Business

Over the past few decades, we’ve done ourselves a significant injustice in the trucking industry by not paying attention to the changes happening around us as they relate to recruiting drivers and owner-operators.

It was about this time last year that I had the privilege of addressing you in these pages as I started my year as chairman of American Trucking Associations.

The opening days of the sad soap opera being played out on Capitol Hill apparently did little damage to the nation’s freight distribution system, according to what industry executives told our reporters last week.

Heavier allowable truck weights and greater competition in the railroad industry would improve freight operations and make U.S. manufacturers more competitive globally, representatives of large shippers told a congressional panel last week.

An executive with Westport Innovations said the company has spoken with customers about discontinuing its 15-liter liquefied natural gas engine because it may not be economically viable.

Here in a part of south-central Spain known more as the stomping ground of Don Quixote and for its wine growing than high-tech ventures, a company is trying to loosen the tight grip North American truck makers have exerted on the repair of their vehicles.

Many years of navigating through a challenging economic and legislative environment has left trucking fleets more efficient than ever and primed to take advantage of new business opportunities, according to the president of American Trucking Associations.

Mack Trucks introduced its GuardDog Connect service package aimed at speeding truck repairs and averting unnecessary maintenance stops by enhancing communications between drivers, fleets and dealers.

Freight transportation officials said their companies suffered only minimal effects from the federal government shutdown last week but added they were preparing for disruptions if the budget dispute drags on.

Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam said last week that the truck-stop chain has completed an internal audit of customers to identify any wrongdoing and “make right 100%” of any errors it has found.