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Trucker News

FMCSA unveils cross-border trucking plan

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced proposal details of cross-border trucking project with Mexico, which will require fewer participants and equip participating Mexican trucks with GPS or electronic on-board recorders.The FMCSA’s April 8 plan for a cross-border trucking project with Mexico otherwise contained few details not already disclosed by Mexican or U.S. officials or contained in the previous program Congress ended in 2009.

Trucking plan
The agency’s notice and request for comment on the plan will be published soon in the Federal Register. After that, the public will have 30 days to comment. The FMCSA will formally respond to feedback and consider public comment in forming its final program.The agency anticipates an average of one long-haul border crossing per week per truck with each Mexican carrier having two trucks participating in the program. It assumes an attrition rate of 25 percent after 18 months in the project and calculates 46 carriers will suffice to achieve a target of 4,100 inspections within three years.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Senate bill would raise truck weight limits

Federal truck weight reform legislation that would give each state the flexibility to raise interstate weight limits has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate.The Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (S. 747) is sponsored by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).Like identical companion legislation pending in the House of Representatives, SETA would give each state the option to raise interstate weight limits selectively from 80,000 pounds to up to 97,000 pounds. The higher limit applies only to vehicles equipped with six axles instead of the typical five. The additional axle would not affect truck size, but would allow shippers to use extra cargo space.

Truck Loads

“SETA is a narrowly drawn bill that enables companies to move a given amount of product in fewer vehicles without adding more weight per tire or increasing stopping distances,” said John Runyan, executive director for the Coalition for Transportation Productivity, a group of more than 180 shippers and allied associations backing the legislation.The American Trucking Associations previously has estimated that the trucking industry will haul 30 percent more tonnage in 2021 than it does today. If current weight restrictions remain the same, ATA estimated the U.S. economy will require 18 percent more trucks on the road driving 27 percent more miles than they do now. Runyan said SETA would help correct this imbalance by allowing shippers to reduce truckloads, fuel, emissions and vehicle miles traveled for each ton of freight shipped.

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Trucker News

Truck shortages rates kick in

Truckload capacity shortages will gather momentum this year and continue through 2013 as the economy recovers and regulatory restrictions will limit the driver pool, an FTR Associates economist said Wednesday in an online seminar.Noel Perry, an FTR senior consultant, estimated that because of the economic upturn and the federal government’s push for improved safety “a couple hundred thousand drivers will be taken out of the marketplace between now and the end of next year.” He acknowledged that forecast shortages have been slow to occur and now will likely hit the market in 2012.

Worried Truck Shortage
Perry said trucking is typically slow to respond to an economic recovery. He said if the market doesn’t respond by ordering more equipment to improve productivity, “There will be a bunch of loads that don’t get delivered. That means there will be supply chain failures,” although he does expect the industry to meet the challenge.To date truckload rate increases haven’t materialized as anticipated, Perry said, because the industry achieved productivity gains last year, which enabled companies to absorb additional freight without adding equipment and drivers. That period has passed and the market has tightened.In response to a question, Perry said current strong new truck orders are primarily to replace aging equipment and not adding to capacity. However, he said if his forecast of higher rates is accurate, he anticipates a “considerable expansion by the industry in 2012 and 2013.”

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Avoid Getting Hit by a Car for Pedestrians

With so many vehicles on the road, pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings and the “rules of the road” to avoid being hit by a car or other motor vehicle. Nighttime is a particularly dangerous time because visibility is reduced, and both pedestrians and drivers may be more likely to have been drinking alcohol. The best way for you to avoid getting hit by a car when you’re walking is to be aware of the situations that most often lead to pedestrian-vehicle accidents.

Pedestrian Lane
To avoid getting hit by a car you need to look both ways before you cross the street. We all agree accidents happen, but stupidity happens as well. I see children disobeying the rule of look before you leap even adults as well. Taking the time to look both ways will save you money on medical bills, incident claims, and a few broken bones. Another importantsafety step that will keep our head attached to our necks instead of attached to a window shield is often missed as well. Do not go jogging on a busy street with headphones blasting in your ears. How can you hear if a car behind you is swerving? If you do go running try to run against the flow of traffic so you can see what’s in front of you.

Like I said before unless you know something the rest of the world doesn’t know you can not outrun a car. Why do grown men try to race a car, and why in the world does the driver even accept this foolish challenge. A quick way to get hit by a car, is to try outrunning one. If you do this please stop embarrassing yourself, and grow up.

Even though pedestrians’ routes are often the same every day (to and from work, the grocery store, school, etc), it is important to remember to be aware of what is going on around you and to follow these simple safety suggestions.

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Trucker News

Highway funding can’t be weakened

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance last week warned Congress that funding commercial motor vehicle safety programs at lower-than-current levels would weaken state enforcement efforts, and that large truck-related injuries and deaths could tick upward.“We are finally heading in the right direction with a downward trend in heavy truck fatalities,” says Capt. Steve Dowling, CVSA president. “With the economy picking up and highway traffic increasing, I don’t believe we could continue that trend if the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program and state safety grant funds are cut.” Dowling was speaking before the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit during a two-day hearing on the re authorization of the nation’s surface transportation programs.

CVSA urged Congress to continue to focus funds on enhancing the MCSAP, as there is FMCSA data indicating that roadside inspections and traffic enforcement have a clear and substantial safety benefit, and are providing a tremendous return on the investment of tax dollars. “Through targeted investments, we can improve upon our successes and provide the necessary tools for enhancing enforcement’s ability to remove the unsafe operators from the road,” said Dowling. “We recommend making the safety grant programs more flexible and streamlining the administrative and delivery processes to reflect the reality of today.”

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Trucker News

1,600 Trucking Jobs Reported

The U.S. economy added 216,000 non farm jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis during March, and trucking companies accounted for 1,600 of those jobs, according to the preliminary estimates released April 1 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Happy Driver
Total employment in trucking in March was more than 1.267 million – down 186,000, or 12.8 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 216,000 jobs in March, the unemployment rate was little changed, dipping one-tenth of a point to 8.8 percent, as the number of people seeking employment rose at almost the same level as the number of new jobs added.

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Trucker News

Con-way Expects Full E-log Implementation

Con-way Truckload announced that 71 percent of its 3,000-driver fleet is using electronic logs (e-logs), with full integration of the technology expected in June 2011.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is expected to make the adoption of e-logs mandatory for all carriers by 2014.

Electronic Onboard Recorder
E-logs, also known as electronic onboard recorders or EOBRs, automatically capture hours-of-service data, reducing the potential for inaccuracies and risk of violations associated with paper logs, which negatively impact safety, on-time service, operational efficiencies and CSA scores, among other issues. Because satellite-based mobile communications units have been installed in Con-way Truckload tractors since 1994, the company was able to integrate e-logs at a minimal cost. And, as a result of reduced costs associated with providing and managing traditional paper-based log books, the company has achieved 59 percent savings to date.
Con-way Truckload began testing e-logs in February 2010 and started integrating the system in its trucks fleet wide in November. Currently 2,145 drivers are using e-logs, with another 75 drivers transitioning to the system each week, on average.One of Con-way Truckload’s long-time drivers, Gary Sorell, was selected to use e-logs first.”When I started using e-logs in March 2010, I wasn’t sure what to expect; now, I wouldn’t give it back,” said Sorell. “With a computer to do all of the work, a driver doesn’t need to spend time filling out a paper log or calculating hours manually. There is no way to make a mistake, which eliminates log violations and makes it easy to work with the Department of Transportation.”

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Traffic Deaths Plunge

The number and rate of traffic fatalities in 2010 fell to the lowest levels since 1949, despite a significant increase in the number of miles driven, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported April 1.According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s early projections, the number of traffic fatalities fell 3 percent from 33,808 in 2009 to 32,788 last year.

Since 2005, fatalities have dropped 25 percent.NHTSA projects the fatality rate will be the lowest recorded since 1949, with 1.09 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from the 1.13 fatality rate for 2009. An estimated 21 billion miles were traveled last year.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Volvo to recall 700 truck plant workers

Volvo Trucks North America in Pulaski County, Va., will recall approximately 700 employees between May 2 and June 13, according to a March 30 announcement.The New River Valley plant, which employs about 1,500 people, is facing a surge in orders for heavy-duty trucks, the Roanoke Times newspaper reported. Volvo’s U.S. and Canadian sales grew 46 percent in 2010 and were 47 percent higher through February compared with a year earlier.


Trucks sales boost has company adding a second shift back at Pulaski County plant.

Unionized production workers recently agreed to a two-tier compensation plan that requires recalled workers to be paid less than those currently working in the factory, the newspaper reported. It is a provision of a recently signed 5-year contract that runs through March 2016.

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Trucker News

Is Freight Transportation makes you Profitable?

When deciding if freight transportation might be a profitable business, the first thing you must do is take a look throughout your residence. Look at your garage, kitchen or office and find something that didn`t get transported as freight. Once you realize the fact that transportation services is about the most wide reaching industry you can think of, it`s time to decide if you want to attempt to start your own freight transportation business. Being as the industry is so huge, there are plenty of opportunities for even a small start-up to build business and make a realistic profit. The decision you must make is which sector of the industry would be most valuable to you. This created an outburst in the business of organizing the shipments via inter-modal transportation. Tertiary logistical organization of freight shipping is key to the existence and growth of the transportation services sector. Because the sector is so enormous, there is a diverse range of different businesses that all profit and have a role in the inter-modal transportation services sector.

Freight Transportation

The key player in every shipment involving freight transportation is a freight broker. This individual or firm performs as a middle man to link shippers with freight carriers. They organize the process and figure out how the items will get form point A to point B. The person who sends the freight is the shipper. He operates with a broker to get the cargo picked up and on their way. A motor carrier is the company that supplies truck transportation. These individual positions open up a massive amount of different opportunities that definitely make the freight transportation commercial enterprise to be profitable business venture.The only thing to understand about the inter-modal freight transportation services industry is that it is a consistently altering entity. While each different type of business may seem unassociated, each step of shipment overlaps. Thereby certain entities may direct many of these positions.