22 Mar Jobless Claims Creep Higher While Benefit Rolls Lowest Since 1973 U.S. filings for unemployment insurance crept higher while the number of Americans on benefit rolls fell to the lowest level since 1973 in another indication of a tight job market, Labor Department figures showed March 22. Read more...
22 Mar Americans’ Economic Expectations Match Strongest Since 2002 Americans’ outlook for the economy climbed in March for a third straight month to match the highest level since 2002, data from the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed March 22. Read more...
22 Mar California Transportation Commission Adopts Infrastructure Improvement Plan The California Transportation Commission adopted the 2018 State Transportation Improvement Program, which is expected to fund more than $3 billion in transportation projects over the next five years, at a March 21 meeting. Read more...
22 Mar Spending Bill Includes Extension of ELD Exemption on Livestock Motor carriers that haul livestock will be exempted from the federal electronic logging device mandate until Sept. 30 under language included in a $1.3 trillion omnibus funding measure the U.S. House of Representatives advanced March 22. Read more...
22 Mar New Technicians Lack Skills, Fleets Find as Demand Grows LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More technicians will be needed soon, nearly 77,000 more by 2026. However, plenty of students are in the pipeline. But questions remain about their ability to meet real-world needs in a shop, and about how to keep them once hired, experts said. Read more...
21 Mar Video From Self-Driving Uber Car Captures First Fatal Collision Police in Tempe, Ariz., on March 21 released dashcam videos of the fatal accident March 18 in which an Uber car operating in autonomous mode struck and killed a pedestrian, showing the car did not slow down or alter its course to avoid her. Read more...
21 Mar House Bill Would Allow Interstate Trucking for 18-to-21-Year-Olds A new bill that would open interstate trucking opportunities to people between the ages of 18 and 21 was introduced in the House of Representatives March 21. Read more...
21 Mar Federal Drug Advisory Board Discusses Proposed Hair-Testing Rule ROCKVILLE, Md. — Members of a federal drug testing advisory board met in a closed session on March 21 to review a draft proposed rule. The rule would allow trucking companies to conduct government-certified pre-employment drug testing using hair samples, according to a top official with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Read more...
21 Mar FedEx Reports Solid Quarter, Expands Walmart Deal FedEx Corp. reported results for its fiscal third quarter ending Feb. 28, with net income of $2.1 billion, or $7.59 earnings per share, compared with $562 million, or $2.07 a share, in the same period in 2017. Read more...
21 Mar Texas Bombing Suspect Is Dead ROUND ROCK, Texas — The suspect in the recent deadly bombings in Austin and at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio blew himself up March 21 as authorities closed in on him, bringing a grisly end to a three-week manhunt. But police warned that more bombs could be out there. Read more...