Factory and construction hiring points to freight demand as diesel holds a record

The U.S. added jobs in manufacturing and construction faster than in services last month, according to Transport Topics' read of the latest employment data. That matters more to a truckload carrier than it sounds: goods-producing hiring is the freight-generating side of the economy, and in a soft rate market it is the demand signal worth watching over any single rate print.

At the southern border, a trucker protest has raised the stakes in a dispute over B-1 visas for Mexico-based drivers, even as CBP moves to extend hours at a Laredo crossing to keep traffic flowing, FreightWaves reports in its Borderlands column. If you run South Texas lanes, both threads are worth tracking — one could add friction, the other should relieve it.

For Truck Driver Appreciation Week, OOIDA is running a membership offer, per Land Line. Plainly: if you have been meaning to join and want an advocacy group in your corner, this is the cheaper window to do it.

On the regulatory side, the FMCSA has opened a comment window on exemption applications from four drivers who have a history of seizures and want to operate in interstate commerce while on anti-seizure medication, per a Federal Register notice. It is a narrow item, but exemption decisions set precedent for who qualifies to drive, and comments are open now.

On the cost side, the national on-highway diesel average sat at $5.652 a gallon in the week to 24 August, up 3.6% on the week and 52.4% on the year on U.S. Energy Information Administration data — record or near-record territory, and several outlets, including AP via The Trucker, reported a fresh high late last week. Read that figure for what it is: a retail pump average including taxes, surveyed every Monday. Fleets buying on contract pay less, and the gap widens when prices move fast, so treat it as direction, not as what you will pay at your usual stop.

The week cut both ways — a firming demand signal on one side, a record fuel cost on the other. If you haul goods-producing freight, the hiring trend is the one to keep an eye on.