Tensions between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union are heating up as periodic, unannounced work stoppages occur at several ports and other locations, causing cargo disruptions across the nation. The actions have taken place the past several days at the Port of Oakland, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the Port of Seattle. They are occurring as the sides have been negotiating for almost a year attempting to finalize a multiyear contract for the 22,000 unionized workers who load and unload freight at West Coast ports and more than two dozen warehouse locations. The labor discord has many in the transportation, retail and agriculture sectors worried about the continued availability of their shipments.

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The largest logistics company in North America has a new CEO. C.H. Robinson, which ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America, has named Dave Bozeman to the position, effective June 26. Bozeman most recently served as vice president of the Ford Customer Service Division and vice president of enthusiast vehicles at Ford Blue of Ford Motor Co. He has over three decades of experience working for companies involved in supply chains, middle-mile transportation, manufacturing, digital and customer service. Scott Anderson has been serving as interim CEO since January. Anderson will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors.

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A new report seeks to shed light on why so many truck drivers are leaving their jobs after failing a marijuana test — most likely accepting other jobs with lower pay rather than returning to the current nationwide driver pool that already is critically short. The report, from the American Transportation Research Institute, notes that some truck drivers who successfully complete a return-to-duty program still find it difficult to find truck driving employment, based on carrier survey data indicating that a segment of carriers will not hire truck drivers who have tested positive.

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WASHINGTON — In a dispute about the pressure that organized labor can exert during a strike, the Supreme Court ruled June 1 against unionized drivers who walked off the job with their trucks full of wet concrete. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, said the union failed to take reasonable precautions to protect the company’s concrete when the drivers went on strike. 

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With fewer than 60 days to go until the current labor contract expires, negotiations were set to resume June 5 between Atlanta-based parcel delivery giant UPS and members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents an estimated 360,000 UPS drivers and other workers.

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years. The May 31 announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration represents the agency’s latest move toward regulating electronic systems that take on certain tasks that drivers themselves have normally done. 

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Daimler Truck will join merging Japanese companies Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. and Hino Motors as part of an ecological tech alliance forged between themselves and their top stakeholders, the companies said May 30. Daimler Truck Holding, Mitsubishi Fuso, Hino and Toyota Motor Corp. announced the merger after concluding a memorandum of understanding focused on accelerating the development of advanced technologies. The focus will be on environmental, autonomous, connected and electric mobility technologies. 

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Embark Technology is set to be acquired by fellow autonomous vehicle software company Applied Intuition, the companies announced May 25. The deal puts the equity value at about  $71 million. Applied Intuition will provide an all-cash transaction as part of a definitive merger agreement signed by the companies. Applied Intuition aims to integrate internal tools, data and software assets gained in the deal to further improve its offerings for customers in the trucking and automotive industries. Embark is an autonomous trucking software company that was founded in 2016.

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A trade group representing independent contractors has begun a program to recruit and train working independent drivers to serve as “ambassadors” to educate lawmakers and others about their importance to the industry and the personal opportunities their jobs provide. The Coalition for Independent Truckers' key goal is to deploy ambassadors to head off efforts in state legislatures aimed at advancing laws that would reclassify independent owner-operators as motor carrier employees. American Trucking Associations and the Truckload Carriers Association are among groups that support the plan.

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A package of supply chain-centric bills was advanced to the floor of the House of Representatives on May 23. The measures largely address safety, efficiency and resiliency in freight transportation. Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican, said, “Today, the committee took action to strengthen our supply chain in numerous ways by removing regulatory barriers, improving supply chain efficiency and promoting smarter infrastructure investment.”

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