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American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) CEO Chris Spear told a recent Management Conference audience that the trucking industry’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has kept the nation’s interstate commerce rolling. “While others in DC panicked, the ATA led, giving direction and certainty to our members when it mattered most,” Spear said in his annual State of…

Sweden’s Einride, a freight mobility company, recently launched its groundbreaking Pod, a fully autonomous electric transport vehicle. In 2019, Einride became the first company in the world to drive a fully autonomous and electric heavy transport vehicle on a public road and has been testing and operating Pods at select customer sites in Sweden over…

For years, the trucking industry has been sounding the alarm about a driver shortage, talking about a deficit of drivers numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Those warnings have arrived at the industry’s doorstep. With a pandemic-induced rise in online shopping, trucking companies are seeing increased demand for truck capacity and are having to sweeten…

A crunch in trucking capacity is forcing Amazon to expand its reach for truck drivers, now using larger trucking firms it had previously shunned. With driver rates on the rise, many of the smaller independent drivers have moved away from Amazon for higher spot rates. “We work with many small and medium-sized line haul service…

An early July survey conducted by American Truck Business Services (ATBS) found that falling freight volumes and rates have been the biggest impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey of more than 300 owner-operators was designed to shed light on how the pandemic has affected owner-operators. When it comes to financial aid, the survey found…

A May online survey conducted by Professional Driver Agency (PDA) found that 72 percent of the 1,600 trucker respondents are most concerned about bringing the COVID-19 virus home to family and friends. “For us, this was the key takeaway from the survey,” said Scott Dismuke, director of operations at PDA. “While risking personal exposure to…

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently released the findings of its 2019 update to “An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking,” a report that showed “considerable upward pressure on nearly every line-item cost center experienced by carriers.” ATRI used detailed financial data provided directly by motor carriers of all sectors and fleet sizes…

With a truck driver shortage still considered the top issue facing the industry, trucking companies are increasingly recruiting women drivers to fill the void. Once a male-only profession, the numbers are starting to nudge. According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the number of women drivers has increased from 4.5 percent in 2003 to 6.6…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Todd Spencer, CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) had their day in Congress June 12 as part of the House Highways and Transit subcommittee hearing titled “Under Pressure: The State of Trucking in America.” Spencer painted a bleak picture of…