Economic trends

'Stop showboating': ATA president to UAW, Biden over unprecedented strike

The American Trucking Associations had harsh words for the United Auto Workers and the President as the strike began on Friday, with potential threats for trucking and EV transition.

September 15, 2023

joe biden GM UAW workers strike

Economic trends

Biden blames major jobs report miss on COVID as trucking pulls ahead

Though trucking emerged with positive growth, the overall jobs report for August shows a roughly 68% plunge from analysts' forecast which President Joe Biden blamed on the COVID resurgence.

September 3, 2021

Owner-operator income saw strong 2020 gains

The average net income in 2020 for leased and independent operators combined jumped to $67,742 in 2020, thanks to pandemic-related changes.

March 16, 2021

WTI flatbed truck on highway

Peering through the fog of 2021 spot freight and rates

We asked forecasters at DAT Solutions to peer through the fog and try to make sense of what lies ahead for freight demand and rates in 2021. The underlying forces in the spot market appear to point to a coming slowdown, though wildcards remain.

March 10, 2021

With the spot market jarred, we asked analysts and forecasters at DAT Solutions to peer through the fog and try to make sense of what lies ahead for freight demand and rates in 2021. The underlying forces appear to point to a coming spot freight slowdown, though wildcards remain.

Expect pandemic-boosted retail freight to stay strong, analyst says

Businesses that have benefited from the pandemic will likely stay strong even as services compete for consumers' discretionary spending.

February 26, 2021

Will Amazon and other businesses that have enjoyed a pandemic boost see it fade much as the economy reopens?

FMCSA's clearinghouse has sidelined more than 50,000 drivers

Most of the 52,000 drivers who lost their jobs in 2020 due to drug and alcohol violations have not completed their return-to-work procedure. Many are expected to find work outside of trucking.

February 10, 2021

Gloved hand about to dip a test strip into a urine sample

Analysts optimistic on trucking after chaotic year

2020’s strong second half and prospects for continued high freight demand bode well into 2022, FTR says. However, several factors will affect the timing and intensity of further recovery.

January 18, 2021

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Owner-operator Greg Labosky now pilots this 2025 International LT that bought new at the beginning of this year. The truck replaced a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia that, approaching 1 million miles, was costing the GDL Enterprise owner more in maintenance than he could countenance.

Minding Ps and Qs of costs, rates: Trucker of the Month Greg Labosky

Owner-operator Labosky continues to roll up profits as a power-only carrier in the Amazon Relay system, riding high on a new horse with a lot of road ahead -- a lot behind him, too. He recently crossed the 1-million-safe-mile threshold for his career.

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FMCSA fully engaged with owner-ops: OOIDA | DACA-recipient CDL holders have hope?

Randy Menkel and Never Satisfied Builds/J&L Contracting took home top honors in the 2026 Big Rig Build-Off at the Mid-America Trucking Show with their full-custom 1985 Peterbilt 359.

PKY results: Never Satisfied Builds' 1985 Peterbilt 359 captures big Build-Off win

Enter your own or another deserving owner's business (up to 3 trucks) in Overdrive's 2026 Trucker of the Year competition via this link.

Trucker of the Year John Penn honored at MATS among owner-op peers

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy talks to Overdrive ahead of his speech at the Mid-America Trucking Show. Both FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs and Duffy walked among the show attendees, answering questions off the cuff and vowing major change.

DOT's Duffy: 'Spot rates are going to go up' as FMCSA cracks down on fraudsters

FMCSA fully engaged with owner-ops: OOIDA | DACA-recipient CDL holders have hope?

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