Truck drivers nationwide have a mixed outlook on the future of the trucking industry, according to a survey by freight marketplace Truckstop, released this week in conjunction with National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW), which runs through Saturday, September 21.
Truckstop surveyed 850 of its carrier customers to gain insight into their lives and experiences on the road. A third of those surveyed said they have a positive outlook on the future of trucking while 40% said they are “more pessimistic,” according to Truckstop. The remainder said they are uncertain, “highlighting both the challenges and opportunities facing the industry,” Truckstop said in a statement announcing the survey results Monday.
The survey also found that nearly 60% of Truckstop carriers have driven one million miles or more, with more than a third of respondents surpassing two million miles driven. Of those who have reached the one-million-mile mark, more than 60% report having a current streak of driving a million miles without a single accident, “highlighting their unwavering dedication to safety,” according to Truckstop.
Another survey highlight: 72% of truckers surveyed say they pass the time by listening to music on the road, with a third saying they prefer country music and 20% citing rock and roll as their genre of choice.
“In celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, we honor the resilience and dedication of truck drivers, not just this week but every day,” Kendra Tucker, Truckstop’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. “This year’s survey underscores the strong focus drivers place on safety, while also revealing how music helps keep these rockstars of the road alert and energized behind the wheel.”
Truckstop also celebrated NTDAW with a donation to the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund (SCF). SCF’s mission is to help over-the-road and semi-truck drivers and their families when they are out of work due to illness or injury.
By the numbers, global logistics real estate rents declined by 5% last year as market conditions “normalized” after historic growth during the pandemic. After more than a decade overall of consistent growth, the change was driven by rising real estate vacancy rates up in most markets, Prologis said. The three causes for that condition included an influx of new building supply, coupled with positive but subdued demand, and uncertainty about conditions in the economic, financial market, and supply chain sectors.
Together, those factors triggered negative annual rent growth in the U.S. and Europe for the first time since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, the “Prologis Rent Index Report” said. Still, that dip was smaller than pandemic-driven outperformance, so year-end 2024 market rents were 59% higher in the U.S. and 33% higher in Europe than year-end 2019.
Looking into coming months, Prologis expects moderate recovery in market rents in 2025 and stronger gains in 2026. That eventual recovery in market rents will require constrained supply, high replacement cost rents, and demand for Class A properties, Prologis said. In addition, a stronger demand resurgence—whether prompted by the need to navigate supply chain disruptions or meet the needs of end consumers—should put upward pressure on a broad range of locations and building types.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and the economy were hot topics on the opening day of SMC3 Jump Start 25, a less-than-truckload (LTL)-focused supply chain event taking place in Atlanta this week. The three-day event kicked off Monday morning to record attendance, with more than 700 people registered, according to conference planners.
The event opened with a keynote presentation from AI futurist Zack Kass, former head of go to market for OpenAI. He talked about the evolution of AI as well as real-world applications of the technology, furthering his mission to demystify AI and make it accessible and understandable to people everywhere. Kass is a speaker and consultant who works with businesses and governments around the world.
The opening day also featured a slate of economic presentations, including a global economic outlook from Dr. Jeff Rosensweig, director of the John Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government at Emory University, and a “State of LTL” report from economist Keith Prather, managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence. Both speakers pointed to a strong economy as 2025 gets underway, emphasizing overall economic optimism and strong momentum in LTL markets.
Other highlights included interviews with industry leaders Chris Jamroz and Rick DiMaio. Jamroz is executive chairman of the board and CEO of Roadrunner Transportation Systems, and DiMaio is executive vice president of supply chain for Ace Hardware.
Jump Start 25 runs through Wednesday, January 29, at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel & Convention Center.
The new cranes are part of the latest upgrades to the Port of Savannah’s Ocean Terminal, which is currently in a renovation phase, although freight operations have continued throughout the work. Another one of those upgrades is a $29 million exit ramp running from the terminal directly to local highways, allowing trucks direct highway transit to Atlanta without any traffic lights until entering Atlanta. The ramp project is 60% complete and is designed with the local community in mind to keep container trucks off local neighborhood roads.
"The completion of this project in 2028 will enable Ocean Terminal to accommodate the largest vessels serving the U.S. East Coast," Ed McCarthy, Chief Operating Officer of Georgia Ports, said in a release. "Our goal is to ensure customers have the future berth capacity for their larger vessels’ first port of calls with the fastest U.S. inland connectivity to compete in world markets."
"We want our ocean carrier customers to see us as the port they can bring their ships and make up valuable time in their sailing schedule using our big ship berths. Our crane productivity and 24-hour rail transit to inland markets is industry-leading," Susan Gardner, Vice President of Operations at Georgia Ports, said.
Netstock included the upgrades in AI Pack, a series of capabilities within the firm’s Predictor Inventory Advisor platform, saying they will unlock supply chain agility and enable SMBs to optimize inventory management with advanced intelligence.
The new tools come as SMBs are navigating an ever-increasing storm of supply chain challenges, even as many of those small companies are still relying on manual processes that limit their visibility and adaptability, the company said.
Despite those challenges, AI adoption among SMBs remains slow. Netstock’s recent Benchmark Report revealed that concerns about data integrity and inconsistent answers are key barriers to AI adoption in logistics, with only 23% of the SMBs surveyed having invested in AI.
Netstock says its new AI Pack is designed to help SMBs overcome these hurdles.
“Many SMBs are still relying on outdated tools like spreadsheets and phone calls to manage their inventory. Dashboards have helped by visualizing the right data, but for lean teams, the sheer volume of information can quickly lead to overload. Even with all the data in front of them, it’s tough to know what to do next,” Barry Kukkuk, CTO at Netstock, said in a release.
“Our latest AI capabilities change that by removing the guesswork and delivering clear, actionable recommendations. This makes decision-making easier, allowing businesses to focus on building stronger supplier relationships and driving strategic growth, rather than getting bogged down in the details of inventory management,” Kukkuk said.
Chad Hartley has had a long and successful career in industrial sales and marketing. He is currently senior vice president and general manager, conveyance solutions at Regal Rexnord, a provider of power transmission and motion control products, particularly for conveyor systems. Hartley originally joined Regal Rexnord in February 2015 and worked in various positions before assuming his current role last January. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with Emerson in a variety of supply chain jobs. Hartley holds an undergraduate degree from Wright State University in Ohio and an MBA from the University of Dayton.
Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CURRENT STATE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN?
A: While still not back to pre-pandemic norms, the supply chain is stabilizing after a few years of unprecedented challenges. Automation is becoming extremely important. Due to supply chain demands, coupled with workforce retention challenges, we’re seeing more of an openness to adopting automated conveyors [and] introducing automation through collaborative robots. Speed and efficiency, along with reliability of the systems, is what it’s all about.
Q: PEOPLE MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE PRODUCTS OFFERED BY REGAL REXNORD. HOW WOULD YOU SUMMARIZE THE ROLE YOUR COMPANY PLAYS IN THE INDUSTRY?
A: Our purpose statement says a lot about how we think about our place in the world: Regal Rexnord Creates a Better Tomorrow with sustainable solutions that power, transmit, and control motion. That is the essence of everything we do.
Q: WAREHOUSES ARE TRYING TO REDUCE COSTS BY BECOMING MORE SUSTAINABLE. HOW HAS THIS TREND INFLUENCED REGAL REXNORD’S APPROACH TO SOLUTIONS?
A: Our technologies are at the heart of the industrial powertrain. Creating sustainable solutions alongside our industry partners is a core of what drives our technology advancement. For example, in our gearing division, Bauer Gear Motor’s Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor technology can increase torque output with less upfront energy, and in a more compact, space-saving design. The ModSort Divert and Transfer Module is a fully electric conveying solution, running on only 24V and quiet enough to have a conversation around.
Q: WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY AT YOUR OWN COMPANY?
A: We’re very conscious of our own carbon footprint. We see a trend with our customers wanting to do business with companies that are sustainable. We have ESG initiatives in place to ensure we’re being as responsible as we can. We set a goal in 2023 to [achieve] a 10% year-over-year (YOY) reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. I’m proud to share that we actually saw a 15.5% YOY reduction. We also retrofitted two manufacturing sites in Europe with solar panels and built a new facility in Mexico with energy-efficiency measures in mind.
Q: MANY COMPANIES HELD ONTO THEIR CASH IN 2024, WAITING TO SEE ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND THE ELECTION. DO YOU THINK MORE COMPANIES WILL LOOK TO UPGRADE THEIR SYSTEMS IN 2025?
A: Many of our industries have been under capital constraints for the past two to three years. I believe that this will have to change over the coming one to two years. There is a lot of pent-up demand, and as interest rates drop, this will help spur that investment.