Near the beginning of the first fiscal quarter of 2022, the outlook for small carrier operations looked dire. Line haul rates were declining sharply while fuel prices reached astronomical new highs. Many were forced to take a hard look at the financial viability of their businesses in light of these staggering economic difficulties. Entering the

Cold storage is one of the hottest segments of the modern transport industry. All across the country, shippers are struggling to find the necessary capacity to meet their cold storage transport needs. What is behind this current demand crisis, and what is the condition of today’s cold storage market as a whole? Looming recession could

California's Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) is a law that went into effect on January 1, 2020, that sets strict guidelines for when companies can classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees. The law aimed to address the issue of worker misclassification, which some companies have used to avoid paying employee benefits or following certain

Has our current economic predicament reached its lowest point? Many economists believe the coming months will bring a short recession followed by the chance for a rebound. This a view shared by Bob Costello, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at the American Trucking Associations. “I still think the most likely path of the macro

From ongoing pandemic-related disruptions to growing problems with our nation’s economy, the modern transportation industry is facing more than its share of issues. To better understand these circumstances and what can be done to address them, we’ve compiled a list of the 5 biggest challenges facing the industry today. Out-of-control Deductions Getting blindsided by unexpected

Many leading economists believe a recession is all but certain in the months ahead. With the health of the transport industry tied so closely to the economy at large, it is important to understand the causes and consequences of this potentially dire situation. In spite of current economic uncertainties, the US labor market remains strong.

Uncovering the cause of a deduction isn’t always an easy task. Many deductions are lumped in with other charges, and it can take some serious digging to untangle what exactly is being billed. For Nathan Helms, Director of TMS for the food brand Organic Valley, the time-consuming job of addressing these hidden deductions is all

Some deductions are inevitable in the transport business. Unfortunately, it often feels like a load is set up for failure from the start. From impossible shipping deadlines to long lines at receiving, many holdups that lead to deductions are simply out of the carrier or shipper’s hands. Just how common are these no-win situations, and

It happens every single day in the transportation industry. Retailers will send shippers a list of deduction fees for things such as late shipments or broken pallets. These fines can occur several weeks or months after the shipment. These after-the-fact deductions in the transport industry are costly in more ways than one. Aside from the

The shortage of truck drivers remains a headache for fleet managers across the country. Good drivers are hard to come by, and even harder to hold onto. While there are no one-size-fits-all solutions to this growing problem, savvy managers have developed strategies for hiring and retaining the best driving talent in this challenging job market.