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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.

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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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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Two people were injured and about 100 were evacuated from their homes after an explosion Saturday at an Elk City, OK, trucking company.
The blast occurred at Hodges Trucking, according to a report in the Oklahoman.

Firefighters spent several hours fighting a massive blaze at the company, an affiliate of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy that provides trucking services to the oil field industry.

Elk City Emergency Management Capt. Roger Poole said two men were either loading or off-loading fluid onto a truck when the fluid ignited, but investigators did not know what caused the ignition.

Witnesses reported feeling the explosion up to three miles away.

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BELINDA Thorn is giving up her holiday to help an aid charity, but this is no fund-raising trek in an exotic location.

Belinda, from Elmswell, will be driving a 7.5 tonne truck across Europe to distribute everything from wheelchairs to school books and reading glasses to needy people in Kosovo.

The convoy has been organised by Hope and Aid Direct, which works with the Kosovan charity the Mother Theresa Society which advises on where the aid the convoys bring is most desperately needed.

The truck-driving volunteers then deliver it directly to the homes of those who need it.

Belinda, an administrator’s secretary at the trade union Unite, got into it because a friend she served with in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry had done it before.

“I’ll have a co-driver but the first time I’ll drive the truck will be when I drive out of the car park when we pick it up,” she said. “I’ve driven everything from tractors to a Ferrari, but I’ve not driven a truck.”

She is asking people who want to support the convoy to make donations at www.justgiving.com/belinda-thorn

She wants money not goods because Hope and Aid Direct keeps track of the constantly changing needs of the people it helps.

Belinda said: “Last week they needed wheelchairs and the week before it was coathangers.”

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U.S. Xpress Enterprises and Canadian freight carrier Maritime-Ontario Freight Lines Ltd. (M-O) have partnered to launch a cross-border North American shipping solution. Through the partnership, each company will leverage its national network to move freight across the border and throughout each country, creating a seamless North American network covering the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The companies say their partnership comes as a response to customer demand for a one-stop direct carrier option with the geographic footprint, ease of access and capacity they need to take their freight safely across the border and to its final destination with no hassles, headaches or the need for third-party vendors.

Under terms of the agreement, M-O will carry the freight across the Canada-U.S. border crossing, and U.S. Xpress will be responsible for Mexico-U.S. Border crossings. The border crossings served through the partnership are Buffalo-Niagara and Detroit-Windsor. To ensure the security of the freight and facilities, M-O has completed the requirements and testing necessary to earn its C-TPAT certification in Canada and PIPS certification in the United States, and U.S. Xpress has been recognized as C-TPAT compliant.

“The bottom line here is that cross-border shipping is not easy, and there are not many good options available to carriers who want one point of contact,” said John White, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Chattanooga, Tenn.-based U.S. Xpress. “This service brings together two like-minded high-performing companies to give shippers the convenience and peace of mind that comes from dealing with one trusted carrier who can get their goods where they need to go safely and on time, effectively erasing the border and the issues associated with crossing it.”

The service has been designed to cover the widest possible range of needs and price points and will employ truckload, refrigerated, dedicated and some limited less-than-truckload options through team and solo arrangements. To take advantage of each company’s rail presence, intermodal services also will be used as appropriate. U.S. Xpress and M-O believe that the retail sector will generate the greatest demand for this service, along with pharmaceuticals, grocery and manufacturing.

“While many companies on both sides of the border claim to have an international presence, the extent of their reach is limited,” said Bill Henderson, Maritime-Ontario chief operating officer. “With our partnership, we will have more than just a few trucks over the border. Both companies offer best-in-class transportation solutions and are recognized premium brands in their respective countries. Needless to say, we believe this is a true game-changer for North American freight hauling.”

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