Trucking Activist

Viewpoint: ‘As I See It’ from the Trucking Activist – Freight recession?

Mr. Craig Fuller, CEO at FreightWaves, is not only pontificating the next freight rate recession, but likes to reiterate his past predictions, and the accuracy of those predictions. I believe his analysis has some credibility, but it does not point to a freight recession.

He states in his April 1 post “About that driver shortage” that there has been a large decline of the rejection rate over the past six to seven weeks, I agree. He feels the load-to-truck ratios are starting to decline in the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/viewpoint-as-i-see-it-from-the-trucking-activist-freight-recession

‘As I See It’ from the Trucking Activist: Benchmarking in truckload

As we prepare to embark on yet another Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) Annual Convention, I harken back 20 years ago when the TCA leadership reached out to me about the possibility of starting a benchmarking program for trucking, much like the “20 Group” programs found in the automobile and truck dealer industry. I remember those days in 1987 fondly as a member of a Truck Dealer group. It was by far the most important management move I ever made in my career. The benefit of sharing actual...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-i-see-it-from-the-trucking-activist-benchmarking-in-truckload

‘As I See It’ from the Trucking Activist: The hidden costs of trailers

As January comes to a close, the increasing costs and scarcity of equipment, parts to fix the equipment, and the labor to install those parts on the aging equipment, has and will be a trucking problem well into 2022.

Trucks and trailers both have had delivery challenges in the face of this new supply chain and part scarcity. The truck manufacturers have extended their production thus their delivery of replacement trucks to their carrier customers. It would seem to me that the trailer...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-i-see-it-from-the-trucking-activist-the-hidden-costs-of-trailers

Viewpoint: ‘As I See It’ from the Trucking Activist – 2022 trucker forecast

Last month I gave my review of 2021. Quite honestly, I believe 2022 will have some of the same attributes and challenges, but with some hopeful changes. Here is my hit list trucking challenges going into 2022:

  1. Inflation and managing inflationary costs
    • Workforce – Wage increases, benefit increases, government interference, strong economic recovery, and infusing fun into the workplace.
    • Equipment – Known increased costs for equipment, parts and labor shortages in the support supply chain,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/viewpoint-as-i-see-it-from-the-trucking-activist-2022-trucker-forecast

“As I See It” from the Trucking Activist – To vax or not to vax

The president has demonstrated again his complete disregard for the facts surrounding the private trucking industry. Last week’s announcement of the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) from OSHA, compelling companies with 100 or more employees to require full vaccination, will collapse the shaky supply chain overnight. Just witness the injunctions filed and the ambiguity in the ETS that describes at work at home versus outside work. Thank you, trucking associations, for looking out for the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-i-see-it-from-the-trucking-activist-to-vax-or-not-to-vax

‘As I See It’ from the Trucking Activist: Mr. President, ‘step up’

This past Saturday morning, while reading my news feeds, the president’s comments on supply chain interruptions caught my eye with the headline stating that truckers need to “step up.” Serving this industry for over 40 years, the president’s commentary could not go on without some response from me, so I posted the following comment on LinkedIn:

“Are you kidding me Mr. President?! The American Trucker needs to “Step Up”? While you and this country quarantined, they stepped up to keep the supply...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-i-see-it-from-the-trucking-activist-mr-president-step-up

‘As I See It’ from the Trucking Activist: Unavailability

After attending the annual TCA convention in Vegas last week, one very common theme could be wrapped up in one word — unavailability. The obvious unavailable resource would be our driver force. Many carriers are investing more in recruiting costs and higher training costs yet are still barely making a dent in their shortage of drivers.

While this phenomenon has been a huge focus for our carriers over the past two to three years, it has made its way into the mainstream press today. The federal...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-i-see-it-from-the-trucking-activist-unavailability

‘As I See It’ from the Trucking Activist – My trucking summer vacation

As you may have noticed, I have taken a 6-week summer vacation from my editorials. Not really a summer vacation, but rather, my June and July client and TCA meeting schedule took over. While a little grueling under these new travel challenges with less routes, higher ticket and room prices, and no customer service whatsoever, it was great to get where I wanted to be — seeing my friends and clients in person. Many of these sessions were spent interacting with our driver population, which I...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-i-see-it-from-the-trucking-activist-my-trucking-summer-vacation