Western Star 4700: Test Drive

For many years, Western Star Trucks played last fiddle in truck sales symphonies, with U.S. Class 8 market share numbers of 1% and less. The company’s share climbed a bit when it was bought by Freightliner in 2000. Since sibling Sterling Truck fell by the wayside in 2008, parent company…

FMCSA shuts down Tennessee carrier for multiple violations

he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Friday, June 29, ordered Tennessee-based truck company Three Angels Farms and its owners, Edwin Ayache and Dorian Ayache, to cease all transportation services immediately based on serious safety violations that posed an imminent hazard to public safety. The agency said the shutdown order…

FMCSA Shuts Down Tennessee Trucking Outfit

Tennessee Trucking: Although a new study raises doubts about the reliability of CSA scores, those scores increasingly help federal regulators shut down unsafe trucking companies. Last week the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered motor carrier Three Angel Farms out of service, citing, among other criteria, high CSA scores. The…

NAFTA surface trade hit record high in March

Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico was 6.2 percent higher in March than in March 2011, totaling $85.8 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation. March was the highest…

Four private fleet drivers inducted into PMTC Hall of Fame

The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) has inducted four drivers into its Hall of Fame during its annual conference in King City yesterday. The Hall of Fame – found online at www.pmtc.ca –is sponsored by Huron Services Group and recognizes superior over the road performance by drivers whose…

Mack partners with community to open Mack Truck Stop

As a result of a partnership with multiple organizations in Lehigh Valley, Pa., a Titan by Mack now greets visitors to the Levitt Pavilion at SteelStacks, an arts and cultural center and the former site of Bethlehem Steel. Mack partnered with ArtsQuest, which manages the Levitt Pavilion, and the Lehigh…

Arkansas Best Corporation Closes on Acquisition of Premium Logistics Company Panther Expedited Services, Inc.

Arkansas Best Corporation (ABFS), a leading provider of freight transportation and logistics solutions, today announced it closed on the previously announced purchase of Panther Expedited Services, Inc. (“Panther”), from Fenway Partners LLC, for approximately $180 million, adding that all of Panther’s outstanding debt has been repaid. The $100 million term…

The FTR Shippers Conditions Index

FTR Associates on Wednesday, June 13, announced that its Shippers Conditions Index for April basically was unchanged from the previous month with a moderately negative reading of -5.4. The SCI sums up all market influences that affect shippers; a reading above zero suggests a favorable shipping environment, while a reading…

Allied Systems Holdings files for Chapter 11

Automotive transportation provider Allied Systems Holdings on Sunday, June 10, announced that the company has implemented a financial restructuring through Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code as part of its plan to eliminate debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The company said it will continue normal operations in the…

Trucking conditions Improvement 2012

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) for April moved significantly higher from the previous month, climbing 2.7 points to a favourable reading of 9.1. The TCI is a compilation of factors affecting trucking companies. Any reading above zero indicates a positive environment for truckers with readings above 10 a sign that…

East Coast Truckers vie for Spot in Nationals on Home Turf

Professional drivers from the East Coast Atlantic provinces competed last weekend to earn a spot in the National Professional Truck Driving Championships, which this year will be hosted by their home association. Winners in the provincial competition included: Roy Mattinson, Roy Mattinson and Sons, two-axle; Steve MacPhee, Day & Ross…

Freightliner debuts Cascadia Evolution tractor

Freightliner debuts Cascadia Evolution tractor

Freightliner: The next step in Daimler Trucks North America’s continuing quest for more fuel-efficient trucks appeared at a press conference on Wednesday, May 30, on the eve of Freightliner’s annual dealer meeting in Washington, D.C. The 2014 Cascadia Evolution is designed to be what its model name implies: a sophisticated…

Certified Business Broker

A business broker is someone paid to buy and sell businesses. Unlike a Realtor, who lists and sells real estate, a business broker specializes in buying and selling business entities. Becoming a business broker doesn’t require a considerable amount of advanced education; however, you must have a significant amount of…

Federal Government Programs for the Trucking Industry

The trucking industry employs more than 10 million people in the U.S. and brings in well over $600 billion in gross revenues every year, 5 percent of the U.S. GDP. The trucking industry is dominated by a few big companies, but there are thousands of small businesses and independent truckers…