Fifteen former Google engineers, including long-time self-driving pioneer Anthony Levandowski, have left the company to create Otto, a start-up based on bringing partial autonomous driving to big-rig trucks. As the NYT notes, the start-up has great creds: Levandowski designed a self-driving motorcycle while still a grad student, and his first start-up was…
The projected publication date for the looming Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse has been pushed back 13 days from August 16 to August 29, according to the Department of Transportation’s monthly regulatory update, published this week. The Final Rule for the clearinghouse is now projected to be…
ADDISON — Eight years ago, the largest truck Don Daseke had ever been in was a pickup. He didn’t know the difference between an 18-wheeler and a flatbed — and he didn’t care. He does now. Since 2008, Daseke (pronounced dass-key) has purchased nine privately owned specialty trucking companies spread…
The rapid emergence of advanced analytics, along with new modes of transport like autonomous vehicles will bring Internet-like speeds and efficiencies to transportation and logistics, saving time and trillions of dollars, according to Lux Research. Transportation and logistics, among the slowest-changing industries, is inefficient in time, energy, labor, and capital…
Retailers and manufacturers rushed to lock in low freight rates in the first quarter as overcapacity in the trucking industry dragged on the profits of transportation companies but bolstered profits for middlemen who arrange shipments, according to The Wall Street Journal. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. reported Wednesday net profit of…
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance continued work this week at its Workshop event in Chicago on defining an “electronic inspection” and the parameters of a new North American Standard Electronic Inspection. With several variatns of “wireless” or “electronic” inspections being deployed in real-world testing today, CVSA established an ad…
Global logistics provider DHL believes worldwide supply chains are beginning to undergo a fundamental transformation as more “artificial intelligence” is deployed to handle both the domestic and international movement of goods According to research conducted in support of its recent 2016 Logistics Trend Radar, DHL thinks the impact of…
The U.S. Senate’s Appropriations Committee April 21 passed 30-0 a bill that corrects a legislative mess-up from December that put the 34-hour restart in jeopardy. The bill makes clear that the 34-hour restart remains available for use by truck operators should a pending study by the Department of Transportation…
The metamorphosis of supply chain from a humble collection of support functions like purchasing, shipping and production to true business leadership is huge. Chief Supply Chain Officers (CSCOs) increasingly control 50% or more of a company’s annual spending, with two thirds of all employees directly reporting to the role. More…
Steve Russell, 76, founder of Celadon Group, passed away April 15 the carrier confirmed Friday. Russell started Celadon (No. 35 on the CCJ Top 250) in 1985, growing the company from a small dry van carrier to a large, national, multi-service carrier. “We are deeply saddened by Steve’s passing,” says Paul…
