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Trucking fleets work every day to draft, negotiate and execute contracts with suppliers, employees, subcontractors and customers that maximize revenue and produce efficiencies for all involved. But in a heavily regulated industry such as trucking, compliance issues related to federal, state and local laws must be directly reflected in these contracts, and that can get burdensome.

For decades, America’s roads and bridges were paid for by the users of transportation systems through modest fuel taxes. The system worked well for years, but as vehicles became more fuel efficient and cars that use little or no fuel at all became more prevalent, less revenue from this user fee flowed into the Highway Trust Fund. It's time to forge a new path forward.

Should the federal government be measuring your company’s safety culture? The short answer is “no.” Absolutely not.

Despite the immediate benefits to the supply chain, there is still a lack of knowledge about the competitive advantages of real-time freight visibility. As the supply chain becomes exponentially more complicated, the importance of freight visibility increases due to its ability to provide real-time insight into the location and status of freight.

In an effort to combat drowsy driving, Uber announced on Feb. 12 new national rules that restrict drivers to 12-hour shifts with mandatory 6-hour breaks in between. Uber will enforce the rule through a new drive-time function in its driver app, which will first warn drivers and then temporarily cut off their access to the app, which is their only conduit to receive ride requests. The Uber announcement drove a lot of media coverage, almost all of it positive, but it also left open opportunities to do more to improve safety.

Most of the talk surrounding 3D printing in the trucking industry centers on how it can be used to supply replacement parts for older vehicles. But its real value is much greater than that.

Pretty much everyone knows tires are second only to fuel among operating costs for fleets. What's new is how the industry will deal with the potential for tire failures on autonomous trucks.

Freight and logistics always have depended on the human touch, but technology is getting smarter and many brokers wonder if their efforts will become unnecessary.