-
3 days ago | 
logisticsmgmt.com | John Schulz
Too many trucks chasing too little freight. That’s the condensed version of analytical firm FTR’s 2025 forecast for trucking in the wake of President Donald Trump’s foray into tariffs and their effects on the industrial and retail economy. Those tariffs affected FTR’s economic forecast by raising the global tariff rate to around 21% from 2% in 2024. FTR’s estimate is significantly below maximum potential impact of around 28%.
-
1 week ago | 
scmr.com | John Schulz
(Photo: Getty Images) The nation’s leading TL and LTL carriers are proving that vision, efficiency, and smart expansion are the keys to success—even in a soft market. Here’s a look at how the elite carriers pump up their continuous improvement processes while wooing shippers with new efficiencies that help both parties. Subscribe to our weekly e-mail update Don’t miss out on the best in supply chain.
-
1 month ago | 
logisticsmgmt.com | John Schulz
For trucking industry executives, running an efficient and profitable carrier in a notoriously thin-margin business starts with one key element: vision. Carrier leaders are constantly looking ahead—anticipating where the industry will be in five years, what services shippers will demand (and pay for), and how their operations fit into the broader landscape of the $931 billion trucking industry.
-
1 month ago | 
logisticsmgmt.com | John Schulz
A new study by the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) found that congressional proposals to allow heavier tractor trailers on highways would lead to major damages to the nation’s local bridges if enacted into law. It’s an update on an earlier 2023 report by CABT, which describes itself as a nonprofit grassroots organization with coalitions of approximately 3,000 local supporters in all 50 states.
-
1 month ago | 
supplychain247.com | John Schulz
The freight world was thrust into turmoil over President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on freight transportation across both the Canadian and Mexican borders and as high as 35% on China and other countries. What’s RelatedIt’s 10%, that is, except for auto parts, which got a 25% tariff. And then there are entire industries employing small armies of lobbyists who will formally petition the Trump administration for exemptions, changes, reductions and other fine-print alterations. Confusion reigns.
-
1 month ago | 
logisticsmgmt.com | John Schulz
The freight world was thrust into turmoil over President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on freight transportation across both the Canadian and Mexican borders and as high as 35% on China and other countries. It’s 10%, that is, except for auto parts, which got a 25% tariff. And then there are entire industries employing small armies of lobbyists who will formally petition the Trump administrations for exemptions, changes, reductions and other fine-print alterations. Confusion reigns.
-
2 months ago | 
logisticsmgmt.com | John Schulz
The trucking industry’s push toward electrification seems to have run out of juice. A combination of California’s move away from mandating electric trucks at its ports and the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of electric-truck manufacturer Nikola has pulled the plug on trucking’s push toward electrification. California’s move to electrifying port drayage trucks around ports “was excessively ambitious,” Daniel Sperling, a professor at the University of California-Davis, told the New York Times.
-
2 months ago | 
logisticsmgmt.com | John Schulz
Shippers and less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers are continuing their adjustments and preparation for major changes in classification ratings of their freight shipments that begin on July 19 and will continue throughout the year. Density ratings go from 11 subcategories to 13. Generic headings are being grouped. About 2,000 items are being eliminated from a list of 5,000 items.
-
2 months ago | 
logisticsmgmt.com | John Schulz
Standing still doesn’t pay any bills. Traffic congestion on U.S. highways added a record $108.8 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2022, the last full year for which costs are calculated. That’s according to the latest Cost of Congestion study published by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). This finding, part of ATRI’s ongoing highway performance measurement research, marks a record-high national congestion cost.
-
2 months ago | 
supplychain247.com | John Schulz
President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again threat of major tariffs on the United States’ closest allies, Canada and Mexico, have earned the thumbs down from freight officials and financial interests. What’s RelatedTrump’s directive by tariff – “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!)” – wore thin on freight and financial experts longing for stability in markets and crucial consistency from an inconsistent lame-duck president.
