Breaking News

  INFORMATION: AN OVERWEIGHT LOAD DESTINED FOR ANXIETY As alluded to in Part 1 of this series, when it comes to the coronavirus, truck drivers are probably suffering from information overload as much as — if not more than — any American. It’s the lead story of every newscast on television or radio. And you can’t be involved in social media without seeing hundreds of posts about the virus. News outlets seem to have accepted Walter Cronkite’s role during the Vietnam War: Each night Cronkite read the number of U.S. casualties the military reported on the CBS Evening News broadcast. In...

  SELF-QUARANTINE: ADMIRABLE, BUT IMPOSSIBLE FOR TRUCKERS It would be difficult to find many Americans who are not somewhat familiar with the latest world crisis, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic — and truck drivers don’t live under rocks. Sure, the average driver may not interact with as many people as a shoe salesman, but the idea that truckers perform their duties in isolation is a myth. Drivers don’t sit behind a steering wheel all day, and they can’t avoid interacting with people either professionally or casually. The risks of exposure to or developing the symptoms of COVID-19 are as varied as the ages,...

A message from the CEO of Western Express regarding the damage from the recent tornado.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Wednesday signed into law a major rewrite of the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. Trump said the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) replaces what he calls the “nightmare” of a Clinton-area agreement that governed trade among the three countries. Trump made renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) a priority during his 2016 campaign. American Trucking Associations leaders hailed the signing here ATA President and CEO Chris Spear and 12 professional truck drivers from ATA member companies were in attendance. “Today’s signing ceremony is the beginning of the next phase in our strong and productive...

MACUNGIE, Pa. — Mack Trucks plans to lay off 305 employees at its assembly plant north of Philadelphia, the company said Wednesday. Mack blamed the layoffs at its Lower Macungie Township plant on a downturn in the heavy-duty truck market. They will take effect at the end of February, The Morning Call of Allentown reported. The cuts represent about 13% of the plant's payroll. “We regret having to take this action, but we operate in a cyclical market, and after two years of extremely high volumes, we have to adapt to reduced market demand,” said Mack spokesman Christopher Heffner. Employees, most of...

MOUNT PLEASANT, Pa. ­– A crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Sunday morning has left five people dead and about 60 injured when a loaded bus went out of control on a hill and rolled over. According to published reports, this incident set off a chain reaction that involved three tractor-trailers and a passenger car. WTAE in Pittsburgh reports that all five victims killed have been identified by the Westmoreland County coroner. Among them are the bus driver, Shuang Qing Feng, 58, of Flushing, New York and two bus passengers, Eileen Zelis Aria, 35, of Bronx, New York and Jaremy...

SACRAMENTO — Owner-operators and the carriers who contract with them received a reprieve late on December 31 when U.S. District Court Judge Robert Benitez issued a temporary restraining order preventing California from enforcing the state’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) law in respect to motor carriers.  The law had been scheduled to go into effect just hours after the order was issued. AB5, intended to protect employers from classifying employees as independent contractors for the employers’ benefit, was challenged by the California Trucking Association (CTA) in a November lawsuit in which the association claimed 70,000 owner-operators in the trucking industry would...