Selected COVID-19 and trucking industry news that may impact your business.
As of June 5, 2020:
Truckload freight recovery picks up speed heading into June
AJOT
Spot truckload freight markets continued to gather momentum last week as load-to-truck ratios increased for dry van, refrigerated, and flatbed freight, said DAT Solutions, which operates the industry’s largest load board network. Truckload rates followed suit, rising on most lanes just in time for June, typically a peak month for the spot market. Read More
Despite economy’s gains, trucking employment dipped by another 1,200 jobs in May
CCJ
The total number of people employed in the for-hire trucking sector of the economy fell by 1,200 in May, according to preliminary figures released Friday by the Department of Labor in its monthly employment report. May’s decline follows the huge dip in trucking industry employment — 89,800 jobs — in April. The DOL downwardly revised trucking job losses in April from the originally reported 88,000. Read More
Class 8 Orders in May Begin New Cycle’s Slow Upturn
Transport Topics
North American Class 8 orders in May fell below 7,000, ACT Research reported, an uptick from April’s historic low as industry analysts said progress will be slow as long as COVID-19 remains a major concern. Read More
Permanent all-electric tolling forces Pennsylvania Turnpike to lay off hundreds of toll collectors
The Trucker
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted Tuesday, June 2, to lay off 500 fare collectors and other toll workers and make the entire interstate network a cashless system. The Turnpike Commission said a conversion to all-electronic tolling that was adopted in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic will become permanent. Read More
COVID-borne challenges push fleets to strike a balance between in-person, virtual
CCJ
While $17 plane tickets may not stick around in a post-pandemic world, there are changes that fleet managers and trucking analysts expect to remain following the unprecedented crisis that forced companies to implement a host of new practices in recent months. TransLand, a Springfield, Mo. based fleet offering dry van and flatbed hauling, for instance has leaned on virtual orientations for new driver hires since COVID-19 showed up. And they expect the change to become mostly permanent. Read More