ATA

Taki Darakos, Pitt Ohio’s fleet manager who oversees the acquisition and maintenance of 1,550 company-owned tractors and box trucks, testified before Congress on the technological, operational and financial challenges fleets face as federal and state regulations mandate the adoption of battery-electric trucks.

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 2%, to 113.4 (2015=100), following a 4% February gain, to 115.7, and a 3.2% January decline.

The trucking industry says new, tougher-than-expected emission standards for heavy-duty trucks recently announced by the Biden Administration have unachievable targets and will carry real consequences for the U.S. supply chain and movement of freight throughout the economy.

As the Biden administration moves ahead with planned deployment of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electric charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure from 2024 to 2040, trucking industry officials are warning of excessive costs associated with such electrification.

On March 11, a new rule from the Department of Labor goes into effect. Detractors say it will wreak havoc on independent business owners and freelancers throughout the country. Save Independent Work, a coalition of independent workers and advocacy groups, announced its new campaign to overturn the rule that would reclassify hundreds of thousands of independent workers, including independent business owners and freelancers, as employees.

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 3.5% in January, to 111.0 (2015=100), following a 1.2% December gain.

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for December, at 115.7 (2015=100), was up 2.1%, following 1.2% November decline.

A new regulatory finding by the Labor Department will result in a “tangled mess” for trucking’s estimated 350,000 independent contractors, the nation's largest trucking lobby is warning.

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for November, at 113.7 (2015=100), was off 1%, following an 0.8% October gain, which came in at 114.9.

Federal regulators should review the process by which fleets’ Compliance Reviews (CRs) are conducted and how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) determines how and when reviews are conducted, the largest trucking interest group said in comments to the agency.

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for October, at 115.2 (2015=100), was 1.1%, from September to October, reversing the 1.1% decrease, from August to September, which came in at 113.9.

In its “ATA Freight Transportation Forecast 2023 to 2024,” ATA said that truck tonnage is pegged to increase to 14.2 billion tons by 2034. While 2034 is more than a decade from now, it is not unexpected to see such a high estimate, especially when taking into account now the ubiquitous mode routinely moves more than 70% of the nation’s freight.

If shippers think implications from pending truck regulation issues don’t affect them, they’d be wrong. Most of these proposed regs around alternative fuels and speed have a direct impact on truck capacity and costs—and eventually rates.

Trucking interests are getting an additional 30 days to comment on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) advance notice of proposed rulemaking related to a potential revamp of its carrier rating system.

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for September, at 113.9 (2015=100), was down 1.1%, following a 0.2% increase, to 115.3, in from July to August.