Earlier this month, UPS Freight, the less-than-truckload subsidiary of Atlanta-based transportation and logistics bellwether UPS announced general rate increases (GRI) that went into effect on February 18. The GRI, which applies to non-contractual less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments rated on the current UPS Freight 525, 560, 570 and 571 tariffs, is 5.9%.
Tag Archives: Over-The-Road & LTL
Ray Martinez, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, asked attendees at Omnitracs’s user conference to “please prepare” for the December transition from AOBRDs to ELDs “now, if you have not done so.” Speaking at the conference’s opening session, Martinez noted that 2019 is a critical year for ELD implementation and that putting it off does not help either the industry or the regulators .
The number of new trucks hitting the road in the United States is likely to increase in the first half of 2019, bolstering available capacity, according to an analysis of data from IHS Markit, the parent company of JOC.com. However, those numbers may level off later in the year.
For the first time since 2014, New Jersey has topped the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual list of the most congested bottlenecks for trucks in the country.
For December, the most recent month for which data is available, the TCI came in at 11.46, a significant increase over November’s 5.84 and October’s 3.17. FTR said strong sequential volume gains, as well as a favorable fuel environment paced this growth.
“Relentless competition” and widespread urbanization are two of the top trends that will reshape trucking and logistics in the US and elsewhere as e-commerce expectations set by Amazon and its customers challenge traditional delivery strategies and processes, speakers at the SMC3Jumpstart 2019 Conference in Atlanta said Jan. 28-30.
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted reprieve from hours-of-service rules to one group and received an exemption request from the rules from another.
Nearly seven weeks into 2019, the contour of the US trucking landscape is becoming somewhat clearer. Truck capacity generally should be less tight this year than in 2018, but shippers shouldn’t expect another 2016, when excess capacity was the rule, rather than the exception. (This article requires a subscription to the Journal of Commerce. To subscribe, please click on the above link.)
Last year, the big question about the US economy was, “How fast will it grow?” Now, everyone’s asking, “How fast will it slow?” Euphoria has given way to worry and concern amid trade disputes, stock market volatility, and a partial government shutdown. Economists who spoke at the SMC3 Jump Start 2019 conference this week don’t expect a recession in 2019, but slower growth may feel like decline after the strong growth of 2018.
A combination of rising global interest rates and ongoing trade protectionism will continue to create unexpected turbulence for logistics managers over the course of 2019, say analysts. Meanwhile emerging markets will provide opportunities for faster growth-yet each faces its own set of operational challenges.