Category: Carriers

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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Data recently compiled and analyzed by experts on key segments of economic activity paint a positive picture of a economic recovery now on an upward trend that will benefit trucking as the year progresses.

For starters, the Institute for Supply Management(ISM) stated that its latest Report On Business (Manufacturing) indicates economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in July for the second time since July 2009— but the overall economy grew in July for the 38th consecutive month.

Interestingly, according to ISM, in July new manufacturing orders and inventories were contracting while manufacturing production and employment were growing.

“The PMI [Purchasing Managers Index]registered 49.8%, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from June’s reading of 49.7%, indicating contraction in the manufacturing sector for the second consecutive month, following 34 consecutive months of [manufacturing] expansion,” explained Bradley J. Holcomb, chair of the ISMManufacturing Business Survey Committee.

“The New Orders Index registered 48%, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from June and indicating contraction in new orders for the second consecutive month, but at a slightly slower rate,” he continued,

“Both the Production Index and the Employment Index remained in growth territory, registering 51.3%and 52%, respectively,” Holcomb advised. “The Prices Index for raw materials registered 39.5%, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from the June reading of 37%, indicating lower prices on average for the third consecutive month.

Holcomb noted that of the 18 manufacturing industries surveyed, seven reported growth in July in the following order: Plastics & Rubber Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Primary Metals; Petroleum & Coal Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Furniture & Related Products.

He said the11 industries reporting contraction in July, listed in order, were: Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Wood Products; Textile Mills; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Chemical Products; Transportation Equipment; Printing & Related Support Activities; Paper Products; Machinery; and Computer & Electronic Products.

Turning to another pillar of trucking activity, construction spending in June climbed to a 2-1/2 year high as double-digit percentage increases in private residential and nonresidential construction “more than offset” an ongoing downturn in public construction, according to an analysis of new federal data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) trade group.

“The June [construction] spending gains come on top of upward revisions to May and April totals, reinforcing the notion that private construction is now growing consistently,” explained Ken Simon son, AGC’s chief economist. “Even more encouraging, the improvement is showing up in a wide range of residential and nonresidential categories.”

Simon son pointed out that total construction spending gained 0.4% in June and an impressive 7.0% year-over-year. He said private nonresidential spending rose for the fourth consecutive month and was 14% higher than it was in June 2011.

Residential construction increased 1.3% in June and a whopping 12% year-over-year, according to Simon son. He said this growth was driven by “new multifamily construction soaring 3.4% percent and 49%, respectively, and single-family homebuilding going up 3.0% and 19%.”

Simonson noted that “five of the eleven private nonresidential categories in the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly report registered double-digit percentage gains in spending from June 2011 to June 2012: power and energy construction (including oil and gas-related projects), 26%; hotels, 26%; manufacturing and educational, 19% apiece; and transportation (mainly trucking and rail facilities), 17%. There were also 7% year-over-year increases in health care, commercial (retail, warehouse and farm) and office construction.”

On the other hand, he said public construction spending “appears to have stabilized in recent months but the June 2012 total was 3.7% less than a year earlier. He added that only two of the Census Bureau’s 13 public categories posted year-over-year increases.

“Private nonresidential and multifamily construction should continue to grow in the second half of 2012 and beyond,” Simonson predicted.

“Single-family homebuilding also should top last year’s figures, although progress may not occur every month,” he continued.

“As a result,” Simonson summed up, “total construction spending in 2012 will be positive for the year for the first time since 2007– even though public construction will remain in the doldrums.”

Despite the upswing in construction spending this year, AGC CEO Stephen E. Sandherr did point out that the association remains concerned that “construction growth will remain unbalanced, however, unless lawmakers enact more funding for essential water, wastewater and other infrastructure projects.”

More good news for trucking—and the U.S. economy by extension– comes by way of the Summer Trucking Report just released by Ogden, UT-based TAB Bank. The bank stated that its study of the current state of trucking “shows broad signs of growth according to monthly truck tonnage, fuel costs, perceived business conditions, and invoice size. Historically,” TAB Bank noted, “trends in trucking and transportation serve as good indicators of the greater economy.”

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is soliciting applications and nominations for interested persons to serve on the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee. The MCSAC is composed of FMCSA stakeholders from the safety enforcement, industry, labor and safety sectors and is charged with providing advice and recommendations to the FMCSA administrator on federal motor carrier safety programs.

Current members with terms expiring in 2012 also are able to indicate their interest in being reappointed for another term. Applications and nominations for the MCSAC and letters of interest in reappointment must be received electronically.

For more information, contact Shannon Watson, senior adviser to the Associate Administrator for Policy, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E., Washington, DC 20590; (202) 385–2395; [email protected].

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