The grants under the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair program are for capital projects to repair, replace or rehabilitate publicly or Amtrak-owned or -controlled railroad assets, according to FRA. The grants also seek to reduce the repair backlog and improve the performance of intercity passenger rail.
Author Archive
Diesel Nudges Up 0.4¢ to $2.39 a Gallon for First Rise This Year
The nationwide average price of diesel fuel increased by about half a penny, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported May 26, ending a string of 19 consecutive weekly price decreases in 2020. The price of diesel rose 0.4 cent to $2.390 a gallon from $ 2.386 the previous week. Trucking’s main fuel costs 76.1 cents […]
Slump at US Ports Continues in April
The slump at the nation’s ports continued in April as 20-foot-equivalent container (TEU) volumes were down, in some cases by double digits when compared with 2019. The Port of Los Angeles reported a 6.4% year-over-year decrease as it processed 688,999 containers in April compared with 736,465 in the same month a year ago. The facility’s […]
Truck Stops Providing Essential Services to Truckers, Navigating the Downturn
The employees at the Iowa 80 Truckstop have a motto that serves as reminder of their mission: “Without trucks, America stops. Without truck stops, trucks stop.” As the nation continues to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, those words are taking on new relevance. While drivers are facing challenges amid the crisis, so, too are the […]
Borderlands: Cross-border trade key to growth; US-Mexico border truck crossings down 8% through April
Cross-border trade will be critical for economies to succeed, but whether the coronavirus reverses globalization and creates more regional supply chains is hard to predict, according to experts. “I think we are headed for more regionalism,” according to Pia Orrenius, vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Orrenius was part […]
COVID-19 taking bite out of the driver pool
Trucking companies are realigning hiring practices to focus on experienced drivers as the supply of student drivers falls dramatically because of COVID-19. The shift is a direct result of driving schools that have closed and state driver licensing agencies (SDLAs) that have either cut back hours or shut down entirely during the pandemic. This is […]
FMCSA extends COVID-19 HOS exemption to mid-June
Federal regulators have extended until June 14 broad exemptions from hours-of-service (HOS) rules for drivers hauling freight deemed essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension, issued today (May 13), marks the second time the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) exemption has been extended since the original order was put in place immediately following the national emergency […]
Oil Slips With Glut Concerns, Reversing Saudi Price Hike Boost
Oil fell in a day of wild price swings as investors weighed supply-and-demand fundamentals against Saudi Arabia’s global price hike. Futures in New York dropped 1.8% May 7. State-run Saudi Aramco raised prices on almost all grades for June, sending futures surging. But the market remains glutted after the kingdom exported record amounts of crude […]
Reefer capacity begins to tighten; could van follow?
The freight market is still reeling from the economic mess created by the COVID-19 pandemic, but reefer tender rejection rates have been on the rise since bottoming in late April around 3.8%—now sitting around 5.56%. Dry van rejection rates have yet to make a meaningful movement since bottoming around 2.6% in mid to late April. […]
FMCSA Adopts Crash Accountability Program
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on May 1 announced that effective immediately it is making permanent a pilot program that will not count a crash in which a motor carrier was not at fault when calculating the carrier’s safety measurement profile. It also is expanding the types of crashes that may be considered.