Transport Topics

With an Aug. 1 deadline looming, states are finalizing their electric vehicle infrastructure deployment plans. Plans must be submitted to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. Then the Federal Highway Administration will approve eligible plans by Sept. 30 before funds are issued from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI). With $1 billion earmarked annually from this year through 2026, NEVI funding is to be spent on projects directly related to vehicle charging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Retail sales of Class 8 trucks in June hit the highest point of the year and improved 12.7% compared with the previous June, Wards Intelligence reported. Sales jumped to 22,358 after reaching 19,840 a year earlier. Year-to-date sales rose 0.6% to 112,255 compared with 111,552 in the 2021 period. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

XPO Logistics’ new technology-enabled brokerage platform that is set to begin operations in the fourth quarter will be called RXO, Greenwich, Conn.-based XPO announced July 12. In March, XPO announced it planned to spin off its brokerage platform into its own separate, publicly traded division. Drew Wilkerson, President of XPO’s North American Transportation division, has been tapped to be CEO of the new company, which will be headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s officially mid-July, which means the congressional August recess is looming. Relevant on the Senate side is an emphasis on fuel-centric and semiconductor measures. On the House side, Democrats are planning to schedule a vote this month on fiscal 2023 funding legislation. The committee-passed transportation funding bill would provide the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with $367.5 million for safety operations and programs. Amid a contentious midterm election year, it remains to be seen what will get passed on the limited timeline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before the August recess, congressional leaders intend to finalize supply chain-centric legislation designed to boost domestic manufacturing of semiconductors. Policymakers already gave bipartisan backing to the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which would seek to enhance programs at the Department of Energy. A final legislative product is likely to dedicate about $50 billion for the semiconductor industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. Energy Information Administration yesterday released diesel prices covering a three-week reporting delay caused by a network problem. The lapse in data, caused by a voltage irregularity that sparked a hardware failure, came during a time of historic highs in diesel prices. Per the new data, the national average price for diesel fell 10.8 cents to $5.675 a gallon last week. The new data also shows this marks the third consecutive week of diesel price declines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. Energy Information Administration plans to release diesel prices today for the first time since June 13. EIA says at 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time it will release diesel price data for the weeks ending June 20, June 27 and July 4. Weekly releases had been delayed due to a hardware failure, and it came on the heels of the use of new methodologies to calculate the weekly average prices nationally and by region. The national average for a gallon of gasoline was released this week, showing it down 10.1 cents to $4.771 a gallon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Volvo Group is looking to expand its autonomous and electric truck programs to build market share in its key U.S. market and drive revenue and profits higher, top executives said during a recent presentation. At the same time, Volvo Group is taking a “step by step” approach to strengthen its supply chain, according to Martin Lundstedt, CEO of the Sweden-based truck maker. Different dates are being suggested as to when autonomous freight shipments will begin, but Volvo believes they will start around the middle of this decade.The company predicts it will take a gradual shift over several years before all regions in the United States can be covered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is delaying its weekly release of national diesel prices for a third week in a row due to network issues. EIA usually releases national diesel and gasoline prices together on a weekly basis but has not released diesel prices since June 13. EIA says it won’t be able to release diesel prices today but says it is still able to collect data. It says a data voltage irregularity caused hardware failures on two of its main processing servers and it is working around the clock to fix the affected systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A record number of drivers are expected to hit the road this holiday weekend and although the roads will be crowded, drivers can expect some relief from record-high gas prices. Average pump prices have been falling for the past 16 days to $4.857 a gallon as of June 29, down from a record $5.016 in mid-June, according to AAA. Around 42 million people will hit the road this Independence Day weekend, exceeding 2019 levels by half a million, AAA says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state police will begin inspecting tractor-trailers crossing the border from Mexico in response to the deadly migrant tragedy that killed 53 people this week. Abbott’s inspection plan comes little more than two months after a prior such program was suspended when Mexican state governors promised to enhance vehicle checks on their side of the border. During that dispute, some truckers reported waiting more than 30 hours to cross the border and one economist estimated that the delays cost Texas more than $4.2 billion in goods and services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shippers are looking at developing their own truck fleets due to low service levels and greater affordability, a leading logistics report says. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals released its 2022 “State of Logistics” report June 21 that was produced with consulting firm Kearney and Penske Logistics. It discussed annual comparisons of freight costs in the U.S. supply chain. It predicted that a drop in demand and rates in the second quarter of this year “will squeeze carrier margins” while shippers “miffed” by current service levels, including driver shortages, will seek to have their own trucking fleets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To test the use of liquid hydrogen as a commercial vehicle fuel, Daimler Truck announced it is putting a prototype heavy-duty truck and filling station into operation in Germany. Series production of hydrogen-based trucks suitable for longhaul applications is planned for the second half of the decade, according to Daimler. They are intended to have a range of up to 621 miles. “We have signed agreements with the energy groups BP, Shell and TotalEnergies for the construction of hydrogen filling stations,” Daimler Chairman Martin Daum said recently during the company’s first annual general meeting. “In total, more than 300 filling stations are set to be built in Europe by 2030. We also took a stake in H2 Mobility Germany, an operator of hydrogen filling stations.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

USA Truck announced Friday it is being acquired by DB Schenker in a $435 million deal. Under the terms of the agreement, DB Schenker is acquiring all outstanding common stock in USA Truck. All USA Truck cash and debt is included in the price. The stock being acquired is valued at $31.72 per share. The USA Truck board of directors unanimously approved the deal, but it’s still subject to regulatory reviews and approvals. USA Truck ranks No. 57 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America, while DB Schenker (North America) ranks No. 24 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As China lifts its latest coronavirus lockdowns, there is concern the resulting influx of goods flowing from the country could renew bottlenecks at ports in the United States. Earlier this year, Shanghai and other Chinese port cities returned to lockdowns in response to a re-emergence of the coronavirus. On June 1, Shanghai reopened and some companies resumed production output. Since then, some bottlenecks have formed because of inland transportation, labor restraints and the availability of raw materials. FourKites on June 22 released data showing the two-week average shipment volume for loads traveling from China to the United States was up 10% compared with the day before the latest lockdowns went into effect March 12. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the federal agency on trucking affairs was easily approved by a U.S. Senate panel yesterday. The Commerce Committee voted to back the nomination of Robin Hutcheson, picked for the top job at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Her nomination advances to the Senate floor for consideration, though floor managers have yet to schedule that vote. During her confirmation hearing, Hutcheson, FMCSA’s acting leader, pledged to pursue safety initiatives, help to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks and review technological advancements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truck tonnage jumped 3.7% in May compared with year-ago levels, marking the ninth consecutive year-over-year gain and the largest since April 2021, American Trucking Associations announced. The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 117.1 last month, compared with 113.3 a year ago. The May result also represented a 1.4% gain over 116.5 in April. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the freight market is shifting amid a busy environment for loads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For-hire motor carriers achieved significant revenue gains and higher profits last year, powered by surging freight demand. This growth among large fleets is reflected in our Top 100 For-Hire Carrier rankings for 2022, now available in print and online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fleet technology supplier Samsara is rolling out product updates designed to streamline drivers’ daily routines, mitigate unsafe driving and improve fleet management. The updates include enhancements to Samsara’s Driver Workflows, which guide drivers through various compliance- and safety-related tasks to help simplify those processes. Samsara also announced In-Cab Nudges, a new feature that gives drivers opportunities to self-correct risky driving behaviors after receiving an in-cab alert. If drivers cease the unsafe behavior they can maintain their safety scores and avoid potential coaching. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden has sent a letter to U.S. oil refiners to tell them that unprecedented profit margins are unacceptable, while calling for immediate action to improve capacity as the soaring price of gasoline feeds record inflation and fears of a recession. Biden said his administration was prepared to take steps that would help companies increase output in the near term, and said he’s ordering Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to hold an emergency meeting on the subject in the coming days. Oil industry leaders pushed back, with Chet Thompson, president of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers association, saying, “Any suggestion that U.S. refiners are not doing our part to bring stability to the market is false.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices