Archive for February, 2010
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
The trucking service industry has taken a bit of a blow, as idle-reduction innovator IdleAire closed up shop for good today. It had gone into Chapter 11 in 2008 and had its assets bought by some of its creditors, but they hadn’t been able to make a profit despite introducing the trucking services world an integrated truck-stop solution of a HVAC unit, electrical power, cable TV, telephone and Internet connection in one window-mounted unit.
Not only did the IdleAire allow the driver to turn off the engine and still have a climate-controlled tractor, but it allowed the driver to stay in contact with the outside world in an increasingly computerized age. When it was launched in 2000, it was state of the art, but not every innovator manages to make money. Geeks of a certain age will remember the Commodore computers of the late 70s and early 80s and the Tucker automobile was decades ahead of its time yet a financial failure.
A number of other companies have entered the idle-reduction market, selling units similar to the IdleAire, so the vision of IdleAire’s founders will go on; it is too nice of a concept to see it totally abandoned, especially when the environmental and cost-saving benefits of not having to run one’s engines is not lost on trucking transport firms. In fact, as authorities try to limit the amount of idling done by trucks, descendants of the IdleAire will likely flourish in the years to come, as truck stops and truckers alike will want to get green and frugal at the same time.
Source: http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-deta…_category_id=17
Tags: freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking service, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Dry vans made an impact with the Haiti victims devastated by the January 2010 earthquake. During the week of January 22, 2010, kind donations were made. On January 19, a 53-foot dry van with PolartecR fabric inside was delivered to Miami thanks to that company as well as help from the warehouse company NFI. Goodwill was the company that accepted the delivery and they had plans for the fabric.
A trucking company was very excited about the assistance of providing the high performance PolartecR fabric and provided the company with a truck and driver. Goodwill will use the fabric to create lightweight blankets that will then be shipped to Haiti to help victims of the earthquake stay warm.
The trucking company was honored to work along side PolartecR to get the fabric to Miami so it could then be delivered to Goodwill. Peter Sobha, director of global credit, collections and logistics for Polartec.R stated he “was looking for a company to partner with us to move our donated fabric.” The company chosen to collaborate with PolartecR owns more than 10,000 tractors and trailers and has 18 million square feet of warehouse space.
The most important part of this story is the kind gesture of companies working together in an effort to help those in need in Haiti with the comfort and warmth of a lightweight blanket. Goodwill creating the blankets, PolartecR providing the fabric, and the trucking company for getting it to Miami in the hands of Goodwill, are the ones to thank.
Nothing has been released about the length of time it will take to create the blankets or what companies may be in charge of shipping the blankets to Haiti and in the hands of the needy.
Source:
http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/201…liefeffort.aspx
Tags: Dry Vans, freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
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Monday, February 15th, 2010
The interstate transport system will see some changes with the awarding of $8 billion worth of high-speed rail grants. The money being spent will help freight rail companies, as part of the money will be spent improving the tracks which will help both passenger and freight rail service in those areas. However, there are areas of the trucking industry that will be helped as well.
Since faster freight rail service will involve containerized shipping, container trucking firms will be aided. Intermodal facilities will be given a boost as well, as trucking logistics will be moved away from pure trucking and to a truck-train blend. That will be even more the case if the president gets his wish and sees exports double in the next five years; most of those goods would head overseas via containers.
Another trucking boost will be to trucking firms who make local runs along the highways paralleling the high-speed rail lines. President Obama was in Tampa for his announcement today, where a new Tampa-to-Orlando line is being built. Trucks that have to use I-4 between the two cities will be aided, since a lot of car traffic will be taken off the highway and onto the rail lines, possibly allowing the Malfunction Junction of I-4 and I-275 in Tampa to function for a change.
Delivering supplies for the projects will be another boost for trucking; out of that $8 billion, a few billion will be in the form of steel, concrete and other supplies, and most of that will arrive by truck.
Thus, what seems to be a boon to freight rail can be a blessing for trucking as well, for there will be a number of plusses to an improved rail system for the trucking industry.
Sources:http://www.joc.com/node/416331
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte…0012704921.html
Tags: container trucking, freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, interstate transport, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking logisitics, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Monday, February 15th, 2010
The Eurotunnel is a trucking logistics dream for European trucking transport firms that bring goods back and forth across the channel. 2010 will mark the 16th year since the Eurotunnel first began operations and the 15 electrically-powered shuttles that bring freight back and forth across the England Channel have been going at it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, since that time. The truck shuttles go back and forth across the English Channel an average of 160 times every day, rain or shine, and close to 60,000 times each year. Almost a million trucks are brought across the English Channel every year using the Eurotunnel and this number is expected to stay steady or improve in the future. In fact, the Eurotunnel leads the world in the number of container transports that are transported using its truck shuttle service.
Yesterday, the Eurotunnel reached a milestone marker in its history when the fifteenth million truck was loaded onto a truck shuttle and brought across the English Channel to the City of Folkestone. A historic moment in freight transport history that will be remembered in the years ahead, especially when we reach similar milestones in the history of the Eurotunnel, the transportation of the fifteenth million truck on the truck shuttle service of the Eurotunnel will mark a time when we celebrated the success of the dream that is the Eurotunnel. A dream that has provided a safe way to move freight from the European continent to the British Isles and back, the Eurotunnel was once considered a mad dream by many. Yet today, many truckers would be working somewhere else or in another industry if they weren’t sitting in a truck waiting to be loaded onto a shuttle heading across the English Channel through the Eurotunnel.
The Eurotunnel was a dream that just had to wait for its time and the past sixteen years has been part of a time when the Eurotunnel transformed the industry of freight trucking. What’s next for the Eurotunnel? Your guess is as good as mine! One thing we do know is that the Eurotunnel will continue to reach freight transportation roadmarks that astound the mind.
http://www.transportweekly.com/pages/en/news/articles/68868/
http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/ukcCor…ionth-Truck.htm
Tags: container transports, freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking logistics, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Friday, February 12th, 2010
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the largest container transport hub on the east coast, is taking a more incentive-driven approach to cleaning the air around its seaports, creating a $28 million program to replace older trucks servicing the ports; the federal EPA is providing $7 million of the funding with the rest coming from the port authority itself. Other ports, especially those in California, have similar subsidies as well, but have also opted for more strenuous regulations that have forced older trucks to either stop serving the ports or to have them retrofitted to meet current emission standards.
To this point, the Port Authority has opted not to force trucks out of service or to ban owner-operator trucking, as the port of Los Angeles has done. That will allow a broader array of trucking companies to use the port, especially the Auto Marine terminal, where a number of smaller car haulers could use the port for used car exports.
The structure of the Port Authority, run by commissioners appointed by the governors of the two states, tends to create a management that is more focused on maintaining the operation of the ports, bridges and tunnels under its watch; that has produced a framework that is more user-friendly to the shippers, railroads and trucking firms that use the ports.
One interesting problem that the Port Authority is running into is the Bayonne Bridge, which is too low for many container ships to pass under to get to the main container facility. Replacing the bridge is one option, as is raising the roadway so that the bigger container ships can pass through.
Sources:http://www.joc.com/node/416319
http://www.seaportsinfo.com/panynj/
Tags: container transport, freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, owner operator trucking, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Friday, February 12th, 2010
Earlier this week, plans for a new double-stack compatible rail tunnel between Detroit and Windsor were moving forward; now, the plans for a new bridge between the two cities is moving to the bidding stage, promising to make trucking logistics a bit easier in the years to come. Transport Canada and the Michigan DOT are asking would-be builders to submit a proposal of interest by St. Patrick’s Day.
The large amount of traffic flowing between Michigan and Ontario has been one of the unsung success stories of NAFTA; parts move freely across the boarder, but a lack of space to handle the amount of trucking loads going through the Ambassador Bridge and Windsor Tunnel made the new bridge a priority for both countries.
The new Detroit River International Crossing project would be a bit south of the Ambassador Bridge; connections to I-75 will be part of the project on the US side, but a connector project to hook the DRIC to Ontario’s main 401 highway are being done separately.
The DRIC will make it easier to provide trucking services between Ontario and points in the US. With a new facility that is designed with NAFTA levels of trade in mind, trucks should be able to get through customs and across the border much faster than at present. That should translate into lower costs to ship freight to and from Ontario and enable car companies to have a more reliable flow of parts, allowing them to find-tune their just-in-time inventory systems.
Source: http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=23229
Tags: freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking loads, trucking logistics, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
It will be a bit easier to ship freight on the east coast if Virginia goes through with a proposed law to up the speed limits on interstate highways to 70 MPH. The bill, SB537, has the support of newly-elected Gov. Bob McDonnell, who put in a plug for the bill in his State of the Commonwealth speech. Currently, only rural parts of I-85 are posted at 70 MPH, but other interstates would be eligible for the higher speed if traffic official deem it safe.
Virginia has made some pro-trucker moves this month, as they moved to reopen rest areas earlier this month, giving trucks a well needed place to park. Since Virginia sees quite a bit of traffic on its Interstates, including the main east coast run of I-95 and I-81, it is a key part of the interstate transport mix. I-85 gets eastern traffic to Atlanta and the I-20 corridor, and I-81 hooks up with the major I-40 corridor.
Slower speeds are more fuel-efficient, but higher speeds are more profitable for truckers, as they can spend less time on the road. If a truck is spending two hours going through Virginia, the increase speed gives them ten miles of extra range in a day, twenty if they are doing a round trip. That can save trucking service firms twenty minutes of wages an might make the difference between reaching a customer in one day and needed the truck driver to spend the night on the road before finishing the delivery.
Since a lot of truck drivers will ignore speed limits and go 70 anyways, this might increase safety rather than reduce it, as differences in speed between vehicles is often more of a problem than speed itself.
Source:http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Dai…0/012510-01.htm
Tags: freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, interstate transport, moving freight, ship freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking service, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Getting the goods and materials Europeans need to survive to destination using container transport is an expensive, and profitable business, if you can do the job in a timely and efficient manner. The French channel port of Dunkirk recently put a smile on the faces of officials at Eurotunnel as the firm announced that Eurotunnel would be the new operator for its company rail network for the next seven years, with an option for an extra four years should both parties agree.
The deal should put about $36 million American into the coffers of Eurotunnel, after unforseen costs, and expenses, but could be worth far more in terms of business connections and other considerations for Eurotunnel. The opportunity for other business deals and relationships might turn out to be far more valuable for Eurotunnel in the years ahead.
Eurotunnel should be able to just step into the role as they have years of experience operating similar lines and currently operate the terminal at Calais, a 30 km hop and skip away from the rail line of the port of Dunkirk.
The deal is partly being driven by the French governments desire to use rail as a sustainable form of freight transport and this can be seen in the growth of rail in and around the port of Dunkirk. Presently they’re constructing new rail infrastructure and preparing to use rail more and more as part of their plan to use intermodal transfer services to enhance rail freight transport in the port of Dunkirk beyond the 15 million tonnes it has been moving each year.
How will this affect the trucking transport industry of Europe? This is a good question that the European owner-operator trucking industry and road freight transport firms will be asking themselves. The French road trucking industry has been pretty quiet about the situation, so maybe they don’t think it will mean much to them.
Rail is normally better for moving freight long distances and in large amounts, while road freight transport generally deals with shorter routes and smaller loads and this hasn’t changed. There are goods that need to be transported by truck in Europe and while the need exists the trucks will continue to move along the roads.
http://www.portdedunkerque.fr/jahia/webdav…tunnel%20GB.pdf
Tags: container transport, freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, owner operator trucking, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, Uncategorized, freight shipping | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
The European trucking services industry has been heading down a dark and unknown tunnel the past thirteen months but a light has finally appeared ahead in the darkness that drivers are hoping will take them to their destination.
The past year has been a tough road for European trucking firms as agencies report that freight volumes were down about 30 percent in 2009. This in turn has resulted in over 200 percent increase in firms deciding to park their trucks for the last time and close the doors. The competitioin between firms vying for the business of the available customers who do want freight to be moved and other factors has lead to a decrease in freight rates at the same time.
Europe is a big place with lots of boundaries and geographical areas with varying needs for freight movements that in combination with the drop in freight being moved has resulted in varying conditions existing in different regions of Europe. Countries with trucking industries that are still young in comparison to older and more established markets have had a tougher time during the financial crisis.
The French freight industry has been going through a really rough spell that has been made worse by the French governments decisions during the crisis. Over in the United Kingdom, Ireland’s freight industry has had a toughest time dealing with the crisis, while Britain has faired pretty well. At the present moment the only direction appears to be up for the European freight industry, at least that’s the hope.
Companies in the trailer trucking industry have had to make the normal moves to deal with the financial crisis and lack of business during the recession. They have reduced the percentage of their fleet in operation and this has resulted in drivers losing work and they have decreased the number of suppliers they deal with in many cases. A few firms have even had to liquidate equipment in order to keep the doors open, which is going to cost them down the road when the industry rebounds and they want to put more trucks on the road.
The European freight industry has also seen the normal contractions in the industry during a recession that has resulted in smaller companies going bust or being consumed by bigger companies with big appetites. This of course means that customers have less choice in the firms they can hire to move freight and less freight capacity could mean during times of increased need that customers will suffer the consequences.
Industry experts in Europe think the container trucking industry in Europe could be about to get around the corner of the street of recession they have been on. Hopefully, this is the case and the effect trickles down to the trucking transport industries of other geographical regions of the world.
http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-…ht-Outlook.html
http://www.transportintelligence.com/marke…eight-2008/221/
Tags: freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight rates, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
When we were serving as our own trucking service last week moving back to Michigan and had a van full of clothes and personal effects sitting outside a hotel, I noted that the hotel warned people to bring their valuables inside and that they weren’t liable for lost property. That might not be a huge risk for us with nothing much that would be pawnable to steal, but the same isn’t true of trucks. Truck drivers often leave their trucks unattended to eat, use the restroom and sometimes sleep; that makes their trailer a possible target for cargo theft.
A new online database of theft data called CargoNet is being set up to try and track trends in cargo theft and to set up procedures for certifying truck stops for their security. One of the things that I could see happening at a truck stop or hotel is that if a thief knows that a trucker is going to have to sleep for eight hours and be off-duty for ten hours based on hours-of-service rules, he won’t be around to check on his trailer. The thief has literally all night to wait for the right moment to bring up a van, pop open the back of the trailer and offload the goods; if they can break in quietly at 3AM, no one would notice.
The job of a good truck stop security plan would be to make sure that right moment never happens. Video surveillance can help prevent theft, but better police interest in such cases can help; since the victim is likely from out-of-town, the police might not be as interested.
Getting people to use such secure facilities can be a problem, since that will add to the cost of a truck stop. Penny-pinching owner-operator trucking firms might opt for less expensive facilities, but better off trucking transport firms could be more likely to afford such facilities.
Sources: http://www.securitydirectornews.com/?p=art…=sd201001TRglZn
http://www.iso.com/Products/CargoNet/Cargo…ry-Network.html
Tags: cargo shipping, freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, owner operator trucking, shipping freight, trucking service, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »