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Trucker News

Trucking outlook set for GATS

Trucking analysts Noel Perry of FTR Associates and Peter Nesvold of Jefferies & Co. will deliver their insights and projections about the trucking industry during the Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference Aug. 24-25 in Dallas.

They will discuss equipment sales, capacity, fuel prices, employment and freight trends at the conference, which unfolds on the eve of the Great American Trucking Show Aug. 25-27 at the Dallas Convention Center.

Also scheduled during CVOC is a discussion of low-cost trucks and advanced trucking technology by Sandeep Kar of Frost & Sullivan, followed by a panel discussion including Max Fuller, co-chairman of U.S. Xpress, and Kyle Treadway, president of Kenworth Sales Co.

Speaking on trucking challenges will be Jim Hebe, Navistar senior vice president of North American sales. Rob Abbott of the American Trucking Associations and Ann Wilson of the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association will focus on regulatory and legislative issues.

Concluding the conference will be a panel of trucking executives to talk about business topics including the driver shortage, rising fuel and equipment costs, and regulatory impacts.

Keynote speaker for the event will be political strategist Karl Rove, who will discuss Washington politics and the 2012 elections.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Indiana latest to ban texting

Texting while driving is the act of composing, sending, or reading text messages, email, or making other similar use of the internet on a mobile device, while operating a motor vehicle such as an automobile, truck or train.

The practice of texting while driving has been viewed by many people and authorities as dangerous. It has also been ruled as the cause of some motor vehicle accidents, and in some places has been outlawed or restricted

Indiana becomes the 32nd state to prohibit texting while driving after Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a new law.

Effective July 1, violators face a maximum fine of $500. The law extends Indiana’s current texting ban to all drivers. Drivers under 18 are also prohibited from all cell phone use.

With the addition of Indiana, 32 states, the District of Columbia and Guam ban text messaging by all drivers. Further, eight states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have prohibited all hand-held cell phone use while driving.

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Trucker News

Jason’s Law re-introduced

As states continue closing rest areas because of budget shortfalls, Congress is reconsidering Jason’s Law to increase access to truck parking.

Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 1803 on May 11, co-sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), which was referred to the transportation committee.

Jason’s Law would provide $20 million annually over six years for truck parking upgrades on the National Highway System to local governments and private entities, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

The American Trucking Associations said the bill would fund initiatives that could include building new parking, improvements to existing commercial and non-commercial parking, and technology to track open parking spaces.

The legislation is named for New York trucker Jason Rivenburg, murdered during a 2009 robbery attempt at an abandoned gas station in South Carolina.

Tonka and Jason’s widow, Hope Rivenburg, conducted a press conference May 11 outside the U.S. capitol building. They were joined by the OOIDA, ATA, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, American Moving & Storage Association and NATSO, the trade association representing travel plaza and truck stops.

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Trucker News

Georgia conducts targeted traffic enforcement

Georgia law enforcement is carrying out a periodic Targeting Aggressive Cars and Trucks effort on State Highway 400 in Fulton and Forsyth counties through July. The Georgia Department of Public Safety administers the program, with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as a partner. G-TACT is designed to increase driver awareness of the dangers of risky driving around trucks through education and enforcement.

The targeted corridor is from exit 5 (Abernathy Road) to exit 16 (Pilgrim Mill Road).
Law enforcement will concentrate on traffic violations by drivers of cars and trucks that can lead to a traffic crash. The department chose the route because of the number of commercial motor vehicle crashes over the past four years.

Officers are watching for drivers who tailgate, change lanes too quickly, cross the median, drive recklessly, speed, drive in the emergency lane, fail to signal before changing lanes, operate a vehicle without a valid license and for trucks with more than six wheels that travel in the left lane.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Diesel drops 2 cents

Diesel-powered cars generally have a better fuel economy than equivalent gasoline engines and produce less greenhouse gas emission. Their greater economy is due to the higher energy per-liter content of diesel fuel and the intrinsic efficiency of the diesel engine.

The national average retail price of diesel fell 2 cents during the week ended May 9, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. The national average price declined to $4.104 but is still 97.7 cents higher than a year earlier.

All regions dipped in price, except for the Rocky Mountain area that reported the same average price as the previous week. The Gulf Coast, after jumping in price the previous week, fell 3.8 cents to $4.022 to remain the cheapest region. The Central Atlantic slid 2.1 cents to $4.248 as did the West Coast to $4.307. California dipped 0.6-cent to $4.459, the nation’s highest.
The record diesel price was $4.764 in July 2008.
For diesel price information, click here.

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Trucker News

Flooding closes I-40 in Ark

Truckers are advised to seek alternate routes as both eastbound and westbound traffic on busy I-40 in Arkansas has been closed due to flooding.

The westbound detour begins at Brinkley at mile marker 216, while the eastbound detour begins at Hazen at mile marker 193, the Arkansas Highways Department said. The westbound detour stretches 120 miles with drivers reporting average speed at 10 mph. I-40 in Arkansas is one of the busiest highways in the country, according to the Arkansas Trucking Association

The rising White River is not expected to crest until late Saturday, May 7.

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Newbies

FMCSA issues CDL amendments

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on May 5 issued its final rule amending the commercial driver’s license knowledge and skills testing standards and establishing new minimum federal standards for states to issue a commercial learner’s permit. The final rule requires a permit holder meet virtually the same requirements as those for a license holder, including driver disqualification penalties. The rule also specifically prohibits a motor carrier from using a driver who does not hold a current and appropriate permit or CDL to operate a commercial motor vehicle. The final rule implements relevant sections of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006. Many of the program areas and issues dealt with in this rule are also addressed in the Department of Homeland Security’s final rule implementing the REAL ID Act. FMCSA says it has coordinated efforts with DHS to write regulations that neither overlap nor conflict.

Successful completion of a knowledge test, currently a prerequisite for the CDL, now will be required for a permit. The rule requires states to use driver and examiner reference materials, state testing questions and exercises, and state testing methodologies that FMCSA has preapproved. It includes prohibiting use of foreign language interpreters in the administration of the knowledge and skills tests to reduce the potential for fraud. The final rule also strengthens the legal presence requirements and increases the documentation required for permit and CDL applicants to demonstrate their legal presence in the United States. The rule also addresses applicants who wish to attend a driver training school in a state other than the applicant’s state of domicile; states are required to recognize permits issued by other states for training purposes.

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Trucker News

Trucking adds 4,500 jobs

Trucking companies hired 4,500 workers as part of 244,000 nonfarm jobs added on a seasonally adjusted basis during April, according to the preliminary estimates released May 6 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In addition, BLS revised its original estimate for March upward by 1,200 jobs. Compared to April 2010, the number of jobs in for-hire trucking was up 41,600, or 3.4 percent.

Total employment in trucking in April was more than 1.27 million – down 180,300, or 12.4 percent, from peak trucking employment in January 2007. The BLS numbers reflect all payroll employment in for-hire trucking, but they don’t include trucking-related jobs in other industries, such as a truck driver for a private fleet. Nor do the numbers reflect the total amount of hiring since they only include new jobs, not replacements for existing positions.

Although the economy added 244,000 jobs in April, the unemployment actually rose slightly to 9 percent as workers entered or reentered the job market at a faster rate than the number of jobs being created.

Good news

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Trucker News

N.D., Kentucky grant emergency waivers

North Dakota and Kentucky have temporarily suspended some trucking regulations to aid in emergency efforts.On May 3, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple issued an executive order waiving hours-of-service and weight restrictions for truckers assisting in recovery from the weekend’s storm.

The suspension of these regulations applies to vehicles delivering food, water, medicine and other critical supplies. It extends to vehicles engaged in restoration of public utilities, including waste disposal and debris removal.

The HOS waiver is effective until 11:59 p.m. May 31 or for the duration of the storm emergency.

Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock signed an order April 29 temporarily lifting certain regulatory restrictions on motor carriers and utility vehicles providing disaster response, including those traveling through the state to provide assistance to other states.

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Trucker News

Lawmakers protest cross-border trucking plan

At least 35 federal lawmakers have signed a draft of a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood protesting the DOT proposal for a cross-border trucking program with Mexico. The April 27 draft written by Congressmen Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) is signed by 35 to 40 congressional members, said Hunter spokesman Joe Kasper. The plan is “bad for American truckers and the entire commercial trucking industry,” Hunter wrote.

truckers

“The proposal is an undue burden on taxpayers, including buying and monitoring electronic on-board recorders the department will require for Mexican trucks involved in the program,” he wrote. “The cross-border trucking program is a straight handout to Mexico at the expense of American jobs, taxpayer dollars and security,” he stated. The agency has said it is funding EOBRs to ensure it will own and control data gathered by the devices. Over a three-year period, the department estimated this program will cost $2.5 million, which includes $750,000 during the first full year of the program.