J. B. Hunt Transport Services has signed a “far-reaching, multi-year contract agreement” with Norfolk Southern Railway, reports the Journal of Commerce. A trucking and intermodal transport giant, J. B. Hunt was one of the first to collaborate in truck-rail shipping, and is currently the largest provider of trucks for intermodal transport of goods. The company has a long-standing agreement with the western railway, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF).
Norfolk Southern beat out the competing CSX railway company for the deal. The trucking company says this partnership will help both entities establish themselves as “the leading providers of transcontinental and local intermodal service in the eastern half of the United States.”
The move provides incentives for each partner to increase revenue by removing a greater share of freight off the road [click to continue…]
Truckers don’t want the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to change the 11-hour daily driving rule, reports TheTrucker.com, citing the results of its unscientific poll.
Drivers who responded voted an overwhelm 69.8 percent against changing the ruling, which restricts them to driving 11 hours each day. Previous regulations limited drivers to a 10-hour driving day. Only 31.2 percent of responding truckers voted to restore the 10-hour rule.
As for the 34-hour ‘reset’ rule, 73.7 percent of voting drivers said they wanted to keep the regulation, while 26.3 voted to eliminate the rule. Thetrucker.com reported 450 participants in the opinion poll.
The regulations are back on the table following [click to continue…]
In a joint effort to combat distracted driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday that the two agencies will look at technologies and methods to reduce the deadly practice.
The combined efforts will include an educational outreach that underscores the hazards of driving while texting or talking on cell phones, as well as other behaviors that cause driver distractions and can lead to fatal accidents.
Distracted driving in an issue of critical importance, which “is costing lives and inflicting injuries across the nation’s roads and railways,” LaHood told a congressional subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection. Genachowski added that though the behavior has become ingrained in the motoring public, he’s confident [click to continue…]
The worst may be over, but any significant growth out of the current recession isn’t likely until next year, reported transportation industry forecasters FTR Associates on Monday. The group publishes The North American Commercial Truck and Trailer Outlook, and other industry reports.
“After a spurt in August, due to government stimulus, the economy [click to continue…]
While companies continue to struggle in the nation’s economic downturn, billionaire investor Warren Buffet may see brighter days ahead for the freight industry. But is the increasing interest in shipping by rail a good sign for trucking?
In a $44B deal, Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway would increase the company’s ownership of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) rail corporation from a current 22.6 percent to 100 percent. Expected to be finalized in 2010, the deal must yet pass shareholders’ approval and get the nod from the Dept. of Justice.
The move highlights a revived interest in rail-based freight transportation, once the primary shipping method, which could place greater stress on the already beleaguered trucking industry.
Two primary factors [click to continue…]
Chicago joins the list of cities to severely cut diesel-engine idling times. City council members recently passed an ordinance that slashes the idling time from ten minutes, permitted by Illinois’ state regulation, down to three minutes in Chicago.
Emergency vehicles are exempt from the city ordinance, as are airport support vehicles. The regulation is not applied to operating engines in certain [click to continue…]
