Tag Archive for: midwest trucking facilities

Happy One-Year Anniversary Calhoun Truck Lines – A Year Older

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It’s our birthday! This month, Calhoun Truck Lines celebrates its one-year anniverary of its name change from Universal Transportation Services. The name and logo-identity change has overall been a positive move, resulting in better communications, more efficiency and improved results in our trucking and Midwest intermodal freight operation.  
Calhoun Truck Lines
“It’s been a year since we changed our name to Calhoun Truck Lines and I couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Brent Bois, President and owner of Calhoun. “We spent a a good deal of effort and energy to notify our customers and drivers in advance of the change. That effort from all of our employees helped greatly to create a smooth transition.”

What’s been really good for business, added Bois, is the elimination of confusion with competitors. “Most of our constituents have been positive about the change of us becoming the identity of Calhoun Truck Lines.”  

At Calhoun Truck Lines, we are hopeful that the economy will continue to grow, container volumes will rise and we will be able to move more freight from our five Midwest trucking facilities.  

Each of Calhoun Truck Lines’ operational facilities is fully equipped to clients’ intermodal trucking needs. The company provides service that consistently meets customers’ expectations, provides a professional work environment for employees and maintains a safety conscious truck fleet to share the roads with fellow motorists.

Trucking in 2013: Where is it Headed?

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The U.S. trucking industry still faces uphill battles in getting fleets to where the sizes they once were,  and to get more younger drivers involved in the business.  

In 2012, truckload activity was barely up 1 percent, according to the American Trucking Association. But tonnage was up, according to latest ATA surveys. And overall, that’s good news, sasys ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.   yearly traffic totals, Calhoun Truck Lines

“The trucking industry started 2013 with a bang, reflected in the best January tonnage report in five years,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a press release. “While I believe that the overall economy will be sluggish in the first quarter, trucking likely benefited in January from an inventory destocking that transpired late last year, thus boosting volumes more than normal early this year as businesses replenish those lean inventories.”  

Some trucking categories experienced declines in fourth quarter 2012. This graph below shows the yearly traffic totals continues to decline, even as 2013 moves through its first half.

According to the IANA, the industry needs nearly 100,000 new drivers per year for the next 10 years to replace lost drivers in the recession, and those who are getting out of the business. That’s an incredible amount of drivers to sustain in the economy. Also, the average truck driver is 10 years older than the average American, and many young people are not exactly flocking to trucking jobs.  

And highway congestion is a problem for many drivers and trucking companies as well. Recent statistics show that the trucking industry suffered $25 billion in lost productivity from trucks being in congested areas. And when cargo is tied up in highway congestion, then that’s valuable money lost.  

At last year’s American Trucking Association’s conference, ATA President Bill Graves said that intermodal transportation industry can be stimulated by job growth and more jobs. We are waiting on our U.S. government to put some of those steps in place. At Calhoun Truck Lines, we are hopeful that the economy will continue to grow, container volumes will rise and we will be able to move more freight from our five Midwest trucking facilities.  

Each of Calhoun Truck Lines’ operational facilities is fully equipped to handle your intermodal trucking needs. The company is dedicated to delivering a level of service that consistently meets our customers’ expectations. Our responsibility continues with providing a professional working environment for our employees and maintaining a safety conscious truck fleet to share the roads with fellow motorists.

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.

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