The New Year has started off with a bang. With the stock market at record levels, unemployment at historic lows in Canada and the United States and a new U.S. tax bill that promises to put extra dollars in the hands of American purchasers, it is not surprising that consumer confidence is at a high. […]
Conducting Freight Bids in 2018 – It’s a New Ballgame
Last week’s TruckWorld event at the International Centre in Toronto was a great opportunity to connect with old friends and get updated on the state of the freight transportation industry. It was clear from the huge attendance at the show that is a very good year to be in trucking. The negotiating leverage has clearly […]
Time to Become a “Shipper of Choice”
7 years ago
In last week’s blog, I highlighted the tight freight capacity being experienced across North America (https://dantranscon.com/index.php/blog?view=entry&id=310 ), and that it is likely to continue for another year or two. For shippers that are experiencing shortages of trucking or rail equipment, there is a series of steps that need to be taken to prevent service […]
North American freight markets are witnessing the strongest demand for transportation services in decades. Contract and spot freight rates continue to soar. The contract rate average revenue per mile rose 3.5 percent in 2017. Through the first two months of this year, contract truckload freight rates have jumped 15 percent per mile! “We’ve never seen […]
Lessons Learned from the ELD Mandate
7 years ago
Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules in the United States, that came into effect on Dec. 18, 2017, most trucks built after 2000 had to be equipped with an ELD (Electronic Logging Device). Fleets already using older electronic onboard recorders are grandfathered until December 2019. The CCMTA (Canadian Council of Motor Transport […]
This is a year that shippers have been dreading. Increased demand, from retailers looking to restock after the holidays and from manufacturers, has made it harder for companies to book transportation, particularly on short notice. Prices have also risen due to bad weather, a new U.S. federal trucking safety rule, truck and driver shortages and […]
The implementation of the FMCSA’s ELD mandate in the United States on December 18 was one of the most anticipated milestones in the history of trucking. The introduction of electronic logging devices is the latest attempt by the FMCSA to improve road safety and minimize road accidents in the United States. Driver fatigue is […]
From time to time, I come across companies that offer a unique blend of freight transportation services and technological capabilities. I have written about several of these companies over the last decade. Freightcom (www.freightcom.com) is one of these companies. The Freightcom Growth Story The company was founded in 2010. The founders brought many years of […]
Five years ago, I posted a blog that was derived from a LinkedIn Sales Management Group. A range of people responded to the question, “What advice would you give a new salesperson?” To that list, I added my own observations. While many sales techniques stand the test of time, others evolve based on changes in […]
Recruiting and retaining qualified drivers has been a challenge for several years. Many young people do not wish to spend so many hours away from friends and family. The Hours of Service and ELD mandates make the job more difficult from a work enjoyment and compensation perspective. They cap the number of hours a […]
