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A U.S. Federal Appeals court last week ruled against FedEx Ground, finding that the package delivery firm had misclassified 2,300 drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. The case involved California drivers from 2000-2007 and the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit in Portland, Oregon reverses the findings of an Indiana court….

August 29, 2014 Diesel and gasoline prices are tracking downward and that trend should continue into 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The national average retail pump price for diesel dropped 1.4 cents to 3.82, a 9.2 cents per gallon drop compared to the same week a year ago. Diesel prices declined…

The American Transportation Research Institute has released its 10th annual survey and is asking trucking stakeholders to rank the top issues of concern. “In complex times like this, it is critical that we do our part to help ensure a thriving future for the trucking industry,” said Philip Byrd Sr., chairman of American Trucking Associations,…

August 23, 2014 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has found trucking company New Prime guilty of violating federal law by requiring female truck driver applicants be trained only by female trainers. The Aug. 14 ruling found that the company’s same-sex trainer policy discriminated against female applicants because they often had to wait extended…

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) trade group is donating $100,000 to the Trucking Moves America Forward (TMAF) campaign that offers public education on the industry as well as briefings for government policymakers. TMAF was rolled out in March at the Mid-America Trucking Show as a cooperative effort by ATA, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA),…

The U.S. Postal Service ended its fiscal third-quarter with a loss of $2 billion, compared with a loss of $740 million for the same period a year earlier. The Postal Service has had a loss in 21 of the past 23 quarters. Revenue increased two percent to $16.5 billion. Shipping and package revenue increased 6.6…

Congress directed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to prohibit carriers, shippers, receivers and transportation intermediaries from coercing drivers to violate certain federal safety and hazardous materials regulations. FMCSA published a proposed rule regarding the subject in May and earlier this month the deadline for comments on the proposed rule passed. During the comment…

Cable business station CNBC aired a four-part investigative series, “Collision Course,” about trucking accidents on the nation’s highways in early August. CNBC cites statistics from the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA), which said nearly 4,000 people died in trucking accidents in 2012—up 18 percent from 2009. The station said it is setting out to determine…

Tracy Morgan’s attorney said the comedian is “still struggling” with his health two months after breaking several bones in a deadly New Jersey highway crash that has renewed public attention to safety in the U.S. trucking industry. “He’s still struggling, but he’s a fighter,” attorney Benedict Morelli recently told NBC’s “Today” show. “He’s had issues…

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and Canada Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt recently announced appointments to the International Authority that will oversee construction of a new publicly-owned bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. The span will compete with the existing Ambassador Bridge. Its private owners are opposed to the building of the new span and…