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The first quarter of 2018 was a good one for leased and independent owner-operators, according to data from American Truck Business Services (ATBS). The Colorado-based firm reports that owner-operators brought in higher revenue and better take-home pay during the first three months of the year. According to Overdrive magazine, the industry’s smallest carriers were able…

The pace of hiring improved slightly in April as the unemployment rate fell below 4% for the first time since the end of 2000. Trucking employment, however, saw no such gains as jobs in the industry declined for the first time in eight months, according to a report in Freightwaves. The Bureau of Labor Statistics…

Growing up in a family business with a fleet of heavy-duty trucks, Dakota Semler saw the business face a difficult choice. New state air quality standards in 2007 meant that the winery would either need to install pricey retrofit kits in each truck or replace the whole fleet. As the economy crashed the following year,…

Commercial truck driving has a reputation for grueling hours, weeks away from home, and a burly machismo that isn’t particularly welcoming to women. It’s high time that reputation got a makeover, according to a report by NBC News. A 2017 report by the American Trucking Association noted that the industry needs to hire almost 900,000…

Seattle-based trucking startup Convoy is making inroads into the trucking industry. Convoy now has 100,000 truckers signed up in its driver-t0-shipment matching application. Convoy’s customer base now includes more than 400 customers, including 20 Fortune 500 companies. Anheuser-Busch and Unilever are two of the most high-profile clients. The company recently announced its Automated Detention feature…

American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear told a Senate panel in December that the federal government needs to invest more in highway infrastructure if the trucking industry can hope to keep up with the growing demand for freight transportation services. “The Highway Trust Fund is projected to run short of the revenue necessary…

The damage to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria has been described, in a word, as “apocalyptic.” CNN outlined the extensive beating the island took, highlighting the devastation caused to communications, hospitals and the like. While relief, in the form of aid and supplies, has been dispatched to Puerto Rico, only a portion has been able to…

Trying to find an efficient way to get more loads? Sick of spending time filling out your schedule? Uber Freight may be worth a look. Uber officially launched its freight business in May of 2017, beginning in the state of Texas. It was a logical move after Uber’s acquisition of Ottomotto LLC (Otto) in 2016,…

The challenges truckers face every day are well known, from limited physical activity for hours on end to coping with stop-and-go traffic in construction zones. There’s often the problem of finding a parking spot at day’s end, too. Still, the freedom of the open road and the allure of self-employment are undeniable. The trick is…

American trucking is in the midst of a strong growth trend, according to an article in logisticsmgmt.com. The rosy forecast comes from the American Trucking Associations (ATA) Trends 2017, which ATA describes as the annual compendium about the trucking industry. “The information in Trends highlights exactly what I tell elected officials, regulators and key decision-makers…