Southern California port truckers, crippled by extensive delays, intend to seek the first-ever federal hours-of-service rule waiver for the sector in a bid to free up clogged cargo at the two largest U.S. ports. “The situation is dire right now,” said Mike Johnson, president of the Harbor Trucking Association and operations manager for Port Logistics Group. He told Transport Topics the waiver from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is required because truckers need more time to move delayed cargo...

WASHINGTON — Concerns over the ongoing plight to park trucks safely is prompting a group of national and regional stakeholders to plan ways to improve parking availability, given a new Department of Transportation survey that found dire shortages in metropolitan areas. Deputy Transportation Secretary Victor Mendez said a National Coalition on Truck Parking would convene in a few months to develop recommendations. “We know truck parking has been a long-standing problem in our nation, and we need new...

Operational costs consume much of the revenue a carrier can earn and is therefore suspect in being the biggest drain on profits for most carriers. The majority of operational costs are incurred the moment the driver is dispatched to the customer’s facility for a pick up or delivery. Along the way to the customer’s dock, costs impact the carrier’s earnings in the form of fuel/oil costs, tractor/trailer payments, repair and maintenance costs, insurance premiums, permits and licensing, tires, tolls, and finally, driver...

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports that the Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) — which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry — fell 0.2 percent in January from December. This is second consecutive month of decline. The January 2015 index level (122.9) was 29.9 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession. The level of freight shipments in January measured by the Freight TSI (122.9) was 0.6 percent below the all-time high level of...