Selected COVID-19 and trucking industry news that may impact your business.
As of April 20, 2020:
Fleet leaders divulge COVID-19 defense strategies
Fleet Owner
The panel, moderated by Laura McMillan, vice president of training at Instructional Technologies, (which has a free online course for fleets on managing COVID-19 risks) went over how three large fleets, J.B. Hunt, Freymiller and J. Kings Food Service, have responded to the constantly changing landscape on the subjects of sanitation, quarantining, operations and regulations. Read More
NY opens two new rest areas to truckers as part of plan to keep city from going hungry
CDL Life
As part of an initiative to secure the food supply chain in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has opened two locations to serve as temporary rest areas for truck drivers. Read More
C.H. Robinson slices pay to execs for three months
FreightWaves
C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) has joined the trend of companies reducing compensation in the C-suite to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic by cutting the salary of its CEO in half. Read More
Coronavirus pushes fleets to digitize payments, shipping docs
CCJ
As an essential service, transportation companies are free to operate as normal during the coronavirus pandemic, although for safety precautions, many have transitioned their back office to a work-at-home environment. Read More
Don’t leave home without COVID-19 plan, sick trucker urges
FreightWaves
From quarantine, Canadian truck driver Nicole Folz recounts the scary reality of falling seriously ill hundreds of miles from home during a less-than-truckload run in the United States. Read More
Volumes continue to fall, now 14% below year-ago levels
FreightWaves
National outbound freight volumes have continued tumbling for the third straight week. Since the peak on March 23, the outbound tender volume index (OTVI) has shaved off 35%. After seeing the pace of decline slow earlier this week, some began to forecast a volume trough. The decline accelerated again Thursday, and now on a weekly basis volumes are down 10.66%. Read More
What’s next for trucking industry? Many truckers not only looking for freight to haul, but masks and even lunch
Denver Post
Julio Diaz was filling up at an Aurora truck stop when he got a lunchtime surprise: a boxed lunch, a face mask and a thank you for keeping the country’s food and other items rolling during the coronavirus pandemic. Read More
Struggling US importers granted 90-day duty deferment
American Shipper
Under authority of the White House, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will allow U.S. importers of certain goods to defer their payments of duties, taxes and fees for the next 90 days, starting April 20. Read More