American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.5% in September after rising 2.1% in August. In September, the index equaled 118.8 (2015=100) versus 118.2 in August. “The latest gain put tonnage at the highest level since August 2019 and the third highest level on record,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “This is another example of how the contract freight market remains strong despite weakness in the spot market this year. During the third quarter, tonnage increased 0.5% over the second quarter while increasing 5.6% over the same period in 2021. That was the largest quarterly year-over-year increase since the second quarter of 2018.” Compared with September 2021, the SA index increased 5.5%, which was the thirteenth straight year-over-year gain. In August, the index was up 6.7% from a year earlier. Year-to-date through September, compared with the same period in 2021, tonnage was up 4%.

U.S. Paper Converters Inc. announced Monday it's shutting down its Appleton facility, leaving more than 50 people without a job. It's the latest in a series of devastating closures and layoffs from paper companies in the Fox Valley. Prior to this, Appleton Coated announced it was in receivership before being sold to a liquidation company. Hundreds of people were laid off, and many are trying to find work through the Bay Area Workforce Development Board. Some of those laid off employees said they know exactly how the U.S. Paper Converters employees feel. Click Read More below for additional information.

FMCSA’s waiver approval for electronic warning beacons clears major hurdle, Morgan Stanley contends Wall Street investment firm Morgan Stanley sees the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s recent waiver to allow high-tech roadside safety beacons a turning point for autonomous trucking. “We believe this is a significant milestone in the path to widespread commercial adoption of autonomous trucking because while the overall regulatory environment for autonomous trucking is quite favorable, small practical rules friction like this has been viewed as significant hurdles by some parties pushing back on its adoption,” wrote Morgan Stanley freight transportation analyst Ravi Shanker in a research note on Monday. “This shows that regulators are open to easy and practical solutions to ease the rollout of this technology.” FMCSA recently granted a limited three-month renewable waiver to Aurora (NASDAQ: AUR), allowing the autonomous truck developer to use cab-mounted flashing warning beacons instead of reflective triangles – which much be deployed manually by the driver – to warn of a stopped truck on the roadside.