TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2023.12.09 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending December 9, 2023, written by Vicki Simons.
We welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.
1. Regarding autonomous vehicles, ELDs, FMCSA, shut down, strike, and Yellow:
Autonomous vehicles
For many, many weeks, I have written at the top of every section having to do with autonomous vehicles in my TDMST Weekly Round-Up trucking commentaries that I am very much opposed to the operation of autonomous, driverless, or self-driving commercial motor vehicles on the same roads as the motoring public.
Six of the nine articles linked in this section are about the decision of TuSimple regarding winding down its U.S. operations and laying off 150 employees.
Obviously, TuSimple is not the only autonomous truck manufacturer, but the winding down of their operation does not bode well for this type of technology in the USA — at least not in the current transportation climate.
For the sake of all of the truckers whose jobs have been saved because of this move, I rejoice.
For the sake of all employees who have been laid off, I hope that they will be able to find suitable work.
- Briefly: Autonomous truck company TuSimple leaving U.S. market
- Driverless truck company TuSimple to exit U.S. operations, will lay off 75% of American workers
- Kodiak Robotics makes autonomous pickup for military
- Torc Robotics to Use Uber Freight Network for Autonomous
- TuSimple lays off 150 more employees as it winds down US operations
- TuSimple to wind down U.S. operations
- TuSimple to Wind Down US Operations, Lay Off 150 Employees
- TuSimple winding down U.S. operations
- Uber Freight and Torc Robotics Form Partnership on Autonomous Trucks
ELDs
Well, I don’t recall having read previously of the FMCSA “reinstating” an ELD that was previously taken off the list of approved devices. Hmm…
- ELD Compliance for Your Trucking Company
- ELD removed from FMCSA’s registered list now back on it
- Electronic logging device reinstated to approved list
- FMCSA reinstates CI ELD LOGS to registered list
- FMCSA Reinstates Revoked Device to Registered ELD List
- FMCSA removes 10 ELDs from list of approved devices, truckers told to switch to paper logs
- FMCSA returns CI ELD Logs to ‘registered devices’ list
- Ten electronic logging devices added to revoked list
FMCSA
- FMCSA issues notice of enforcement policy regarding sexual assault
- FMCSA issues policy on sexual assault among truck drivers
- FMCSA issues policy on using a CMV in commission of sexual assault
- FMCSA Proposes DataQs Appeal Process
- FMCSA releases policy statement on sexual assault
- FMCSA shortens emergency exemption waiver to 14 days
- FMCSA: States should remove commercial driving privileges if a driver uses a CMV to commit sexual assault
- FMCSA’s recent boost in authority revocations: You could be out of service…
Shut Down
This is sad, but I don’t think — given the economic climate — that this is the end of trucking company closures.
- Postal contractor Matheson Trucking shuttering operations after 60 years
- Sacramento company Matheson Trucking Inc. to shut down for good, per reports
Strike
Well, I had hoped that we would have seen the last of “strike talk” for a while, but I guess not.
- Allison Transmission Workers Reject Labor Deal, Stay on Job
- DHL Express diverts freighters from Cincinnati hub as strike precaution
- DHL Express Workers Strike at Cincinnati Air Cargo Hub
- DHL Teamster workers go on strike
- Teamsters call for strike at one of DHL’s largest and busiest logistics hubs
- Teamsters strike against DHL
- Teamsters warn of strike against UPS in Louisville
Yellow
The distribution of what once belonged to Yellow is partially described in the articles below.
- 130 of Yellow’s properties sold to former competitors, others for $1.9 billion
- Estes, Saia, Knight-Swift among winners in Yellow terminal auction
- First wave of Yellow terminals will go for $1.9B; sale process ongoing
- Saia holds on to Yellow’s freight
- TForce buys two former Yellow terminals
- XPO In Line for 28 Yellow Properties for $870 Million
- XPO makes bid to purchase Yellow’s service centers
- XPO to buy dozens of bankrupt Yellow’s terminals for $870 million
- Yellow Rejects Bid to Revive Company
- Yellow rejects Jack Cooper executive’s bid
- Yellow rejects plan to revive company, calling the bid “not viable”
- Yellow shoots down going concern bid to revive company
- Yellow Terminals Sold for $1.9 Billion in Bankruptcy Auction
- Yellow Trucking Terminals Disbursed to Once-Rival LTL Outfits
2. Regarding business, congestion pricing, inspections, insurance, LTL, and purchase:
Business
- Atlanta becomes casualty of imports returning to West Coast
- California-based Logistics Company Expands in South Carolina
- Estes opens new terminal at headquarters
- Georgia Officials Laud Plastic Express Expansion Near Port
- Is dedicated contract carriage right for you?
- Murphy-Hoffman opens new location in South Carolina
- TMC Transportation building 102,000 SF facility in Columbia, South Carolina
- XPO’s November shipment increase needed to fill 28 new terminals
Congestion pricing
According to the first article listed in this section:
According to the report, the recommended congestion pricing for large trucks entering the central business district is $36. The suggested charge for smaller box trucks is $24.
Will truckers choose to go around New York?
- Congestion pricing rates in NYC announced
- NYC proposes fee for trucks to enter | Alert: High wind warnings
Inspections
Insurance
LTL
Purchase
3. Regarding CARB, CARS Act, chain laws, and credentials:
CARB
- CARB approves $624 million for electric car, big rig funding
- CARB Clean Truck Check Compliance Begins Jan. 1
CARS act
Chain laws
Credentials
- Bill intro’d to ease credentialing process for TWIC, hazmat endorsements
- Trucking organizations, businesses support bill to streamline credentialing
4. Regarding electric vehicles and emissions:
Electric vehicles
If you plan to buy an electric commercial motor vehicle, please do your due diligence ahead of time.
- 3 Vanguard Truck Centers are now Mack Certified EV dealers
- Autocar, GM to Produce Fuel-Cell Electric Vocational Trucks
- Electric-truck purchase incentives: Challenges for small fleets
- Forum Mobility plans truck charging station at Long Beach port
- GM’s All-Electric Pledge Hinges on Demand, CEO Barra Says
- Hyliion’s Pivot to Genset Production Could Power Trucking’s EV Transition
- Michigan Government Vehicle Fleet Going All-Electric by 2040
- Synop aims to reshape supply chains starting with EV drayage trucks
Emissions
- Emissions plan sought by Connecticut governor sidelined
- Global Fossil Fuels Emissions to Hit Record Peak in 2023
- House backs GOP bill to block EPA rule on tailpipe pollution; slams plan as EV mandate
- House GOP Votes to Block EPA Tailpipe Emissions Rule
- Stellantis Petitions to Void California Emissions Agreement
- US Announces New Emissions-Curbing Methane Rule at COP28
- US, Canada to form task force to get locomotive emissions to net zero
5. Regarding crashes, death, drugs, fatalities, fraud, staged, and theft:
Crashes
Please look through these articles to see if there is anything you can learn to help you prevent being involved in a similar crash.
- Feds award $110M to several states to prevent wildlife crashes
- Michigan troopers say ninety-two year old making a U-turn caused semi to crash on I-94 in Sylvan Township
- Off-duty cop not likely to survive after crashing into semi truck making a U-turn
- Oversized load bridge strike shuts down westbound I-70 in Golden, Colorado
- Safety of Louisiana roadways analyzed after ‘super fog’ disaster
- Semi truck parked at weigh station get smacked by drunk pickup driver
- Texas Department of Public Safety says teen was fatally struck by an 18 wheeler after exiting school bus,
- Truck driver walked away from crash into bridge with minor injuries
- Trucker walks away from demolished cab after load shift and multiple trees tear it to shreds
Death
We express our deep sympathy — and offer our condolences — to the family of this trucker.
- Investigation underway after police find truck driver dead at Utah gas station
- Trucker found dead in rig at Utah gas station
Drugs
Never, ever haul illegal drugs, no matter how big of a payout has been promised!
Fatalities
We express our deep sympathy — and offer our condolences — to the families of those whose loved ones died in these crashes.
Can you learn anything from the articles below that would help prevent being involved in a fatal large truck crash?
- Garbage truck driver killed when tractor trailer full of trash falls onto cab
- POLICE: Tractor trailer noise possible factor in fatal incident with loader
Fraud
Staged
Theft
- Fighting Cargo Theft with Tech
- Memphis thieves shoot at trucker after stealing his load of chicken while he slept
- Trucker robbed by two armed and masked suspects on Ohio Turnpike
6. Regarding GPS and technology:
GPS
Technology
7. Regarding border, economy, employment, shortage, and taxes:
Border
- Borderlands: Logistics boom drives $1.2B e-commerce firm’s relocation in Texas
- Texas border wait times spike as CBP agents moved to immigration duty
Economy
- America’s energy boom: Crude exports soar to record high
- ArcBest’s November tonnage dips further, yields up
- Class 8 orders hit 14-month high in November
- Class 8 truck orders show acceleration in November
- Container shipping outlook 2024: Rising risk of delays, disruptions
- Daily Infographic: Holiday inventories remain balanced as shoppers show strength, NRF says
- Dry van rate gain remains strong in week after Thanksgiving
- Is the freight market in recovery; smuggling Santa Clauses; drones take flight – WTT
- November Class 8 Orders Rebound From Three-Month Slump
- Potentially unreliable’ shipping worries online shoppers
- The growing significance of big and bulky in retail supply chains, logistics
- Transportation capacity grows faster in November, prices continue to slide
- TriumphPay: Freight market rebound coming December 2024
- US imports dragged down by seasonality, Panama Canal crisis
Employment
- Driver Poll: Are you planning to switch jobs in the new year ahead?
- Labor Market Solid With 199,000 Jobs Added in November
- Lessons on reaching trucking’s next generation
- Monthly trucking employment report: Steady after lots of volatility
- Postal service trucking contractor to lay off 122 and shutter Denver, Portland facilities
- Recruiting and Retaining Drivers Remains a Challenge
- Trucking jobs stabilize in November, remain down for the year
Shortage
Taxes
8. Regarding legal, operations, parking, predatory towing, securement, and stress:
Legal
- A practical approach to avoid nuclear verdicts
- Court won’t hear Berkshire claims over Haslam’s Pilot payments next month
- Cruise Could Face Fines for Allegedly Misleading Regulators
- Lawsuit could launch different type of legal battle between FedEx Ground, contractors
- Omnitracs Sues Motive Technologies for Patent Infringement
- Transportation hearing to focus on infrastructure law
Operations
- Colorado Safety Videos Focus on Mountain Driving
- Daily Infographic: How to handle frozen car doors and locks
- New Mexico State Police remind truckers that they’re banned from the left lane under new law
- VIDEO: Stalled pickup on a foggy Vancouver bridge forces cement truck driver into wild evasive maneuver
Parking
- Additional truck parking available in three states
- ADOT plans to expand commercial truck parking along interstates
- Arizona DOT plans to add nearly 850 truck parking spaces at 10 locations statewide
- Arizona DOT’s plan calls for adding 842 new truck parking spaces
- Arizona’s plan to expand truck parking across state
- Greenwood, Indiana, police to ticket truckers illegally parked on interstate ramps starting today
- Has truck parking improved over past two years?
- Indiana Town Targets Truckers Sleeping Along Interstate, Despite Parking Shortage
- More truck parking coming to Arizona
- New Sheetz store brings 25 truck parking spaces to Virginia
- Newest Sheetz location features 25 free truck parking spaces
- TA adds 150 truck parking spaces in North Dakota
- Truck parking coalition discusses truck parking issues
- Truck parking expansion money still elusive on Capitol Hill
- U.S. sees increased parking availability, a symptom of a slowing market
Predatory towing
- Daily Infographic: Indiana tops predatory truck-towing list
- How To Combat Predatory Semi-Truck Towing
- Is truck towing predatory; truckers on OpenAI board; FIU’s supply chain program – WTT
- Predatory Truck Towing Becoming National Epidemic
- Towing company dinged for excessive admin fees
Securement
Stress
9. Regarding supply chain, testing, and travel centers:
Supply chain
- Tackling supply chain friction to achieve high-velocity supply chain operations
- The next frontier in supply chains: Yard vision and automation
Testing
- Florida agency seeks CDL skills test exemption
- Florida asks FMCSA for leeway for CDL applicants who fail their pre-trip test
- Florida wants waiver from certain CDL skills testing regs
- Loaded and Rolling: Florida seeks CDL skills testing waiver
Travel centers
- Buc-ee’s competitor Wally’s to open multiple luxury travel centers
- Pilot Travel Centers surpasses 100 store remodels
- TA opens two stores in Grand Forks and Williston, North Dakota, with a combined 150 truck parking spaces
10. Regarding fuel, fuel card, fuel cells, fuel efficiency, fuel surcharge, and fuel tax:
Fuel
- Average diesel prices mostly down around nation
- Diesel Price Falls to $4.092 in Sixth Consecutive Drop
- Down over 50 cents in 2.5 months, retail diesel not yet impacted by futures slide
- Fuel averages still dropping
- Hydrogen Industry Raises Alarm Over Leaked Tax Credit Rules
- Hydrogen’s slow march as fuel gets boost on San Francisco waterfront
- New York City Agencies Move to Renewable Diesel Fuel
- Weekly Fuel Report: December 05, 2023
- Weekly NTI Update: December 04, 2023
Fuel card
Fuel cells
- GM to provide hydrogen fuel cells for heavy-duty work trucks
- GM to supply Autocar with fuel cells for terminal tractors, vocational trucks
Fuel efficiency
Fuel surcharge
Fuel tax
- Fuel tax holiday in Georgia may or may not be over
- Fuel tax topic of multiple Missouri bills filed for 2024
11. Regarding recalls, side guards, and tires:
Recalls
- Nearly 1,900 Mack, Volvo trucks recalled for accelerator pedal sensor issue
- Speed control issue leads to recall of some 1,900 Volvo and Mack trucks
- Stay Informed: Heavy Truck Recalls in November 2023
Side guards
Tires
12. Regarding awards, recognition, and skill:
Awards
We congratulate every professional truck driver who has achieved a milestone, been nominated for an award, or received a reward for excellent truck driving!
- 8 finalists named for Professional Tank Truck Driver of the Year award
- APTA names White driver of the year, honors industry stars
- The Goodyear Highway Hero Award: Four Decades of Inspiring Stories of Courage On the Road
Recognition
We recognize professional truck drivers who help their fellow human beings in a time of need.
Skill
We also recognize truckers who went above and beyond in demonstrating skill in trucking.
- OPP shares dash cam video of the moment a trucker avoids a head-on crash with a delivery van
- VIDEO: Truck driver navigates just inches from 60 foot cliff edge
My husband Mike and I wish you — and all professional truck drivers — safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.
Return from TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2023.12.09 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.
