Tag Archive for: intermodal transportation

New ATA Newsletter ‘ATA Business of Trucking’ Launched

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Calhoun Truck Lines is in the mix of intermodal transportation and cargo delivery, day in and day out. it’s our business and we’re proud of what we do.  

At this blog, we often share our thoughts on trucking, diesel costs, truck driver hires, and more. So we’re glad to read that our industry association, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) is also reaching out to more people with news about these very same topics that we are covering on our own blog.  
ATA, Calhoun Trucking


In April, the ATA announced its launch of a new quarterly newsletter named “ATA Business of Trucking”. This complimentary eNewsletter will be distributed quarterly to ATA members, ATA Council Members, and purchasers of ATA products.   In the four quarterly issues, the team behind it promises to “feature critical information from industry leaders on the most pressing issues in trucking” as it read in the ATA press release.  

“ATA Business of Trucking will provide readers with insight from key industry experts and thought leaders on topics that can have a real impact on their bottom line,” wrote ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “We’re launching this valuable product with a look at natural gas in trucking, a follow up to our successful ATA Summit on Natural Gas in Trucking, but we anticipate covering the length and breadth of trucking issues in the coming months.”  

Issues covered in the debut newsletter issue focused on the industry moving from diesel to natural gas for truckers, with a variety of insights from industry execs on the matter. Here’s the post from Doug Thomson titled “Dual Fuel Conversion Systems Mean the Future is Today” in which he offers his thoughts on how the trucking industry.   

Future topics to be explored will incude which fuel to use, the impact of increased weight, use of dual fuel systems and the return on investment from investing in natural gas trucks.  

At Calhoun Truck Lines, we are excited to hear more about issues in our trucking industry. It’s important, we feel, that more poeple understand how th eintermodal cargo system can provide businesses with the necessary goods.  

Calhoun Truck Lines’ operational facilities at our five Midwest trucking facilities are fully equipped to handle your intermodal trucking needs. We are proud of our drivers and their ability to move freight safely and swiftly across the country. Calhoun Truck Lines delivers a professional working environment for our employees, and maintains a safe truck fleet. Contact us for more info on our business at https://calhountrucklines.com.

NTSB Outines Top Transportation Priorities for 2013

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Preserving the integrity of our nation’s transportation infrastructure, enhancing pipeline safety and eliminating substance-impaired driving are just a few of NTSB’s top transportation priorities outlined by the agency this week.

The National Transportation Safety Board today identified its top transportation challenges for 2013,  with six of the ten issues focusing on highway travel where most transportation fatalities take place. The list also includes substance-impaired driving, which the NTSB described as the “number one killer” on the list.
driver safety
The NTSB’s 2013 Most Wanted List of transportation priorities includes:

  • Improve Safety of Airport Surface Operations 
  • Preserve the Integrity of Transportation Infrastructure 
  • Enhance Pipeline Safety 
  • Implement Positive Train Control Systems 
  • Eliminate Substance-Impaired Driving 
  • Improve the Safety of Bus Operations 
  • Eliminate Distraction in Transportation 
  • Improve Fire Safety in Transportation 
  • Improve General Aviation Safety
  • Mandate Motor Vehicle Collision Avoidance Technologies

Ending distractions in all its forms of transportation for drivers is the key focus for this annual list of the independent federal safety agency’s top advocacy priorities. According to the NTSB, distraction was the cause of multiple accidents investigated by the agency in recent years. The agency reasons that effects of distraction that cause some 35,000 annual deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries on the roads will only continue to grow.

Calhoun Truck Lines stands right alongside these priorities. Our service is to maintain the highest level of transportation safety for each truck we put on the road. We achieve DOT compliance for our drivers and support our field operations to enhance working relationships with our truck fleet. Calhoun Truck Lines rewards drivers for their ongoing compliance and set disciplinary action for those who receive violations.

The list covers all transportation modes. There are six new issue areas — distraction, fire safety, infrastructure integrity, pipeline safety, positive train control and motor vehicle collision avoidance technologies.

NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said that the NTSB was releasing the list now to make driver safety a key topic available to policymakers at the state and federal levels as well as industry groups as they craft their priorities for 2013.

Five Steps to Using Intermodal Transport

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Everyday across the USA, trucks, ships and other shipping vehicles get used for the purpose of intermodal transport. If you’re new to the intermodal shipping field, maybe a few background insights will help you better understand this transportation method.

Intermodal transportation is generally defined as a shipping method in which two or more modes of transport are used. This could describe, for example, a shipping scenario where goods within containers are loaded from a truck to a ship for water transport to another port, and then back on truck again for final delivery to destination. Or the goods can be moved from a train to a truck for final shipment.

intermodal transport Calhoun Truck LinesCreating a smooth intermodal trucking system requires adherence to schedule operations, and a strict focus on quality and service. Calhoun Truck Lines spends a great deal of our energy on both of these attributes. To help you better figure out if our services are suitable for your goods, consider the six tips listed below in making intermodal shipments.

  • Choose the arrival and destination locations for your shipped goods
  • Make note of the cargo’s sizes ie. dimensions, weight and other specifics
  • Make plans for any special services like delivery notifications, blind shipments, etc.
  • Compare a variety of truck, rail and air quotes in real time from top carriers
  • Check transit times, prices and any other options for guaranteed delivery
  • Book your cargo delivery with Calhoun Truck Lines and review your shipping information

Moving your cargo from point A to Point D (and points B and C in between) is the heart of our business. And to sweeten the deal, we’re also an industry recognized SmartWay Transportation partners with the U.S. EPA. This means that, as a partner, we agree with certain government standards to:

  • Assess freight operations;
  • Calculate fuel consumption and carbon footprint; and
  • Track fuel-efficiency and emission reductions annually.

So, if you’re a customer that needs an excellent intermodal shipping partner, consider Calhoun Truck Lines. We’re one of the Midwest’s largest intermodal transportation companies, supplying intermodal trucking services from five facilities to help clients in Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Minneapolis and Omaha.

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