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Factory activity expanded in January at the fastest pace in nearly seven years, manufacturers reported.


According to a new report published Tuesday by the Institute for Supply Management, the index of manufacturing activity rose from 58.5 in December to 60.8 last month. The sector has expanded for 18 straight months, and January's reading was the highest since May 2004. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.


The manufacturing sector bottomed out at 33.3 in December 2008, the lowest point since June 1980. Rising industrial output has been a key driver for the economy since the recession ended in June 2009.


Thomas Duesterberg, CEO of Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, said the outlook is good. "Momentum is again building for this sector," Duesterberg said. "Manufacturing will continue to lead the recovery at least through mid-year."

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The American Trucking Associations' For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.2 percent in December.


According to the ATA's seasonally adjusted index, the latest improvements put it at 111.6 in December, which was the highest level since September 2008. In November, the SA index equaled 109.2.


Compared with December 2009, SA tonnage climbed 4.2 percent, which was higher than November's 3.3 percent year-over-year increase. ATA Cheif Economist Bob Costello says December's improvement fits well with the see-saw pattern that many carriers are reporting. "Fleets continue to tell me that freight volumes are very choppy, up one week, but down the next," Costello said. "That is a trend that is likely to continue this year as the economy is not growing across the board yet.


Trucking serves as a barometer for the U.S. economy, representing 68 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation. Costello said the SA tonnage reaching a 27 month high is a positive sign for the economy.


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Net orders for December of heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles in North America reached the highest level in four years.

Net orders of Class 8 vehicles in December were up 128 percent year-over-year, according to ACT REsearch Co. In the latest release of State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles, ACT noted that Class 8 orders rose to their highest monthly total since May of 2006. Medium-duty Classes 5-7 net orders fell nine percent from November, but were up 89 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Full year 2010 production of Class 8 vehicles was up 30 percent from 2009, with a total of 154,290 units produced. Over 27,000 net orders were processed in December alone. "Unlike previous cycles that have been dominated by the U.S., there is a greater breadth of geographic demand for Class 8 equipment this time," said Kenny Vieth, an ACT senior analyst. "While U.S. demand is ramping nicely, orders bound for Canada, Mexico and non-NAFTA export markets remain at healthy levels."


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The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday proposed a new regulation that would specifically prohibit commercial truck drivers from using hand-held cell phones behind the wheel.


According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the proposed Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule would prohibit interstate commerical truck and bus drivers from reaching for, holding, or dialing a phone while operating a commercial motor vehicle. "Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cell phone, even for a few seconds, the driver places everyone around them at risk," LaHood said. "This proposed rule would go a long way toward keeping a driver's full attention focused on the road."


Drivers who violate the proposed regulation would face federal civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense, as well as a disqualification of their Commercial Drivers License for multiple offenses. States would also suspend a driver's CDL after two or more violations of any state law on cell phone use.


Motor carriers that allow their drivers to use hand-held cell phones while driving would face a maximum penalty of $11,000.


Approximately four million interstate commercial drivers would be affected by the proposed regulation.


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Truckers typically do not use their weekly allotment of on-duty hours, according to the American Trucking Associations.


Boyd Stephenson, manager of safety and security operations at the American Trucking Association, said the agency used two separate research projects to come up with its finding that truckers do not come close to using the weekly hours allotment."ATA requested that RAIR calculate the total on-duty time for each seven, calendar-day period, not each new period begining with a 34-hour restart as the rule permits," Stephenson wrote, in a letter to Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations division cheif of driver and carrier operations Tom Yager. "As you will see, drivers averaged 43.6 hours in each seven calendar-day period."


The ATA slso surveyed six association members and obtained results relating to 149 randomly-selected drivers for April 2010. Researchers determined how many hours a driver had been on-duty in any eight day period. "As you will see, these drivers averaged 57.5 hours in every eight day period," Stephenson wrote.


Responsed ranged from 32.5 hours to 75.5 hours on-duty, according to Stephenson.

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U.S. manufacturing expanded for the 16th straight month in November.


According to the Institute for Supply Managment, its index of manufacturing activity dropped to 56.6 in November, down from 56.9 in October. An index over 50 indicates growth. After slowing over the summer, factories have picked up in recent months and manufacturing has been one of the strongest sectors of the economy since the recession ended.


The ISM's index rose to 60.4 in April, the highest level since 2004. The index bottomed out in December 2008 at 32.5, the lowest since 1980.


Stocks jumped prior to the report's release and held their gains afterward. Investors responded to strong manufacturing data out of China as well.

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FTS Fleet Services officials said the carrier is safe, despite inheriting some bad equipment from Hester Inc.





Accoridng to FTS Fleet Services owner Joe Frederick, he is doing his best to make sure the company meets government guidelines. FTS purchased Hester Inc. earlier this year, drawing criticism from many in the industry. Hester was to be shut down late last spring following an 11-fatality wreck and an unsatisfactory compliance review from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.





Before Hester could be closed, Frederick obtained federal authority to operate FTS as a property carrier from Hester's facilities with some of Hesters trucks and personnel. Frederick said he was forced to shelve numerous pieces of Hester equipment that were deemed unsafe for the road.





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FedEx Corp. expects to ship around 16 million packages on its busiest day this year, December 13.





The 16 million parcel prediction is the highest ever for a single day in the company's history and 11 percent higher than last year. FedEx Corp. Thursday said more than half of the increase is the result of its partnership with the United States Postal Service. The shipments are mostly for consumers who are ordering from online retailers during the holiday shopping season.





Last year, FedEx, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee, shipped 14.2 million packages on its busiest day. The company's biggest rival, UPS,  has not made a prediction for this year's busiest day.





Peak projections from UPS and FedEx are watched closely because they indicate the state of the broader economy.





FedEx ships about 7.5 million packages on an average day.





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UPS turned to Mack Trucks, Inc. for its most recent order of fuel-efficient, clean-running trucks.





This week, UPS placed an order for 475 Mack Pinnacle models built with EPA 2010-certified Mack MP engines. The Mack Macungie Assembly Operations facility outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania, will begin production of the order in early November. All 475 trucks will be delivered by the end of 2010.





Vice President of Sales for Mack Trucks, Inc. Michael D. McNally announced the order Wednesday. "We are very pleased that UPS decided to choose Mack and continue the long partnership between our two great companies," McNally said. "Our Pinnacle model combines the power and durability that Mack is known for, with the performance and fuel economy that customers like UPS require."





The Mack Pinnacle Series is built with the fuel efficient MAck MP engine, featuring MAck ClearTech Selective Catalytic Reduction technology. The trucks reduce emissions and have about a 5 percent fuel efficiency improvement over EPA 2007 engines.





For more information on trucking factoring, please contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, by calling 800-207-7661.

A Judge in California reinstated an injunction Tuesday against the owner-operator ban at the Port of Los Angeles.





The American Trucking Associations filed an appeal seeking the reinstatement of the injunction last month. United States District Court Judge Christina Snyder had ruled August 26 that the port can require big rigs to comply with diesel emissions standards and eliminate owner-operators. Her ruling dissolved an injunction against the ban that had been in place since April of last year.





The American Trucking Associations asked that the injunction remain in place while it appeals Snyder's ruling. Synder agreed, saying that ATA members "are likely to suffer irreparable harm absent an injunction pending appeal."





The Port of Los Angeles introduced a three-year plan requiring motor carriers to transition to an employee-run workforce. The plan requires 20 percent company drivers by 2011, 66 percent by 2012, and a 100 percent employee workforce by the end of 2013.





If you would like to learn more about a freight factoring program for your business, please contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, by calling 800-207-7661.