Truck drivers play an essential role in the world economy, but life isn’t easy for them. Drivers face a wide variety of issues and challenges that affect both them and the industry as a whole. For example, trucker issues contributed to the driver shortage, as qualified drivers leave the industry because of low pay and difficult working conditions. Other truck driver challenges include issues related to health and wellness. Truckers must deal with a lack of exercise, poor diet, extended periods without bathroom breaks, eye strain, cramped conditions, poor sleep — not to mention the mental toll of being away from home and family for days at a time. Though many drivers earn good wages, the physical and mental stress isn’t always worth it to them.
Check back here for the latest news and insights on driver issues, or visit our Trucking Industry News archive to find additional information.
The shaky U.S. economy occupied the No. 1 spot for motor carriers in the latest American Transportation Research Institute survey of top trucking issues revealed by ATRI President Rebecca Brewster.
California says, once again, that the state’s trucking sector is holding up under AB5.
Truckers under age 21 serving the agriculture sector will continue to receive an exemption to avoid interference from law enforcement.
Uber Freight has rolled out new technology solutions for its TMS, procurement and use of generative AI.
Trucking companies and drivers will see shorter windows on regional emergency exemptions provided by the agency.
The September truck transportation jobs report, with revisions to August’s numbers, suggests some Yellow losses have been recaptured elsewhere.
In this month’s State of Freight webinar, FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller reviews data that shows a stronger market than rates and rejections might suggest.
A broker that hired a carrier whose truck struck a teenager is not liable, according to an Illinois appellate court.
A new regulatory agenda sets dates for trucking sector rulemakings ranging from speed limiter mandates to automatic emergency braking.
The most widely used IRS rate for per diem payments will be held steady in 2023-24.
A former Texas Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty to hiring undocumented immigrants as drivers for Gonmor Transportation.
Two subsidiaries of trucking conglomerate TFI International have been sued by the EEOC over alleged discrimination against two gay employees who ultimately were fired.
One terminal of trucking giant Werner filed to join the Teamsters union. Teamsters said key organizers were terminated afterward.
What’s next for the three-headed beast of AB5 litigation in California? It might be whether the state’s Supreme Court takes up the so-called Olson case.
BNSF has reached a settlement in a lawsuit it lost earlier that threatened it with a payout of $228 million.
GAO recommends FMCSA improve its website so that it is more useful for truck drivers seeking remedies for alleged coercion by employers.
Orbcomm, a major provider of ELDs, has been hit by a ransomware attack, impacting its key product offering.
Truck drivers are pressed to find safe parking. A patchwork of entrepreneurs seem keen to expand options.
Complaints about transparency and accuracy of safety data that affects the operations of truck drivers and carriers has caught the attention of federal regulators.
In what is far from a nuclear verdict, a long-running suit against Knight Transportation in California was settled for $400,000.
Less than 2 weeks after representation election, UFCW already charging regional truckload carrier ECM with actions that may be retaliation. (Photo: LFCW)
There’s no perpetual, industry-wide truck driver shortage. The market quickly corrects any shortage of labor.
A more than $36 million verdict was issued against Werner over its failure to hire a deaf driver back in 2018.
Advocate for female truckers says new EEOC policies are overdue.
An enormous drop in truck transportation jobs in August is likely related to the shutdown of Yellow Corp.
A key participant in Louisiana’s Operation Sideswipe was to be sentenced Thursday, but a new date sets up a sentencing doubleheader.
A small group of New Jersey workers at a division of Werner has voted to be represented by a union, a first for the giant truckload carrier.
A nationwide trucker strike in Mexico has been postponed after the group behind the protest negotiated a deal with Mexican authorities.
A new safety standard would change how FMCSA determines whether carriers and truckers are fit to operate.
Pilot Travel Centers has been forced to shut 19 of its outlets due to the liquidation of those sites’ operator, Mountain Express.
The mayor of Minneapolis vetoed a proposal that would have set a $1.40-per-mile minimum pay for Uber and Lyft drivers. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)
Recent estimates on the current level of employment in the transportation and warehousing sector by the BLS are probably too high.
A new app from Finloc 2000 allows carriers, drivers and, soon, freight brokers to book overnight truck parking, addressing an issue that plagues the U.S. trucking industry.
Federal regulators will attempt once again to try to figure out the safety and cost effects of delaying truck drivers at shippers and receivers.
Werner has filed an appeal to Texas’ highest court of a verdict that now has a more than $100 million price tag.
The Minneapolis City Council approved an ordinance this week sharply increasing compensation for Uber and Lyft drivers, but the mayor’s signature is needed for it to become law.
This month’s State of Freight webinar focused on robust volumes in July and rejection rates that aren’t budging.
Regulators are leveraging their power to once again weigh in on state laws affecting truck drivers.
Five new indictments have been handed down by the U.S. attorney in the New Orleans-area scam to stage collisions with trucks and collect insurance dollars.
Regulators may use waivers to give California and Washington more power over truck driver work rules that the Trump administration found were preempted.
New York City this week launched a 90-day “warning only” program to tackle overweight vehicles on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway as a new way to deal with the aging highway.
A proposal requiring automatic braking on trucks needs more than a 60-day comment period, state agencies and brake manufacturers assert.
Getting drivers on the road faster boosts productivity, says CRST, which was conditionally granted a CDL exemption renewal.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest report shows truck transportation jobs at a level in July less than last October.
Canadian truck drivers say companies are withholding millions in unpaid wages, but recouping money proves difficult.
An NLRB action is being viewed by the Teamsters as providing an incentive for companies to consider independent contractors as employees.
Uber Freight’s negative EBITDA was improved from the first quarter, but revenue has declined steadily for more than a year.
Federal rules on driver instructor background requirements are hampering carriers’ ability to staff trainers, according to companies.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is recommending a long list of fixes to the problem of large verdicts in truck accident litigation.
TriumphPay dealt with the same weak conditions as other trucking-focused companies in the second quarter, but one key measure was stronger.
FreightWaves’ State of Freight for July focused on a potential Yellow shutdown and a looming strike at UPS.
Two completely different approaches taken by two different circuit courts over broker liability could result in another trip to the Supreme Court on the issue.
Mark Manera talks driver fitness at FreightWaves’ Enterprise Fleet Summit.
Driver pay has done an about-face over the past two years. Trucking pay expert Leah Shaver talks about what she has seen.
The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking nearly 1,400 Arizona drivers owed $5.6 million in back pay and damages after they were misclassified as independent contractors.
Uber Freight has implemented layoffs in its legacy digital brokerage operations in the second round of cuts this year.
The first meeting of FMCSA’s Truck Leasing Task Force has put lease-purchase agreements under more intense scrutiny.
Yellow has reached a waiver deal with a group of lenders that will give it some breathing room as it seeks to right its sinking ship.
The BLS report on truck transportation in June showed a slight decline from May, but revisions mean job levels are higher than April.
FreightWaves spoke with research scientist David Correll about how much progress has been made toward addressing workforce challenges.
At FreightWaves’ Future of Supply Chain event in Cleveland, Craig Fuller gives his monthly outlook on the freight market, and he is bearish.
California’s Supreme Court will review a lower court and appellate court decision to settle the question of Prop 22’s constitutionality.
XPO’s Miami-area facility had a contract between the Teamsters and the company, but the union has been voted out.
The collapsed portion of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia reopened to traffic at midday Friday, beating all the forecasts.
California has made its case in the latest round of AB5 legal proceedings, and it can cite the past trucking year in its arguments.
Hair testing finds significantly more opioid, cocaine and meth use by truck drivers versus testing for those drugs using urinalysis, a recently updated study finds.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is now predicting a reopening of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia this coming weekend.
Pennsylvania’s governor says Interstate 95 in northeast Philadelphia will reopen to traffic in two weeks, far sooner than anticipated.
The impact on trucking from the closure of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia does not appear to be reaching the most dire projections.
Move by federal regulators to crack down on broker scofflaws gets mixed reviews from broker and carrier groups.
A request by the Department of Labor in an ongoing legal appeal suggests its independent contractor rule won’t be made until August or September.
A 14-year-old petition filed by a truck safety group to strengthen new-entrant requirements has finally been greenlighted for public scrutiny.
In the so-called Atlanta Opera case, the National Labor Relations Board overturned an earlier precedent that made it easier to define workers as independent contractors.
FMCSA puts unfair burdens on truck drivers and carriers in accident reporting, the agency is told.
The full impact on trucking from closing a 7-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia may remain unclear for weeks.
Key interstate closed for 7 miles after large slab falls from elevated highway due to tanker fire.
Heartland executives used the UBS transportation conference to boast about the success of the company’s driver pay protection program.
The latest federal data reveals that 64% of large-truck drivers killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts.
Northeast LTL carrier A. Duie Pyle has been growing but is hewing primarily to its existing geographic base.
Truck transportation jobs may have risen between April and May, but the more significant number is the trend since January, which has been down.
Regulators explain the rationale behind an upcoming rulemaking for third-party CDL knowledge testers versus issuing a permanent waiver.
There may be plenty of hand-wringing about California’s Clean Fleets rule, but fleets are advised to start getting ready for it.
Worldwide Express is the latest and biggest customer of the integrated payments and audit network established by TriumphPay.
Truck drivers in Washington state can start using shipper/consignee bathrooms effective July 23, with certain conditions, under a bill signed earlier this month.
Unannounced Brake Safety Day results in a better compliance rate this year than in 2022.
The quarterly earnings report of major truck lender BMO finally reflected the deterioration in the trucking market.
Legislation to increase truck parking advanced in Congress during the markup of 16 supply chain-related bills.
President Biden plans to veto a resolution passed by Congress on Tuesday to overturn the EPA’s rule on nitrogen oxide emissions from trucks.
A bill seeking to simplify eligibility for truck driver apprenticeships is part of a legislative package addressing supply chain shortfalls.
Opposition is growing against a bill that would prevent the FMCSA from issuing a regulation mandating maximum speeds for trucks.
U.S. Xpress has laid off about 150 staffers and reported a hefty loss to the SEC.
The so-called Olson case over AB5 draws interest from well beyond California.
Truckers, brokers and fuel retailers told Congress where they believe regulators are overstepping their authority — and where they need to step in.
TravelCenters of America shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed sale to BP.
A report to Congress shows that truck safety may have gotten worse since regulators loosened hours-of-service rules in 2020.
Truck transportation jobs rose in April, defying the worst forecasts from the freight recession.
Quarterly earnings at stand-alone brokerage RXO were healthy compared to the performance of most companies in the freight sector.
Uber Freight suffered along with the general freight market downturn and saw its first-quarter EBITDA sink yet again.
Trucking industry representatives and others have been tasked with evaluating unfair leasing practices by carriers against owner-operators.
Ryder’s brokerage segment has rolled out a new loyalty program that gives its most active carriers reductions on the price of used vehicles.
