Transport Topics

Shailen Bhatt, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Highway Administration, will head to Capitol Hill tomorrow, to answer questions from the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Bhatt has a long history in the industry, both in the public and private spheres, and will likely face a confirmation vote this fall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear urged congressional leaders to intervene in the labor dispute between the railroads and their unions with a Sept. 16 deadline approaching. A work disruption would deeply affect the supply chain as retailers gear up for the holiday shopping season. “Idling all 7,000 long-distance daily freight trains in the U.S. would require more than 460,000 additional longhaul trucks every day, which is not possible based on equipment availability and an existing shortage of 80,000 drivers,” Spear said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public comment on whether the safety and supply chain benefits of its COVID-19 national emergency declaration merit extending the current declaration after it expires Oct.15.The agency said it wants to know the extent to which motor carriers rely on the emergency declaration to “deliver certain commodities and whether there has been any impact on safety.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Class 8 orders hit their highest point so far this year in August, but they’re still far behind last year’s number. Orders reached 21,600, compared with 37,096 in the 2021 period according to ACT Research. That’s also about 10,000 more than July’s low order total. ACT’s Steve Tam says this points to a truck manufacturer opening up its order board for 2023 orders, but didn’t specify which company it is. Paccar already took that step in July. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Lone Star State is preparing for its transportation future in a big way. A 10-year Texas Department of Transportation plan to spend a record $85 billion to alleviate congestion, enhance safety and improve highways was approved by Gov. Greg Abbott on Aug. 30. Abbott called the plan quote “a critical step toward addressing the diverse needs of Texans in rural, urban and metropolitan communities.” end quote. The 188-page 2023 Unified Transportation Program is a construction planning and development document that guides work among 562 listed transportation projects throughout Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To help communities rebuild vital infrastructure damaged by extreme weather and wildfires, the U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced $512 million in Emergency Relief Program funds to help 30 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “We must address the devastating impacts of climate change and work to build more sustainable transportation infrastructure to better withstand its impacts for years to come.” Washington state received the highest number of emergency relief allocations for 10 events with a total of $21 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a seven-year wait, FMCSA has released a draft copy of the Medical Examiners Handbook that offers revised guidance to help examiners ensure that truck drivers are in good health. The medical examinations are critical to confirming that drivers do not have serious medical conditions that could risk public safety. However, there are some criticisms of the newest version of the document, including a lack of guidance for how to consider certain disorders or illnesses. FMCSA is seeking comment on the draft handbook through Sept. 30. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Electric vehicle maker Nikola announced two executive level changes and also that it has commenced an exchange offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of energy-storage technology company Romeo Power. Nikola is splitting its Energy and Commercial division. Pablo Koziner, currently president of Energy and Commercial, now is president of Commercial. Carey Mendes, who runs the Global Energy Finance division, has been named president of Energy. Koziner and Mendes will report to President Michael Lohscheller, who also will become CEO on Jan. 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking comment on a request by an alliance of large motor carriers for an exemption that would permit the carriers to report “actual knowledge” of a truck driver’s positive hair drug test to the agency’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The carriers, who belong to a group called The Trucking Alliance, have drug tested tens of thousands of drivers using hair and urine samples, but claim the hair testing method is far more successful in detecting lifestyle drug users who don’t belong behind the wheel of a truck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We just released our list of the Transport Topics Top 100 private fleets in North America. PepsiCo once again topped the list, and there was a shift at Nos. 2 and 3. Walmart took the No. 2 spot this year, passing Sysco, which now ranks No. 3. Rounding out the top 5 are US Foods and Performance Food Group. Check out the full list, analysis, and extras related to private fleets at ttnews.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The average retail price of a used Class 8 vehicle in July inched past $90,000 to tower over the year-ago price, but it also dipped slightly from June to extend the market’s ongoing softening, ACT Research reported. July’s average retail price was $91,928 compared with $64,226 a year earlier. But it also was down 1% from June’s $92,734 — the fourth consecutive sequential decline. ACT Vice President Steve Tam said the softer demand for used trucks comes as freight rates and the economy slow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More autonomous truck testing is happening in Texas, this time an effort between Daimler Truck and Waymo. The companies will partner to put self-driving trucks on a route between Dallas and Houston via Interstate 45, a corridor that has become one of the country’s key testing grounds for driverless trucks. Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., creates the technology that can be attached to trucks and other vehicles to make them fully autonomous. Its partnership with Daimler began in 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

July truck tonnage rose 5.1% year-over-year, but dropped about 1% from June’s number, per American Trucking Associations. The federation’s chief economist, Bob Costello, said: “While tonnage is much stronger than a year ago, the monthly gains have moderated as the year has gone on. The combination of softer consumption of goods, home construction falling and slower manufacturing activity are the main reasons.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heartland Express Inc. on Aug. 22 announced plans to acquire Contract Freighters’ nondedicated truckload business as well as Mexican entities under CFI Logistica in a $525 million deal. The enterprise value of the transaction, which Heartland said is the largest it has ever done, is calculated on a cash-free and debt-free basis and is subject to certain adjustments. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. CFI Dedicated and CFI Logistics U.S. brokerage operations are not part of the transaction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. trailer orders in July roared ahead compared with a year earlier but slumped when measured against earlier months this year, ACT Research reported, citing trailer makers’ final data. Net orders were 16,997 compared with the low of 8,128 a year earlier, when the supply chain was at its most disrupted, as one trailer maker executive said at the time.. July’s order volume also was the second lowest this year. However, August orders may jump as some leading trailer manufacturers report they have opened or are about to open 2023 order boards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yesterday marked the second day of the National Truck Driving Championships driving portion, and competitors across the vehicle classes reported being impressed with the course’s degree of difficulty. The drivers took to the course Wednesday and Thursday, and today, winners of each division will be announced. They will advance to the final round, with winners crowned later tonight. Make sure to check back at ttnews.com for full results, photos, interviews and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LAS VEGAS — Navistar Inc. premiered a new, integrated powertrain as part of an update for its International LT Series truck line Aug. 16. The S13 Integrated Powertrain, which Navistar developed in collaboration with parent company Traton Group, consists of three distinct components — an engine, a transmission and an aftertreatment system. Company executives said the setup delivers a fuel-efficiency gain of up to 15% compared with its first-generation A26 engine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Classes 4-7 U.S. retail sales in July slipped 7.3% compared with a year earlier, and only Class 6 with its typical base of bigger customers posted a gain, Wards Intelligence reported. Class 6 sales rose 24.1 percent to 5,440 compared with 4,385 a year earlier. Total sales were 17,682 compared with 19,082 in the 2021 period. Except for March’s 21,002 sales, the medium-duty market has been steady, albeit at a low level. Only 1,932 trucks separate the peak from the low in the rest of the months this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A bill to force truckers to stay away from Delaware residential parking or pay skyrocketing fines up to $2,000 awaits action by Gov. John Carney after it sailed through the state General Assembly largely unopposed. Sen. Nicole Poore described how the legislation would change the state parking code by drastically hiking minimum and maximum penalties for violating parking restrictions in residential districts. Today’s parking fines of $10 to $25 would soar to $100 to $500. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steven Cliff, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is stepping down from his post for a leadership role at the California Air Resources Board. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to social media on Aug. 12 to praise Cliff’s contributions at the agency. “Thanks to administrator Cliff for his tremendous service and leadership at NHTSA and his work to protect the lives of the American people by strengthening the safety of motor vehicles and reducing their emissions,” the secretary wrote, noting that NHTSA’s chief counsel, Ann Carlson, would manage the agency’s duties on an interim basis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices