Selected COVID-19 and trucking industry news that may impact your business.
As of May 12, 2020:
Trucking markets: things are looking up
FreightWaves
Broad-based volume growth in the majority of freight markets led to slight capacity tightening and hikes in spot rates on some of the most challenged lanes (into the Pacific Northwest, for instance). Reefer rates continue to rebound. Read More
CVSA says two upcoming driver blitzes are still happening in spite of pandemic
CDL Life
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) may have postponed the International Roadcheck inspection campaign indefinitely, but the agency currently has no plans to reschedule or cancel two other major enforcement efforts this summer. Read More
Increased PPE use, sanitation likely to be part of trucking’s ‘new norm’
CCJ
As COVID-19 spread across the country, businesses that couldn’t work from home scrambled to develop plans to keep employees safe from the pandemic and offices germ-free. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was the first line of defense for essential workers, including truck drivers, and 85% of fleets that responded to a recent CCJ survey measuring the coronavirus’ impact on motor carriers said their drivers were wearing masks and gloves, with another 70% reporting increased facility cleaning. Read More
As PPP loans arrive – or not – consider merits of better record-keeping
Overdrive
For the small-business owners who quickly applied for the CARES Act assistance offered through the Small Business Administration in cooperation with banks, help has begun arriving in some cases. I’ve talked to owners who’ve received varying degrees of payments. Read More
Can the COVID-19 crisis serve as a ‘vaccination’ against nuclear verdicts in trucking?
The Trucker
The COVID-19 crisis isn’t the type of tunnel a nation enters with expectations of an ever-brightening light ahead. After all, an enemy with the ability to kill millions and destroy the global economy isn’t something a nation can look beyond. But in terms of the trucking industry and its executives, drivers and support personnel, history may view the current crisis as a turning point. 2020 could go down as the year truck drivers attained a status similar to what first responders received after 9/11 — heroes, or at least doers of heroic deeds. Read More