Market Update: Transportation Industry News

This month’s C.H. Robinson Market Update highlights key factors that impact the transportation industry in North America and will keep you up to speed on the latest news and topics that matter to your supply chain and business.

 

In the transportation industry, there are many moving parts that can impact your day-to-day operations. From monitoring carrier capacity and driver shortages to tracking diesel pricing and government regulations, staying current on the events in transportation means you will be better equipped to make knowledgeable business decisions and drive growth and efficiency into your supply chain. This month’s Market Update highlights key factors that impact the transportation industry in North America and will keep you up to speed on the latest news and topics that matter to your supply chain and business.

 

Large Scale Market Indicators

Net orders for class 8 trucks in North America topped 40,000 units in November for the second straight month. These strong orders reflect motor carriers’ expectations for freight growth in 2015 and broader economic expansion. Read more.

 

Carrier Capacity

FTR’s December Trucking Report continues to receive reports of driver compensation increases, ranging from 3% to 13%. The increases are expected to stabilize in the 5% range until the next round of regulatory drag matures, late in 2016.

A total of 355 truck fleet companies with 9,090 trucks went bankrupt in Q3 2014. This is down from Q2 2014, but well above the 4,985 trucks seen last year. The average fleet size continues to be elevated to 26 trucks. Read more.

 

Driver Shortage

On December 2, 2014, American Trucking Associations (ATA) announced it was committing—on behalf of the trucking industry and its members—to hire 100,000 veterans as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring 500,000 Heroes campaign.

According to FTR’s November Trucking Update, the driver shortage is at 201,573 as of Q3 2014.

 

Government Regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is closer to increasing minimum insurance requirements for motor carriers. On November 28, 2014, FMCSA announced, through an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, that the agency is seeking comment from the public, liability insurance providers, motor carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders on the safety and financial impacts of revising the current minimum level ($750,000) of financial responsibility. Read more.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has become the latest industry group to request that the FMCSA remove the scores from its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program’s Safety Measurement System from public view, as they claim the program is not a good way to accurately assess carriers’ future crash risk. Read more.

 

Diesel Pricing

According to the Department of Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average price for diesel per gallon is $3.61. This decline comes on the heels of the 3.3 cent drop last week and stands as the lowest average weekly price per gallon since the week of February 21, 2011, when it checked in at $3.57. Read more.

Which transportation indicators or topics are most relevant to your interests? Leave your suggestions in the comment section.

 

Related Content

Related Article Image
Freight Classification Errors, Re-Weighs, & Other Common Freight...

Keeping the supply chain operation at peak efficiency requires efficient and economic transportation of...

Related Article Image
Build Resilience Into Your Supply Chain

Natural disasters and events like port strikes have already revealed weaknesses in lean global, regional, and...

comments powered by Disqus