Remember to be thankful for Minnesota, the so-called “Land of 10,000 Lakes”, when you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner this year. Minnesota is the number-one state for turkey production by a wide margin. So it’s no big surprise that the Minneapolis market area will also be the land of 1,000 loads per day this Thanksgiving…
At a time when trucking businesses nationwide are cutting costs in order to weather the current economic climate, a recent article in Transport Topics highlighted an emerging threat that could thwart those efforts: fuel fraud. The primary form of fuel fraud is card skimming, where devices that illegally capture credit or debit card information are…
It’s always over before we know it, and this year is the same story: DATCON23 was an absolute blast, and we loved connecting with you all in Houston. To relive the magic, check out this short recap video: This year’s DATCON covered a lot of ground but put a special focus on fighting fraud –…
Today’s truckload transportation market has a lot of moving parts. Between various economic modes, constantly shifting rates, different procurement strategies and pervasive uncertainty, it can be difficult for shippers to feel confident and prepared. Earlier this month at CSCMP Edge 2023, DAT Chief Scientist Dr. Chris Caplice hosted a presentation alongside Steve Raetz, Director of…
The 2023 JOC Inland Distribution Conference took place in Chicago from Sept. 26-28. DAT Freight & Analytics Principal Analyst Dean Croke was among the featured speakers over the annual three-day event, serving as a panelist during the Trucking’s Route to a Rebound keynote session. Croke was joined on the panel by industry experts Chris Jamroz…
Shippers navigate a variety of risks across their transportation network. Severe weather, fluctuating capacity, demand swings, labor issues, mechanical failures, and infrastructure obstacles disrupt deliveries and lead to delays. In addition, cyberattacks and digitally-enabled cargo theft have emerged as new risks amid the rise of interconnected supply chains. Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting digital supply chains…
As the hope of freight market recovery in 2023 fades, even the forecast scenario for improvement in Q2 2024 is in doubt, according to Prof. Jason Miller of Michigan State University, in releasing the latest Trucking Ton-Mile Index (TTMI). The index is calculated as a weighted geometric mean of physical output, inflation-adjusted sales, or total…
Despite many Americans’ aversion to having to “spring forward” and “fall back” each year with daylight saving time (DST), recent attempts by states to switch to permanent DST have gone dark. There is growing support to eliminate the changing of clocks twice yearly, with a survey by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in 2020…
Flatbed carriers looking for market direction received good news last week following the new single-family homebuilding rebounded in September. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, single-family housing starts, which account for most homebuilding, increased 3.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 963,000 units last month. In contrast, single-family building permits, a leading indicator of…
Halloween is next Tuesday, October 31, culminating in peak pumpkin shipping season for reefer carriers, especially out of midwest freight markets in Illinois. This year’s commercial Midwest Region pumpkin crop was in doubt over the summer following 50 days in May and June without rain, raising concerns the crop would not germinate. Despite a challenging…