15 May Retail Sales Gain Points to Healthier Second Quarter U.S. retail sales rose in broad fashion last month as bigger after-tax paychecks helped compensate for rising fuel costs, signaling consumer demand was off to a firm start this quarter. Read more...
15 May Total S.A. Agrees to Buy Major Stake in Clean Energy Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced that French oil and gas company Total S.A. has become its largest stockholder and will underwrite a leasing program meant to accelerate the use of natural gas fuel in North American heavy-duty trucks. Read more...
15 May Education, Outreach Programs Seen as Front Lines for Attracting Next Generation of Truck Technicians When Jeff Harris, vice president of maintenance at USA Truck Inc., first started as an apprentice truck mechanic 29 years ago, he had a trade school diploma, a basic set of tools, a couple of crusty old mechanics who took him under their wing and showed him the ropes, and a desire to learn. Read more...
15 May Medium-Duty Sales in April Climb Slightly U.S. retail sales of medium-duty trucks in April neared 19,000, rising slightly higher than a year earlier, WardsAuto.com reported. Read more...
14 May Diesel Leaps 6.8¢ to $3.239 a Gallon; California Nears $4 The U.S. average retail price of diesel fuel surged 6.8 cents to $3.239 a gallon, the eighth straight week that trucking’s main fuel has gone up in price, according to the weekly report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration on May 14. Read more...
14 May Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Keeps All Options Open for Funding Infrastructure The Trump administration still is sifting through a slew of financing mechanisms, from a vehicle miles traveled fee to a fuel tax, to bolster infrastructure funding, according to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who delivered keynote remarks May 14 to kick off Infrastructure Week. Read more...
14 May Road Travel Projected to Rise 4.7% for Memorial Day Weekend The highest gasoline prices since 2014 won’t stop 37 million Americans from clogging up the nation’s motorways next week as summer kicks off with Memorial Day weekend. Read more...
14 May Teamsters, Philadelphia Coke Distributor Agree to New 5-Year Contract The 600 members of Teamsters Local 830 agreed May 12 to a new five-year contract with Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, ending the threat of a strike, the company said. Read more...
14 May Mack Trucks Wins Appeal of $6 Million Asbestos Verdict Mack Trucks Inc. and Ford Motor Co. won a new trial in an asbestos exposure suit after Maryland’s top court threw out a Baltimore man’s $6 million jury award. Read more...
14 May How a ‘Crisis Level’ Truck Driver Shortage Could Impact Your Shopping Habits Trucking drives America’s economy, but a shortage of truck drivers is putting the future of the country’s economy in peril. Read more...