Tag Archive for: intermodal trucking midwest

Calhoun Truck Lines Optimistic for 2014

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Many trucking companies are looking ahead to 2014 to try to assess budget needs, driver hires, tonnage requirements and more for the coming year. It’s not as easy task. As any trucking firm will tell you, there are uncertainties along the way, amid the still-stagnant economy. Our company is looking at a variety of economic factors, including load projections, retail purchasing levels, and housing starts, among other things.

Some of the economic news is slightly better than what we’ve seen in recent years. There has been slow but steady job growth throughout 2013. Home starts were lower in August 2013 than through the earlier summer months, but still above where they were in 2012. And Deloitte is forecasting that expected holiday sales from November to January 2014 will be around $965 billion. That’s about a 4.5% increase over last year’s holiday sales.

Taken together, we can be slightly more optimistic that 2014 tonnage levels and cargo loads will be above 2013 figures. As the cost of diesel gas continues to drop, trucking companies like Calhoun Truck Lines can better manage our budget on diesel costs.

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But regulatory measures scheduled to come into effect in 2014 may play havoc with those budgets, writes Fleet Owner magazine. It notes that the hours of service (HOS) regulations may still impact intermodal and cargo firms in 2014 in ways not yet expected. And there is still the issue of the Bridge Act that is being debated in Congress to restore our country’s roads, bridges and transportation infrastructure.

Based in Minnesota, with hubs around the Midwest, Calhoun Truck Lines maintains a solid presence across the heartland, maintains its fleets and driver levels to proper levels and works hard to deliver our loads to operations all across the Midwest. With a little luck, good timing, and restored economic growth in 2014, business levels should continue to show promise across the board.

Our Nation’s Trucks Soon to be Running on Liquefied Natural Gas?

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One of the fascinating things about our trucking and intermodal cargo business watching the industry advancements continuing forward. With all these gas-powered truck engines on the road, it was just a matter of time for truck manufacturers to develop more eco-friendly engines.   


Recent news highlighted in the New York Times showcased such advancements in our industry. This recent article on the rise of trucks using liquefied gas detailed how truck manufacturers are providing the impetus for trucking by switching to cleaner-burning natural gas from the petroleum gas used for years. As a leading example, the author notes that parcel delivery service UPS is currently in the midst of an increase to 800 of its 18-wheelers that run on liquefied natural gas from just over 110. UPS hopes to meet that increase by the end of 2014.  

Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is a clear, colorless, odorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive natural gas, according to the Consumer Energy Center.  

According to US Energy Information Administration statistics, production of natural gas has increased in production 33 percent in seven years’ time. The production has risen to 25.319 million cubic feet in 2012 from 18.927 million cubic feet in 2005. With this added increase in production, more manufacturers are taking advantage of the availability for transportation use.


Used as a transportation fuel, liquefied natural gas is certainly getting notice from carriers. Demand is rising along with business interests in North America. And many truckers are looking ahead to see if LNG vehicles become a significant factor in long-haul freight. We await that consensus.  

Our Midwest trucking company Calhoun Truck Lines is excited about the future of intermodal shipping and industry advancements like these will help to brighten the industry’s prospects.  

News: Trucking Companies Add Jobs, Fuel Costs Drop Lower

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Mid-March 2013 and there are some positive signs on our radar for the intermodal trucking services industry.  

The US Labor Department announced this week that 5,600 for-hire trucking jobs were added in February in the trucking industry. That’s a positive sign for both truckers and the companies hiring them. The Associated Press wrote: “Stronger hiring shows businesses are confident about the economy, despite higher taxes and government spending cuts.”  

And that’s despite recent troubles in ports among dockworkers and others involved in helping to move cargo around the country. Check the Calhoun Truck Lines blog for recent posts on that topic. It’s one we hope to keep a close eye on there.   midwest intermodal trucking calhoun truck lines

And in equally good news, the cost of diesel fuel has also declined for the first time in nearly two months. The price of diesel fuel fell nearly three cents to $4.13 a gallon. This was the first diesel fuel decline in seven weeks, according to the Department of Energy. Previously, diesel fuel had gained 26.5 cents in six previous increases, including a 23.2-cent jump last month to its highest February level on record, coming in at almost $4.16/gallon.  

At Calhoun Truck Lines, we are encouraged by these positive economic changes. With more drivers leading intermodal cargo around the country, our stores and businesses can keep stocked up on goods necessary for their own business growth. We are proud of these drivers and their ability to move freight safely and swiftly across the country.  

Calhoun Truck Lines’ operational facilities at our five Midwest trucking facilities are fully equipped to handle your intermodal trucking needs, for whatever freight assignments you might have. We deliver a level of service that consistently meets our customers’ expectations by providing a professional working environment for our employees, and maintaining a safe truck fleet.

Top Truck Drivers in the U.S. named to America’s Road Team

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One of the essential and crucial parts of a professional truck driver’s job is to drive safely. Making America’s highways safer for all who travel them is a paramount concern for many of us in the industry, and especially to the American Trucking Association.  

Because of this, the American Trucking Association (ATA) names a new team of professional truck drivers every two years to an elite team of drivers called America’s Road Team. The new group of 19 drivers was named as the 2013-2014 America’s Road Team this week by the ATA.  

A salute to the America’s Road Team Captains from Calhoun Truck Lines! We value and appreciate the way in which you all represent our industry and congratulate all of you for the success you’ve had behind the wheel.  

All of these drivers share common characteristics when it comes to safety on the road. They share millions of miles without any accidents, according to Transport Topics. Not only do they have clean driving records, but they all have strong trucking industry expertise, good communication skills, solid community service and lifetime safety records.   America’s Road team will spend the next few years carrying out the ATA’s message of driver safety in various outreach and events aimed at the motoring public.   

“America’s Road Team represents the best our industry has to offer:  pride, professionalism and dedication to making our highways safer for all who travel them,” ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said in the ATA press release. “Today as we honor our newest captains, I want to congratulate not just these fine individuals, but all those hardworking drivers who strive every day to deliver America’s most essential goods safely and efficiently.”  

Representing America’s 3-million-plus professional drivers, the team serves as an example of the professional dedication and teamwork needed to deliver America’s freight safely and on time, Graves added.  

At Calhoun Truck Lines, we are proud of all these drivers and their ability to move freight safely and swiftly across the country. Calhoun Truck Lines’ operational facilities at our five Midwest trucking facilities are fully equipped to handle your intermodal trucking needs, for whatever freight assignments you might have. We deliver a level of service that consistently meets our customers’ expectations by providing a professional working environment for our employees, and maintaining a safe truck fleet.

Moving Goods Across the Midwest

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In many ways, the trucking industry mirrors our nation’s economy. In good times, there is a lot of trucking traffic on our roads, and intermodal traffic increases are frequently seen. In recessionary times, there can be instances of fewer truck loads and fewer drivers, owing to less production of goods and services.  

That’s the scenario that Calhoun Truck Lines has seen over the last several years, as most of our business indicators have been down or flat because of the recession. More than 150,000 jobs in the overall trucking industry vanished, even with the continuing demand for drivers. One industry report notes that the intermodal trucking industry will need to fill these vanished positions and more in 2012.  

intermodal trucking Calhoun Truck LinesBut with a slightly improving economy in an election year, and a handful of good reports showing increased trucking traffic, we continue to be optimistic about moving goods across the Midwest in 2012.  

One of the more positive indicators we’ve seen for increased intermodal traffic is the decreasing fuel costs for diesel fuel over the last few months. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, costs of diesel fuel have decreased almost uniformly across the United States in 2012, compared to rates in 2011. In other words, prices throughout the Midwest for diesel fuel are almost 25 cents less that what they were at this time in 2011. That’s good news for companies like ours that depend on this basic fuel cost to do business at a reasonable price for the service we provide.  

However, fuel costs continue to be an uncertain animal to tame. Many of the factors involved in pricing the costs of fuel and the raw prices for oil are, of course, out of our hands and in the hands of world and political factors. And because of the turmoil in the Middle East, there’s always a chance that the fluctuations for diesel will continue to impact our costs.  

In fact, eTrucker, one of the leading websites for truckers, noted this past week that for the first time since April, diesel costs have slightly increased (but are still down from last year at this time, as noted above). Having lower fuel costs gives Calhoun Truck Lines a strong chance to be competitive in intermodal trucking and shipping. We’re hopeful that our economy will continue to improve and fuel prices will once again reach stability for businesses everywhere that depend on transportation.

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