ABF Racing Team Heads to Charlotte

When the No. 30 Chevrolet Impala arrives at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, the car and crew will be wearing ABF green and yellow. Once again, the No. 30 ABF Chevy will be driven by James Buescher.

“Charlotte is a huge race for all the race teams.  With almost all the teams within a 20-mile radius of the track, this is considered everyone’s home track. The crew members bring their families out to see what we do every week.  It puts a little added pressure on us to do well.  We all want to put on a great show for the fans as well as all the families that sacrifice so much to allow us to do what we love, which is race,” said Buescher.

“I think our ABF Chevrolet will be strong this weekend,” he continued. “Our mile-and-a-half program has been strong all year, and we expect more of the same this weekend. I am excited to have ABF back on the car.  They have been such a great partner over the years and I am honored to be wearing their colors this weekend.  Hopefully we can get them back in victory lane on Saturday afternoon!”

The No. 30 ABF Chevrolet Impala team will bring chassis TMS-326 to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for Saturday’s 300-mile race.  The TMS-326 is a brand new chassis to the No. 30 ABF Chevrolet team.

Buescher has been busy in the first quarter of the NASCAR season.  He has competed in every NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race scoring one victory (Kansas Speedway) and three top-three finishes behind the wheel of his No. 31 Silverado. He sits fourth in the series standings, only 18 points behind the series leader Justin Lofton. The 22-year old driver has also notched a NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) victory (Daytona).  Buescher has competed in all but two NNS races in 2012, collecting one top-five and three top-10 results with an average finish of 10.1.

YRC Worldwide Names Scott D. Ware as President of Holland

 YRC Worldwide Inc. has named Scott D. Ware as president of its Holland subsidiary, a leading provider of next-day regional less-than-truckload services. Ware, 51, has 27 years of industry experience and most recently served as vice president of Operations at Holland where he was responsible for the management and execution of major operational initiatives focused on specific performance improvement.

"Scott has been an integral part of the Holland success story for the past five years. As leader of the Operations group, he – along with his team – established Holland as the industry standard, best-in-class leader for the next-day LTL market," said James Welch, chief executive officer of YRC Worldwide.

Prior to joining Holland in 2007, Ware was director of Line Haul Operations at Saia, Inc. He was previously director of Line Haul at Jevic Transportation and prior to that a manager of Freight Flow Operations at Con-way, Inc. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

"The Holland team delivers industry leading service to their customers every day and they deserve a president who will work alongside them to take the team to the next level," added Welch. "I am proud that Scott will be taking the helm to build on the company's successes."

U.S. trucking sector remains ‘sluggish’

In a word, the U.S. freight environment is “sluggish” — not a good word for a sector considered a leading economic indicator.

The American Trucking Associations’ reported Tuesday (May 22) that its seasonally adjusted Truck Tonnage Index fell 1.1% in April after increasing 0.6% in March. The latest drop put the index at 118.7 (2000=100), down from March’s level of 120.

Year-to-date, compared with the same period last year, tonnage was up 3.8%.

“While April’s decrease was a little disappointing, the March gain turned out to be stronger than originally thought,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement. “The ups and downs so far this year are similar to other economic indicators.”

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 116.9 in April, which was 5.5% below the previous month.  Full Story.......

U.S. freight levels hit reverse in April

U.S. freight levels hit the brakes in April, declining 1.1 percent compared with the previous month, according to new data from the American Trucking Associations.

The ATA increased its seasonally adjusted numbers for March, saying levels actually increased 0.6 percent, compared with the previously disclosed 0.2 percent increase.

The ATA’s index of for-hire truck tonnage now stands at 118.7, down from March’s 120. The year 2000 equals 100 on the index.

“While April’s decrease was a little disappointing, the March gain turned out to be stronger than originally thought,” Bob Costello, ATA’s chief economist, said in a release. “The ups and downs so far this year are similar to other economic indicators. While just one month, the (April) decrease also matches with an economy that is likely to grow slightly slower in the second quarter than in the first quarter.”  Full Story...........