Here are some excerpts from the press release: In the 20 years examined, 11 states (North Dakota, Virginia, Missouri, Nebraska, Maine, Montana, Tennessee, Kansas, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Florida) made progress in all seven categories and 37 states improved in at least five of the seven metrics. MORE

’ So now that you know that I live vicariously through all of you, my customers, as I dream about riding parallel to a mountain range on the big open highways in Montana, competing for space in intense heavy traffic off the Jersey Turnpike, or getting my kicks meandering down Route 66. MORE

Based in Missoula, Montana, Watkins & Shepard is the leading provider of LTL, truckload and logistics services for difficult-to-handle goods, such as furniture and floor coverings, across North America. What was your first concert? MORE

Those other dark red areas on the Hot States map, in Montana and South Dakota, signal a shortage of trucks without a lot of available loads. Thanks in part to seasonal food items, rates are finally trending back up for vans and reefers. MORE

Montana and Maine look hot, but they’re not. February is usually one of the slowest months for spot market freight, but demand started to pick up last week. The national average van rate was unchanged, at $1.58 per mile, so maybe that’s the bottom. We can’t wait for spring! MORE

La Niña could also lead to a repeat of last year’s snowy winter in the Pacific Northwest, with heavier-than-normal rain and snow as far east as Montana. And skiers might enjoy above-average snowfall this winter in the Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Western Canada. MORE

You just might forget to smell the ocean as you leave Vancouver, the fresh evergreens forests of Washington State, see the big sky in Montana, or the cornfields of Nebraska, or the Ozarks of Missouri, and of course hearing the great music of Tennessee. MORE

Wolves now number about 1,700 in the Western states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington. MORE

A shortage of trucks led to high load-to-truck ratios that turned entire states dark green in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, but there were not a lot of loads available in those areas. MORE

But Flynn was in Montana, in Dakota was Jimmy Blake. The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mud-Flap Nine that day. There were three full loads and just two trucks, one hour to go. And when Cooney called in sick, and Barrows did the same. A sickly silence fell upon the dispatchers on the floor. MORE

Loads were not nearly as plentiful in Montana and Wyoming, however, so check outbound freight before taking a load into those states. Flatbed freight availability dropped 13% on the spot market last week, after a one-week gain. MORE

Reddaway is an LTL carrier that provides service in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. LTL Carrier Profile: YRC Freight. YRC Freight is the third largest less than truckload (LTL) carrier with approximately $3.2B in sales (estimated 2012). YRC Freight has 9.2% of the less than truckload (LTL) market. YRC Freight is the largest subsidiary of YRC Worldwide Inc. MORE

” A 19 car Montana Rail Link train carrying major airplane component assemblies bound for Boeing’s final assembly facilities in the state of Washington derailed near Rivulet Montana. The news from the July 4th weekend included a significant supply chain focused news item, which the Wall Street Journal characterized as “upsetting a finely tuned supply chain.” MORE

The last scene shows an old man sitting on the Montana river where he used to fish with his family many years ago. A River Runs Through It is one of my favorite films. The scenes directed by Robert Redford are beautiful. MORE