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FMCSA shuts down reincarnation of horse hauler

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ordered the Tennessee-based truck company Terri’s Farm to immediately cease all interstate transportation services based on evidence that it was a chameleon operation for an unsafe truck company previously shut down by the agency.

Following a thorough review of the company’s operations, FMCSA shut down Terri’s Farm after finding that it was operating the same vehicles, and maintaining the same operational and safety management structure as former horse transporter Three Angels Farms.

On June 29, FMCSA ordered Three Angels Farms, its officers and vehicles out of service after safety investigators found multiple safety infractions that substantially increased the likelihood of serious injury to the traveling public.

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TCA announces participants in 2nd Weight Loss Showdown

The Truckload Carriers Association’s (TCA) first weight loss challenge (held earlier this year) helped individuals lose a combined 3,022 pounds, or 10 percent of their collective body weight. The event was such a success that TCA will host another.From September 24-December 2, 2012, the following six trucking companies will participate in the 2nd North American Battle of Trucking’s Weight Loss Showdown:Bison Transport of Winnipeg, Manitoba,Dutch Maid Logistics of Willard, Ohio, Erb Transport of New Hamburg, Ontario ,John Veriha Trucking of Marinette, Wis. ,PGT Trucking of Monaca, Pa. ,Tyson Foods of Springdale, Ark.

Trucking’s Weight Loss Showdown is a competition that challenges teams of drivers and staff from TCA-member truckload carrier to determine which individual and which company can achieve the greatest percentages of weight loss. The battle will last 10 weeks and will be managed for TCA by Lindora Clinic, America’s leading clinical weight management provider. Participants will follow Lindora’s Lean for Life On-the-Road program, which stresses a low-carbohydrate, low-fat, moderate protein menu plan coupled with exercise, nutrition education, and lifestyle changes. Lindora coaches will contact each individual throughout the battle to provide nutrition education, help boost morale, discuss obstacles, and record weight loss.Kathy Ayres, Lean for Life On-the-Road project manager for Lindora Clinic, said, “The Lindora team is really looking forward to the second Trucking’s Weight Loss Showdown! After the amazing success of the first Showdown, and the synergy that was created with those teams, we are thrilled to have an opportunity to recreate the magic with this new group of Showdown contenders.”

Chris Burruss, TCA’s president, agreed. “The first Showdown was just the beginning, providing an intriguing glimpse at the positive results that can be achieved when people get motivated,” he said. “I hope there will be many more to come… Showdowns are an excellent way for trucking companies to give back to their drivers and staff, helping them shed pounds toward the goal of improved overall health.”For a second time, TravelCenters of America / Petro Stopping Centers of Westlake, Ohio, will provide the incentive for the company whose team collectively loses the greatest percentage of weight. Its StayFit fitness room equipment package is valued at $13,000 (shipping not included) and includes the following commercial grade items: a cable motion dual pulley strength frame rack, an Integrity elliptical cross trainer, and a recumbent stationary bike. The company will also provide restaurant and food gift cards or certificates valued at $3,000.

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Drivers Dreams Program to Honor Truckers by Granting Wishes

Truckload freight brokerage firm Total Quality Logistics is saying thank you to truck drivers with its new Drivers Dreams program.Drivers Dreams is like a make-a-wish program for truck drivers.It might be a dream to take a long overdue family vacation. It might be a wish to go back to school. It might be assistance in paying bills. Any dream is acceptable.

A Dream Team made up of TQL employees will choose the 10 most compelling submissions during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Sept. 16-22. Drivers will cast their vote for the wish they feel is most worthy. The dream or dreams with the most votes win. A total of $10,000 will be granted to make dreams come true.For every dream submitted and every vote cast, TQL will donate $1 to the St. Christopher Truckers Development & Relief Fund, a charity that assists truck drivers and their families. TQL will donate up to $25,000 to SCF.The Drivers Dreams program began Monday, Aug. 27. Dream submissions will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday, Sept. 22. On Sunday, Sept. 16, the 10 most compelling dreams and wishes will be chosen where they feel are most worthy. The winning dream will be announced on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

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Small business truckers use loan assistance option to purchase cleaner equipment

SACRAMENTO — The California Air Resources Board and the California Pollution Control Financing Authority, part of the State Treasurer’s Office, has hit the $100 million mark in financial assistance to small-business truckers.The funding is provided through a program that provides small businesses with financial assistance to obtain loans or lease-to-own arrangements so they can purchase newer, cleaner trucks ahead of schedule for state clean truck and bus regulations.

“The success of this program means that truck owners are serious about using the financing options available to them to prepare for the truck regulations we have in place,” said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “California residents get to enjoy cleaner air and more hardworking truckers are prepared to comply with CARB’s clean air regulations.”
“Reaching the $100 million mark represents a milestone in providing truckers with an affordable way to reduce emissions, increase fuel efficiency and save themselves money,” said State Treasurer Bill Lockyer. “We have helped diesel truck owners through our loan guarantee program that may not have otherwise received financing to upgrade their vehicles. It’s a win-win for truckers and the environment.”The loan assistance program provides loans and lease-to-own opportunities (known as Terminal Rental Adjustment Clause or ‘TRAC’ leases) to the small business owner that has 100 or fewer employees and generates $10 million or less in annual revenue primarily in California.

The program — officially known as “Providing Loan Assistance for California Equipment” or PLACE provides additional funding opportunities to small businesses in today’s tight credit market.
So far the program has been instrumental in issuing 1,511 purchasing loans and 88 leases, totaling 1599 financing agreements. These funds helped purchase 1,671 clean trucks and 183 exhaust retrofits (installing special filters on older trucks that capture 85 percent of the soot in the exhaust).The loan guarantee programs are designed to assist truckers who are prepared to comply ahead of schedule for two separate regulations: the statewide clean Truck and Bus regulation; and the Heavy Duty (Tractor Trailer) Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Reduction regulation. Both were adopted in 2008 and are part of the state’s overall commitment to cut toxic diesel emissions 85 percent by 2020.

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Trucking industry faces shortage

There’s a bright spot to the dim national jobs outlook on that long Amarillo highway. The Truck Driving Academy at Amarillo College’s East Campus can prepare students for a career that pays from $30,000 to $40,000 a year to start and potentially much more down the line, program director Robert Matthews said.

The trucking industry is experiencing a nationwide labor shortage that Freight Transportation Research Association analysts said could reach 800,000 positions by 2014, according to the Commercial Carriers Journal, a trade publication.
“I think it’s just going to get worse for us,” said Rusty Dillon, manager of Groendyke Transport’s Amarillo terminal at 10201 Triangle Drive. “There’s just not anybody that wants to drive a truck anymore.”Groendyke, based in Enid, Okla., is one of the largest tank-truck carriers in the nation, according to the company’s website. Its drivers haul chemicals, petroleum and bulk products across the country.

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Trucking radio icon Dale Sommers Passed Away

A man whose name is synonymous with trucking radio has signed off the air. North America’s legendary radio truck show host Dale Sommers, The Truckin’ Bozo, died Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in a hospice facility near his home in Hernando, FL. He was 68.

Sommers, widely known for his long-running talk and call-in show geared toward over-the-road truckers, enjoyed a successful broadcast career that spanned more than 50 years.
Photo credit: Tampa Bay Times/ZUMAPRESS.com

Regular fans of “The Bozo” know that Sommers suffered from Addison’s Disease and was an insulin-dependent diabetic. He had been recovering from a critical bout with fragile health conditions and medical complications, for which he was hospitalized earlier this spring.

He returned to the air shortly in mid-June, but was soon off the air again due to more health problems. Although Sirius XM did not issue a statement, friends and family indicated that he was simply not well enough to resume the grueling radio schedule.

From 1984 to 2004, Sommers hosted the all-night show from Cincinnati-based Clear Channel Station WLW-700. In 2004, he announced retirement but changed his mind and agreed to do an afternoon talk show on XM satellite radio. On the satellite radio show, he discussed the hot button issues affecting the trucking industry as well as politics and current events. XM later merged with Sirius, and the popular show has aired on from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Sirius XM Road Dog Channel.

Sommers was a life member of OOIDA. In August 2010, OOIDA Executive Vice President and “Land Line Now” Host Mark Reddig traveled to Cincinnati to present him with an OOIDA Lifetime Contribution award. The award was suggested and approved by the OOIDA Board of Directors at the spring 2010 meeting.

The framed plaque commended Sommers for his career during which he “stimulated, amused and motivated thousands of long-haul truckers, making him a valued friend of truckers and someone who made the miles less lonesome.”

Dale is survived by his wife, Sharon Cox Sommers; children David Sommers, Steve Sommers, Sean Compton, Crystal Sommers, Kevin Sommers, Jason Sommers and Brian Mitchell; 19 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

On his afternoon Sirius XM show, Dale shared news and editorial opinion from TheNewYork Times, the Tampa Bay Times, trucking magazines like Land Line and more. He had an institutional knowledge of the road, affection and respect for his trucker audience and was never short of a point of view.

Dale often said “my life is an open book” and didn’t hesitate to share personal experiences and incidents. He shared anecdotes regarding friends like Hollywood, his wife “Lumpy,” and his kids. He taunted his producers, and they often played off each other like early TV comedians George Burns and Gracie Allen. If he was annoyed with callers, he pushed a button and they exploded on air. This was a tradition that callers enjoyed and intentionally provoked. Asking Bozo “how many days to Christmas” would always get a caller blown up.

He was well known for his impromptu shenanigans. Singer/songwriter Jack Kapanka recalled on a Facebook post this week that he was singing “America Moves By Truck” on Bill Mack’s show. “Dale was goofing around, came up behind me and actually started taking my pants off while I was singing. We were on the air, so I just kept right on playing. Always a prankster, always a friend,” posted Kapanka, who says he will never forget that moment.

Through the years, the cast of characters on his live radio show were more than just entertainers, hecklers and ranting regulars. They were real truckers with names like Yoda, Hollywood, Maverick, Bullwinkle, Elvis, Goodwrench, Big Ed, Asphalt Soldier, Straycat, Kentucky Red Devil, Zookeeper, White Trash, Crud, Double S, Super Trucker, Brooklyn and more.

Some of them became more than just callers; they became trusted personal friends. Rusty “Yoda” Wade kept fans and pals updated on the Bozo website during Dale’s illness. Wade, an OOIDA Life Member from Brundidge, AL, was at Dale’s bedside during the last days.

In the mid ’80s, OOIDA’s Todd Spencer – a former trucker – first began listening to Bozo on WLW. He later met him at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, and the two became good friends.

From OOIDA’s Grain Valley, MO, headquarters, Todd’s workdays often turned into long nights as he developed a habit of staying to listen or call Dale on the all night show.

“Sometimes I answered the phones while I was at the office late, and I remember having truckers say they had no idea someone would be manning the phone at OOIDA in the middle of the night,” he said. “Actually I was there listening or calling in to Bozo.”

Spencer says Bozo tried his hardest to always be there for drivers. There was never any doubt whose side he was on.

“He thoroughly enjoyed and did his best to be an advocate when he felt like a trucker was getting the short end of the stick. And he never hesitated to share his opinion with or about anyone,” said Todd. “In those days, we didn’t have Internet, cellphones. Often, he was one of the best sources for trucking news, for getting the word out there. The best example might be Dale’s contribution to arresting the DC snipers.”

It was Dale who helped nab snipers who were terrorizing the DC area in the fall of 2002. Trucker Ron Lantz was listening to The Truckin’ Bozo late one night when Dale announced the license plate and description of the sniper’s vehicle. At a Maryland rest area, Lantz spotted the car, blocked the exit with his truck, and notified police. The ensuing arrests ended the attacks that killed 10 and injured three.

Driver Nichole Setzer of Goose Creek, SC, says she has been listening to Bozo since she was a kid. “My dad listened to him. Then I became a truck driver and started listening to him on Sirius. He helped me pass many a mile, kept me laughing and informed me about the trucking world. He reminded me of my dad in so many ways.”

OOIDA Member Ingrid “Half Pint” Brown summed up a common sentiment with her Facebook post. “Thank you, Mr. Dale. You will never be off the asphalt airwaves.”

OOIDA Member Sherri “Missing Link” Schmidt, Jerome, ID, first called the WLW show in June 1994. She asked Dale to play “Daddy’s Girl” by Red Sovine for her dad’s birthday. Sherri posted on Facebook this week that her dad always listened to Bozo, even after he retired. Two days after Dale played the song, Sherri’s dad passed away at age 84.

OOIDA Member David “Bullwinkle” Gilland, Nettleton, MS, is one of his longtime listeners. “Dale is a friend. He’s been there for me and I think I’ve been there for him. I started listening to him in April 1984 – WLW’s show. I’ve listened to him ever since. I can’t imagine radio without him.”

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Trucking rebound outpaces Economy

Trucking has recovered from the recession much better than the economy at large, but the rebound slowed in recent months, economist Jim Meil said. Various domestic and global trends cast doubt on what’s next.Meil, vice president and chief economist for Eaton Corp., addressed the Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference in Dallas today.A former professor, Meil rated the state of trucking a B+. That’s largely due to a rebound in U.S. manufacturing (B) and non-defense capital spending (A-). He said other recovering domestic sectors are mining and residential and commercial construction.

Truck freight should grow 3 percent this year and in 2013, though the gross domestic product will see only 2 percent growth in those years. “That’s the fourth year of lackluster growth after the worst post-war recession,” Meil said.During the recession, there was an estimated surplus of 175,000 Class 8 trucks, Meil said. Now there is a slight shortage. That’s good for carriers in terms of keeping their utilization rates and pricing high. Trucking has lost some business to rail intermodal due to the capacity crunch.

Class 8 orders were strong in the first quarter, “then the bottom dropped out,” he said. “Now we’re in the fourth month of a slowdown in orders.”The cause isn’t obvious, but might be related to high levels of uncertainty among buyers. They are likely concerned about the economic impact of the election and how the fiscal cliff crisis – mandated spending cuts for January 2013 – is handled.

“Nobody really believes all these tax increases or spend cuts will take place,” Meil said. But even if only some do, it will present a “pretty significant fiscal challenge for the economy to overcome.”Other uncertainty involves problems with the global economy, he said. Europe “is definitely in a recession,” and China, India and Brazil are not living up to expectations of being dominant economic powers.CVOC was sponsored by Bridgestone, Castrol Heavy Duty lubricants, Chevron, Espar Heater Systems, Freightliner Trucks, Kenworth, Paccar Engine, Peterbilt, TRP and Valvoline.

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Fatigued Driving Renamed

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Friday revealed the latest modifications to its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, including previously announced changes regarding the scoring of cargo securement violations and the creation of a hazardous materials BASIC. Other changes include renaming the Fatigued Driving BASIC and removing points for speeding violations of 5 mph or less. The agency will also create an advisory panel of industry representatives to address CSA issues.
The changes are the latest round of improvements to the CSA program following public input, FMCSA said.
Specifically, as described by the agency, the SMS improvements include:

Strengthening the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC by incorporating cargo/load securement violations from today’s Cargo-Related BASIC Moving cargo/load securement violations into the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC. Including the load securement violations in the new Vehicle Maintenance BASIC will remove the bias in the current Cargo-Related BASIC that has resulted in identifying a disproportionately large number of carriers that haul open trailers (e.g., flatbeds) for interventions.

Changing the Cargo-Related BASIC to the HM Compliance BASIC to better identify HM-related safety and compliance problems. The HM Compliance BASIC will be available only to logged-in motor carriers and enforcement personnel beginning in December. Further examination of this BASIC will take place over the next year before it becomes available to the public.Better aligning the SMS with Intermodal Equipment Provider (IEP) regulations.

SMS will be updated to include violations that should be found and addressed during drivers’ pre-trip inspection on intermodal equipment.

Aligning violations that are included in the SMS with Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspection levels by eliminating vehicle violations derived from driver-only inspections and driver violations from vehicle-only inspections. All violations from roadside inspections will continue to be on a carrier’s inspection report; however, only violations that fall within the scope of the specific inspections performed will be used in the SMS.

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Truck Tonnage of ATA Unchanged in July

The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index was unchanged in July after increasing 1.1% in June.

June’s gain was slightly smaller than the preliminary estimate of 1.2% increase ATA reported on July 25. In July, the SA index stayed at 118.8 (2000=100).

Compared with July 2011, the SA index was 4.1% higher, the largest year-over-year gain since February 2012. Year-to-date, compared with the same period last year, tonnage was up 3.7%.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 119.4 in July, which was 2.8% below the previous month.

“July’s reading reflects an economy that has lost some steam, but hasn’t stalled,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “Certainly there has been some better economic news recently, but I continue to believe we will see some deceleration in tonnage during the second half of the year, if for nothing else but very tough comparisons on a robust August through December period in 2011.”

Costello said he believes the slowdown in new factory orders will constrain manufacturing output, which will impact truck freight volumes. He’s also concerned about the recent jump in the total business (manufacturing, wholesale, and retail) inventory-to-sales ratio.

“Unintended gains in inventories will hit trucking negatively as the supply chain works off stocks,” he says.

Costello kept his tonnage outlook for 2012 to the 3% to 3.5% range as reported last month.

ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. This is a preliminary figure and subject to change in the final report issued around the 10th day of the month.

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Free product test, oil to Canadian trucking companies

Revolution Oil is offering qualified trucking companies in Canada the opportunity to test its HI-TEK25 product for free. In addition, the Mooresville, N.C.-based firm is offering qualified Canadian companies an ongoing Pay for Performance option that would include providing oil free of charge. The corresponding savings on fuel costs are then shared, and under the program, companies will not have to pay for oil, the company says.

“Revolution Oil believes it can successfully access the trucking fleets
throughout Canada and help reduce the rising fuel prices that have been known to cripple trucking companies finances,” officials said in a release.

Caledonia, Ont.-based TransRep has been helping Revolution Oil in the promotion and sales in Canada.

“This business model is certainly unique. Revolution Oil has warranty letters from all the major engine players to back this product,” said Kim Richardson, president of TransRep. “For any trucking company, oil is a major expense to the bottom line.”

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