Selected COVID-19 and trucking industry news that may impact your business.
As of April 24, 2020:
FMCSA to distribute masks to truckers
Land Line Media
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will distribute free, protective masks to truck drivers at rest areas across the country. We’ll have a full list of specific locations up on our dedicated Covid-19 webpages at www.landline.media and www.ooida.com.
‘Fueling Our Heroes’: CDLLife launches nationwide campaign to feed American truckers
CDL Life
Truck drivers are putting their lives on the line to deliver the supplies needed to keep America running during a time of unprecedented crisis. And that’s why CDLLife is calling on the trucking industry to support these heroes with a nationwide effort to provide them with free meals as a token of our gratitude. Read More
The Bridge from Crisis to Recovery
Trucking.org
Since it first entered the United States, the coronavirus has upended life across America. But through all the turmoil and uncertainty, truckers have forged ahead. While everything around us seems turned upside down, American trucking remains one absolute, steady constant. Read More
TPS reader survey indicates sales leveling off; frustration with government growing
Trucks, Parts, Service
The sales hit to trucking’s dealer and aftermarket channels due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic finally, mercifully, appears to be leveling off, according to the results of the fourth Trucks, Parts, Service weekly reader survey on business conditions that was completed Wednesday. Read More
As White House celebrates, I’m picking up produce with a ripped-up T-shirt for a face mask
Overdrive
Last week I picked up a load of berries in Compton. For a face mask, which I was required to wear at the Los Angeles Produce Market, I cut up a T-shirt and put over my face. This week in the Bronx, I used my cut-up T-shirt again for the same reason. I’ve been on the road for five weeks straight. I’m as busy as I’ve ever been hauling loads of food. I’ve been back and forth from one coast to the other — and into the cities, like New York, where the outbreaks are worst. Read More
Fleet manager with coronavirus credits CDC for reducing risk
CCJ
It could have been a much different story for Bob Reese and Packer Transportation if he and the others he was traveling with had not followed the U.S. Center for Disease Control’s instructions to self-quarantine after returning from Europe last month. Read More
Trucking firm to lay off 1000 workers during COVID-19 crisis
CDL Life
This week, one of the largest suppliers of trucking and logistics services in Canada announced a major layoff as the COVID-19 crisis stifles the economy. On Wednesday, Calgary-based trucking firm Mullen Group Ltd. announced the layoff of approximately 1000 workers. The layoffs are described as temporary, but it isn’t clear when the workers will return to work. Read More
Fast food giant turns corporate HQ into free drive-thru for truckers
CDL Life
If you’re a trucker with a taco craving, you may just be in luck as one of the nation’s largest fast food chains turns their California corporate headquarters into a free drive-thru. Read More
There are lessons to be learned from crisis, FMCSA leader says
Land Line Media
In a recent interview with Road Dog Trucking Radio’s Mark Willis, FMCSA acting Administrator Jim Mullen hinted that lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to changes in how the trucking industry is regulated. Read More
Workhorse, UPS Test Drones to Deliver Medical Supplies
HDT Truckinginfo
Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) recently partnered with UPS’s drone delivery subsidiary UPS Flight Forward (UPSFF) and drone technology companies DroneUp and Workhorse Group in tests designed to determine how unmanned aerial systems can assist medical professionals in their fight to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Read More