Transport Topics

Logistics giant C.H. Robinson is collaborating with Waymo to introduce autonomous trucks into its freight network, starting with multiple pilots in Texas. Waymo’s autonomous trucking division, Waymo Via, will use its test fleet of self-driving Class 8 tractors to haul freight between Dallas and Houston for C.H. Robinson customers, the companies announced Feb. 16. C.H. Robinson and Waymo plan to work together on the broader goal of shaping and accelerating the development of autonomous driving technology in the freight transportation industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paccar truck brands Peterbilt and Kenworth, in separate media events, announced that the Paccar TX-18 and TX-18 Pro automated transmissions will begin production in July. The new transmissions add enhancements from the earlier TX-12 for higher gross weights and additional vocational applications. The TX-18 and TX-Pro will be offered in Peterbilt’s 567, 579 and 389 models. For Kenworth, they will be available in the T680, T880 and W990 with Paccar MX-13 and Paccar MX-11 engines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The national average price for a gallon of diesel topped $4 this week for the first time since March of 2014. The increase of 6.8 cents a gallon brought the national average price to $4.019 a gallon. In California, the price has soared all the way to $4.994 a gallon. Crude oil also hit $95 a barrel Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anheuser-Busch teamed up with fleet partners Nikola and BYD Motors to deliver Bud Light NEXT using zero-emission trucks in time for yesterday’s Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. The extended-range Nikola Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle picked up a load of beer from the brewery in Van Nuys and delivered it to the Anheuser-Busch distribution facility in Carson. From there, a BYD battery-electric 8TT day cab tractor delivered the beer to local bars and retailers to be enjoyed by consumers during the big game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To alleviate supply chain woes around the country, Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and John Thune of South Dakota introduced legislation in the Commerce Committee aimed at improving the flow of freight at commercial ports. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act looks to update the regulatory landscape for global shipping stakeholders and takes aim at the Federal Maritime Commission. “Congestion at ports and increased shipping costs pose unique challenges for U.S. exporters, who have seen the price of shipping containers increase four-fold in just two years. Meanwhile, ocean carriers have reported record profits,” Klobuchar noted. Stakeholders have praised the Senate’s introduction of the bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The American Transportation Research Institute released its annual list of top freight bottlenecks, and a familiar intersection came in at No. 1. For the fourth consecutive year, the intersection of Interstate 95 and New Jersey State Route 4 in Fort Lee, N.J., topped the list. No. 2 was near the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati, which was damaged in 2020. This year’s third worst bottleneck was in Houston. Check out the full list online at ttnews.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canadian lawmakers say the trucker demonstrations across the country have the potential to cause profound trade disruptions with the United States. Yesterday, the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, was partially blocked by truckers protesting Canada’s vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions. Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the bridge a “vital trade artery” that carries 25 percent of trade between the countries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The national average price for a gallon of diesel jumped by 10.5 cents this week, inching ever closer to the $4 a gallon mark. It now sits at $3.951 a gallon, the highest it has been since May of 2014, according to Energy Information Administration data. In California, diesel is a nickel away from hitting $5 a gallon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an expansive bill Friday that would invest tens of billions in the U.S. tech sector, but Republican objections that it’s too weak on China threaten its chances of making it to President Biden’s desk. The bill started as a bipartisan push to bolster U.S. manufacturing and research, and ease the dependence on China for semiconductors, but it became mired in long-standing partisanship over U.S. policy on China. A final version of the legislation still has to be negotiated with the Senate, where Republicans wield filibuster power, and could be months away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Class 8 orders in January plunged compared with a year earlier to just above 21,000, and reflected the caution truck makers continue to exhibit in the face of ongoing supply chain difficulties and an already very lengthy backlog, ACT Research reported. Orders reached 21,300 compared with 42,307 a year earlier. A lack of semiconductors from Taiwan has caused median inventory held by chip consumers, including automakers or medical device manufacturers, to fall from 40 days in 2019 to less than five days in 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was easily approved by the U.S. Senate Commerce committee on Feb. 2. Steven Cliff, presently NHTSA’s deputy administrator, was cleared by a voice vote. His nomination will now move to the Senate floor, where Democratic leaders will schedule a vote to confirm his appointment as early as this month.Cliff has indicated he intends to focus the agency’s efforts on boosting safety programs as well as managing the adoption of vehicle technologies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Solera Holdings, the parent company of Omnitracs, has agreed to acquire asset-tracking firm Spireon Inc. in the latest example of consolidation in the trucking industry’s technology market. Solera is set to acquire Spireon from a fund managed by private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group, but the companies did not disclose the terms of the deal. The acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter. Spireon, headquartered in Irvine, Calif., provides the FleetLocate brand of trailer and asset monitoring technology and serves more than 13,000 customers with nearly 4 million connected devices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Zenith Freight Lines for approximately $87 million, the Lowell, Ark.-based carrier announced Jan. 31. Zenith is a wholly owned subsidiary of home furnishings manufacturer Bassett Furniture Industries. J.B. Hunt will continue to provide services for Bassett once the deal closes as part of a long-term master services agreement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 50-year-old bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh Friday on the same day that President Biden was already scheduled to visit the area to discuss infrastructure. There were minor injuries from the collapse but no fatalities. Witnesses said the loud noise from the collapse was followed by a hissing sound and the smell of natural gas. Ruptured gas lines along the bridge produced the leak. The cause was being investigated. Biden was visiting the city to promote his $1 trillion infrastructure law, which has earmarked about $1.6 billion for Pennsylvania bridge maintenance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re in the market for a used truck, it’s going to cost you about 66% more than it would have a year ago. The average retail price for a used Class 8 truck in December hit another monthly record as it cleared $82,000. A year earlier, the average price was just $49,634. Low inventory and high demand is to blame, as fleets find themselves waiting for new trucks that they’ve ordered to go into production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new survey from the Women In Trucking Association shows that female drivers would recommend that motor carriers adopt training policies allowing them the option for a same-gender trainer when involved in on-the-road activities, among other recommendations. The association said that the North American trucking industry gradually has come to a consensus on the need to encourage more female truck drivers. Recent U.S. Department of Labor data indicates that there has been an 88% increase in female drivers since 2010, although women still make up fewer than 8% of professional truck drivers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is formally withdrawing its emergency temporary standard mandating that companies with at least 100 employees require their workers to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, the agency announced yesterday. The withdrawal of the standard, which also allowed for weekly testing, comes after a Jan. 13 U.S. Supreme Court opinion remanded the standard to a lower court, saying that challengers to the rule — including American Trucking Associations — were likely to prevail on their claims. The high court voted 6-3 to stay the temporary standard, ruling that OSHA did not have the authority to issue the mandate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The average price of a gallon of diesel is still rising, increasing 5.5 cents to $3.78, according to Energy Information Administration data released yesterday. Diesel has seen a recent spike, rising 16.7 cents over the past three weeks, after a brief stretch of falling prices around the holidays. Trucking’s main fuel is now a dollar and change more than it was at this time last year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Port of Los Angeles moved record cargo volumes in 2021 amid an import surge at the biggest U.S. container gateway and supply chain snarls brought on by the pandemic. The West Coast port handled 10.7 million 20-foot-equivalent container units in 2021, 13% more volume than in 2018, the previous record year, Executive Director Gene Seroka said. Neighboring Port of Long Beach also hit a record this year, moving 9.38 million TEUs last year, almost 16% more than a year earlier, it said Jan. 19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden conceded that the Build Back Better Act probably would have to be broken up so that key components of the $2 trillion climate and social safety net legislation could pass the Senate. The bill has met resistance from Republicans and also Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Krysten Sinema of Arizona, who say the price tag would contribute to an inflation level that already is the highest in four decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices