Transport Topics

Industry analysts said the potential for a strike by UPS workers if a new labor agreement isn’t reached with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters holds significant implications across the supply chain. The contract for 340,000 unionized UPS workers expires July 31, and the Teamsters have said members will not work under a contract extension. Talks are at a standstill. On a daily basis, UPS moves an estimated 25 million parcels, which accounts for 6% of the nation’s gross domestic product.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. government reported July 6 that the country added 209,000 jobs in June, a sign that the economy’s resilience is confounding the Federal Reserve’s drive to slow growth and inflation. There was no significant change in truck transportation jobs from May to June. The June hiring figure is the smallest in 2 1/2 years but is still a sign of economic strength, and makes it all but certain that the Fed will resume its interest rate hikes later this month after having ended a streak of 10 rate increases intended to slow inflation in mid-June. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The California Air Resources Board and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association have come to an agreement regarding the state’s planned phasing out of diesel-emitting big rigs. As part of the pact, CARB agreed to relax current nitrogen oxide pollution regulations to align with federal standards. Manufacturers were also promised more time to meet new requirements and additional protections for legacy engines. These assurances were made on the condition that manufacturers would eventually satisfy the state’s zero-emission vehicle targets and air pollution curbs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Face-to-face negotiations on a new labor deal between UPS Inc. and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters stalled July 5 after showing promise over the weekend, renewing concern that workers represented by the union could strike at the end of the month if a final agreement is not reached. “We have nearly a month left to negotiate. We have not walked away, and the union has a responsibility to remain at the table,” UPS said in a statement. The union said in a tweet that it was the parcel carrier that had left the negotiating table. The latest breakdown in talks is probably over pay. UPS has a tier of drivers who earn a lower hourly wage and receive fewer benefits than full-time drivers. The union has vowed since the tier was implemented in 2018 to remove it in the next contract cycle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An 18-state coalition is backing the Environmental Protection Agency in a legal action asking for rejection of a challenge by 19 states that contend California’s future strict emission controls will negatively impact the trucking industry. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced with other state officials the June 28 filing in the U.S. District Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia. The legal maneuver is intended  to counter lawsuits against EPA for authorizing its regulations to speed adoption of California’s zero-emission laws for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Senior transportation policymakers are calling for passage of several big-picture supply chain-centric bills with the congressional August recess approaching. A bill recently introduced in the Senate meant to improve freight rail connectivity is the latest in this series of measures awaiting consideration in Congress. The Reliable Rail Service Act, sponsored by Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, and Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, would pursue certain updates to operations at the Surface Transportation Board. Doing so, the sponsors insisted, would promote reliability across the freight rail network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legislation that would reauthorize the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act through fiscal 2029 was recently introduced in the Senate. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, is the bill’s lead sponsor. He explained the legislation is designed to promote health benefits by improving air quality nationwide. Administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the DERA program is backed by federal grants. “Since its implementation in 2005, the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act has been one of our nation’s most cost-effective tools for reducing diesel emissions,” Carper said June 22. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association and four trucking company members are suing two commonwealth agencies over the automatic adoption of California heavy-truck emission standards, contending only their legislators can create state laws. PMTA President Rebecca Oyler said, “The trucking industry and PMTA members in Pennsylvania have no control over — or even input into — these regulations because they’re from California. The cost increases our members are facing will make it difficult for them to upgrade to new, cleaner trucks.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct a human-factors study that will examine driver behavior in commercial motor vehicles equipped with L-2 advanced driver-assistance systems and L-3 automated driving systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Volvo Trucks North America is working with the University of Minnesota and two fleet owners on extreme weather testing of the manufacturer’s Class 8 VNR Electric model to analyze the impact of ambient temperature on battery life, the company said June 22. Murphy Logistics Solutions will test the battery-electric trucks in Minnesota in cold winter temperatures, and H-E-B Grocery Co. in Texas will do the same in periods of intense summer heat, Volvo said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have announced a joint proposed rule that would require heavy trucks to have automatic emergency braking systems aimed at mitigating the frequency and severity of rear-end crashes. The proposal, issued June 22 in response to petitions granted in 2015 to several safety groups and a congressional mandate under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also would require that vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds have an electronic stability control system to work in unison with the AEB system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Native Hawaiian women are enthusiastic about an innovative Oahu-based program starting soon to train them to become truck drivers with new, well-paying career opportunities. The commercial driver license program, scheduled to start July 1, is billed as the first all-women training program specifically for wahine, as Polynesian (especially Hawaiian) women are known. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truck tonnage in May continued its downward year-over-year trend, dipping 1.3% when measured against the same month in 2022. However, on a month-to-month basis, the index increased a seasonally adjusted 2.4% and the index jumped to 115.4 compared with 112.7 in April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued final regulatory guidance on its definitions of ‘‘broker’’ and ‘‘bona fide agents,” including guidance on the role and activities of entities referred to as “dispatch services” for motor vehicle transportation. While the agency noted it is clarifying some regulatory areas, it said the actual definitions of broker and bona fide agents largely remain unchanged from existing federal regulations. The final guidance updates the agency’s November 2022 interim guidance in response to public comments the agency received. The review of the definitions was mandated in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was passed in November 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A tentative six-year agreement has been reached between the Pacific Maritime Association and the 22,000-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union, ending months of sometimes acrimonious negotiations. The deal also signals an end to months of uncertainty at 29 West Coast ports and warehouse facilities. The Labor Department helped broker the talks, as acting Secretary Julie Su assisted in the negotiations. She said in a statement that the agreement is an indication that the collective bargaining process works, even when it is difficult. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. retail sales for medium-duty trucks grew 28.6% in May compared with the year-ago period, according to data from Wards Intelligence. Total retail sales for Classes 4-7  trucks increased to 21,687 from 16,859. The results represent the second consecutive month showing a gain from the prior year. The only other year-over-year increase this year was in January. The only increase last year occurred in August. The latest results also were up 13.6% sequentially, with 19,098 units sold in April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. Class 8 retail sales in May rose 16.4% from a year ago and also saw a month-to-month gain, Wards Intelligence reported. Class 8 sales for the month reached 24,111 units, up from 20,713 in May 2022 and up 6% from the 22,741 sold in April. Retail sales have experienced a year-over-year increase every month this year. Freightliner, a brand of Daimler Truck North America, claimed the largest market share, accounting for 38.9% of all sales for the month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York City officials will experiment this summer with a new system using delivery trucks to drop goods at special off-street or curbside microhubs, where they will be collected by cargo bikes and hand carts to be delivered to their final destinations. Objectives of the two-part Microhubs Pilot are to lower truck emissions, improve safety and, quote, “rethink the city’s curb space to meet the demands of e-commerce.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Biden has picked Polly Trottenberg, a longtime government official and current top aide in the Transportation Department, to serve as acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Trottenberg has replaced Billy Nolen, who indicated in April that he planned to leave the FAA. Trottenberg held a high-ranking job in the Transportation Department during the Obama administration and most recently has been deputy to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. She led the New York City Transportation Department from 2014 to 2020 and worked as a U.S. Senate aide and at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iowa is leading 19 states in a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for backing California’s future ban on heavy diesel vehicles in a purported attempt to regulate traditional trucking “out of existence through mandating net-zero emissions standards.” The 51-page legal action against the EPA and its administrator, Michael Regan, was filed June 5 in the U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. The attorney generals from the 19 states fighting the diesel trucking ban contend that California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation violates the Clean Air Act and other federal laws. Their lawsuit is petitioning the court to review the EPA’s actions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices