News Analysis: Nikola tormentor Hindenburg Research opens fire on Lordstown Motors

Here we go again.

Almost six months to the day after its broadside alleging fraudulent business practices at startup Nikola Motors (NASDAQ: NKLA), short seller Hindenburg Research is firing on electric pickup truck startup Lordstown Motors Corp. (NASDAQ: RIDE). Similar claims. Different details.

Hindenburg was enormously successfully — and partially validated by Nikola’s own internal investigation finding that founder Trevor Milton misrepresented facts about Nikola’s technology and capabilities....

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/news-analysis:-nikola-tormentor-opens-fire-on-lordstown-motors

Independent contractors see pay bump at Bay & Bay

Industry continues to advance driver pay

Bay & Bay Transportation announced Friday it is raising pay for independent contractors by 20 cents per mile.

The Eagan, Minnesota-based carrier said effective immediately, base pay for contractors will be in a range of $1.25 to $1.70 for loaded miles and will be $1.10 for empty miles. Contractors will continue to receive fuel surcharge rates as well as fuel discounts with the company’s preferred providers.

“Bay and Bay is committed to providing its drivers with exceptional career opportunities,”...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/independent-contractors-see-pay-bump-at-bay-;-bay

Truck Talk: Pancakes and chicken edition

Welcome back to Truck Talk. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Friday. 

This week, we’re looking at TravelCenters of America resuming conversion of restaurants to International House of Pancake outlets; Bosch’s new semiconductor plant that, while impressive, is too late to help with the current chip shortage, and a very busy week at Mack Trucks.

With sprinkles on top

The deal to convert up to 94 TravelCenters of America restaurants into International House of Pancakes outlets preceded CEO...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/truck-talk:-pancakes-and-chicken-edition

Former auto hauler sentenced to 30 months for faking FMCSA records

Former trucking company owner Michael Chaves was sentenced on Wednesday to 30 months in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to falsifying government records, aggravated identity theft, bank and wire fraud, and tax evasion.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island also ordered Chaves, 41, who had owned CAT Inc., an East Providence, Rhode Island, vehicle-transport carrier, to pay restitution to Amazon [NASDAQ: AMZN] for an alleged package return scam that bilked the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/former-auto-hauler-sentenced-to-30-months-for-faking-fmcsa-records

PPP money flowing to transportation, warehousing at same rate as before

With approximately two weeks left in the third iteration of the Paycheck Protection Program, here are some numbers to indicate how things are going with the distribution of hundreds of billions of dollars to keep people employed and to give a lifeline to businesses that need it — or cash to others who maybe don’t need it but are finding a way to get it regardless.

The current PPP program that kicked off in January, following back-to-back programs that wrapped up in August, was always targeted at...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/ppp-money-flowing-to-transportation-warehousing-at-same-rate-as-before

Biden administration kills Trump rule on independent contractor classification

In a move that had numerous precursors to its ultimate implementation, the Biden administration has formally withdrawn a Trump administration rule on the definition of independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor announced Thursday it was withdrawing the rule that had been announced by the Trump administration’s WHD in its waning days. The WHD first announced in February it was considering delaying the rule that was to go into...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/biden-administration-kills-trump-rule-on-independent-contractor-classification

No partners, no problem: Nikola may do hydrogen stations solo

Now that it can buy cheap electricity to make hydrogen in Arizona, Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) no longer needs fueling station partners who balked after the startup’s months of distractions and ongoing federal probes into fraudulent claims.

“Things are changing,” Nikola CEO Mark Russell told FreightWaves in a recent interview. “We were working with various potential station partners for some time last year. And that’s why we thought there was a good chance that we would have one of those...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/no-partners-no-problem:-nikola-may-do-hydrogen-stations-solo

111 people found in tractor-trailers during smuggling attempts near Laredo, Texas

U.S. Border Patrol agents recently apprehended 111 people during three human smuggling attempts involving commercial trailers north of Laredo, Texas.

On Monday, border patrol agents assigned to the Laredo North Station encountered a tractor-trailer approaching a federal checkpoint on Interstate 35. Agents discovered 44 people in the trailer.

A second smuggling operation was foiled just moments after the first on Monday. Agents stopped a commercial tractor hauling a tanker on an I-35 access road....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/people-found-in-tractor-trailers-during-smuggling-attempts-near-laredo

GM extends auto plant closures due to chip shortage

A global semiconductor chip shortage continues to affect the automotive industry on both sides of the United States-Mexico border.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) recently said it has extended production cuts at three North American plants, including its facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, through the end of March.

The GM factory in San Luis Potosí produces the Equinox, the Chevrolet Trax and the GMC Terrain SUVs.

Other GM plants that will be affected, until at least mid-April, are facilities in...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/gm-extends-auto-plant-closures-due-to-chip-shortage

Comcar bankruptcy liquidation plan approved

A tractor-trailer a former Comcar Industries carrier MCT. It was sold in the Comcar bankcruptcy.

A federal judge approved plans to liquidate what little assets remain of bankrupt trucking company Comcar Industries: ostensibly real estate.

The Chapter 11 liquidation plan received approval on Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The remaining assets will be sold through two trusts, with an expected recovery of $23.4 million, according to court filings

About $15 million will be available to creditors, according to liquidation analysis filed in the court in...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/comcar-bankruptcy-liquidation-plan-approved

Join Our Newsletter
Enter your email to receive a weekly round-up of shipping news.
icon