"​Truckers have had December 18, 2017, circled on their calendars ever since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced its final rule for electronic logging devices, or ELDs, nearly two years ago. 

An ELD works with a truck's engine to automatically record when the vehicle is in motion. By December 18, all carriers and drivers who are legally required to record their duty status were required to transition from paper logs to ELDs if they haven't adopted something similar called an automatic on-board recording device (AOBRD). 

Most large fleets did so long ago and say ELDs reduce paperwork and errors, and also limit the temptation to pressure drivers into working more hours than the law allows. But ELD adoption rates are far lower among smaller carriers, which account for 97% of the 3 million federally regulated commercial vehicles on the road."

Read more here: ​Trucking Trends: Real Impact of ELD-Day Still to Come – Mark Montague, Cargo Business News
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"Ongoing freight transportation capacity tightness continued to drive down the most recent reading of the Shipper Conditions Index (SCI), which was released late last week by freight transportation consultancy FTR.

FTR describes the SCI as an indicator that sums up all market influences that affect the transport environment for shippers, with a reading above zero being favorable and a reading below zero being unfavorable and a “less-than-ideal environment for shippers.”

For September, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI came in at -8.2, down from August’s -6.7. Citing data from Truckstop.com, FTR pointed to underlying tightness in capacity that is steadily raising rates and some continued uptick from hurricane-impacted capacity utilization."

Read more details: Capacity tightness a major driver for declining FTR Shipper Conditions Index – LM Staff, Logistics Management

"Trucks are harder to find and more expensive than ever.

In late September, FTR and Truckstop.com reported load availability was up 110% over 2016. By mid-October, DAT reported the van load-to-truck ratio hit 7.0 loads per truck—the “highest ever recorded” in DAT Trendlines—a study that began in 2010.

Some of the largest truckload providers are preparing their contract customers for double-digit 2018 price increases."

Read more details: The 2017 Capacity Crisis: Past Lessons, Current Advice – Jeff Tucker, Transport Topics