Month: July 2011

At the Truckload Carriers Association’s recent Refrigerated Division annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., carrier owners and upper-level management, as well as industry suppliers, were issued an unusual challenge: Randomly provide some employees with $100 each and ask them to use the money at their discretion for charitable purposes.

The challenge stemmed from longtime TCA member John Christner, president and chief executive officer of John Christner Trucking Inc. of Sapulpa, Okla., who has already been implementing a “Pay It Forward” program within his own company for the last two years.

Christner said he got the idea from another company and from a book and movie of the same title. The idea of “Pay It Forward” centers on doing a favor for another person – without any expectation of being paid back and with the hope the recipient will, in turn, help someone else in need.

“The results [of this program] have been amazing, even phenomenal,” he told the meeting. “This is about giving someone in your work force the power to do something for mankind.”

Christner recounted numerous stories about how the $100 “seed money” has helped others. His employees have given warm clothes to the homeless, purchased groceries and gasoline for low-income families, and even contacted vendors for matching grants to make their $100 stretch much further. He told one story in which someone used the seed money to set up a dental appointment for a man who had very bad teeth. During the visit, the dentist discovered the man had oral cancer. “Because of this one random act of kindness, the cancer was discovered early enough to save his life, and that’s a priceless achievement,” Christner said.

Immediately after the session ended, 55 people approached Christner to sign up for the program. Christner gave each the first $100 to get them started. He also provided basic instructions, asking each person to begin by selecting different employees, such as mechanics, accountants, dispatchers and drivers.

Used Class 3-8 truck sales in June increased 9 percent over May despite a lack of available inventory, said ACT Research Co. For the year, used sales are 6 percent behind last year’s pace.

Meanwhile, the firm reported net trailer orders in June dropped 26 percent from May, the third consecutive monthly decline.

“Used truck mileage continues to edge up, in response to fleets holding onto their equipment longer,” said Steve Tam, ACT vice president-commercial vehicle sector. “The market is still awaiting some relief to the shortage of sellable inventory as well as upward price pressures. Improving new truck sales will result in increased trade-ins, and should provide some relief to the market.”

The falloff in June trailer orders, combined with an increase in production, resulted in industry backlogs dropping 5 percent month over month. The industry order board ended June at 97,000 units, ACT said.

“The fall-off in net orders was greater than anticipated,” said Frank Maly, director CV Transportation Analysis and Research with ACT. “A positive factor to keep in mind is that cancellations of existing commitments on the order boards were not an issue; new order weakness was the cause.”

Minnesota’s government will begin to resume services July 21, but state officials have not indicated when rest areas and other services used by truckers will be reopened.

On July 20, Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law budget and bonding bills the Legislature approved during a special session earlier in the day. However, state representatives have not said when the public safety department’s Driver and Vehicle Services will reopen.

On July 14, Minnesota Trucking Association President John Hausladen sent letters to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and state congressional representatives describing how trucking was hurt by the government shutdown. “We urge your agency to fully engage the situation in Minnesota to ensure that the state is honoring its obligations as a safety and enforcement partner,” Hausladen wrote.

Truck stops lacked enough parking to accommodate the overflow of trucks that drivers normally would have parked at rest areas.

Truckers also were hurt by the lack of DVS services. Motor carrier could not obtain apportioned plates through the International Registration Plan, preventing companies from registering trucks. That affected those receiving time-sensitive freight, including perishable food, medical supplies or disaster-relief materials.

Truckers could use local registrars to renew CDLs. but only the DVS can issue permanent cards to replace temporary licenses or renew hazardous materials credentials. Third-party vendors could not obtain motor vehicle records or could companies register pro-rated trucks.