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Amazon Steps Up the Competition With Sunday Delivery Options

According to a new report by the Los Angeles Times, Amazon is blazing into the holiday season with a new option for its customers, Sunday deliveries. The deliveries are part of a joint effort with the United States Postal Service, which plans to use flexible worker schedules to cover the delivery routes instead of hiring…

London Metal Exchange Approves New Regulations Aimed at Reducing Bottlenecks in Warehouses

London Metal Exchange Approves New Regulations Aimed at Reducing Bottlenecks in Warehouses

The London Metal Exchange (LME) decided on new regulations this past Thursday, Nov. 7, aimed at addressing bottlenecks of metals in its warehouses. According to The Wall Street Journal, these bottlenecks are usually caused when warehouses reserve metals for traders and bankers, which are using it to raise working capital. The situation has become particularly…

Railroads and Pipelines Compete for Shares of the Crude Oil Transportation Market
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Railroads and Pipelines Compete for Shares of the Crude Oil Transportation Market

As the United States and Canada gear up to transport record amounts of crude oil from fracking sites to refineries, and in turn, to consumers around North America, railroad companies and pipeline owners are in stiff competition for the business of handling these hauls. By the year 2014, the U.S. is expected to be producing…

The Number of Manufacturing Jobs Available are Outpacing the Number of Workers Willing to Take Them

The Number of Manufacturing Jobs Available are Outpacing the Number of Workers Willing to Take Them

Manufacturing jobs have come a long way in recent years. Technology has made the jobs less dangerous and labor intensive, and have allowed companies to do more production with fewer workers. However, skilled labor workers are an aging demographic, and younger workers simply aren’t interested in taking jobs in manufacturing. In fact, fewer young people…

Family-Owned Business Addresses Issues of Reliable Transportation

Family-Owned Business Addresses Issues of Reliable Transportation

For over 100 years, the Bearfield family has specialized in the processing and distribution of high quality hams, gammon, gammon steaks, bacon, and other specialty pork products. The business has been in the same family for five generations, using the principles of service and quality to set themselves apart from the competition. They now own…

Trucking Industry Shows Modest Gains During Tumultuous Third Quarter

Trucking Industry Shows Modest Gains During Tumultuous Third Quarter

The third quarter of 2013 ended much like the rest of the year for the trucking industry, with basically flat earnings and a gain of just 2.8 percent overall. The new hours of service regulations did have an impact on earnings, but not all the carriers reported exactly how much. Werner reported the regulations reduced…

Congressmen Seek to Delay Truckers’ New HOS Restrictions for Further Research
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Congressmen Seek to Delay Truckers’ New HOS Restrictions for Further Research

On Thursday, October 31, Congressional Representatives Richard Hanna (a Republican from New York), Tom Rice (a Republican from South Carolina) and Mike Michaud (a Democrat from Maine) introduced the TRUE Safety Act, which would halt the new Hours of Service (HOS) regulations imposed on truckers beginning on July 1st of this year. According to the…

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is cracking down on lax medical examiners’ regulations in hopes of getting unsafe truck drivers and bus drivers off the road. Currently, almost any medical professional, including general practitioners, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, and others, can issue a medical certificate to truck drivers. The drivers only have to get…

Construction Industry Shows Signs of Regaining Momentum

Construction Industry Shows Signs of Regaining Momentum

The construction industry, including the builders of residential housing, commercial construction, and the sector of civil engineering, showed the strongest increase in new purchase orders since December of 2007, according to the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Manager’s Index. The index stood at 59.4 for the month of October, following a peak of 58.9 for September. An index…

Are Electric Cars Really the Future of Fleet Vehicles?

Are Electric Cars Really the Future of Fleet Vehicles?

As more electric car options are made available to consumers and fleet vehicle operators, several things are becoming clear. First, the cost of these automobiles (though often offset by government subsidies) is still higher than the cost of gas powered vehicles. Second, the electric cars may not be as beneficial to the environment as portrayed…