iTrucker archive

News

Browse stories from the iTrucker archive.

News · Apr 9, 2021

Amid cyberattacks, how does the supply chain stay resilient?

Story by: Nate Tabak, Border and North America Correspondent at Freightwaves Companies can take steps to ensure hackers don’t deliver knockout punch In a theme that has played out countless times in science fiction, from “Terminator” to “Star Trek,” the very technology that helps realize some of humanity’s loftiest ambitions can also be a source of serious headaches. In the global supply chain, the vast streams of information that allow a shipment of artisanal coffee beans to seamlessly transit

News · Apr 9, 2021

Towing fraud, staged accidents targeted by new coalition that includes ATA

Story by: John Kingston at FreightWaves Trucking industry comes together with insurance-focused groups to fight two vexing problems of fraud A three-member coalition that includes the American Trucking Associations (ATA) has come together to combat both towing fraud and staged accidents that are costing the trucking industry millions. The ATA joined with the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud in the new coalition, which doesn’t yet have a n

News · Apr 8, 2021

Judge acquits trucker caught with 13 bricks of heroin at Canadian border

Story by: Nate Tabak, Border and North America Correspondent at FreightWaves The ruling cites the possibility that drugs were planted while an off-duty dump truck driver assisted a broken-down trucker in the US An off-duty truck driver caught at the U.S.-Canada border with 13 bricks of heroin in a car was found not guilty on two drug charges by a Canadian judge who determined that his version of events was “plausible.” The driver maintained that someone must have placed the drugs in the trunk wh

News · Apr 7, 2021

Trucking company owner admits bribing FedEx manager and defrauding $24 million from PPP loan program

By: iTrucker / Mario Pawlowski SALT LAKE CITY – Hubert Ivan Ugarte, 52, of Draper, Utah, pleaded guilty for his role in two separate fraud schemes last week in federal court. Ugarte first pleaded guilty to charges related to a federal bribery case involving the procurement of FedEx Ground (FXG) contract shipping routes worth $24 million dollars of profit and also pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for other trucking companies. In the bribery

News · Apr 7, 2021

Trucking jobs account for 20% of Biden’s administration infrastructure plan

Story by: John Gallagher, Washington Correspondent at FreightWaves 15 million infrastructure jobs created or saved over 10 years, study estimates Commercial truck driver jobs are forecast to make some of the biggest gains if the Biden administration’s infrastructure package can get through Congress without major revisions, according to a report analyzing the plan. The report, by Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW), was published just as President Joe Biden was relea

News · Mar 29, 2021

Stranded cargo ship Ever Given starts floating again in the Suez Canal (with video)

By: iTrucker / Mario Pawlowski According to the post on Suez Canal Authority Facebook page -"The successful refloating of the Panamanian container ship Ever Given begins. Lieutenant-General Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Board, announced today that the Panamanian container ship Ever Given successfully sailed after the vessel responded to stress and towing maneuvers.The vessel's course was significantly modified by 80%, and the stern of the vessel moved offshore by 102 meters instead of

Lillie Elizabeth Drennan (1897-1974) was Texas' first female licensed trucker

News · Mar 28, 2021

Celebrating Women’s History Month by remembering first female licensed truck driver and company owner

By: iTrucker / Mario Pawlowski Celebrating Women's History Month. Lillie Elizabeth Drennan (1897-1974) was Texas' first female licensed truck driver and a pioneering trucking company owner. In 1928, she and her husband began delivering drilling supplies to the burgeoning Texas oil fields running two old, patched-up pickup trucks. Lillie became the sole owner of the Drennan Truck Line a year later when the couple divorced. The company quickly grew — and Lillie continued to drive. When she sought

News · Mar 20, 2021

DOT study predicts no mass layoffs from implementing autonomous trucks

Story by: John Gallagher, Washington Correspondent at FreightWaves First-ever federal research also finds ‘billions of dollars’ of indirect benefits to wider economy A U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)-sponsored study on automated driving systems (ADS) concludes that truck drivers should not fear significant job losses due to automation unless driverless technology is adopted on a fast timeline. Produced by DOT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, “Macroeconomic

News · Mar 16, 2021

OTR truck driver who "thought the Covid-19 virus would disappear" after election will need oxygen for the rest of his life

Story by: AUDREY DUTTON The long-haul truck driver Paul Russell was driving back to Boise from Florida, by way of Houston. It was early November, and somewhere along his route, the OTR trucker caught the coronavirus. - According to the article in idahostatesman.com Russell, 63, knew he was sick by the time he crossed into Idaho. “I didn’t know if I was infected with COVID or what,” he said. “My buddy was about an hour behind me. He caught up with me in Twin Falls. … He told me I didn’t look very

canadiantruckingcompanyorbit0315-2048x1152

News · Mar 16, 2021

2 Canadian trucking companies bankrupt amid financial struggles

Story by: [Original image could not be recovered] Nate Tabak, Border and North America Correspondent Owner files for personal bankruptcy after shuttering Orbit Freight and Delta Carrier Two Canadian trucking companies operating in the same Toronto site have shut down as their owner faced a mountain of debt and largely unprofitable businesses, bankruptcy court records show. Orbit Freight ceased operating in February following the shutdown of Delta Carrier, according to filings in Ontario Superior

News · Mar 15, 2021

Driver says trucking company threatened his family after he uncovers illegal practices

Story by: Clarissa Hawes, Senior Editor, Investigations and Enterprise at FreightWaves Investigative: Drivers were forced to drive seven days a week, 20 hours a day, Likanov said A former car hauler said he and his family were forced into hiding after blowing the whistle on his trucking company’s alleged illegal business practices, which he claimed included dispatchers falsifying electronic logs in violation of federal regulations and withholding his pay for various reasons, leaving him with jus

News · Mar 13, 2021

Biden administration kills Trump rule on independent contractor classification

Story by: John Kingston at FreightWaves After delays and withdrawal of letters tied to the rule, Labor Department takes step seen as inevitable In a move that had numerous precursors to its ultimate implementation, the Biden administration has formally withdrawn a Trump administration rule on the definition of independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor announced Thursday it was withdrawing the rule that had been announced by