05 Dec Enhance Freight Connectivity in Next Highway Bill, Executives Tell US House Panel Consideration in Congress of an extensive update to federal transportation guidelines must prioritize sustainable funding that enhances freight connectivity and reduces congestion, industry stakeholders told lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5. Read more...
05 Dec Class 8 Orders Slump for Weakest November Since 2015 Preliminary North American Class 8 net orders for November passed 17,000 and hit the second-highest point reached this year, but analysts at two data-tracking firms said it did nothing to alter the slumping direction of the overall trend. Read more...
05 Dec Possibilities, Costs ‘Enormous’ for A2A Rail The backers of a new rail line to link Alaska to Canada and Lower 48 markets insist it would generate upward of $5 billion of freight revenue through the state. Read more...
05 Dec US Trade Gap Narrows 7.6% to $47.2 Billion in October WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in October as imports fell faster than exports. The politically sensitive trade gap with China dropped. Read more...
05 Dec DHL Index on Strength of International Economy Shows Only Slight Dip Despite persistent concerns of a worldwide economic slowdown, a new report from logistics and shipping company DHL says international trade remains strong, with only a slight decline in its overall DHL Global Connectedness Index. Read more...
05 Dec Transportation Construction Market Will Grow in 2020, ARTBA Forecasts The transportation construction market is expected to grow by about 5% in 2020, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association’s annual economic forecast. Read more...
05 Dec No 'Soft Enforcement' After AOBRD ELD Exemption Ends Dec. 16. Commercial vehicle inspectors will not offer a “soft enforcement” grace period for truckers who have not migrated to electronic logging devices from grandfathered automatic onboard recording devices by Dec. 17, the date that full enforcement of the federal ELD rule takes effect. Read more...
05 Dec GM to Build $2.3 Billion Battery Plant in Lordstown, Ohio General Motors Co. and its battery partner, South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd., will jointly invest $2.3 billion in a new electric vehicle battery plant to be built in Lordstown, Ohio, the same city where the automaker controversially idled and then sold a 53-year-old compact-car factory. Read more...
05 Dec Impeachment Politics Threaten Legislative Agenda, Key Lawmakers Argue With the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump entering a new phase this month, congressional leaders continue to criticize each other over inaction on legislation to keep the federal government funded through fiscal 2020, a new trade agreement and infrastructure policy. Read more...
05 Dec Hair Drug-Testing Rule Could Become Public in Early 2020, Official Says ROCKVILLE, Md. — A proposed federal rule that would allow motor carriers to drug test their drivers and prospective employees using hair samples continues to wind its way slowly through the bureaucracy, but could be made public as soon as early next year. Read more...