trucking freight

Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit to address key industry issues

The free Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit kicks off in less than 48 hours (9 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 15). 

So far, 2022 is turning into a nightmare for many in the trucking industry. Freight volume is down, while costs for fuel, insurance, etc. are significantly higher. 

Regardless of the freight environment, truck drivers are the backbone of the industry – the people who deliver more than 85% of the goods consumed by the nation. Small fleet owners and owner-operators wear a number of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/small-fleet-owner-operator-summitto-address-key-industry-issues

Truckload linehaul spot rate drop accelerates under pressure from surging diesel prices

Stormy weather for the trucking industry. Photo: Jim Allen (FreightWaves)

FreightWaves’ Future of Supply Chain summit is being held this week in Northwest Arkansas, the epicenter of North American supply chains. If you aren’t able to attend, you are welcome to tune into our free live stream that will carry all of the content from the main stage. The event kicks off on Monday at 9 a.m. ET.

At the event, we will be introducing several new data products, including a new national index that is assessed and published every day (NTID.USA). This is based on the FreightWaves...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckload-linehaul-spot-rate-drop-accelerates-under-pressure-from-surging-diesel-prices

FreightWaves Classics/Infrastructure: I-40 is a key east-west highway

Signs for I-25 and I-40 in New Mexico. (Photo: alpsroads.net)

This is the latest in an intermittent FreightWaves Classics series about the U.S. Interstate Highway System (IHS). The series began with a profile of Interstate 2 (I-2) and has covered each interstate in numerical order. Today’s article profiles Interstate 40 (I-40), which runs from North Carolina in the East to California in the West. Earlier articles can be found on FreightWaves.com.

Overview

I-40 is one of the interstate highways that was in the original IHS plan. Spanning eight states, it is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsinfrastructure-i-40-is-a-key-east-west-american-highway

Xi’s lockdowns will pull the rug out from under U.S. truckers this summer

The Port of Shanghai. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Whenever the trucking market slows, truck drivers look for someone to blame. Normally, a slowdown is just a function of supply and demand. The market has too much dispatchable capacity compared to the total number of loads on any given day. 

This summer, the trucking market could have one of its steepest declines in recent years and there is an entity that deserves much of the blame – the Chinese Communist Party and its draconian and inhumane lockdowns. 

A Chinese containership. (Photo: ship-technology.com) A Chinese containership. (Photo:...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/xis-lockdowns-will-pull-the-rug-out-from-under-us-truckers-this-summer

What causes the booms and busts of the trucking cycle?

The boom and bust cycle of trucking. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Trucking is a massively cyclical industry. 

How is it possible to have a “driver shortage” and a capacity glut at the same time? 

This is a common refrain that I hear when talking about a slowing freight market. The reality is that the “driver shortage” doesn’t mean what most people think it means. 

First, we need to differentiate between the freight market and trucking companies. Trucking companies participate in the freight market, but are not the “market.” 

Trucks being loaded at a dock. (Photo: Shutterstock)Trucks being loaded at a dock....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/what-causes-the-booms-and-busts-of-the-trucking-cycle

FreightWaves Enterprise Fleet Summit hits the highway tomorrow!

Trucks waiting to move forward. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Enterprise trucking fleets exist in an increasingly competitive landscape, but also have more opportunities than ever before. Many fleets are adopting the newest technologies, and the Summit will examine the components of a successful enterprise fleet. 

The Summit begins at 9:00 a.m. EDT tomorrow, and you can participate virtually by going here to register.

Kicking off the event as keynote speakers are two pros from USA Truck. The company’s President, CEO & Director, James Reed, is joined by his...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-enterprise-fleet-summit-hits-the-highway-tomorrow

The supply chain bullwhip is doing the Fed’s job on inflation

Containers at the Port of Los Angeles. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

The only thing surprising about the freight market slowdown is the speed at which it’s unfolding. The supply chain “bullwhip effect” is both predictable and expected. The surge of inventories and declining freight costs/capacity imbalances will be deflationary.

The bullwhip effect is something every supply chain 101 student learns about – the idea that upstream providers overproduce in reaction to a one-time demand shock.

What is the bullwhip effect? 

According to the Chartered Institute of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-supply-chain-bullwhip-is-doing-the-feds-job-on-inflation

Is supply chain deflation next?

Infinity Logistics aquires Glencore's metals warehousing business

The only thing surprising about the freight market slowdown is the speed at which it’s unfolding. The supply chain “bullwhip effect” is both predictable and expected. The surge of inventories and declining freight costs/capacity imbalances will be deflationary.

The trucking market has slowed. Demand for trucks usually surges during the Spring, but this year, demand for truckload freight has broken out of this typical seasonal pattern.

Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI) is an index which...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/is-supply-chain-deflation-next

Trucking is a commodity, service is not

Trucks on the road. (Photo: saferoads.org)

I have been around trucking for 42 years – literally my whole life. My grandfather and father began trucking companies. I began to learn about trucking when I was very young, because I grew up in a trucking family. Family dinners and vacations revolved around trucking. It would be unusual for my family to go through a single dinner without something about trucking coming up. 

I learned about economics from my father, but rather than talking about the broader economy, his lessons about the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucking-is-a-commodity-service-is-not

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