Just to take your mind off the heat (it’s so hot out we just saw a bum with a sign that said "Will work for shade”) here’s a little Jake Brake Distraction to cool you off.

Next, we thought we would remind you about National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. This year, NTDAW is scheduled for September 11-17. ATA will be joining America’s Road Team and ATA First Vice Chairman Kevin Burch for an event in Dayton, Ohio during the week of NTDAW and encourages motor carriers and suppliers throughout the industry to hold appreciation events for professional truck drivers. Visit the official NTDAW webpage to see the NTDAW toolkit including suggested events, sample op-eds and press releases to generate local appreciation of drivers, and sample state proclamations to make NTDAW a recognized week in each state.

ATA American Trucking Trends 2016

The American trucking industry posted gains in employment, number of truck drivers and truck sales through 2015, according to the newly released ATA American Trucking Trends 2016.

Trends is produced by ATA's Economics Department to provide a profile of the dynamics shaping the trucking industry. The only almanac on U.S. trucking, it also serves as a vital source of information on major trucking and transportation issues.

“In many ways, 2015 was a good year for our industry, and Trends clearly demonstrates that,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Trends provides indispensable information to trucking companies, industry suppliers, logistics providers, analysts, public policy decision makers, investors and many others. Information that is crucial to making sound decisions about the future.”

“According to our data, trucking revenues topped $700 billion for a second straight year, setting an all-time record of $726.4 billion in 2015, while trucks moved more than 10 billion tons of freight,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “While the first half of 2016 has been challenging for the industry, trucking is coming off two very strong years and we are optimistic about the future.”

Among the findings in this year’s edition of Trends:

• Trucking collected $726.4 billion in gross freight revenues, 81.5% of the nation’s freight bill in 2015.
  
  
• Trucks carried 10.49 tons of freight in 2015, accounting for 70.1% of domestic freight tonnage.
  
• In 2015, there were 3.63 million Class 8 trucks in operation.

Trends also includes data on:

• Amount of taxes the industry paid
  
  
• The number of miles combination trucks traveled and the amount of fuel they consumed.
  
  
• Key employment data, including the number of persons working in trucking related jobs throughout all industries, number of drivers and how many women are truck drivers.
  
• Number of trucking companies by company size.

The complete Trends report is available in book and downloadable PDF formats. To purchase click here.

TruckDriver.com
Carrier of the Month
Barr-Nunn Transportation, Inc.

Founded by Robert Sturgeon in 1982, Barr-Nunn is a dry van truckload carrier operating about 550 tractors and about 1,860 trailers. They provide outstanding shipping service to manufacturers and users of consumer products, paper products, food products and ingredients, plastic and rubber, building materials, appliances, hardware, castings, animal feeds and a host of other products. Their large customer base and ability to efficiently meet the needs of shippers have made Barr-Nunn a stable and profitable operation.

In 2014, Barr-Nunn was acquired by Knight Transportation. They continue to operate as an independent subsidiary, and are pleased to be part of one of the most successful trucking companies in the business.

In today's economy, many trucking operations may come and go. But when you work with Barr-Nunn Transportation, you can rest assured that they are here for the long haul, and will be here for many miles down the road.

As a medium-sized trucking carrier, Barr-Nunn is small enough to address your needs as a truck driver on a personal level, and large enough to attract major shippers. Whatever route you choose, Barr-Nunn provides our truck drivers with great pay and benefits and more miles to keep you running.

No one offers you the same combination of pay, hometime, respect and choices that you’ll find at Barr-Nunn. Excellent equipment, strong miles, lots of paid time off…Barr-Nunn has it all.