Transport Topics

U.S. retail sales in December of Classes 4-7 commercial vehicles reached the second-highest volume for 2021 despite declines across the board. Sales in the month fell 8.9% compared with a year earlier, WardsAuto.com reported. Sales were 22,326 compared with 24,507 a year earlier. December’s total trailed only March’s 23,575. Full-year sales increased 10.1% to 239,703 compared with 217,753 in the 2020 period, according to Wards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The national average price for diesel surged for the second straight week, climbing 6.8 cents to $3.725 a gallon, according to Energy Information Administration data released Jan. 18. Trucking’s main fuel has risen 11.2 cents a gallon on average in the past two weeks after dropping 12.1 cents over the previous seven weeks. A gallon of diesel now costs $1.029 more than it did at this time in 2021. Diesel’s price rose in all 10 regions in EIA’s weekly survey, with the steepest increase being 8.1 cents in the Midwest. The smallest gain was just seven-tenths of a cent in California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. Department of Transportation is allocating $26.5 billion for repairs to bridges around the country in what the White House is calling the nation’s largest investment in bridges since the creation of the interstate highway system. The Bridge Formula Program was made possible through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Joe Biden in November. The program will be administered by the Federal Highway Administration, and calls for $26.5 billion to be distributed over five years to states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as well as $825 million for tribal transportation facilities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Supreme Court has stopped the Biden administration from enforcing a requirement that employees at large businesses, including trucking companies, be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask on the job. The ruling is a victory for American Trucking Associations, which led a consortium of industry and business groups in challenging the mandate in court. Quote “Today, ATA has won a tremendous victory on behalf of the trucking industry and workers and employers everywhere,” end quote, ATA President Chris Spear said in a statement. The court concluded the administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine-or-test rule on U.S. businesses with at least 100 employees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Class 8 U.S. retail sales in December rose 15.5% compared with a year earlier, and reached the high point for the year, WardsAuto.com reported Jan. 12. Sales hit 24,716 compared with 21,402 in the 2020 period. For the full year, sales climbed 15.6% to 221,889 compared with 191,900 a year earlier, according to Wards. Truck makers’ respective 12-month market shares remained largely the same — except for Kenworth Truck Co., a unit of Paccar Inc., whose share fell to 14.6% compared with 15.7% a year earlier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently affirmed in a series of guiding principles that the landscape for transportation operations must prioritize safety, economic growth and climate change. Specifically, the department noted officials would benefit by pursuing policies that would facilitate the development of infrastructure capable of withstanding the impact of severe weather events. Such infrastructure resilience would need to complement the adoption of technologies that would boost safety and communication across transportation modes. The guidelines were outlined this month as part of the department’s role in implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1 trillion law enacted in November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The DRIVE-Safe Act, included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Joe Biden in November, creates an apprenticeship program under which drivers younger than 21 can drive commercial vehicles interstate. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking emergency approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget to launch a pilot of the apprenticeship program by Jan. 13. The driver apprenticeship program is a tool to help alleviate the trucking industry’s ongoing driver shortage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An attorney representing a coalition of trucking and business interests told the Supreme Court Friday that the Biden administration’s sweeping proposed COVID vaccine mandate was overly burdensome for employers and would result in large numbers of employee resignations. The mandate would require private-sector firms with 100 or more employees to order employees be vaccinated or submit to testing. Companies could face fines for violations. Attorney Scott Keller also questioned whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had the power to issue such a broad mandate to all large employers, rather than limiting it to specific industries. The justices did not indicate when they would issue their ruling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Class 8 orders in December were the second-weakest of the year. Production remained constrained by a bedeviling supply chain, which continued to make truck makers very careful about adding new orders to the pipeline, ACT Research reported. Preliminary net orders were 22,800, according to ACT, which will revise the net total when truck makers release the final adjusted figures. However, as was noted repeatedly in 2021, amid strong freight demand and robust rates, fleets have been and remain ready to order many more trucks — if they become available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon is partnering with Stellantis NV to develop software with the carmaker and agreed to buy a new electric delivery van. Stellantis will work on digital technology with the e-commerce giant and use its cloud services, according to a joint statement. Amazon also will be the first commercial customer for the new Ram ProMaster electric delivery vehicle due in 2023. The announcement at the CES consumer tech show in Las Vegas comes after Stellantis last month outlined plans to generate about $23 billion in extra revenue from software-driven features in its vehicles by the end of the decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Schneider National announced it is growing its dedicated operations with the acquisition of truckload carrier Midwest Logistics Systems. The Green Bay, Wis.-based transportation, intermodal and logistics services provider acquired 100% of the equity interest in the company in a deal announced Tuesday. The carrier will run as an independent subsidiary with its professional drivers and associates continuing to operate under the Midwest Logistics Systems name. Schneider ranks No. 7 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The average retail price of a used Class 8 vehicle in November bounced up 11.8% compared with the previous record just set in October and soared 67.8% higher compared with a year earlier, ACT Research reported. November’s record average retail price was $80,769. A month earlier the average retail price for a Class 8 was $72,204. A year earlier it was $48,118, according to ACT. “We thought we were starting to see a little influx on inventory, then new retail sales in November were stinky. What can you do? If people aren’t buying [new], they aren’t trading in [old],” said ACT Vice President Steve Tam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As 2021 draws to a close, diesel and gasoline prices are declining, but still running about a dollar a gallon more than a year ago. In the latest report from the Energy Information Administration, the national average for a gallon of trucking’s main fuel sits at $3.615 a gallon. The price has fallen for six consecutive weeks for a total of 11.9 cents a gallon over that span. But it’s still 98 cents a gallon more than a year ago. And while gasoline also is trending downward, its national average is at $3.275, which is $1.032 a gallon more than a year ago. EIA said 2021 oil production averaged 11.1 million barrels per day through November, about 1.2 million barrels below 2019’s 12.3 million figure. This year’s output was affected by the deep freeze that hit Texas in February. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Despite concerns about the supply chain and the omicron variant of the coronavirus, holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years. Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards, reported Dec. 26 that holiday sales had risen 8.5% from a year earlier. The results, which covered Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, were fueled by purchases of clothing and jewelry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ports across the country are about to receive a financial windfall. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is awarding more than $241 million in grants to bolster U.S. ports, part of the Biden administration’s plan to shore up the supply chain and accelerate the flow of freight. The funds are being made available immediately to 25 projects in 19 states. Next year, the amount of money for port improvements will nearly double to $450 million in grants annually for five years under the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden said that his administration, together with labor unions and companies, succeeded in averting a holiday season supply chain crisis. After his remarks on the supply chain, Biden held a virtual meeting with leaders from companies including FedEx and Yellow Corp. Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx, said: “So, the supply chain issues are not all solved, but there’s a lot of effort underway to solve them and we’re optimistic that people will have a good peak season.” Biden also spoke about concerns related to inflation and other challenges moving forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truck tonnage in November posted the strongest year-over-year gain since spring, according to American Trucking Associations. It comes as no surprise as busy consumer spending in brick-and-mortar stores and online propelled a surge in freight activity. The seasonally adjusted ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose to 114.5 last month, a 2.5% increase compared with November 2020 and a 1.3% improvement compared with October’s 113. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FMCSA Deputy Administrator Meera Joshi has been selected by New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams to be that city’s deputy mayor for operations, a move that spells the end of Joshi’s nomination to become leader of the federal safety agency. Joshi previously had served as CEO of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, and with this appointment joins a list of five women Adams on Dec. 20 selected to serve as top lieutenants in his administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A coalition of trucking, transportation and manufacturing stakeholders are expressing concern over the persistent shortage of semiconductors needed for manufacturing new trucks and how it is affecting the broader economic landscape. In letters sent to President Joe Biden, members of his Cabinet and congressional leaders, the groups note that new vehicles are increasingly reliant on semiconductors for managing all manner of vehicle systems. Without these components, trucks that would otherwise be hauling freight during a period of high demand sit idled. Among those signing the letters are American Trucking Associations and UPS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Biden administration is launching a multifaceted program aimed at expanding recruiting efforts in trucking. The Biden-Harris Trucking Action Plan emphasizes apprenticeship programs, as well as encouraging veterans to consider trucking as a post-military career. American Trucking Associations Executive Vice President of Advocacy Bill Sullivan applauded the plan and said the organization looks forward to working with the administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices