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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.





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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.





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UPS Inc. said Thursday the U.S. economy is showing more signs of life but not recovering fast enough.





UPS Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn said the economy is stable but "unexciting," in an interview with the Associated Press. The world's largest package delivery company still raised its full-year earnings forecast as strong demand continued for goods from Asia. Businesses are also paying more to ship packages faster, bucking the trend of "trading down" seen at the beginning of the recession.





The U.S. economy will "not be at the level you will be hoping for in the next couple of quarters," Kuehn said. "We're not overly optimistic about a rapd recover, but we feel pretty good about Asia, we're seeing record progress."





Asian imports, especially electronics, have helped to boss UPS profits this year as U.S. growth remains slow. The company's third quarter earnings went up 81 percent.





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The Ceridan-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index, a real-time measure of the flow of goods to U.S. factories, retailers, and consumers, fell 0.5 percent in September.





August and September produced the worst combined two-month decline since January and February of this year. The decline indicates a four month period of small to no increases in over-the-road movement of produce, raw materials, goods-in-process and finished goods.





The Pulse of Commerce Index forecasts GDP growth in the third quarter of this year to be between 0.7 percent and 1.7 percent. Chief Pulse of Commerce Index economist and director of the UCLA Andreson Forecast, Ed Leamer, said the future does not look promising. "The PCI tells us that inventory is stalled on the nation's thoroughfares. The good months of growth are now seemingly in our rear view mirror," Leamer said. "Our economy's loss in traction is alarming and for the 'Cassandras of the double-dip,' may foretell a coming decline in GDP and spike in unemployment."





If you would like more information on freight factoring, please contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, by calling 800-207-7661.

A bill introduced before the Congress election break would repeal the 12 percent federal excise tax on heavy trucks and trailers and replace it with a 7.3 cents per gallon diesel tax increase.





The bill was introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who said new trucks have sufficient environmental and safety advantages. He said Congress should reduce the barriers to new truck acquisition. Blumenauer noted the revenue generated by the 12 percent excise tax was important for the Highway Trust Fund, but said sales of new trucks and trailers have fallen dramatically during the recession.





"These lost sales have several important effects," Blumenauer said. "By reducing revenue to the trust fund, the decline hinders economic productivity by imposing costs from poor infrastructure. It also reflects an increase in the average age of the trucking fleet." If the tax was repealed, truck sales would increase and "to meet the demand for new trucks, most truck manufacturers will add employees, as most have significant engine and final assembly operations in the U.S."





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United States Senators Mark Pryor, D.-Ark., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., introduced legislation Wednesday to improve the safety of highways by requiring electric on-board recording devices for commercial motor vehicles.





According to the senators, federal regulations were first established in the 1930s to prevent overworked truck drivers from causing accidents, but they have been difficult to enforce. The Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act would require universal installation of electronic on-board recording devices for commercial motor vehicles.





"No one wants to share the road with tired truckers, but we all expect our stores to be full of merchandise. Meeting these expectations is a constant balancing act for the trucking industry," Pryor said. "After several meetings with industry and Senate hearings on highway safety, I believe the most sensible and effective solution is to require the use of EROBRs. The measure will ensure the entire industry is putting safety and driver quality of life before profit."





An EOBR requirement on all commercial trucks has been a longstanding item on the National Transportation Safety Board's "Most Wanted List" of safety improvements.





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Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. has opened new service centers in Texas and Michigan.





According to company officials, a 44-door, eight-acre facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan will employ 15 people. The new service center is located southeast of Kalamazoo's city center, near the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport. "By opening a service center in Kalamazoo, we will expand our reach in Michigan to better serve customers and streamline line-haul operations" said Old Dominion's vice president of the Midwest Region, Mike Wood. "The new service center will help us keep our promise to customers by continuing to offer the best on-time rate in the LTL industry."





The company also built a 38-door South Houston facility which occupies 3.7-acres in and will employ more than 30 employees. The new service center is located near William P. Hobby Airport, southeast of Houston's city center.





Old Dominion operates 212 service centers in the lower 48 states.





If you would like more information on truck factoring, please contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, at 800-207-7661.

Interstate Distributor Co., Frieght Wing, and the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center announced one of the industry's largest installation of trailer side skirts.





According to a press release from Interstate Distributor Co., a $875,972 grant from the EPA's Diesel Emissions Reduction Act will go toward installing 2,058 Freight Wing Aeroflex side skirts in July at it's maintenance facility. The Tacoma-based company is North America's 12th largest truck load carrier and 46th for-hire carrier with a fleet of more than 2,000 tractors and 6,800 trailers.





"We greatly appreciate this opportunity presented to us by the EPA, and to work with PPRC and Freight Wing," said Lee Owens, senior vice president of maintenance and facilities. "We expect great success with the project... We've tested the side skirts for the past few years and have seen up to a 5 percent improvement in fuel economy depending on the route and the speed we're traveling."





If you would like more information on truck factoring, please contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, at 800-207-7661.

A man in Washington has been sentenced to 22 months in federal prison for fraudulently acting as a Medical Review Officer on Department of Transportation-related drug tests, without being a licensed physician.

According to court documents, Bennet was also ordered to make restitution to the government and victims in the amount of $209,030. Bennet will serve 22 months in prison, and upon his release will be subject to three years , 100 hours of community service, and a $400 special assessment, according to Jim L. Swart, director of the Office of Drug and Alcohol Police and Compliance at the Department of Transportation.

The Office of Drug and Alcohol Police and Compliance issued a Public Interest Exclusion against Bennett July 31, 2009, but because of a federal criminal indictment by the Department of Justice was pending against Bennet, ODAPC did not make a public notification of the PID in the Federal Register until November 17, 2009.

If you would like more information on truck factoring, please contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, at 800-207-7661.