Trucking News Roundup, November 2012

By: Classadrivers.com

Trucking News Roundup

Things have been pretty busy for the trucking industry and here are a few quick highlights of some of the more major events that occurred recently:
• The trucking industry added 3600 jobs.
• The Military Commercial Driver’s License Act of 2012 was signed by President Obama.
• Rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Sandy could drive up demand for truck-transported freight.

Trucking Industry Adds 3600 Jobs in October

The trucking industry added 3600 jobs in October according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This marked an increase from the 700 jobs that were added in September which had been a slow month for the nation’s economy: Employers took mass layoff actions (over 800 actions involving 70570 workers) at a slightly higher rate than they did in August. In addition the total number of job openings which was close to 3.6 million remained relatively unchanged from August. During the last 12 months the trucking industry has added 47200 jobs — 36200 of which were added during the 2012 calendar year.

Hurricane Sandy Recovery Will Increase Freight Demand

According to recent estimates by consulting firm Freight Transportation Research Associates (“FTR Associates”) the rebuilding efforts along the East Coast following Hurricane Sandy should drive up the demand for truck-transported freight. FTR Associates Senior Consultant Noel Perry noted that the trucking industry can look forward to more revenue in the long term due to the need to resupply the repairing efforts than they will lose over the short term while trucks are waiting for storm damage to be repaired.

Over the short term Perry estimates a loss of roughly $140 million per day during this downtime but he is confident that the monetary loss will be recouped. Trucking is one of the few modes of transportation that can properly supply the post-hurricane rebuilding efforts and because of that the industry should experience positive effects. “Retail outlets need immediate resupply that only trucking’s time sensitive character can accommodate. Plus storm damage needs to be fixed. That creates longer term additional freight tonnage” said Perry.

The Military CDL Act Signed by President Obama

President Obama signed the Military Commercial Driver’s Act of 2012 into law which will make it easier for states to issue commercial driver licenses to members of the armed forces. The law allows states to issue a CDL to a member of the armed forces which will be applicable to whichever state they are stationed in—even if they’re not residents.

This law applies to all members of the armed forces serving within the active duty military the reserves National Guard and Coast Guard. The ultimate goal of the law is to help the nation’s trucking industry take advantage of the training that many members of the armed forces receive in order to drive heavy transport and combat vehicles.

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