The ninth circuit appeals court judge in Oakland CA has ruled some 2300 Fed Ex Ground workers from 2000 to 2007 were "mis-classified" as contractors according to California law. The laws determining the distinction between employee and contractor are based largely on the degree to which the employer has control over the circumstances under which the contactor achieves the duties for which he or she was hired to perform. Employees are required to work specific hours, dress and conduct themselves according to company policy, etc in the completion of their assigned responsibilities. 

The transportation industry faces huge challenges in measuring the economic effects of cargo theft. The illustration below provides a comprehensive overview of American cargo theft from January ,1 2013 to December 31, 2013. The review examines stolen commodity type , theft incident location, date, and time , cargo origin and destination , and mode of transportation.

Upcoming negotiations between West Coast dockworkers and the Pacific Maritime Association is putting shippers on edge as the July 1 expiration of the six-year labor contract looms. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union represents 13,600 dock workers on the West Coast. The big sticking point in this year’s talks will be who pays for a so-called “Cadillac tax” that comes due in 2018 under Obamacare on the most lucrative of health care plans which is what the longshoremen currently have. That price tag could be as high as $150 million. 

A growing number of less-than-truckload carriers are using dimensioners, a type of scanning device, to more accurately determine shipment characteristics. YRC is acquiring 38 machines that measure freight-shipment dimensions to ensure the company is properly compensated for its services. There is no expedient way to catch mis-rated or mis-dimensioned freight.