Posted on

Heavy-duty truck orders rebounding from COVID slump

After the early pandemic days of uncertainty, when OEMs shut down production, heavy-truck build levels plummeted. But production has recovered quicker than in past recessions, and demand has set up the industry for a booming future.

Half a year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic first started shutting down local, national and worldwide economies, it created uncertainty for truck makers and buyers. Now the truck market appears to be making a V-shaped recovery from the nadir of spring as fleets focus on fall orders to prepare for a potentially busy 2021 that could spur high demand over the next three years.

“We have a flash recession caused by a natural disaster. Normally natural disasters are regional. This natural disaster was not only countrywide but worldwide,” Don Ake, the FTR Intelligence vice president for commercial vehicles, said during a recent FTR Engage virtual session on commercial vehicle supply.

Continue reading “Heavy-duty truck orders rebounding from COVID slump”

Posted on

Trucking economist: ‘Recession likely over’

ATA economist Bob Costello believes the pandemic recession has ended, but not before it changed the future U.S. economic landscape by reshaping consumer habits in a way that has benefited the trucking industry — unlike past recessions that hampered it.

“The recession is likely over.”

Bob Costello, the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) chief economist, delivered this promising, unofficial news to virtual attendants of the 2020 McLeod Software User Conference during a Sept. 30 presentation on the economy.

Continue reading “Trucking economist: ‘Recession likely over’”

Posted on

What truckers need to know about new HOS rules

The new hours of service rules officially take effect on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 12:01 a.m. EDT across the country, which means they will go into effect at 9:01 p.m. PDT on Sept. 28. Here’s a look at what’s changing and how it affects you.

New federal hours of service (HOS) rules — designed to give commercial drivers more flexibility — take effect across the U.S. at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Continue reading “What truckers need to know about new HOS rules”

Posted on

Small-business truckers get Congressional backing in battle against higher insurance rates

U.S. Senator Steve Daines encouraged his colleagues to sign a letter opposing an unnecessary increase in federal liability insurance requirements for motor carriers.

A group of U.S. Senators have said that small-business truckers and other industries that rely on trucking cannot bear the financial burden of a policy that could end up in the next transportation reauthorization bill. U.S. Senator Steve Daines encouraged his colleagues to sign a letter opposing an unnecessary increase in federal liability insurance requirements for motor carriers.

Continue reading “Small-business truckers get Congressional backing in battle against higher insurance rates”

Posted on

FMCSA proposes pilot program to pause 14-hour clock

Regulators are requesting public input on a Split Duty Period Pilot Program, which would allow commercial drivers one off-duty break up to three hours that would pause a truck driver’s 14-hour driving window.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is seeking public comment on a pilot program that would create hours of service (HOS) regulatory relief by allowing participating drivers to pause their on-duty driving period with one off-duty period up to three hours.
Posted on

What drivers need to know about new HOS rules

Four major updates to hours-of-service rules for commercial drivers take effect on Sept. 29, changing how long-haul drivers are required to take breaks and extending the distance short-haul drivers can travel in a day.

In just over a month — at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 29 — revised hours-of-service rules go into effect for commercial drivers across the country. The new rules create more flexibility for drivers while keeping a focus on highway safety, according to Joseph DeLorenzo, the acting associate administrator for enforcement at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Continue reading “What drivers need to know about new HOS rules”

Posted on

Tips to get through Brake Safety Week 2020

Bendix offers tips to help fleets and drivers during the annual CVSA inspection blitz during Aug. 23-29 in the U.S. and Canada, focusing on brake system hoses and tubing.

There can be no compromise when it comes to the safety of commercial vehicle braking systems. But statistics show there is a need for support: Last September, during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA’s) 2019 Brake Safety Week event, it was reported that 13.5% of the commercial vehicles inspected were removed from roadways because of brake maintenance-related violations.

Continue reading “Tips to get through Brake Safety Week 2020”

Posted on

OOIDA calls on FMCSA to ‘listen to real truckers’

Truck driver safety, inadequate truck driver parking and training, and overall “poor working conditions” for truckers were some of the top concerns broached by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association during the FMCSA’s Trucking Safety Summit.

Posted on

Trucking pressures Congress to suspend two truck taxes

Trucking industry lobbyists are pushing legislators to temporarily halt the federal excise tax on new truck purchases and the annual Heavy Vehicle Use Tax levied against most Class 8 vehicles in the U.S. They say a suspension would help boost the economy.

Two long-standing truck taxes are in the industry’s cross-hairs for suspensions that would provide temporary relief to independent drivers and carriers during the COVID-19 recession that has put extra strain on the trucking industry.

Continue reading “Trucking pressures Congress to suspend two truck taxes”

Posted on

Second shutdown is worst economic scenario, says ATA’s top economist

Bob Costello, chief economist and senior vice president of the American Trucking Associations, expressed his concern that PPP money for smaller fleets is running out.

Bob Costello, chief economist and senior vice president of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), has seen a lot in his 25 years of forecasting, and one thing he keeps repeating is that no matter how bad the economic numbers look, we didn’t get here because of economic conditions.

Continue reading “Second shutdown is worst economic scenario, says ATA’s top economist”