Transport Topics

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on the availability of zero-emission technologies in the heavy-duty vehicle and port sectors before moving ahead with funding via the Inflation Reduction Act. Specifically, EPA is interested in comments detailing the availability, market price, and performance of zero-emission trucks, zero-emission port equipment, electric charging and other fueling infrastructure needs for zero-emission technologies in the near term. Comments are due by June 5. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The American Transportation Research Institute unveiled its top five research projects for 2023 at American Trucking Associations’ annual Mid-Year Management Session. Its No. 1 focus is a study specifically looking at the cost and impact of expanding truck parking facilities at public rest areas. Rounding out the top five are efforts looking at barriers to entry for female drivers, the impact of the complete streets approach on fleet mobility, the diesel technician shortage and the cost of driver detention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truck maker Navistar is expanding its electric truck offerings and has inked a partnership with infrastructure firm Quanta Services Inc. to help fleet customers implement battery-electric vehicles quickly and efficiently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials overseeing a two-day public hearing announced that the agency plans to finalize its aggressive Phase 3 heavy-truck greenhouse gas emissions mandate by the end of this year. To many of the more than 200 individuals who testified during the May 2-3 virtual hearing, that target was either too soon, or not soon enough. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RXO on May 3 reported revenue exceeding $1 billion for its first full quarter as an independent company. The Charlotte, N.C.-based asset-light transportation provider posted no net income for the three months ending March 31. That compared with $39 million, or 34 cents a diluted share, during the year-ago period when the company was operating within XPO. Total revenue decreased by 23% to $1.01 billion from $1.31 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. Department of Transportation on May 1 announced the issuance of a final rule approving use of oral fluid to drug test truck drivers, a move made to deter cheating on urine-based examinations while also addressing privacy concerns of test subjects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Diesel prices fell by an average of 5.9 cents a gallon across the country in the past week to flirt with the $4-a-gallon mark, settling at $4.018 a gallon, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Diesel is now $1.491 a gallon cheaper than a year ago. The national average price has fallen in 12 of the past 13 weeks. Diesel is already below $4 a gallon in three regions — Lower Atlantic, Midwest and Gulf Coast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daimler Truck unveiled Rizon, its newly branded lineup of Class 4 and Class 5 medium-duty electric trucks, on Thursday. With the U.S. release of its latest EV, Daimler is positioning to enter the growing segment of last-mile delivery as well as applications such as dry vans, flatbeds, landscape dump trucks and refrigerated trucks. Karl Deppen, the head of Daimler Truck Asia, introduced the medium-sized EV as  “everything a diesel truck does, just without the diesel.”    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truckload carrier Schneider posted its earnings, achieving a 6% year-over-year earnings gain despite a revenue loss during the first quarter of 2023. The Green Bay, Wis., company posted net income of $98 million, or 55 cents a diluted share, for the three months ending March 31. That compared with $92.1 million, or 52 cents, during the 2022 period. Total revenue decreased by 12% to $1.43 billion from $1.62 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Norfolk Southern reported that the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 cost it $387 million in damages. That  impacted first-quarter profit by 33.7% when compared with the same period in 2022. The Atlanta-based Class I railroad’s quarterly income was $466 million, or $2.04 a share, versus  $703 million, or $2.93 a share. Revenue was up 7% to $3.1 billion in the first quarter this year compared with $2.91 billion in the year-ago period. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UPS Inc. reported first-quarter earnings that were lower than this time in 2022, and were mixed compared with Wall Street expectations. UPS reported a quarterly income decline of nearly 23% to $2.55 billion, or $2.20 a share, compared with $3.30 billion, or $3.05 a share, in the same period a year ago. The company reported year-over-year revenue fell 6% to $22.93 billion compared with $24.3 billion in 2022. UPS said the declines were the result of sagging consumer spending that pushed fewer packages through its networks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The price of a gallon of diesel fell 3.9 cents last week, according to data from the Energy Information Administration released yesterday. The price bumped up 1.8 cents the week before, putting a brief end to 10 consecutive weeks of drops. Overall, the price of trucking’s main fuel is about 1.08 less than it was during this time in 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Starting in January, people powering up electric vehicles at commercial charging stations in Utah will have to pay a 12.5% tax and gas prices will drop July 1 due to new laws signed by Gov. Spencer Cox. Cox announced the new measures among transportation tax amendments in House Bill 301 during a ceremonial signing April 18 of 10 new laws “focused on smart growth.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a victory for freight brokers, a federal appeals court has ruled that an insurance company may not pursue a claim against a transportation broker after that broker unknowingly hired a fraudulent motor carrier who vanished with a shipper’s load. The decision this month by the Miami-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit rejected an argument by an insurance company that a federal exemption provision of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act allows Florida negligence claims against a transportation broker based on the broker’s selection of a motor carrier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WASHINGTON — A key representative of the trucking industry renewed calls before a Senate panel for Congress to repeal a tax on the purchase of new trucks nationwide. Andrew Boyle, first vice chairman of American Trucking Associations, explained repealing a World War I-era 12% tax on such vehicles would pave the way for the freight sector to upgrade fleets of commercial vehicles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ina Daly, a professional driver with XPO from Avondale, Ariz., took home top honors at the Arizona Truck Driving Championships April 1. The grand champion trophy for her best-in-show performance in the tank truck class qualified her for a 16th trip to the national stage. Daly, 60, the first woman to win a class title at the National Truck Driving Championships (2013 in the tank truck division), will compete alongside her peers on the national stage Aug. 16-19 in Columbus, Ohio.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With an overall approval rating of only 2.2 on a 10-point scale, it’s clear that truck drivers overall do not hold driver-facing cameras in high regard, primarily due to privacy and other issues, according to a new study by the American Transportation Research Institute. However, the study also found that legal and insurance experts generally have a more positive view of cameras capturing driver events in the cab.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will appear before the transportation funding committee in the U.S. House on Thursday to discuss the White House’s fiscal 2024 budget request.  Speaking recently about the budget before the Senate, the secretary said: “The budget will propel our department’s work across our three major categories of effort: running our operations well in the agency, building good things well across the country, and protecting the safety and well-being of everyone who interacts with America’s transportation systems — from pedestrians to airline passengers to rail workers.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. Class 8 retail sales in March jumped 21.9% from a year ago and also exceeded the prior month, Wards Intelligence reported. Class 8 sales for the month reached 24,823, compared with the year-ago total of 20,359, and outpaced February’s 20,136 units. Truck retail sales have increased every month since they dropped from a record high of 29,172 units in December. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pilot Co. is set to replace its top two officers with executives hand-picked by its new majority owner, Berkshire Hathaway. Adam Wright will take the helm as CEO, and Joe Lillo will become chief financial officer. Both are longtime employees at Berkshire Hathaway. The conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett has been Pilot’s biggest shareholder since Jan. 31. Shameek Konar and Kevin Wills will be leaving their respective positions as CEO and CFO after the transition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices