, and its quarterly revenue was the lowest full-quarter figure since it absorbed Transplace in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for Uber Freight was negative $12 million. That actually is the strongest performance on that measurement since the fourth quarter of 2022, when Uber Freight posted negative EBITDA of $8 million. Its only positive EBITDA quarter was in the third...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/uber-freight-ebitda-still-in-the-red-and-revenue-continues-to-slide

Tow truck operators blame lack of insurance in price-gouging debate

WASHINGTON — Tow truck operators, fighting allegations of rampant price gouging against trucking companies, say insurance companies should take some of the blame for spiraling costs.

The issue of alleged price gouging of motor carriers by unscrupulous towing operators was raised in a Federal Trade Commission proposed rulemaking last year, in which the FTC recommends requiring more billing transparency from tow truck operators.

In support of FTC’s proposal, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/tow-truck-operators-blame-lack-of-insurance-in-price-gouging-debate

Fourth consecutive month of decline in truck transportation jobs

Truck transportation jobs fell in July for the fourth consecutive month and now are 30,000 jobs less than where they stood a year ago. 

The four-month sequence of job declines in the truck transportation sector reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following revisions, is a decline of 1,600 jobs in April, 6,800 jobs in May, 900 jobs in June and 2,400 jobs in July. 

At 1,544,700 seasonally adjusted jobs, truck transportation employment stands exactly 30,000 jobs less than where it was in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fourth-consecutive-month-of-decline-in-truck-transportation-jobs

Crackdown on BQE with WIM technology slashed overweight trucks by two-thirds

A key trucking artery in New York is the site of a crackdown on overweight vehicles to help as the city figures out what to do with its failing infrastructure. Early reports say that the policy has significantly reduced the number of oversize vehicles on the road.

The highway in question is the cantilevered section of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, which runs from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to Staten Island all the way up to an area in northern Queens near LaGuardia...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/crackdown-on-bqe-with-wim-technology-slashed-overweight-trucks-by-two-thirds

Covenant’s CDL exemption approved over trucker objections

WASHINGTON — Regulators have approved a new-driver exemption for Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Covenant Logistics despite safety concerns voiced by owner-operators and crash victim advocates.

The exemption allows a holder of a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) who has passed the skills test but not yet received an actual CDL document to drive a Covenant truck while accompanied by a CDL holder who chooses to be off duty in the sleeper berth.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/covenants-cdl-exemption-approved-over-trucker-objections

Ryder, reporting sluggish earnings growth, sees ‘trough’ in freight market

The word “trough” came up several times during Ryder System’s earnings call with analysts, as CEO Robert Sanchez and others suggested that the second quarter was the low point of a freight cycle that they see as primed for an upturn.

Sanchez said 2024 will “represent trough conditions in used sales and rental.” Sanchez later said on the Thursday call that return on equity at Ryder (NYSE: R) would “outperform prior cycles despite expected trough conditions and used vehicle sales.” Speaking of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ryder-reporting-sluggish-earnings-growth-sees-trough-in-freight-market

Legal challenges ahead for truck speed, hours-of-service rules?

WASHINGTON — With dust starting to settle after the landmark Supreme Court Chevron decision upended the federal rulemaking process, Republican lawmakers are eager to hear about rules that small-business truckers would like to see challenged.

OOIDA’s Lewie Pugh testifies on Wednesday. Photo: House T&I Committee

“I think first and foremost is the speed limiter rule that’s been floated around,” said Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/legal-challenges-ahead-for-truck-speed-hours-of-service-rules

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