Selected COVID-19 and trucking industry news that may impact your business.
As of April 7, 2020:
Carriers report sinking load volumes as panic-buying subsides
CCJ
The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has more than doubled over the past seven days, according to data compiled by the CDC, and as those numbers continue to rise, freight demand seen by carriers surveyed weekly by CCJ has gone in the opposite direction. Read More
NTDC Canceled Because of Coronavirus Concerns
Transport Topics
American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships have been canceled due to coronavirus-related concerns. But states remain free to make independent decisions about their own events. Read More
New Hampshire closes all 12 state-run rest stops
CDL Life
New Hampshire closed all 12 of its rest area facilities at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 5. Portable toilets and vending machines are still available at the shuttered locations and officials say that the facilities will be cleaned regularly. Read More
COVID-19 & trucking update: OOIDA asks for testing; layoffs pile up
FreightWaves
As the country enters what Trump administration and several governors are calling both a tragic week of loss and a possible apex of deaths and new cases in some parts of the nation, reports are mounting of growing tension and turmoil down on the front lines of the supply chain. Read More
COVID-19 checkpoints set up at Texas/Louisiana border, CMVs ‘will not be obstructed’
CDL Life
Texas transportation officials have started screening vehicles at checkpoints along the Louisiana border for Coronavirus, but they say that truckers will not be asked to stop. Read More
An already ‘hard’ trucking insurance market now faces upheaval from the pandemic
FreightWaves
The trucking insurance sector, already the focus of a great amount of industry hand-wringing due to higher rates, now faces the question of just whether a carrier’s insurance policies cover any sort of impact from a pandemic. Read More
March Truck Traffic Still Strong, says PrePass
HDT Truckinginfo
Even with the growing COVID-19 pandemic, new data shows the level of commercial truck traffic on America’s busiest corridors remained very strong in March. Read More
Virus Will Take Toll on State Transportation Revenue, Experts Say
Transport Topics
Experts indicate the coronavirus pandemic will have a significant negative effect on state revenue, including funding that supports transportation projects. Read More
Arizona DOT reopens two rest areas for commercial vehicles only
The Trucker
The Parks Rest Area along Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff (milepost 182) and the Christensen Rest Area on Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff (milepost 324) offer parking, portable toilets and hand-washing stations exclusively for commercial-vehicle drivers. Read More
Our government partners are listening to trucking
Truckload Indexes
At this time of extreme uncertainty, not only for the United States but for the entire world, it is easy to feel as though everything is out of control and that positive experiences have all but evaporated. But for trucking, this idea could not be further from the truth. Many truckload carriers are currently seeing impressive rates and high demand. And our industry continues to shine in the media as everyday citizens become increasingly aware of the important role trucking plays in their lives. Read More
‘I need to get parked and rest’: Testimony from an owner-op who rode out COVID-19 symptoms in the truck
Overdrive
I talked to Jay 15 days after he fell ill in his truck while finishing up a delivery at 4 a.m., on March 20. “I need to get parked and rest,” he thought as the load was coming off the truck. He “didn’t realize until later how much this illness had affected my ability to focus and make decisions.” Read More