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Lifestyle Trucker News

‘Pay It Forward’ success

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.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

How to find loads for trucking Business?

Register with a load board online that matches drivers with loads. Many sites keep updated information on their sites daily and allow the drivers to contact the company directly to arrange the job. By paying a monthly fee that averages about $29.95, you can access the members-only site day and night for available loads.

Look for load boards that have a quick turnover in the job postings. A good load board shouldn’t carry load requests for more than 24 hours if it has an active membership. Companies in need of trucking services tend to use the boards that provide quick turn-around as well.


Utilize the services of a freight broker who acts as a third party negotiator and acquires jobs for you. Freight brokers operate on retainer fees or earn a commission on each match they provide. A freight broker has many industry contacts; some businesses prefer to deal with a broker rather than directly with truckers, so they will have access to jobs that aren’t listed on open load boards.

Bid on jobs through websites that list loads in need of moving. This is a much slower process and may take awhile to build repeat business. However, there are no upfront costs associated with bidding sites. Instead, you pay a fee to the organization hosting the bidding once you’ve signed a contract with a company to move their load.

Post your availability and the parameters of your trucking capabilities on a reverse load board. Brokers and businesses search these sites for drivers who match their needs. Post standing vacancies or put up a notice when you find yourself with a one-way load.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Truck sales rise

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.”

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Electronic shipment system in Canada

In September, Canada will begin phasing in the third stage of its Advance Commercial Information for motor carriers.

Canada Border Services Agency’s eManifest will require trade community members to electronically submit trade information to the CBSA at least an hour before their shipment’s arrival in Canada. The agency’s goal is to identify health, safety and security threats in commercial goods.

The eManifest Portal was developed mainly for small- to medium-sized enterprises to ease the transition from paper reporting to pre-arrival electronic data transmission.

Once fully implemented, eManifest will require trade partners for all transportation modes to electronically provide cargo, conveyance, crew/passenger, secondary and importer data to the CBSA before arrival at the border.

Starting Sept. 1, release requests must be transmitted to the CBSA electronically if the total number of invoice lines is 250 or fewer. By February 2012, release requests must be made electronically if the total number of invoice lines is 500 or fewer.

Finally, by 2012, release requests must be transmitted electronically if the total number of invoice lines is 999 or fewer.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Minnesota ends shutdown!

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.

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Trucker News

Nevada trooper seeks help in finding ex-trucker

A Nevada lawman is asking truckers for help locating a former trucker and his dog who disappeared on Interstate 80 between Wells and Winnemucca.

Humboldt County Undersheriff Curtiss Kull said the Nevada Highway Patrol pulled over Patrick Francis Carnes just east of Wells about 9 p.m. April 13. The 86-year-old Reno resident violated the state’s “move over” law by not shifting to the fast lane to pass an emergency vehicle stopped on the shoulder.

Carnes was returning to his Reno home after visiting family in Ohio. Following the traffic stop, he continued west in his 2005 dark-green Subaru Forester station wagon, apparently traveling with a tractor-trailer. Truckers who viewed the trooper’s dashboard film said the truck might have been pulling a reefer, Kull said.

About 6 a.m. the next day, his Subaru was discovered abandoned but in good condition at the exit 205 Pumpernickel Valley off-ramp.

No businesses are located near this rural exit, which is the location a vehicle was abandoned in another unsolved missing person case. A Reno area woman disappeared in February 2006 and her pick-up was abandoned there the following month.

World War II veteran Carnes had great respect for truckers, was in excellent health and stayed in close touch with his family. Carnes’ constant companion Lucky, his 100-pound Akita/mixed-breed dog, has never been found either.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Shipping Carbon Plan Includes Penalties

The World Shipping Council and regulators in Japan say their joint plan on vessel efficiency would set fees for operators of ships that do not meet new environmental and energy standards.

The shipping group and the Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released details on Tuesday of the Vessel Efficiency Incentive Scheme the submitted to the International Maritime Organization, a plan sets a regulatory path for environmental improvements in the business.

The paper details their joint proposal to stimulate improvements in the carbon efficiency of the world’s maritime fleet in detail, including how the system would work in practice and how it compares to other proposals under consideration by the IMO.

The proposal would establish efficiency standards for both new and existing ships in the world fleet. Vessel efficiency would be measured using the Energy Efficiency Design Index developed by the IMO.

New and existing ships meeting the specified standards would not be subject to any fees or costs other than those costs associated with the design and installation of more efficient ship technologies.

Ships that fall short would be required to pay a fee based on the amount of fuel consumed and how far short of standard the specific ship falls. The per-unit fee applied to each metric ton of fuel is adjusted based on the relative efficiency of the vessel. Ocean carriers and said it hopes the paper and the joint WSC-Japan proposal contribute to efforts at the IMO to address the industry’s carbon emissions.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Tax credits for electric trucks, anti-idling

Idling comes from idle which means absence of motion. In the present case IDLING relates to a running engine that is powering a vehicle when it is not moving. An idling engine consumes only enough power to keep itself and its accessories running, therefore, producing no usable power to the drive train. On a school bus, the practice is actually beneficial to the engine during pre-route. It warms the engine and circulates the fluids, preventing the interaction of cold parts, reducing friction and maintaining maximum driving efficiency during route.

U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl recently introduced legislation to provide tax credits for buying hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric trucks, and idling reduction devices.The Wisconsin Democrat’s bill, the Hybrid and Electric Trucks and Infrastructure Act, was referred to the finance committee with one co-sponsor.

The tax credits would include application to trucks with a gross vehicle weights in several classes, includes those with rating of more than 26,000 pounds and more than 33,000 pounds with a maximum credit of $24,000.The bill also creates a tax incentive of up to $3,500 for anti-idling infrastructure and anti-idling devices installed on trucks, which would expire before 2014. An example of this credit for infrastructure would apply to truck stops installing electrification units.

Finally, S.1285 would extend the tax credit for recharging and refueling infrastructure for plug-in and alternative fuel vehicles.Kohl introduced a similar bill in 2009, which was referred to committee with five co-sponsors.

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Business Lifestyle Trucker News

Trucking adds 4,400 jobs

A lot of people in this country have been laid off because of job cuts and the lagging economy. A lot of the people who were affected have found it very hard to find work. Many have ended up in the unemployment lines, but a few have decided to be proactive and are considering a career change. Some of the proactive people are getting training from a truck driving school. Our focus here is to help those that attended a truck driving school find a great trucking job.

The surge in trucking employment didn’t just resume in June; apparently it never stopped. While last month’s job report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated for-hire trucking companies had added only 100 jobs in May, the latest BLS report released July 8 revised those numbers to a 3,000-job increase in May and pegged the growth in June over May at 4,400.

Since the end of December, payroll employment in trucking is up nearly 27,000, according to the preliminary BLS figures. Since trucking employment bottomed out in March 2010, the industry has added 55,500 jobs.

Job growth in the rest of the economy isn’t so healthy. Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by just 18,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate actually ticked higher by one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.2 percent, according to initial BLS estimates. Modest gains in private employment were offset by 39,000 jobs lost in federal and state governments.

Compared to June 2010, payroll employment in trucking is up 3.9 percent. Total employment in trucking in June was nearly 1.283 million – down 170,500, or 11.7 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.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Commercial vehicle orders remain at healthy

A commercial vehicle is a type of motor vehicle that may be used for transporting goods or passengers. The European Union defines “commercial motor vehicle” as any motorized road vehicle, which by its type of construction and equipment is designed for, and capable of transporting.

COLUMBUS, Ind. — A preliminary reading of commercial vehicle net orders in June for North American markets indicated continued strength in demand for medium and heavy-duty vehicles according to ACT Research Co.

When final June data are released in mid July, North American Class 8 orders are anticipated at 21,200 units and Classes 5-7 orders at 14,600 units. In both markets, the current period of stronger demand stretches back to the fourth quarter last year. Preliminary net order numbers are subject to revision and are typically accurate to within 5 percent plus or minus.