The three contenders for the 2011 Owner-Operator of the Year award are Kirby Killgore of O&S Trucking, Larry Severson of Dart Transit Co. and Bryan Smith of Art Pape Transfer.

The 2011 Owner-Operator of the Year will win a Cummins-powered Dodge Ram.

The contest is sponsored by Overdrive and the Truckload Carriers Association. The grand prizewinner will be announced at TCA’s annual convention March 4-7, at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Fla.

Also announced there will be the 2011 Company Driver of the Year, sponsored by Truckers News and TCA. The three contenders are John Moeller of Roehl Transport, James Coles of MacKinnon Transport, and Ronald Round of Pottle’s Transportation.

The six truckers competing for the honors were among other finalists featured in Overdrive or Truckers News during 2011. 

Kirby Killgore

“We are pleased to be able to honor these exemplary truckers in the pages of Overdrive and Truckers News,” said Jeff Mason, senior vice president of trucking for Randall-Reilly Business Media & Information Co., which publishes Overdrive and Truckers News. “And thanks to the generosity of our sponsors – Cummins and Dodge – each winner will receive a Cummins-powered Dodge pickup truck.”

Bryan Smith

To be eligible for the contests, driver applicants had to meet certain minimum criteria, such as having driven one million consecutive, accident-free miles. Selection of the top three in each category was based on safety record, efforts to enhance the industry’s image and contributions to their communities. For owner operators, judges also reviewed business plans and financial statements.

The 2012 competition is underway. Finalists are being profiled in both magazines this year. The top three in both categories will be named in late 2012 and the grand prizewinners will be recognized at TCA’s 2013 Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

— Staff Reports

SHORT HAULS

NEARLY $1.6 BILLION from the Federal Highway Administration will be available to states and territories to help cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by natural disasters. Vermont, hit by Hurricane Irene, will receive $125.6 million; North Dakota will receive $89.1 million for damage caused by spring 2011 runoff; and Iowa will receive $37.5 million to repair damage caused by Missouri River flooding.

FREIGHT INCREASED 0.3 percent in November from October, as measured by the American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. For the year, tonnage was up 5.4 percent over the same period in 2010.

CLASS 8 TRUCK ORDERS for December were 46 percent higher than in November and 11 percent greater than a year earlier, says FTR Associates. Modest growth is expected in 2012.

DAIMLER TRUCKS North America will add a second shift and nearly double production at its Freightliner Truck Manufacturing Plant in Cleveland, N.C., this year. The company plans to hire about 1,100 workers to increase production. The increase in production capacity is designed to reduce a six-month order backlog for Cascadias.

Cross-border program lawsuits advance

A court has consolidated lawsuits opposing the U.S. cross-border program with Mexico. Meanwhile, a second Mexican carrier has gained operating authority under the program. 

The Teamsters union, Public Citizen and Sierra Club petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Nov. 15. The court granted the Department of Justice’s request to transfer that case to the District of Columbia’s appellate court, where the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association had filed suit July 6, also seeking to block the program from proceeding.

On Jan. 6, the court ordered oral arguments in both cases are to be on the same day before the same panel of judges, but no date had been set. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s brief was due Feb. 1 and the petitioners’ reply brief Feb. 22.

The agency had granted provisional operating authority to Moises Alvarez Perez of Tijuana, Baja California Dec. 28. The carrier, DBA Distribuidora Marina El Pescador, lists one truck and one driver, according to a Jan. 9 FMCSA report.

Transportes Olympic, which has one truck and two drivers, was the first program participant to deliver beyond the border zone Oct. 21. The carrier, based in Apodaca, Nuevo León, is the only applicant to receive permanent operating authority.

Distribuidora Marina, Transportes Olympic and Grupo Behr of Apodaca, Nuevo León, have cleared Pre-Authority Screening Audits, which the agency conducts on applicants to verify program compliance.

FMCSA had intended to grant Grupo Behr authority, but announced Oct. 14 it would extend review to investigate questions raised by groups on its PASA results.

The agency reported Jan. 9 it had conducted compliance reviews in Mexico on Distribuidora Marina and Transportes Olympic in February 2009 under the previous cross-border program.

PASA results are pending for three additional program applicants.

On Oct. 20, the agency’s Office of Inspector General began its program audit for Congress, in accordance with 2007 law. It will decide if sufficient data exists to determine if the program reduces trucking safety and whether compliance can be assured.

Turnpike rates rise

Turnpike toll rates in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey increased Jan. 1.

Under the new rates, the cost to travel the entire 241-mile Ohio Turnpike from Indiana to Pennsylvania for five-axle vehicles increases to $44 from $40 for cash customers. The E-ZPass rate for the end-to-end turnpike rises to $35 from $32.

Higher truck rates in New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania were among toll increases implemented in several locations the first of the year.

Rates for travel between one or two interchanges may not change, the Ohio Turnpike Commission said. The new rates were approved by the Ohio Turnpike Commission in March 2009. View 2012 rates at ohioturnpike.org.

Cash tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike rose 10 percent on Jan. 1, while E-ZPass rates stayed the same.

For a trucker driving from the Ohio border to the Delaware River Bridge, the five-axle cash rate increased to $185.50 from $168.60. Rates are unchanged for E-ZPass customers, who account for about two-thirds of Turnpike travelers, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said.

The increase is applied to all vehicle classes on all Turnpike sections except the Southern Beltway (Turnpike 576) in Allegheny and Washington counties, where rates are unchanged, the PTC said. For details, go to paturnpike.com.

In New Jersey, cash five-axle rates for the length of the New Jersey Turnpike jumped more than 50 percent to $49.75 from $32.50. E-ZPass tolls increased to $45.45 from $29.70. Garden State Parkway tolls rose 50 percent.

This is the second phase of a two-phase toll increase approved in 2008. Visit www.state.nj.us/turnpike for details.

— Staff reports

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

A FORMER FEDERAL Motor Carrier Safety Administration official in New York state was sentenced to 18 months in prison for accepting bribes from trucking companies.

James H. Wood, 45, of Delevan, N.Y., former supervisor of the Buffalo office of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, pled guilty in June to taking bribes from third parties working for Canadian trucking companies. Wood also was ordered to forfeit $41,300.

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION trade between the United States and Canada and Mexico rose 12 percent in October over a year earlier to $79 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. U.S.-Canada trade increased 14 percent year-over-year, while U.S.-Mexico gained 9 percent. 

Baltimore bridge tolls rising

Tolls on Baltimore Harbor bridges and tunnels were raised Jan. 1, the first of two toll hikes over the next 17 months.

The cash rate for five-axle vehicles on the JFK Highway (I-95) and the Hatem Memorial Bridge (U.S. 40) rose from $30 to $36 and will increase to $48 on July 1, 2013.

For the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95 and I-395), Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895) and Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695), the cash toll for five-axle trucks increased from $12 to $18 on Jan. 1 and will go to $24 on July 1, 2013.

For the Harry W. Nice Bridge (U.S. 301) and William Preston Lane (Bay) Bridge (U.S. 50 and U.S. 301), the cash rate rises from the $15 to $36 by 2013.

— Staff reports

December strong for trucking jobs

The for-hire trucking industry added 5,100 new payroll employees in December, the most in one month since March, according to preliminary numbers the Bureau of Labor Statistics released.

The gain comes on top of small upward adjustments for October and November.

Compared with December 2010, trucking employment is up by 40,100 jobs, or 3.2 percent. The number of trucking jobs, just under 1.3 million, remains 157,200 jobs, or 10.8 percent, below peak employment in January 2007.

The BLS numbers for trucking 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.

— Avery Vise

SHORT HAULS

TRUCKERS FOR TROOPS campaign by Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association raised $73,560 for care packages for military personnel overseas, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shell Rotella donated $5,000.

TRAILER NET ORDERS increased in November to 28,393, according to ACT Research. The monthly order volume is the strongest since March 2006.

Safety board urges total cell phone use ban

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended banning all U.S. drivers from using mobile phones or sending text messages, even with headsets or portable speakers, to prevent distracted-driving crashes.

Systems built into cars and global positioning systems wouldn’t be affected nor would passengers. Phones could be used to call 911.

NTSB announced its recommenda-tion during a hearing detailing its investigation into an August 2010 crash in Gray Summit, Mo., in which a 19-year-old pickup driver sent or received 11 text messages in 13 minutes before hitting the rear of a tractor-trailer. Two school buses collided with the stopped trucks. The pickup driver and one bus passenger were killed, and the truck driver and 37 other people were injured.

NTSB’s recommendation would have to be adopted separately by each state since states have authority over driver behavior. States should adopt electronic-device bans and support the laws with aggressive enforcement like they have with seatbelt use and drunk driving, NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman said.

Fatal accidents caused by distracted operators have increased in all modes of transportation, including trucks, planes, trains, boats, buses and private cars and trucks, Hersman said. The use of phones by operators is so prevalent that securing call records and the devices themselves is one of the first steps investigators now take after accidents, she said.

NTSB called for a total ban on mobile phones for truck and bus drivers in September. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration banned handheld cell phones for interstate truck and bus drivers last month and banned texting in January 2010.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

TEN TRUCKER FAMILIES from the United States and Canada received $700 each in this year’s Trucker Charity Christmas Group fundraiser. The 10 families were selected from among 23 nominations. Since the all-volunteer Christmas group was formed in 2008, more than $37,000 has been raised and distributed to 59 needy trucking families. The money is donated by drivers and others in the industry.

Groups want hours lawsuit dismissed

Both sides in the lawsuit that resulted in the new hours of service rule have asked a federal court to dismiss the case.

The Washington, D.C., appellate court had asked both parties on Dec. 7 to file motions to govern further court proceedings. They were given until Jan. 23, when the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Teamsters union, Public Citizen, Truck Safety Coalition and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration filed a joint motion requesting voluntary dismissal of the case.

The court, per the parties’ 2009 settlement agreement, is holding the case in abeyance while the agency undertook a new HOS rulemaking to replace the 2008 HOS rule that prompted the lawsuit.

— Jill Dunn

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

FLORIDA. Two I-75 rest areas near Tampa-St. Petersburg that were torn down have been rebuilt. The new rest area on northbound I-75 north of State Road 56 (Exit 275) has 58 truck parking spaces, while the rest area on the southbound freeway south of County Road 54 (Exit 279) has 53 truck parking spaces.

ILLINOIS. Truck speed limits on non-interstate highways in the state increased Jan. 1. Big rig speeds on various four-lane roads rose to 65 mph from 55 mph on more rural roads outside of Chicago, matching the passenger car speed limit.

KENTUCKY. The U.S. 60 Ledbetter Bridge across the Kentucky River is closed to heavy trucks until 2014 as the state builds a new bridge nearby. Truckers face a 120-mile detour on U.S. 60 to U.S. 641.

MARYLAND. A state pilot program provides truck parking in select park and ride lots during snowstorms of six inches or more. A new smartphone application also is available to locate parking at 45 locations statewide where park and ride lot snow removal also is provided.

NEVADA. The state banned all drivers from texting and using hand-held cell phones while driving. Hands-free cell phone use is allowed if the device is used throughout the call. The law is a primary offense, meaning law enforcement can stop and cite drivers solely for that offense.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. A new law increases the maximum weight limit by up to 400 pounds for trucks equipped with auxiliary power units. A 2005 federal law allows states to permit trucks to exceed the 80,000-pound limit to encourage use of idling-reduction technology.

OHIO. Construction on I-75 in Dayton will continue until 2017. The first phase involved adding a third I-75 lane in the area of Ohio Route 4, while removing a sharp curve and other work to relieve congestion. Work is ongoing to add lanes in the area of U.S. 35, with the last phase of the project ahead to improve the interstate through downtown Dayton.

OREGON. Under a new law, trucks that aren’t equipped with an auxiliary power unit or other idle-reduction technology are prohibited from idling more than five minutes an hour on property open to the public. Idling is permitted for defrosting, air conditioning and heating when outside temperatures are below 50 degrees and above 75 degrees. Idling up to 30 minutes is allowed while a truck is waiting to load or unload, as well as loading or unloading.

PENNSYLVANIA. Cash tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike increased 10 percent on Jan. 1, while E-ZPass rates stayed the same. For a trucker driving from the Ohio border to the Delaware River Bridge, the 5-axle cash rate increased to $185.50 from $168.60. Rates remained the same on the Southern Beltway (Turnpike 576) in Allegheny and Washington counties.

TENNESSEE. A bridge for U.S. Hwy. 41 over the Tennessee River at Nickajack Lake is expected to be complete by February 2014. The existing bridge has been closed. A detour route that adds 1.5 miles to the current route has been posted.

Court sets EOBR deadline for FMCSA

A federal court has given the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration until Feb. 6 to answer a cease-and-desist motion regarding truck electronic on-board recorders.

On Jan. 24, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued the deadline for the FMCSA’s response to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s motion.

Last August, the association successfully appealed the agency’s 2010 recorder rule. That regulation would have required EOBRs for all trucks used by a carrier with a greater than 10 percent rate of noncompliance with hours-of-service regulations in any single compliance review

The court determined that “the rule cannot stand because the agency failed to consider an issue that it was statutorily required to address.” The Truck and Bus Safety and Regulatory Reform Act of 1988 “requires the agency to ensure that any such device is not used to ‘harass vehicle operators.’”

— Jill Dunn

TCA Highway Angels named

Guy Knudsen, a driver for ABF Freight System of Fort Smith, Ark.; Gyslain “Juice” Lemelin, a driver for N. Yanke Transfer of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and W. Paul Lothary, a driver for Tom Joy & Son Trucking of Peshtigo, Wis., have been named Highway Angels by the Truckload Carriers Association.

On Jan. 7, 2011, Knudsen was driving westbound on Interstate 80 east of Reno, Nev., when he came around a blind curve in a narrow canyon. Blocking the road was an upside-down car with no lights. He swerved but could not avoid hitting it.

As Knudsen asked his dispatcher to call 911, another truck hit the vehicle. Together, Knudsen and this truck driver attempted to prevent traffic from further hitting the wreck.

Knudsen figured the driver of the original vehicle must have been ejected from the car prior to the collisions. He injured himself and risked his own life by jumping over a barricade and sliding down a steep embankment to the eastbound lanes. There, he found a dazed and confused woman with a head injury near the edge of the freeway.

Knudsen moved her to safety as the ambulance and police arrived at the scene above. Eventually, Knudsen got the disoriented woman to stay in place while he climbed back up the embankment to notify the authorities where she could be found.

On Oct. 23, Lemelin was heading west on the Trans-Canada Highway near Virden, Manitoba, when he was passed by two people in a pickup truck. As they passed by, Lemelin smelled a burning chemical-like odor coming from the pickup. Just moments later, he saw white smoke in the distance and knew the motorists were in trouble.

By the time Lemelin arrived at the scene, the truck was on fire. He used his fire extinguisher to put out the flames while the motorists removed their dogs and valuables from the vehicle. When the fire was out, he allowed the couple to use his cell phone to call for assistance.

On Nov. 7, Lothary used his truck to block traffic from causing further harm in the aftermath of a serious accident on Highway 41 in Germantown, Wis.

One man was pinned inside his vehicle, his nose was split open and had numerous injuries to his eyes and face. Lothary checked his breathing, placed pressure on his wounds and made him comfortable until authorities arrived.

— Staff reports

Cargo theft rises in 2011

FreightWatch International Jan. 19 said the number of U.S. cargo theft incidents reported last year increased 8.8 percent from the year before.

FreightWatch said 974 cargo theft incidents were recorded last year, with an average value of $319,000 per theft incident. Many cargo thefts aren’t reported.

“While the rate of theft continues to rise, we are pleased to see the average value per incident begin to decline,” said Barry Conlon, chief executive officer of FreightWatch, a global logistics security services provider. “This shows that shippers and the industry as a whole are beginning to secure their high-value cargo more effectively, forcing criminals to target less valuable loads.”

According to the firm, the most commonly targeted freight in 2011 was food and beverage products, electronics and building materials. Specific items most targeted by criminals include televisions, canned food products, cell phones, energy drinks and roofing materials. Those items can be sold easily on the black market.

The top four states for cargo theft were California, Florida, New Jersey and Texas. More than 87 percent of the thefts were full truckload or container thefts.

Thefts targeting electronics continued to decline from previous years, accounting for 17 percent of incidents last year, compared with 38 percent five years ago.

One of the reasons the average theft value dropped was the pharmaceutical theft average loss fell sharply from previous years.

— Staff reports

Embezzler gets 13-year sentence

A Kentucky judge has sentenced a former Mercer Transportation employee to 13 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1 million from the company.

On Jan. 11, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Irv Maze sentenced Jennifer Carmichael, 37, of Louisville. Carmichael pleaded guilty to the entire 96-count indictment, according to the Office of Commonwealth Attorney, which had prosecuted the case.

A Louisville Metro Police Financial Crimes Unit investigation indicated the mother of two children had embezzled from the owner-operator truckload carrier over an eight-year period.

— Staff reports

Navistar loses SCR lawsuit

A judge dismissed Navistar’s legal bid to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to recall 2010 model year engines using selective catalytic reduction to cut truck emissions.

Navistar is using in-cylinder exhaust gas recirculation-only technology to meet the current standards in conjunction with banked EPA credits for meeting and beating pre-existing emissions regulations in effect prior to the 2010 regulations.

Navistar alleged in the suit filed July 5 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that the truck maker, a contractor it hired and the California Air Resources Board all say nitrogen oxide emissions skyrocket when drivers don’t keep diesel exhaust fluid topped off, rendering EPA’s SCR rule “irrelevant” altogether. Furthermore, Navistar accused EPA Director Lisa Jackson of not doing her duty to uphold the Clean Air Act and her agency of not doing its part to protect public health. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly dismissed Navistar’s claims.

Navistar said in July the lawsuit was about ensuring a level playing field in the heavy-duty truck market. Testing done by Navistar showed that operators can “defeat” SCR systems by adding water or other substances to the system instead of DEF, allowing the trucks to operate indefinitely, in violation of 2010 emissions regulations. SCR engine manufacturers, however, said the lawsuit was nothing new.

EPA in June had updated its guidance for certification of truck engines using SCR to reduce emissions, calling on SCR engine makers to continue developing warning systems that alert drivers when the truck’s DEF tank is nearly empty or filled with a liquid other than DEF. The June guidance, mostly in response to previous claims made by Navistar that SCR technology can be circumvented, also urged OEMs using SCR to research methods that would inhibit tampering with SCR system operation and incorporate further inducements for drivers to comply.

Navistar previously had sued both EPA and CARB over their acceptance of SCR technology without stronger measures to prevent engine operation without DEF or an operational SCR system. The truck maker in 2010 settled both lawsuits by garnering a commitment for further review.

— Staff reports n

Sleep apnea screening would be linked with body mass index under a proposal supported by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration panels.

A proposal recommend medical examiners refer to testing for obstructive sleep apnea any trucker with a body mass index of 35 or higher.

According to guidance supported by FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee and Medical Review Board, medical examiners would refer for evaluation for obstructive sleep apnea any interstate commercial driver with a BMI of 35 or higher (a 6-foot, 258-pound driver has a BMI of 35).

The guidance comes on the heels of three separate sets of recommendations the agency has received in recent years with varying screening specifications, typically involving a BMI measurement between 30 and 35 and other criteria, including risk factors.

A second guidance would immediately disqualify drivers meeting any of five criteria:

• Having reported excessive daytime sleepiness.

• Having had an accident associated with falling asleep.

• Exhibiting apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) scores of 20 or greater, until they’ve had effective treatment.

• Having had surgery to correct apnea and awaiting post-operative evaluation.

• Individuals who have been found to be effectively noncompliant with their treatment.

Both short-term guidances are intended as stop-gaps until further new rulemaking officially codifies sleep disorders into the regulations, with a draft to emerge from a MCSAC and MRB joint subcommittee as early as February.

Medical experts began making a case for the correlation between drivers with moderate to severe sleep apnea and increased crash risk during a Dec. 7 FMCSA meeting.

Todd Spencer, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association executive vice president, noting the statistics on risk factors for apnea among commercial drivers, asked, “If these staggering numbers have some real live applications, why don’t highways all over America look like war zones today?”

Charles A. Czeisler, director of Harvard Medical’s Division of Sleep Medicine, argued that “it is actually a war zone out there.” He said 20 percent of all crashes (not just truck-related) are related to drowsy driving, and that two million drivers a week in the U.S. nod off at the wheel. With fatalities related to drowsy driving occurring once every 70 minutes on average, “that’s equivalent to two 9/11 events every year,” he said.

The proposed guidance would be, ultimately, put up for public comment, said FMCSA’s Larry Minor.

— Todd Dills

SHORT HAULS

BLUETOOTH RADIO and stereo systems are now standard in all Volvo VN and VHD models. The package comes with a radio unit and overhead-mounted microphone, and audio is delivered via the truck’s speaker system. Call information is displayed behind the steering wheel.

MAINE CARRIER Bisson Transportation closed its long-haul operation because it was unable to recruit the additional owner-operators it needed to be “reasonably profitable,” said President Bob Cooper.

A&E CHANNEL’S Shipping Wars reality-TV series follows six independent owner-operators pulling freight secured via the uShip.com online freight marketplace as they battle to gain the most net revenue. The 10-episode half-hour series is set to premiere Jan. 10, at 9 and 9:30 p.m. EST and PST with back-to-back episodes.

FOR-HIRE TRUCKING added 3,600 new payroll employees in November, according to preliminary numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared with November 2010, trucking employment is up by 33,800 jobs, or 2.7 percent. The number of trucking jobs — 1.29 million — remains 163,400 below peak employment in January 2007.

Cell phone ban began Jan. 3

A final rule that bars commercial drivers from operating handheld cell phones while driving took effect Jan. 3. Using hands-free phones is still allowed.

The new rule will permit truck and bus drivers to use handheld cells after they have stopped their vehicles.

Violators will face a maximum civil penalty of $2,750 for each offense. CDL holders will be disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle for multiple offenses and states will suspend CDLs after two or more serious traffic violations.

Truck and bus companies that allow drivers to use hand-held cell phones while driving will face a maximum penalty of $11,000.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration research shows using a handheld cell phone while driving requires “risky steps.” Dialing a hand-held cell phone raises the crash risk for commercial drivers six-fold.

Last year, the agency issued a final rule banning commercial drivers from text messaging while operating trucks or buses.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association had asked the agency why other risky activities contributing to driver distraction were not addressed in the rule. FMCSA noted it is considering an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to seek public comment on the extent further regulatory action is needed to address the distraction of other in-cab electronic devices. However, the agency disagreed with OOIDA’s assertion that the new regulation constituted a “search” or “seizure” to which the Fourth Amendment protection applies.

The American Trucking Associations has supported the handheld ban, while strongly opposing a ban on hands-free devices. ATA supports barring texting and handheld cell use for all motorists to reduce distracted driving.

— Jill Dunn

Senate bill would mandate EOBRs

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee approved legislation Dec. 14 that would require truck electronic on-board recorders and authorize the federal transportation department to assess driver safety fitness. The bill, S.1950, moves on to the full Senate.

A senate bill would ratchet up federal regulation of trucking by mandating an electronic onboard recorder for every truck.

Sen. Frank Lautenburg, (D-N.J.), introduced the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act that reauthorizes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled against the FMCSA’s requirement to mandate recorders. The court agreed with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s argument that the agency’s rule lacked sufficient protection against carriers to prevent companies from harassing drivers, such as demanding they work when fatigued.

The legislation would require applicants for operating authority pass a safety proficiency examination and submit a safety management plan, according to information from Lautenberg, also chair of the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation.

Additionally, the bill would:

• Increase the FMCSA’s ability to revoke carriers’ operating authority and require new operators applying for authority to disclose all relationships with other carriers during the past five years.

• Directs the DOT to support implementation of the Compliance, Safety and Accountability program.

• Requires study of the safety and infrastructure effects of increasing truck size and weight limits.

Democrat Sens. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Senate Commerce Committee chairman, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Consumer Protection Subcommittee chairman, co-sponsored the bill. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and Parents Against Tired Truckers support the bill.

— Jill Dunn

Health certificate change starts Jan. 30

Truckers must keep paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate with them while driving for another two years beginning Jan. 30, according to a federal final rule.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s rule extends that mandate for interstate CDL holders until Jan. 30, 2014. It also will continue requiring carriers keep paper copies of their drivers’ certificates until then.

The final rule is a follow-up to the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking, issued last June, which proposed amending a 2008 final rule.

That 2008 final rule required CDL holders subject to federal physical qualification to provide an original or copy of their medical examiner’s certificate to their state driver’s licensing agency. State agencies must post the medical certification information in the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, a federal database.

After the 2008 rule, several states told the FMCSA their offices lacked the capacity to comply by the rule’s Jan. 30 deadline. The agency extended the paper copy requirement for interstate CDL holders and carriers two years to provide sufficient overlap for state agencies.

However, FMCSA did not extend the deadline for state agencies. Beginning Jan. 30, drivers applying for or renewing CDLs under the non-excepted interstate category will have to self-certify and provide the certificate or a copy to the state licensing agency. All drivers affected by the rule will have to comply by Jan. 30, 2014.

More information on the final rule, FMCSA-1997–2210, is available at www.regulations.gov.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

A TRUCKER pled guilty to seven counts of arson at truck stops in six states, a crime authorities say he usually committed on occupied parked trucks. Steven Oakley Price, 41, of Licking, Mo., pleaded guilty Dec. 1 in the U. S. District Court for Missouri’s western district. If the court accepts Price’s plea agreement, he will serve an eight-year federal prison term without parole. Price inserted fuel-soaked clothing, rags or fuel filters into the wheel wells of tractor-trailers. No serious injuries occurred, according to the district’s U.S. attorney.

Third Mexican carrier completes audit

While members of Congress and a federal court continue weighing issues concerning the cross-border trucking program with Mexico, a third Mexican carrier has completed its Pre-Authority Screening Audit.

A Nov. 29 Federal Register notice announced Moises Alvarez Perez, doing business as Distribuidora Marina El Pescador, of Tijuana, Baja California, completed its pre-authority screening audit.

So far, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted operating authority to one of three Mexico-based carriers that cleared the PASA. FMCSA conducts these audits on Mexican carrier applicants to verify program compliance.

Transportes Olympic of Apodaca, Nuevo León, made the first crossing under the program on Oct. 21.

FMCSA’s Federal Register Oct. 14 notice responded to public comment on the PASA of Grupo Behr of Apodaca, Nuevo León. The agency had planned to grant authority, but instead announced it would extend review of the carrier to investigate questions raised by groups commenting on its PASA results.

On Oct. 31, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, (D-W.Va.), transportation committee chairman, expressed concern about “lax oversight” of the program in a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued the same briefing schedule for two lawsuits seeking to block the FMCSA program, but has not combined the cases. The Teamsters union, Public Citizen and Sierra Club petitioned the court Nov. 15 and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed suit July 6.

The petitioners’ briefs and appendices were due Dec. 21, the FMCSA’s brief on Feb. 1 and the petitioners’ reply brief Feb. 22.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

NET NEW TRAILER orders in October rose to the highest level since May, ACT Research said. Seasonally adjusted, October’s backlog rose 1.5 percent month over month. Also, reported sales of used Classes 3-8 trucks declined in October, after rising in September. Scarce inventory and sustained demand may be the cause, the firm said.

Truck-related deaths rose in 2010

While overall highway deaths in 2010 were at the lowest level since 1949, truck-related fatalities increased for the first time in three years, the U.S. Transportation Department announced.

Truck-involved deaths rose 8.7 percent in 2010 from 2009 to 3,675, including drivers and passengers. Truck driver fatalities increased 6 percent to 529, with 64 percent of those deaths involving single-vehicle crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The number of truck drivers killed in multi-vehicle crashes also increased 16 percent.

Injuries from truck-related crashes rose 12 percent in 2010 from the previous year.

The American Trucking Associations pointed out that from 1999 through 2009, truck-related fatalities declined 35 percent while injuries dropped 48 percent.

The highway death count of 32,885 occurred even as American drivers traveled nearly 46 billion more miles during the year, an increase of 1.6 percent over 2009. The fatality rate of 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2010 was the lowest on record.

Fatalities declined in most categories in 2010. New data also show an estimated 3,092 fatalities in distraction-affected crashes in 2010.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

FREIGHT HAULING as measured by the American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.5 percent in October from September. Compared with October 2010, adjusted tonnage was up 5.7 percent.

SPOT MARKET FREIGHT measured by TransCore’s North American Freight Index increased 39 percent in October compared with October 2010. This was the highest year-over-year volume since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that drove spot market demand to record levels in 2005. Compared with September, spot market freight volume slipped 3.7 percent, reflecting normal seasonality.

SURFACE TRADE between the United States and Canada and Mexico increased 14 percent in September from a year ago to $77.7 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Feds change distracted driving measurement

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Dec. 8 unveiled a new measure of fatalities related to distracted driving called “distraction-affected crashes.”

It was introduced for 2010 as part of a broader effort by the agency to refine its data collection to get better information about the role of distraction in crashes. The new measure is designed to focus more narrowly on crashes in which a driver was most likely to have been distracted.

While NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System previously recorded a broad range of potential distractions, such as careless driving and a cell phone present in the vehicle, the new measure focuses on distractions that are most likely to affect crash involvement, such as distraction by dialing a phone or texting and distraction by an outside person or event. NHTSA’s refined methodology shows an estimated 3,092 fatalities in distraction-affected crashes in 2010.

While the explicit change in methodology means the new measure cannot be compared to the 5,474 “distraction-related” fatalities reported in 2009, other NHTSA data indicates that driver distraction continues to be a significant problem.

The agency’s nationwide survey of drivers shows that in 2009 and 2010, 5 percent of drivers could be seen talking on handheld phones.

More than three-quarters of drivers report they are willing to answer calls on all, most or some trips, a new NHTSA survey shows.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

CLASS 8 truck orders in November fell 27 percent from October to about 20,400 units, ACT Research Co. said. FTR Associates said this was the first decrease in over a year.

The orders were “substantially below expectations,” said Eric Starks, FTR president, noting that November is in “typically the strong order period of the year.”

MARCUS BEAM was named the Truckload Carriers Association 2011 Highway Angel of the Year. On Aug. 8 on I-40 in North Carolina, Beam safely rescued a 6-month-old infant and a toddler from an overturned car. He is a driver for Epes Transport System of Greensboro, N.C.

LOS ANGELES PORTS on Jan. 1 will hit the final phase of the ports’ Clean Trucks Program. Beginning Jan. 1, both ports no longer will assess a Clean Truck fee on trucks with an engine year of 2006 and older, which will be banned from port marine terminals. Port officials say 98 percent of container moves at the facility are done by rigs with model year 2007 and newer engines.

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

MICHIGAN. The state Department of Transportation will keep open 76 of the state’s 81 rest areas this winter. Only five rest areas will be closed through April 2. Three of the closed rest areas are on I-75 and two are on U.S. 31.

MINNESOTA. The state Pollution Control Agency has a Clean Diesel grant for state-based fleets that operate primarily in the state, with a focus on 2006 and older vehicles. The $350,000 grant covers EPA/CARB-certified idle reduction and emissions reduction technologies, emission upgrades and reefer re-powers. Contact Martina Cameron at (651) 757-2259.

MISSISSIPPI. Many state and municipal officials oppose for safety reasons Congressional proposals to increase heavy truck weights to 97,000 pounds from 80,000. The American Trucking Associations and Truckload Carriers Association support the increase.

OREGON/WASHINGTON. Plans to replace the aging Interstate 5 Columbia River Crossing Bridges and build an interstate transit link have advanced. Final clearance was given to the project’s environmental review that allows Oregon and Washington to begin right-of-way acquisition and construction.

WASHINGTON. The State Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Division is using a new tool to track compliance. The State Department of Transportation has installed automated cameras at 12 weigh stations and ports of entry that take a picture of the truck and license plate. Troopers can check the time the truck crossed the locations and compare it to the truck driver’s log book.

WEST VIRGINIA. A new online service from the state Division of Motor Vehicles makes it easier to obtain permits. Trucking companies with vehicles not registered in the state must obtain trip permits for temporary travel at the IRP/IFTA section of the department’s website. Truckers can obtain a single-trip permit by entering information and paying by credit card.

WISCONSIN. A new law allows the state Department of Transportation to issue overweight permits up to 90,000 pounds for sealed containers hauled by trucks with six or more axles. The permit would apply for produce and livestock hauls to or from a field or farm.

FTR: Hours rule delay postpones ‘crisis’

Trucking is experiencing a normal recovery from the recession and should be able to impose rate increases of 6 percent to 8 percent, including fuel, in 2012, economist Noel Perry said at an FTR Associates online seminar Dec. 8.

Trucking will not be able to restore quickly the driver and truck capacity it lost during the recession, said Perry, an FTR senior consultant.

He said the “capacity crisis” he forecast for 2011 will be pushed back to this year because of the delay in revising the hours of service rule, which was expected to be released in late December. By late 2012, the industry likely will be dealing with that impact and the effects of slow economic recovery.

Perry said only now is the industry recovering from the recession. Freight transportation is growing almost as fast as the gross domestic product and has recovered about 41 percent of tonnage hauled before the recession. He doesn’t expect a complete recovery until the end of this decade, perhaps sooner. He’s forecasting economic growth of 2.5 percent to 3 percent next year.

One growing niche is in serving those doing hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and oil wells. Trucks haul water and sand to these often remote exploration sites. “Short-term it’s a big bonanza for trucking,” Perry said.

— Max Kvidera

Arrow Trucking payout requested

Arrow Trucking’s bankruptcy trustee asked a court’s permission to distribute $2.9 million in what represents the final round of priority wage claims.

On Nov. 9, Trustee Patrick J. Malloy III asked the Tulsa, Okla., bankruptcy court to allow distribution of the claims the court previously approved and provision of his $94,773 trustee fee.

The trustee also filed a request that the court approve a settlement with Transportation Alliance Bank, which had been Arrow’s main financier. The bank would pay $850,000 to the bankruptcy estate and Malloy and the bank would dismiss all claims against each other.

If none of the parties objected and the court approved the request, the funds could have been distributed to hundreds of ex-employees in December. “It should be noted that this proposed distribution, if approved, coupled with the prior interim distribution, will represent payment in full of the priority wage claims filed and approved in this case,” Malloy wrote.

According to a previous court order, Charles Ercole, the attorney for 264 former employees, will be paid $271,334. In December 2010, Malloy distributed $1.97 million in priority wage claims to former employees.

Arrow closed without notice on Dec. 22, 2009, leaving drivers and freight stranded nationwide. The following New Year’s Day, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued an emergency order for the carrier to get its trucks and cargo to safe locations or face penalties. A week later, the flatbed carrier petitioned for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

— Jill Dunn

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved more truck parking in a two-year transportation bill.

The $109 billion Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act was combined with other committee bills in the full Senate. The House Transportation and Infrastructure committee is working on a six-year transportation measure.

EPW Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced the bill, S.1813, which includes a section titled “Jason’s Law.”

The title refers to New York trucker Jason Rivenburg, robbed and killed in 2009 while he was parked at an abandoned service station. Boxer’s bill lists potential funding sources for projects that could include new rest areas or opening existing facilities to truckers, such as inspection and weigh stations and park-and-ride facilities.

Since 2010, the House and Senate have considered Jason’s Law bills to create grants mitigating the truck parking shortage.

Boxer has said the bill reauthorizes the federal-aid highway program at the Congressional Budget Office’s current funding, adjusted for inflation. It reduces federal transportation programs by two-thirds and eliminates earmarks, she said.

The bill would continue to provide most funding to the states through core programs. They include creation of a National Freight Network Program that would consolidate existing programs into one that would allocate state funding by formula for freight movement projects.

See details at epw.senate.gov.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

DAIMLER TRUCKS North America announced the addition of a second shift and plans to ramp up production at its Western Star manufacturing plant in Portland, Ore., creating about 350 new jobs by the end of 2012. Hiring was scheduled to have started in November, and a second wave of hiring is planned for next summer.

FREIGHT HAULING as measured by the American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1.6 percent in September. The nonseasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, was 3.1 percent below the previous month. Compared with September 2010, adjusted tonnage was up 5.9 percent.

Court orders release of truck stop tiger

Tony the Tiger must leave the Louisiana truck stop bearing his name after activists won an extensive legal battle for his removal.

Judge Michael Caldwell of the East Baton Rouge District Court ruled Nov. 2 in favor of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which began litigation in April against Tiger Truck Stop owner Michael Sandlin.

State officials must revoke his permit to keep the Bengal-Siberian mix and are prohibited from issuing a new permit, the ALDF said. Last May, the district court granted its request for a permanent injunction against Louisiana renewing Sandlin’s permit.

But in August, a state appeals court ruled Sandlin and his business must be named as defendants in the lawsuit and ordered a new trial, vacating the trial court’s earlier decision.

Tony was a few months old when, in 2000, Sandlin brought it to the truck stop west of Baton Rouge. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission annually has renewed Sandlin’s permit after the truck stop owner was grandfathered in when the state began banning private ownership of big cats in 2006.

The truck stop has posted statements on its website claiming that activists have lied about Tony’s living conditions.

— Jill Dunn

Owner-operator finalists named

Overdrive and the Truckload Carriers Association have announced 11 owner-operator finalists in the 2012 Driver of the Year competition.

The following will compete for the Owner-Operator of the Year contest:

• Bradley Chapdelaine, Dart Transit

• James Leatherwood, Louisiana Transportation

• Larry McCann, Tennant Truck Lines

• Michael McCoy, Great American Lines

• Gary McGinnis, Universal Am-Can 

• Jimmy McSwain, Sunco Carriers

• Thomas and Karen Moore, team drivers with Thomas Moore Transportation

• Donnie Parsons, The Mason and Dixon Lines

• Jeanette Simpson, Landstar Ranger

• Robert Stewart, Interstate Distributor Co. 

In December 2012, TCA will select the top three finalists. The grand prize winner will be announced at TCA’s Annual Convention, March 3-6, 2013, in Las Vegas.

Each owner-operator finalist will be profiled in a 2012 issue of Overdrive.

TCA is conducting a similar program for company drivers with Overdrive’s sister publication Truckers News.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

FOR-HIRE FREIGHT rose 0.9 percent in September from August, reaching the highest level since July 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Freight Transportation Services Index. DOT reported freight shipments rose 4.2 percent in the last four months. September’s index was 4.3 percent higher than a year earlier.

TRANSCORE’S September North American Freight Index rose 3.2 percent from August and 45 percent from a year ago. Alongside the increase in spot market freight volumes, truckload freight rates gained in September for all equipment types.

CLASS 8 TRUCK preliminary net orders for October improved both month over month and year over year, ACT Research Co. reported. FTR Associates said October orders for all major North American truck makers increased 17 percent over September and 46 percent year-over-year, marking the third consecutive month of increasing orders.

Medical certificate changes start Jan. 30

A new law affecting medical certificates for CDL holders will begin implementation Jan. 30 and be phased in through 2014.

In 2008, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a final rule requiring CDL holders to provide a current original or copy of their medical examiner’s certificate to the issuing state driver licensing agency.

CDL holders will have to continue carrying a copy of their medical certificate and carriers also will have to keep copies of drivers’ certificates until Jan. 30, 2014.

Starting Jan. 30, those applying or renewing CDLs must certify with their state driver license agencies what interstate or intrastate driving category they fall under. A few states do not require proof of medical fitness for CDL holders driving in intrastate commerce.

Also on that date, those applying for or renewing CDLs under the non-excepted interstate category must provide their DMV with an original or copy of their medical examiner’s certificate. Current CDL holders under this category must self-certify and provide the medical certificate to their DMV by Jan. 30, 2014.

The purpose of the changes is to link the medical certificate more closely to the CDL and include driver medical record in the Commercial Driver’s License Information System database.

— Jill Dunn

FTR: Driver shortage to worsen

Although trucking is in a growth period, carriers need to keep an eye on the global economy and its potential impact on freight demand, says Eric Starks, president of FTR Associates, at Commercial Carrier Journal’s Fall Symposium.

Starks projects the economy to remain on a slow-growth track, but the long-term outlook poses significant risks, including uncertainty in the European market, a potential slowdown in the Chinese economy and slow U.S. gross domestic product growth.

FTR anticipates average GDP growth of 2.5 percent over the next year and a half. “We are less pessimistic than we were just several months ago, but there is still a lot of uncertainty,” Starks says.

One positive indicator for the trucking industry is historically low inventory-to-sales ratios. “As the economy starts to heat up and manufacturers begin ordering more goods, we’re sitting in a good spot relative to the inventory situation,” Starks says.

While customer orders for Class 8 power units softened in the last few months, FTR is predicting orders will rise. As peak shipping season hits, carriers are starting to place orders for next year, and Starks expects that to continue in December.

Potential changes to the hours of service regulations, including the possibility that drive time will be reduced from 11 hours to 10 hours, will magnify the impact of the current driver shortage. “More drivers will be needed, and lower productivity will require more equipment to move the same amount of freight,” Starks says.

FTR forecasts the driver shortage to be much worse than it was in 2004 and 2005. Freight is expected to grow 2.5 percent to 4 percent per year for several years. Freight capacity is tight, with roughly 95 percent utilization of equipment, and could be driven higher with a new hours of service rule.

— Jeff Crissey

Senator calls cross-border program ‘lax’

In his second letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood since May, the Senate transportation committee chairman expressed alarm over the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking pilot program.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s letter referred to “the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s lax oversight” of the program.

FMCSA was unavailable for comment.

The West Virginia Democrat said he was concerned about the first two Mexican carriers to pass pre-authorization safety audits, which the agency conducts on Mexican carrier applicants to verify program compliance.

The agency granted “permanent operating authority” to Transportes Olympic, based on its time in the previous FMCSA cross-border program and using the carrier’s “nearly three-year-old compliance review,” wrote Rockefeller, who heads the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee.

He also noted that Grupo Behr De Baja had cleared its PASA, though agency officials delayed granting authority so they could further investigate claims made by various organizations about that carrier.

Rockefeller has argued the program would threaten competitiveness of U.S. trucking firms, transfer the cost of safety upgrades on Mexican trucking fleets to Americans and fail to eliminate all of Mexico’s retaliatory actions.

After Congress voted to end the previous FMCSA cross-border program in 2009, Canacar, Mexico’s trucking trade association, filed a notice of arbitration against the United States. “If the U.S. complies with its NAFTA obligations, it would open up a huge market for Mexican carriers to utilize their competitive advantage,” Canacar’s notice stated.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

INTERNET TRUCKSTOP announced its sponsorship of the Truckload Carriers Association’s Highway Angel program. The online load board provider said it will commit $75,000 to the program over two years.

CSA needs improvement, panel says

While data-related issues still dog the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance Safety Accountability enforcement mechanism after one year, trucking executives say more work is needed.

Their comments came in a “CSA: One Year Later” panel discussion at the Commercial Carrier Journal Fall Symposium in Phoenix. The panel included Jeff Davis of Fleet Safety Services, Arizona Trucking Associations President Karen Rasmussen and Brett Sant, vice president of safety and risk management for Knight Transportation.

Davis says the theory behind CSA was that compliance would result in safer behavior and fewer crashes, while noncompliance would result in riskier behavior and more crashes. “Time will tell us if this theory works,” he says.

Under CSA, safety ratings are supposed to refresh every 30 days for all companies. The previous SAFER system under SafeStat reached only 2 percent of companies and was lengthy and graded administratively, while the new method uses roadside performance.

The driver safety fitness rating has been on the backburner, but is coming back through the pending highway bill. “We could literally be looking at a ranking of every single driver out there,” Davis says.

Under SAFER, companies could pay a fine and move on. “Now, every critical and acute violation in the system” gets monitored for 12 months, Davis says.

The top equipment-related violation is lighting. The biggest driver violation is log book form and manner. A log book not being current ranks second, followed by the driver not being in possession of a medical certificate, a driver not speaking English and hours of service violations.

Rasmussen says Arizona’s new DataQ appeals process involves an appeals board created last January that meets monthly. About 50 percent of appeals are denied.

Sant says that while he agrees with FMCSA’s objectives to reach more carriers, increase driver accountability and improve safety, he says CSA’s Safety Measurement System isn’t a reliable predictor of crashes. He also says many drivers under the gun will shift to carriers that aren’t as scrutinized, leaving the previous carrier holding the “bad grade” bag.

“Is that really safer or fair?” Sant asks.

— Dean Smallwood

Many U.S. bridges deficient, study says

A new report shows more than 18,000 of the nation’s busiest bridges, clustered in the nation’s metropolitan areas, are rated as “structurally deficient,” Transportation for America says.

“The Fix We’re In For: The State of Our Nation’s Busiest Bridges” ranks 102 metro areas in three population categories based on the percentage of deficient bridges.

The report found Pittsburgh had the highest percentage of deficient bridges (30.4 percent) for a metro area with a population of more than 2 million. The city also had the highest percentage among all cities.

Oklahoma City (19.8 percent) topped the chart for metro areas of 1 million to 2 million, as did Tulsa, Okla. (27.5 percent), for metro areas between 500,000 and 1 million.

“There are more deficient bridges in our metropolitan areas than there are McDonald’s restaurants in the entire country,” says James Corless, director of Transportation for America.

Nearly 70,000 bridges nationwide are rated “structurally deficient” and are in need of substantial repair or replacement, according to federal data. Metropolitan-area bridges carry 75 percent of the trips that are made on structurally deficient bridges, Corless says.

The Federal Highway Administra-tion estimates the backlog of potentially dangerous bridges would cost $71 billion to eliminate, while the federal outlay for bridges amounts to $5 billion a year.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

FTR ASSOCIATES’ Trucking Conditions Index spiked 3.1 points in September to 9.2 but remains well below a recent peak of 13.3 in March. Any reading above 0 indicates an adequate trucking environment, with readings above 10 a sign that volumes, prices and margin are good for trucking companies. FTR says tight capacity control, modest growth in truck tonnage and falling fuel prices helped improve the trucking environment through September.

DETROIT is the new name for Daimler Trucks North America’s Detroit Diesel brand of engines. Daimler says the change, effective next March, is intended to help expand the scope of products offered and allow Detroit to offer alternate fuel and unconventional powertrain technologies. DTNA acquired Detroit Diesel in 2003.

Coalition supports more tolls

A coalition of highway construction groups in nearly a dozen states has launched a national campaign to urge Congress to allow states to impose tolls to pay for long-overdue highway improvements.

The U.S. Tolling Coalition says Congress should provide maximum flexibility to states to add tolls to any portion of their interstate or federal highways for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

“Seventeen percent of our interstates and one quarter of our nation’s bridges are structurally deficient,” says Patrick Goss, coalition co-chairman and executive director of the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association. “With Congress struggling to find the money to meet basic maintenance needs, allowing more tolling will stretch dollars, jump-start construction projects and create new jobs.”

Under a pilot program, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently allowed Virginia to add tolls along the I-95 corridor in that state to pay for critical rehabilitation and upkeep. Missouri also has been cleared to add tolls. The U.S. Tolling Coalition wants to expand the program nationwide, which requires congressional authorization.

“What’s good for Virginia and Missouri is good for the rest of America,” says Don Shubert, coalition co-chairman and president of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association. “States are confronting accelerating pavement deterioration due to age and high traffic. As a result, American business is hurting, and we need to act now to give states the power to toll.”

Goss and Shubert recently wrote a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Transportation Committees. “Tolls are gaining public acceptance as motorists see the benefits of electronic collection systems, as well as the negative impacts of the lost buying power of fuel tax revenues,” they wrote.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

STARTING JAN. 1, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will stop assessing a Clean Truck fee on trucks with an engine year 2006 and older. Instead, trucks with an engine year 2006 and older will be banned from port marine terminals. The PortCheck website (pierpass-tmf.org) will remain open in January for payment of billed and accrued Clean Truck fees prior to Jan. 1, 2011.

Stolen cargo recovered in Los Angeles

As cargo theft increases nationally, Los Angeles law enforcement has asked for help concerning a series of regional cargo thefts.

On Nov. 3, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Commercial Crimes Division/Cargo-Hijack Detectives announced it was seeking assistance locating or identifying individuals responsible for San Fernando Valley cargo thefts.

That day, detectives discovered a warehouse containing stolen cargo of consumer goods in the Sun Valley area of the Foothill Division. Detectives arrested a man for the thefts and other suspects were questioned and released.

They also arrested four men in a related case in the Foothill area with a stolen load of cosmetics on Oct. 18. Detectives believe the cases are related and those involved are responsible in at least 19 thefts where truck and trailers have been stolen since July.

They have asked anyone with information about these thefts to call (213) 485-2509 or, during non-business hours, (877) LAPD-24-7.

CargoNet, a cargo theft prevention and recovery service, has assisted California law enforcement in recovering more than $1 million in stolen cargo. Since its creation in 1994, the service has assisted in the recovery of more than $237 million in stolen property, 5,500 vehicles and 1,850 cargo loads, and the arrests of more than 1,100 people.

Organizations including the American Trucking Associations, California Trucking Association and National Cargo and Security Council have formed an alliance to mitigate the problem. Transportation company security directors and law enforcement also have monthly meetings on the issue.

– Jill Dunn 

SHORT HAULS

NEW COMMERCIAL VEHICLE registrations in the United States for 2011 are set to increase 18 percent over 2010 and 33 percent over 2009, according to publisher R.L. Polk and Co. New registrations of gross vehicle weight rating Class 3-8 commercial vehicles remain 45 percent lower than the peak in 2006, when the market boomed in response to the impending change in diesel engine emissions regulations, Polk said.

Republicans block transportation jobs plan

U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a $60 billion White House proposal to repair transportation systems as part of President Obama’s American Jobs Act.

All 47 Senate Republicans, one Democrat and one independent voted Nov. 3 against the bill that was part of Obama’s $447 billion stimulus plan. The bill would have allocated $50 billion for infrastructure spending and $10 billion in loan funding.

— Staff reports

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

ARIZONA. The state has applied with the Federal Highway Administration to toll 29 miles of I-15 in the northwest corner of the state. The target of the tolls would be out-of-state users, including truckers. Tolls would pay to rebuild the interstate, beginning in 2015, the state said.

MISSOURI. The state Department of Transportation received a $1 million federal grant to build new truck parking spaces on Interstate 70. The state will meet with trucking companies to decide where to locate additional truck parking. Construction is set to begin in late 2012.

NEVADA. Starting Jan. 1, police may ticket drivers who are using handheld cell phones or text messaging behind the wheel. Fines start at $50 and go up to $250. Thirty-four states prohibit texting while driving.

NORTH DAKOTA. It’s now illegal to text-message while driving in the state. The primary offense, which means police can stop the operator for that offense, could result in a $100 fine.

OHIO. Ohio Turnpike tolls will increase about 10 percent Jan. 1. Trucks generate about 60 percent of the 241-mile toll road’s revenue, while accounting for 22 percent of the traffic. E-ZPass rates for six-axle trucks that are more than 7 ft., 6 in. high will go to $50 from $45. Tolls for drivers who don’t have E-ZPass will rise to $61 from $55.

OREGON. A recent inspection of truckers’ log books placed 22 percent of drivers out of service, the state Department of Transportation Motor Carrier Division said.

PENNSYLVANIA. The state has enacted a ban on texting while driving, which will take effect in March. If caught for the primary offense, a driver could face a $50 fine. A tougher ban on handheld cell phone use while driving was stripped from the legislative bill that went to the governor for signature.

TEXAS. A six-mile stretch of U.S. 77 near Corpus Christi has been designated Interstate 69. The state plans to gain federal approval to convert other sections of U.S. 77 and other federal highways to I-69. Other pieces of I-69 exist in Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Tennessee, as part of a long-range plan to extend the interstate from Mexico to Canada.

UTAH. About 12 miles of State Route 14 frequently used by truckers will be closed for months to make repairs after a recent landslide, the state says. The landslide destroyed about a quarter-mile of the highway that runs between Cedar City and U.S. 89.

Mexico had approved three U.S. carriers to deliver beyond its border by Oct. 21, when the first Mexican carrier crossed into Laredo, Texas, marking the beginning of the cross-border pilot program with Mexico and the end of retaliatory tariffs on American goods.

The cross-border pilot trucking program with Mexico is officially under way after the initial Mexican carrier received approval to operate in the United States.

Mexican and U.S. officials gathered at the World Trade Bridge in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, for the event. Transportes Olympic hauled a drilling tower destined for Garland, Texas, according to Mexico’s Secretary of Communication and Transportation. Monterrey-based Transportes Olympic has been approved for two trucks and two drivers.

The Oct. 21 delivery beyond the commercial border zone highlighted the end of more than two years of tariffs ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent on 99 U.S. goods. On July 8 Mexico dropped half the tariffs and promised to end the remaining tariffs five days after the first Mexican carrier received operating authority.

On Oct. 20, the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General announced it was beginning its interim report to Congress on the pilot program, in accordance with 2007 law.

Its audit objectives will be to decide if it will have sufficient data to determine if the program reduces trucking safety and if monitoring and enforcement activities can ensure program compliance. The OIG will also measure if program participants are a representative and adequate sample of Mexican carriers that would seek cross-border operations.

All trucks that participate in the program will carry GPS-capable electronic onboard recorders to ensure hours-of-service compliance and to monitor trucks to and from assigned U.S. destinations.

Also, FMCSA will review the driving records of each driver and require U.S. labs to analyze all drug testing samples before that driver receives approval.

OOIDA has filed to stop the program in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The court rejected its request for an emergency stay of the program, but will schedule oral arguments following the completion of brief filings, with the last brief due by Dec. 5.

The Teamsters union and Public Citizen also have petitioned a federal appeals court to review the agency’s plans to proceed with the program.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

THE JANUARY 2012 diesel particulate filter deadline for heavy-duty truck owners is the first of several compliance dates set by California Air Resources Board. Owners of trucks heavier than 26,000 pounds and equipped with 1996-1999 engines can retrofit them with a DPF by Jan. 1 or phase in 30 percent of fleet vehicles and send details about the rigs to CARB by Jan. 31. Call (866) 634-3735 for details and exceptions.

USED TRUCK SALES in August were the second highest of the year, according to a new report by the ATD/NADA Commercial Truck Guide. The average selling price of sleeper tractors also improved more than expected to the highest level since pre-recession 2008. As of August, the average sleeper tractor sold off a dealer’s lot was just less than six years old, had 523,399 miles and sold for $48,348.

FREIGHT CARRIED by the for-hire transportation industry rose 0.4 percent in August from July and 4.6 percent from a year earlier, reaching the highest level since July 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation said. Freight shipments, measured by the Freight Transportation Services Index, rose 2.9 percent in the last three months.

Demand outpacing capacity

Utilization of ready-to-drive trucks is close to the record set in the early 2000s and could hit a record in 2012, said Noel Perry, a senior consultant with FTR Associates. The situation is tight because the trucking recovery is good and because carrier management is conservative about hiring drivers and buying trucks.

“They are not adding capacity at the same rate customers are increasing freight,” he said.

In addition to needing to replace an estimated 200,000 drivers annually to cover normal turnover, the industry is several hundred thousand drivers short of raising capacity to meet demand, Perry noted.

Perry forecast 3 percent growth for trucking through 2012. That’s enough to maintain freight rates but not enough to replace business lost in the recession.

Among indicators, Perry said the Avondale Truckload Spot Market Index is showing increased spot market volatility as more freight moves to dedicated routes, where’s it’s easier to recruit drivers. For small carriers, especially start-ups that provide more spot market capacity, he said, it will be more volatile and, assuming the recovery continues, more profitable.

Perry said the recession clobbered trucking to the point that demand won’t recover to previous levels until at least 2016.

On driver pay, Perry said the increase in capacity shortage is slow enough to keep pay rates mostly stable. “The safe forecast is we’re going to get modest increases over the next six months,” he said.

— Max Kvidera

Cross-border trucking opponents meet

Leading opponents of the cross-border trucking pilot program with Mexico united for a press conference near a California border crossing Oct. 19.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, U.S. Reps. Bob Filner and Duncan Hunter, both of California, and the Teamsters union gathered near the Otay Mesa truck inspection facility. The first Mexican carrier approved for program participation, Transportes Olympic, was expected to make its first delivery under the new program on Oct. 20.

The past two presidential administrations have made the program a priority, said Joe Kasper, a spokesman for Hunter’s office. Given that, the Republican representative’s hope is the United States will suspend the operating authority of Mexican program participants when the program expires.

To that end, Hunter and Filner, his Democrat counterpart, are among 19 co-sponsors of Protecting America’s Roads Act, or H.R. 2407. The bill would end authority gained by Mexican carrier participants at the end of the program and bar paying for electronic monitoring of Mexican carrier participants with U.S. tax dollars.

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, (D-Ore.) introduced the bill, which was referred to the Highways and Transit subcommittee July 7.

— Jill Dunn

EEOC files suit against carriers

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued trucking companies over allegations of discriminatory practices against employees.

Among the commission’s filings are lawsuits against Sutter Transfer Service, Stevens Transport and Joe Ryan Trucking. EEOC first had attempted voluntary settlements with the companies.

Previously, EEOC had sued Prime Inc. over allegations the carrier discriminated against female driver applicants.

A company spokesman said it is confident it will prevail in defending its environment and believes EEOC’s claims are without merit.

EEOC filed a complaint against Sutter Sept. 29 in Sacramento’s U.S. District Court. The commission alleges the family-operated construction hauler allowed its dispatcher to harass employees with racial epithets. Bruce Peacock, STS president and CEO, said he does not discuss matters in litigation.

Also Sept. 29, the agency sued Stevens Transport over allegations the carrier had discriminated against an applicant based on disability. The company did not respond to a request for comment over the suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

On Sept. 23, the commission filed against the owner of Joe Ryan Enterprises, doing business as Joe Ryan Trucking in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

It alleges the owner had incessantly sexually harassed female employees. No one was available for comment at the carrier.

The commission also filed charges Sept. 30 against the former Scully Distribution Services in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Eastern Division. It alleged Scully had engaged in discrimination, harassment and retaliation against non-white drivers.

— Jill Dunn

Goodyear accepting Highway Hero nominations

Nov. 30 is the deadline for nominations in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s annual North America Highway Hero program. For consideration, nominees must be a full-time truck driver, reside in the U.S. or Canada, and have been on the job when incident occurred.

Nominations can also be made by calling the Goodyear Highway Hero Hotline at (330) 796-8183.

The nominations will be pared to four finalists, with one individual selected by a trucking industry panel of judges to serve as the ambassador for the program for a year.

— Staff reports

Agency urges CSA driver ratings

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability program would benefit from creating a driver fitness ratings timetable, a federal oversight agency reported.

A federal agency is asking for a schedule to put into effect driver fitness ratings, which would reflect truck inspection reports and other data.

The Government Accountability Office advised FMCSA to routinely report to Congress on CSA implementation issues and how to develop a timeframe to put driver fitness ratings into effect. The agency told GAO it would consider the recommendations.

FMCSA had indicated consideration of implementing driver fitness ratings, but confirmed this intention to GAO Sept. 23. The agency is seeking clarification on its authority to prohibit drivers, if determined to be unfit based on ratings, from operating. It believes it has this authority, but is seeking congressional clarification as part of the next surface transportation reauthorization. The last extension of that funding expires March 31.

FMCSA has prioritized implementing carrier oversight activities, agency officials told GAO. Also, they have more driver data than before, so implementing the driver component is not as critical to CSA’s ability to improve safety as they had believed when designing the program.

Delays are routine when adding a major program such as CSA, but FMCSA has carried out most CSA oversight activities and briefed congressional staff on CSA periodically, agency representatives said. GAO says FMCSA still lacks a comprehensive document specifically outlining status, implementation delays.

CSA replaced SafeStat with the Safety Measurement System to identify high-risk carriers. Nearly a year after the anticipated completion date, FMCSA has partially implemented two of the three CSA carrier oversight activities, the new SMS and an expanded set of intervention in every state. “However, it still cannot use CSA safety ratings to get unsafe carriers off the road because it has not completed a rulemaking needed to do so,” GAO stated.

FMCSA has added most of the expanded enforcement interventions for at-risk carriers. But it has delayed implementation of two interventions, Off-site Investigations and Cooperative Safety Plans, because the technology necessary will not be completed until at least 2012.

FMCSA has not started using SMS data to suspend unfit carriers. It is two years behind in issuing and completing rulemaking needed to use this instead of time-consuming compliance reviews. The agency expects to have a final rulemaking in 2013.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

FREIGHT as measured by TransCore’s North American Freight Index climbed 47 percent in August from a year ago, marking the eighth consecutive month that spot market freight availability reached an all-time same-month high. Spot market freight volume increased 4.5 percent in August over July. Despite the increase in spot market demand, truckload freight rates, excluding fuel surcharges, remained relatively stable in August.

TRANSCORE’S Carrier Benchmark Survey reveals that in 2011 to date, carrier monthly revenue on average was $1,607 higher per truck than in 2010, a 10 percent increase reflecting a 10 percent gain in per-mile rates. The survey also found for-hire carriers who used load boards for 30 percent to 60 percent of their loads saw monthly revenues rise by an additional $1,378, or 7.7 percent, per truck compared with 2010.

TRUCKING HIRED 2,600 new payroll employees in September, according to preliminary numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared with September 2010, trucking employment is up by 3.4 percent. The number of trucking jobs — 1.28 million — remains nearly 169,000 below peak employment in January 2007.

Icahn buys 9.8% of Navistar

Investor Carl Icahn’s purchase of 9.8 percent of Navistar International shares last month sparked market speculation, especially after buying 9.5 percent of truck maker Oshkosh in June.

Icahn, estimated by Forbes magazine at a net worth of $13 billion, bought both stocks because of undervalued shares. He discussed adding board nominees for consideration at Navistar’s 2012 stockholders’ meeting, but an understanding had not been reached, Icahn stated in Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

On Oct. 17, the commercial truck and bus maker extended its nominating deadline from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15.

Stock market observers also wonder if the 75-year-old New Yorker hopes to merge the two truck makers, but has not publicly indicated plans. Icahn has criticized many corporate boards as ineffective and is a zealous advocate of stockholders’ active monitoring of investments.

Still, he retreated from attempting to install himself and 10 other nominees to Clorox’s board last month, where with 9.5 percent of shares, Ichan is the largest stockholder.

Icahn leadership includes serving as the long-time chairman of American Railcar Industries and since 2008, the non-executive chairman of Federal-Mogul, an international global automotive supplier.

He described his principal occupation as heading Icahn Capital LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises, a diversified holding company for businesses ranging from real estate to consumer goods.

The Oshkosh production line includes vehicles for commercial, emergency and military uses.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

TURNOVER for over-the-road truck drivers rose to 79 percent in the second quarter, according to American Trucking Associations, marking the third quarter in a row of increased churn in the driver market. The turnover rate for drivers at large truckload fleets rose four basis points from the first quarter’s rate of 75 percent, pushing the rate to its highest point since 2008.

California passes used truck sales history law

California has the nation’s first law requiring that used vehicle dealers post a warning on vehicles if flagged in a federal database as junk, salvage or flood-damaged.

State dealers must check the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System before offering vehicles, including heavy-duty trucks, for sale. The U.S. Department of Justice maintains the NMVTIS and requires every insurer, salvage yard and state motor vehicle department to report updated title information every 30 days.

If a NMVTIS report exists, dealers must provide the purchaser with a copy of it upon request prior to sale. They also must post a warning or disclosure near the vehicle’s Federal Trade Commission’s Buyer’s Guide. The disclosure must be printed in bold black type on a solid-red background and be at least 4 inches by 5.5 inches.

A new service, RigDig, partners with NMVTIS to integrate data from salvage yards, recyclers, insurance carriers and state titling agencies, but provides Truck History Reports that draw upon additional sources, as well.

The Equipment Data Associates division of Randall-Reilly Media and Business Information, Overdrive’s publisher, operates the website at www.rigdig.com.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION trade between the United States and Canada and Mexico increased 18 percent in July compared with a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

U.S. TRANSPORTATION Secretary Ray LaHood Oct. 13 said he would not continue in that post if President Obama is re-elected for a second term. LaHood is the only Republican in Obama’s cabinet.

LOVE’S TRUCK TIRE CARE has been added to the Michelin Commercial Service Network. Dealers in the network provide new tires and retreads and 24-hour service. Love’s is also offering select Michelin Retread Technologies tread designs at its more than 100 U.S. tire care centers.

Congress eyes highway tolling bills

For the second time in three months, Congress is considering a bill that would increase the number of Interstate facilities that could toll and remove the limit on how many states can have Value Pricing Pilot Programs.

Illinois Republicans introduced the bills, both titled the Lincoln Legacy Infrastructure Development Act, which were referred to committees with no co-sponsors. The legislation is to encourage private-public transportation partnerships to fix federal transportation shortfalls.

A 1998 law created the Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program (ISRRP), which allows the Federal Highway Administration to approve tolling at up to three existing Interstate facilities if reconstruction otherwise could not be adequately maintained or improved without tolls. Each of the facilities, which can be highways, bridges or tunnels, must be in a different state.

On Sept. 14, FHWA granted conditional provisional approval to toll Virginia’s I-95, and seven years earlier, gave Missouri approval to toll I-70. Last year, the agency rejected Pennsylvania’s request to toll I-80.

The bills also would remove the limit on how many Value Pricing Pilot programs, which use highway congestion management strategies, the agency could allow nationally. The VPP is a separate entity from ISRRP and permits tolling, but also non-tolling means, which can be mileage-based charges for insurance, taxes and leasing fees.

Current law allows the FHWA to approve VPP agreements with a maximum of 15 states and each state can have an unlimited number of VPP programs. Fourteen states now have a VPP program, which provides funding to support studies and implementation.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

FORMER TRUCK DRIVER Marcos Costa was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison after being convicted of manslaughter and reckless driving charges in the 2009 crash on the Angeles Crest Highway northeast of Los Angeles that killed two people. Costa gets credit for time served, or roughly half the length of the sentence. Costa was driving a 25-ton, double-deck car hauler in the wreck, which killed two people. Later, the California Department of Transportation banned five-axle trucks from a section of the highway.

AAA sues to stop NY port toll increases

The American Automobile Association of New York and New Jersey has sued the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to stop toll increases on New York City bridges that began in September.

The complaint in federal court in Manhattan claims the higher tolls violate a federal law that requires interstate tolls be set at “just and reasonable” rates, AAA says.

Toll increases began Sept. 18 on the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, and the George Washington, Bayonne and Goethals bridges.

The Port Authority says the suit “is without merit.”

Toll for E-ZPass customers during peak hours rose from $40 to $50 for a five-axle truck and will rise by another $2 an axle each December in 2012 through 2015. Cash customers pay a $3 per-axle fine. Tolls apply to eastbound crossings.

The current E-ZPass off-peak fee is $35 and the overnight fee is $27.50.

— Staff reports

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

ARIZONA. Paving of Interstate 40 east of Flagstaff from mile post 218 to 225 is scheduled to continue until mid-November, the state Department of Transportation said. Work runs from sunrise to sunset Monday through Friday.

FLORIDA. Tolls on all state toll roads and bridges will increase in 2012 as the state Department of Transportation implements an indexing of toll rates. The 2007 legislature mandated an inflation index every one to five years. A five-axle truck will pay $11 if using SunPass on the Everglades Parkway (Alligator Alley) in South Florida. The cash or toll-by-plate rate will go to $12. Additional axles will cost $2.75 under SunPass and $3 for cash.

IOWA. Closed by Missouri River flooding since June 15, Interstate 29 has reopened from Rock Port, Mo., at exit 110 to U.S. 34 exit 32 near Pacific Junction, Iowa. Exit 1, Iowa 333 to Hamburg, and exit 10, Iowa 2 to Nebraska City, remain closed to repair both roads.

LOUISIANA. Heavy trucks using I-10 are rerouted to the I-210 loop around Lake Charles until repair work is completed on the Calcasieu River Bridge in 2012. Truckers are encouraged to use the I-210 bridge under normal conditions because it carries less traffic and the approach is less steep. 

MAINE. Speed limits along Interstate 95 north of Bangor have been increased from 65 mph to 75 mph. The new limit is the highest legal speed east of the Mississippi River.

MARYLAND. Tolls on Baltimore Harbor bridges and tunnels will be increasing the next two years following action by the Maryland Transportation Authority. The increases will be in two steps, Jan. 1, 2012, and July 1, 2013. Cash rates for 5-axle vehicles on the JFK Highway (I-95) and the Hatem Memorial Bridge will go from $30 to $36 on Jan. 1 and to $48 on July 1, 2013. For the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95 and I-395), Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895) and Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695), the cash toll for 5-axle trucks increases from $12 to $18 on Jan. 1 and $24 on July 1, 2013. For the Harry W. Nice Bridge (U.S. 301) and William Preston Lane (Bay) Bridge (U.S. 50 and U.S. 301), the cash rate rises from $15 to $36 by 2013.

MICHIGAN. A new law aligns the state’s commercial driver’s licensing rules with federal regulations. Fines for first offenders of out-of-service violators are set at $2,500, with repeat offenses set at $5,000 each. Carriers convicted of authorizing a driver with OOS status to get behind the wheel face fines of up to $25,000.

MISSOURI. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced $2 million in emergency funds for repairs to roads and bridges damaged by summer floods.

OREGON. During a commercial vehicle driver inspection operation Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, 810 inspections resulted in 33 percent of drivers placed out of service for safety violations. This compared with the 27 percent average for a similar exercise in July, and with the 2010 driver out-of-service rate of 26 percent. The national driver out-of-service rate is about 6 percent.

PENNSYLVANIA. Lane closures for resurfacing are under way evenings in both directions on I-476, the Northeastern Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The shutdowns are taking place over 12 miles near Lansdale and will last through November. Speed limits are reduced to 40 mph.

SOUTH CAROLINA. Drivers on northbound I-95 should expect delays or take a detour until Nov. 16 as repairs are made to the Lake Marion Bridge southeast of Columbia. One of two northbound lanes is closed for two miles beginning at Mile Marker 98. Rigs wider than 8.5 feet must take a detour that routes traffic to I-26 east toward Charleston. An alternate route is I-26 west to Columbia, I-77 north to I-20 east and then east to I-95.

UTAH. R Place Truckers Plaza on Interstate 80, Exit 1/410 at Wendover, is the latest truck stop to offer electrification as part of the Shorepower Truck Electrification Project. The AMBEST facility at the Nevada border has 32 electrified spaces.

VIRGINIA. The Federal Highway Administration has granted the state preliminary approval to toll I-95 under a pilot program. The state estimates it could generate $250 million in five years. Virginia will be one of only three states in the Interstate Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program with authority to toll Interstate facilities.

Court issues final order in Minnesota fatigue suit

A federal judge has stipulated statewide posting for his ruling that Minnesota troopers respect truckers’ constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure during fatigue enforcement.

U.S. Judge Donovan Frank for the Minnesota district upheld his order regarding truckers’ Fourth Amendment rights in the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s case against Minnesota State Patrol. Frank required his order be posted conspicuously on locations that include MSP websites and offices and emailed to every commercial vehicle enforcement officer.

The court will continue jurisdiction of the issue until September 2013.

The court required the patrol rescind driver out-of-service orders for the 17-month period ended Sept. 30, 2010, if based solely on a determination of fatigue, then correct this information in Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data. The patrol should rescind only the driver fatigue determination and not the out-of service order for drivers criminally convicted for driving fatigue impaired or involved in a motor vehicle crash.

The patrol referred a request for comment to Minnesota’s attorney general office, but no one was immediately available.

— Jill Dunn

House leaders oppose HOS proposal

Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica’s Sept. 23 letter to President Obama asked the hours-of-service proposal be withdrawn and to continue the current rule.

The Florida Republican wrote the proposed rule would be an unnecessary and costly regulatory burden on truckers, given the improved record of truck safety since the 2008 rule became effective. Other Republican committee members signed the letter: Tennessee’s John Duncan, highway subcommittee chairman; Pennsylvania’s Bill Schuster, chairman of the railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials subcommittee; and Missouri’s Sam Graves, committee member and Small Business Committee chairman.

At press time, FMCSA was expected to publish an HOS final rule by its Oct. 28 deadline.

— Jill Dunn

U.S. transportation officials said they are working to meet a federal audit’s requirements before starting in the next few weeks the cross-border pilot trucking program with Mexico, including monitoring and placing tracking devices on Mexican trucks.

Truck traffic at the southern border could increase soon if issues raised in a federal audit are adequately addressed.

The U.S. Office of Inspector General’s Aug. 19 audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s pilot program concluded the agency had adequate border inspections, but more action is necessary to meet U.S. regulations.

Federal law requires the OIG report to Congress on the program. FMCSA must address the office’s concerns before Mexican trucks cross the border.

FMCSA’s response to the report noted action or plans to satisfy these requirements before the end of September, when the report was expected to be sent to Congress.

In June, FMCSA officials told OIG they will comply with the law for conducting Pre-Authority Safety Audits and compliance reviews, but have not developed plans and safeguards for conducting PASAs in Mexico.

Two Mexican carriers, Grupo Behr De Baja of Tijuana and Transportes Olympic of Monterrey, have successfully completed the PASAs. FMCSA said it is processing applications of three other carriers.

In a PASA review, the carrier must demonstrate it complies with requirements for drug and alcohol testing, hours of service, insurance, vehicle maintenance and inspections, and qualified drivers.

FMCSA said it has begun soliciting proposals for the electronic monitoring devices and tracking service it will require for Mexican trucks for three years. In April, it had estimated the total cost at $2.5 million, but the OIG puts that price at $3.2 million. Although the agency will retain ownership of the hardware, its plan to fund these devices has drawn criticism.

— Jill Dunn

Court asked to review pilot program

The Teamsters and Public Citizen petitioned a federal appeals court to review the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s plans to proceed with a cross-border trucking pilot program with Mexico.

The organizations filed the petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Jonathan Weissglass, an attorney with the Altshuler Berzon firm representing the Teamsters, said unlike a complaint, the petition does not detail the legal challenge that is discussed later in briefing. 

He said one argument will be that the standard of comparable treatment of trucking on both sides of the border “is not met because of the lack of widespread availability of ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel (in Mexico) and that the requirement of safety equivalence is not met because of Mexico’s lower vision standards.” 

FMCSA issued a statement saying it will review the filing after it is served with the lawsuit.

In 2002, Altshuler Berzon attorneys obtained a ruling from the same appeals court for the plaintiffs and other organizations to block the previous cross-border program with Mexico, which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned in 2004.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s request for a stay of the program Sept. 8. It will schedule oral arguments following the completion of brief filings, with the last brief due by Dec. 5

While some congressional members support the program, others oppose it, including longtime opponent Rep. Pete DeFazio. The Oregon Democrat sent a Sept. 16 letter to FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro expressing his concern about the safety of Mexican trucks.

— Jill Dunn

Bridge closure

Truckers will have to find alternate routes on trips to Louisville, Ky., following closure of the 50-year-old Sherman Minton Bridge. The bridge, which carries I-64 and U.S. 150 traffic across the Ohio River between Louisville and New Albany, Ind., was shut down for months after cracks were discovered in the steel structure.

Hours rule due by end of month

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration appears likely to issue an hours of service final rule by its Oct. 28 deadline.

FMCSA sent a final rule to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Aug. 11, just two days past target date. After LaHood’s office completes consideration, the Office of Management and Budget will review the rule before publication in the Federal Register. A federal court originally set the publication deadline for July 26, but later extended it until Oct. 28.

The current hours rule, in effect since 2004, made four primary changes to the regulations then in place: increasing the daily driving limit from 10 hours to 11 hours; increasing the required minimum daily rest from 8 hours to 10 hours; decreasing the number of hours on duty after which a driver may not operate a commercial motor vehicle from 15 hours to 14 hours; and allowing a driver to “reset” the weekly 60 or 70-hour on duty limits with 34 consecutive hours off duty.

Under the current proposal, FMCSA is considering whether to reduce the daily driving limit from 11 hours to 10 hours and has proposed to limit the 34-hour restart provision by requiring that it include two periods from midnight to 6 a.m. and limiting its use to once per week.

In a letter to Cass Sunstein, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, the American Trucking Associations earlier this month urged the Obama administration to live up to its promise to relieve the burden of unnecessary regulations as it considers hours of service changes.

— Staff reports

FMCSA says CSA helps compliance

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced an independent evaluation of its Compliance Safety Accountability test program confirms that it substantially improves enforcement and compliance.

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute’s findings confirm the CSA test model enables the agency and its state partners to contact more carriers earlier to correct safety problems and ensure compliance with regulations to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities. However, FMCSA says the evaluator also identified areas that require improvement.

Launched in 2008, the CSA test program divided carriers from four test states between test and control groups. FMCSA later added states to the test.

FMCSA reported these results:

• SMS is an improvement over the SafeStat system in identifying unsafe carriers.

• Crash rates were higher for motor carriers identified with safety problems in the SMS’ seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories than for motor carriers that were not identified with safety problems in the BASICs.

• The crash rate for motor carriers that were identified with safety problems by the SMS in the Unsafe Driving BASIC was more than three times greater than the crash rate for motor carriers not identified with any safety problems by SMS.

— Staff reports

Study: Satisfaction with engine quality improves

Owners of new heavy-duty truck engines are more satisfied this year than last year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Heavy-Duty Truck Engine and Transmission Study.

The study finds that 42 percent of owners of one model-year-old, heavy-duty truck engines report experiencing some type of engine-related problem, down from 46 percent last year. This compares with the historically low average in 2004, when 26 percent of owners of truck engines that were two model-years old reported experiencing a problem. This low problem incidence level occurred prior to two rounds of major technology changes to comply with emissions standards that took effect in 2007 and 2010.

The most-commonly reported engine problems concern the exhaust gas recirculation valve (cited by 23 percent of owners) and electronic control module calibration (21 percent).

Also in 2011, engine problems have decreased to an average of 66 problems per 100 vehicles from 72 in 2010.

Navistar’s International MaxxForce engines rank highest in customer satisfaction and perform particularly well in four of eight factors: engine reliability and dependability, engine warranty, vibration at idle and average fuel economy. The other factors are acceleration when fully loaded; electronic control module; accessibility to components for service or maintenance; and maintaining speeds on grades.

— Staff reports

Hazmat tracking changes suggested

The National Transportation Safety Board, in a Sept. 2 letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, recommended steps for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration to take to gain a more accurate accounting of the distribution of hazardous materials hauled in cargo tanks.

Obtaining a more accurate accounting would enable enhanced safety-data analyses of hazmat haulers and increased safety, the board said.

NTSB recommended requiring all hazmat carriers to annually submit tank types and numbers of owned and leased fleets to the DOT, in addition to data displayed on the specification plates of such tanks.

— Staff reports

New York arrests 51 for CDL fraud

New York police recently arrested 51 CDL holders with two or more licenses under different names after police used facial recognition technology on CDL photos.

The New York Department of Motor Vehicles and other state and federal officials were involved in the investigation of truck and bus drivers who fraudulently obtained multiple driver licenses by using a fake name, according to a statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

The software resulted in the arrests of 70 other CDL drivers earlier this year. In the past 18 months, New York law enforcement arrested about 800 people for having two or more drivers’ licenses under aliases.

In the most recent round of arrests, police charged each driver with offering a false instrument in the first degree and falsifying business records in the second degree. Those with “excessive” unpaid tickets also received a charge of aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree.

State driver licensing agencies began using facial recognition software in 2002. In a survey last updated 18 months ago, 16 states used or were installing the technology for driver license applications, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

— Jill Dunn

Broker rates top shippers in some U.S. lanes

Trucking companies received the highest truckload rates from freight brokers and other intermediaries in 24 percent of routes in the United States throughout the second quarter, according to a TransCore report.

In April the average difference between spot and contract rates on the higher paying lanes was 19 cents a mile; by June, that figure had risen to 24 cents.

The report is the first of a series showing the dynamics of the spot market and the influences of seasonal and regional demand on truckload and less-than-truckload pricing. The data is based on $5 billion of invoices updated daily for vans, reefers and flatbeds across the U.S. and Canada.

— Staff reports

Swift lawsuit can move forward

A class action suit against Swift Transportation over mileage pay is expected to proceed after the Arizona Supreme Court denied the truckload carrier’s petition for review.

On Aug. 31, the higher court declined to review a trial court’s decision to certify a broad class action. Last November, a Maricopa County trial court entered an order certifying a class of owner-operators and expanded the class to include employee drivers.

The truckers allege the Arizona-based company insufficiently paid drivers for miles driven, using a database that shorts drivers a significant percentage of mileage. The class action potentially could affect anyone who drove for Swift from 1998 to the present.

Swift did not respond to a request for comment on the case, which has endured eight years of legal wrangling. However, it stated in an Aug. 9 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it believes the class is improperly certified and “that the claims raised have no merit or are subject to mandatory arbitration.”

The plaintiffs’ Washington, D.C.-based law firm, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, has said Swift breached contract and the implied covenant of good faith because of its alleged failure to pay for all miles driven.

— Jill Dunn

Alcohol problem leads to lawsuit

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a discrimination suit against Old Dominion Freight Line over its alleged policy of banning recovering alcoholics from driving.

EEOC charged the general goods hauler violated Americans with Disabilities Act compliance after it fired a trucker who reported he had abused alcohol.

The ADA recognizes alcoholism as a disability. The U.S. Department of Transportation allows workers who report themselves for alcohol abuse to return to driving.

The carrier had not responded to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in mid-September. Bill Canfill, Old Dominion assistant general counsel, said the carrier would vigorously defend itself.

The driver worked for Old Dominion for five years without incident until late June 2009, when he told his supervisor he had an alcohol problem and was suspended.

He started meeting with Alcoholics Anonymous June 29. He met July 1 with a DOT-certified counselor, who said the driver would have out-patient treatment and could return to work.

That day, supervisors told him he probably couldn’t return. The commission stated earlier that year that other Old Dominion “banned” drivers who reported substance abuse were fired.

The employer had allegedly told him he could become a part-time dock worker but without benefits.

The driver is said to have believed he would have to pay for private out-patient treatment, for which he would be reimbursed only if insurance approved the care. He told his supervisor he could afford only group treatment and was attending it.

Old Dominion says it fired him for job abandonment July 24.

EEOC sued to reinstate the driver’s job, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages and lost benefit compensation, and an injunction against Old Dominion against future non-ADA compliance.

— Jill Dunn

DOT warns about marketing tactics

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued an alert about companies using aggressive tactics to sell training or products or falsely claiming an association with the agency.

In recent weeks, the FMCSA has received numerous inquiries from carriers about pushy attempts to sell products such as log books. The agency does not sell or endorse companies marketing products. It also does not certify trainers or training companies and does not pre-approve curriculum.

When applying for operating authority, some employer information is made available on the FMCSA public website, which businesses may use to try to market to employers.

The agency wants carriers that receive advertisements improperly claiming an association with the U.S. Department of Transportation or the FMCSA to contact investigator Tom Frazier at (540) 504-6436.

Carriers should also call Frazier if a business attempts to obtain banking or credit card information from truckers, if not related to a purchase.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

MORE THAN 50 PERCENT of vehicle out-of-service violations cited during roadside inspections were for brake-related violations, according to Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Roadcheck 2011 program, held during September.

THREE TRAVEL PLAZAS on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are closed for repairs for about nine months: the Plainfield travel plaza, at mile post 291; Blue Mountain travel plaza, at mile post 202; and South Somerset travel plaza. The travel stops are scheduled to reopen in May.

TRUCKING PAYROLL employment dipped by 900 jobs in August, though compared with August 2010, trucking employment is up by 40,000, or 3.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

CLASS 8 total net orders in August for all major North American truck makers were projected at 20,513, an 11 percent increase over July, FTR Associates said. ACT Research Co. projected the August rate at 20,800 units. Despite the improvement, the numbers reflect a level not seen since October. Annualized Class 8 orders for the six months ending in August stood at 299,600 units, sharply higher than a year earlier.

Virginia progresses toward tolling I-95

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell Sept. 19 said the Federal Highway Administration has granted the state preliminary approval to toll I-95 under a pilot program if it meets certain conditions.

The state estimates it could generate $250 million over the first five years of the toll program and over $50 million annually afterward.

The state would use toll revenues to finance capacity expansion and operational and safety improvements. Examples of potential projects include widening I-95 between I-295 and the North Carolina border, enhancing Intelligent Transportation Systems and installing over-height detectors on bridges, the Virginia Department of Transportation said. 

Virginia will be one of only three states in the Interstate Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program with authority to toll Interstate facilities after it completes studies and meets other statutory requirements, the state said.

As part of this approval, the state dropped preliminary plans to toll I-81, a statement said. 

— Staff reports

President signs highway funding extension

President Obama Sept. 16 signed legislation that extends taxes funding federal highway spending through March and the Federal Aviation Administration through January.

The Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011 (H.R. 2887) resulted from an agreement between House and Senate leaders and was seen as a high priority because both federal highway and FAA funding was due to expire.

The American Trucking Associations said that while a jobs proposal announced by Obama in September could boost employment temporarily, it is no replacement for passing long-overdue multiyear transportation legislation.

ATA President Bill Graves said that while the $27.5 billion in Obama’s jobs proposal would help the nation’s economy by funding needed repairs and expansion of roads and bridges, it doesn’t solve the real problem.

Graves also said ATA was skeptical of the president’s plans for an infrastructure bank and for using increases in other taxes to pay for roads and bridges and other programs in the jobs bill.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

TRADE USING SURFACE TRANSPORTATION between the United States and Canada and Mexico rose 11 percent in June over a year earlier to $ 77.5 billion, the U.S. Department of Transportation says.

A WEIGHT-LOSS CONTEST aimed at truck drivers and other trucking industry workers is being sponsored by the Truckload Carriers Association, which is partnering with Lindora Clinic. Prizes will be awarded to the fleet and individual achieving the greatest percentages of weight loss. Further information is available at Truckload.org.

NICHOLAS LEWIS, a driver for Swift Transportation, is a Truckload Carriers Association Highway Angel. On July 31, Lewis was driving through a construction zone on I-70 in Lawrence, Kan., when a car attempted to pass him along the shoulder of the highway. When the shoulder ended, the driver swerved in front of Lewis, who steered into a ditch to avoid a collision. Lewis and his truck were OK.

TOLLS HAVE INCREASED and will go higher on bridges and tunnels managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The toll for E-ZPass customers during peak hours rose from $40 to $50 for a five-axle truck and will increase another $2 an axle each December from 2012 through 2015. Cash customers pay a penalty of $3 per axle. The tolls apply to eastbound crossings. The E-ZPass overnight fee remains at $27.50 and the overnight window is expanded to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

CLASS 3-8 used truck sales fell 10 percent in July, due in part to lack of inventory, says ACT Research Co. Total commercial trailer net orders declined 2 percent in July from June.

TRUCKING ACTIVITY as measured by the American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.3 percent in July from June. The July index was 3.9 percent higher than a year earlier, ATA reported.

Carriers can prepare for Health Care Act

Trucking industry preparation for the Affordable (health) Care Act appears similar to the industry view of the Compliance Safety Accountability program in 2008, TrueNorth Companies representatives said Sept. 13.

Some companies took two years to prepare for the enforcement program that was due to begin in late 2010. Some of those who didn’t act found shipper contracts falling away due to bad rankings in the Safety Measurement System.

TrueNorth urged companies to take a proactive approach to the health care changes to avoid being surprised by new requirements and penalties.

Uncertainty remains about the legality of the individual mandate to buy health insurance in 2014. “There are 26 lawsuits in the judicial system right now” challenging the mandate, said TrueNorth Account Manager Bob Mreen. “Ultimately the fate of the mandate will be decided by the Supreme Court.”

Mreen said such a decision may occur during the 2012 national election. “It’s going to be a bellwether issue, depending on the timing of the Supreme Court decision,” he said.

For companies utilizing independent contractors, TrueNorth stressed the need for insurers and carriers to talk with contractors about health insurance developments, such as:

• In effect since the 2010 tax year is a business tax credit available to employers with fewer than 25 full-time employees, exclusive of owners and family members. If the employer, whether a small fleet running under its own authority or leased to a larger carrier, contributes at least 50 percent to its employees’ health insurance premiums, it can deduct a growing percentage of premium costs from its federal income taxes.

• The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is in place, offering individuals who’ve been without insurance for six months or more and who’ve been denied insurance due to a pre-existing condition access to a relatively affordable plan. Participation in the plan since its introduction a year ago has been low, TrueNorth said, with only 25,000 individuals enrolled of a total 375,000 projected in the legislation.

— Staff reports

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

CONNECTICUT. The state will receive $1 million in federal funds to help pay for cleanup and road repairs following Hurricane Irene. The state Department of Transportation says cleanup and repair may cost more than $5 million.

FLORIDA. The Federal Highway Administration awarded $1 million to add 90 truck parking spaces at the recently opened 595 Truck Stop near the junction of Interstate 595 and State Road 7 in south Florida. On-highway cameras will display real time traffic images. The stop will have about 125 paved spaces and 50 to 70 unpaved spaces when the job is finished in 2013.

ILLINOIS. Jan. 1, tollway I-Pass tolls will rise from 40 cents to 75 cents. Cash tolls will increase from 80 cents to $1.50. Tolls will fund a 15-year, $12 billion project for an Elgin to O’Hare airport bypass, an interchange between I-57 and I-294, and reconstruction and widening of I-90.

MARYLAND. I-270 lanes between the Capital Beltway and Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda will be closed into next summer and resurfaced. Northbound I-270 single-lanes will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Monday through Friday. Double lane closures are set for midnight to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. Similar lane closures are planned for southbound I-270.

NEBRASKA. Pavement repair on I-80 from west of the Aurora I-80 interchange to 5.5 miles east will be done this year. Bridge, milling and asphalt work will start next year and is set for completion in late summer.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $1 million for repair of roads and bridges, many near White Mountain Forest, damaged by floods from Hurricane Irene.

NEW JERSEY. A project to redeck the Walt Whitman Bridge on I-76 crossing the Delaware River between Philadelphia and New Jersey will close one lane of the bridge through summer 2014. The right-hand eastbound lane will be closed for five months. One-lane closures will follow during the project.

OREGON. The State Department of Transportation and Portland General Electric are building a $10 million solar energy project at the Baldock rest area on I-5 near Wilsonville. About 7,000 solar panels will be erected near the rest area and will generate up to 2 million kilowatt hours yearly.

PENNSYLVANIA. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration awarded $7.9 million to the Commonwealth for projects including enforcement at high-crash corridors and safety audits of new truck and bus companies. The agency also made awards to the Philadelphia Police Department for truck inspections and inspector training.

VERMONT. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $5 million for repair of roads and bridges damaged by Hurricane Irene. Damage to Vermont’s federal-aid highways is estimated to exceed $125 million.

VIRGINIA. The state Department of Transportation is partnering with CRH Catering Co. to provide ATMs and maintenance to the state’s 42 rest areas. CRH is required to pay VDOT $2 million a year under the three-year contract.

The first-ever regulation for truck fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is expected to cut diesel use by 4 gallons per 100 miles traveled by the time 2018 models are sold.

New trucks are expected to cost $6,220 more because of the rule.

New truck fuel efficiency rules will cut fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions beginning with 2014 models.

President Obama announced the new standard would yield a total fuel savings of $73,000 over a truck’s life. Heavy-duty trucks should expect a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018 under a new Heavy-Duty National Program.

Many organizations applauded the development, but the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association criticized it, saying there are cheaper ways to achieve the same goals.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration describes the agencies’ standards for 2017 models in nine sub-categories of combination tractors based on weight, cab type and roof height. Class 7 and 8 day cabs and Class 8 sleepers should show fuel savings of between 9 percent and 23 percent more than 2010 standards.

A Class 8 sleeper with a low, medium or high roof would have a respective fuel consumption standard of 6.3, 6.8 or 7 gallons per 1,000-ton-mile.

The EPA’s final greenhouse gas emission standards under the Clean Air Act will begin with the 2014 model year. NHTSA’s final fuel consumption standards under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will be voluntary in model years 2014 and 2015, but mandatory for most categories beginning model year 2016.

OOIDA said the new standard had “ignored input from small-business trucking (and) overlooks less expensive options to achieve” reduced emissions and will result in higher truck costs.

The priority should have been driver training, citing a National Academy of Sciences report that driver behavior can account for 35 percent of fuel economy, said Joe Rajkovacz, OOIDA director of regulatory affairs.

The American Trucking Associations said its members “have been pushing for the setting of fuel efficiency standards for some time.”

— Staff reports and Jill Dunn

Owner-operator pay expected to rise 4 to 6 cents per mile

Over the next 12 months, owner-operator pay will rise 4 to 6 cents a mile and company driver pay 3 to 5 cents a mile as carriers compete for drivers, forecast pay specialist Gordon Klemp Aug. 15 at an online seminar.

The lower end of those ranges will occur even if the national economy continues in the doldrums, while the higher numbers will be achieved if manufacturing improves, says Klemp, National Transportation Institute president.

The webinar was produced by Overdrive and Truckers News magazines and sponsored by Freightliner Trucks. A recording of it can be downloaded free under “Archives” at TruckerWebinars.com.

Sign-on bonuses will continue to re-emerge, Klemp says. He also forecast increased use of productivity pay programs.

Klemp says that a second-quarter survey of 350 carriers shows these indications:

• Quality of available driver candidates is “marginal at best.”

• Driver demand and supply is out of balance, so wages should increase.

• Factors such as the underground economy, part-time jobs and regulatory hurdles such as Compliance Safety Accountability and potential hours of service changes are reducing the pool of qualified drivers.

— Max Kvidera

Natural gas trucks catching on

Natural gas is slowly making inroads in trucking, executives reported Aug. 11 at a green trucking event presented by Kenworth.

Carriers are stepping up purchases of natural gas-powered trucks such as this Kenworth T800 running on liquid natural gas.

Carriers are making NG-powered truck purchases and more liquid natural gas and compressed natural gas fueling stations are being opened.

Fleets such as Heckmann and Ryder each have ordered 200 LNG-powered trucks, and C.R. England will take a small, unspecified number of Kenworth trucks to haul syrup for Coca-Cola, said Andy Douglas, Kenworth national sales manager for specialty markets.

Helping drive the interest in NG is the price of diesel and growing availability of NG fueling locations. NG costs about half diesel’s current price on an equivalent diesel basis and is projected to stay at that price for the foreseeable future, Douglas said. NG also releases about 25 percent fewer emissions when burned. Its attractiveness is enhanced because it can be used with existing diesel engine technology with a few modifications.

Interest in NG trucks is increasing despite a 30 percent to 40 percent higher cost. Most of the additional cost comes from more expensive fuel tanks that in the case of LNG are a tank within a tank to cool the gas, plus an auxiliary tank for diesel that ignites first before igniting the LNG in the engine.

Most of the existing NG fueling stations are in California, where ports and utilities have led the way in adopting NG technology.

Despite the enthusiasm about increasing orders for NG-fueled trucks, only about 23,000 vehicles, primarily utility and refuse companies, operate in the United States, Douglas said.

Fleets will lead the way in using NG-powered trucks in the short term, said Kelly Mills, Western sales manager for Westport Fuel Systems Inc. Eventually, owner-operators will get involved when the vehicles enter used truck markets and are more affordable.

— Max Kvidera

Survey: Drivers concerned about CSA

New survey data indicate drivers understand several critical aspects of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance Safety Accountability program, but significant misperceptions still exist.

For example, 77 percent incorrectly believed companies inherit past violations from new hires, the American Transportation Research Institute noted. FMCSA materials say “only violations that a driver receives while working for a motor carrier apply to that carrier’s SMS evaluation.”

Nearly two-thirds of drivers were somewhat or extremely concerned they will lose their jobs as a result of CSA.

ATRI surveyed 204 company drivers and owner-operators at a trucking show in March. Additionally, a large motor carrier volunteered 4,351 of its company drivers to complete only the survey’s knowledge section.

Researchers noted drivers’ knowledge of CSA reflects rumor-based false beliefs, despite FMCSA attempts to educate drivers. These misperceptions will likely decrease as the program matures, they wrote.

Forty-one percent reported not receiving CSA training or education from their company, and 36 percent reported their employer had provided one learning session. The remainder, nearly 23 percent, received multiple sessions from their employer.

Still, the analysts stated “the truck driver community has relatively strong comprehension of several critical aspects of CSA.”

An FMCSA spokesman says that some findings are encouraging, including that most respondents understood some critical CSA aspects. The agency plans to continue its CSA educational efforts.

Also, FMCSA notes, more than 95 percent of respondents understood all violations count toward assessing driver and carrier safety. Nearly 83 percent were aware carriers cannot remove safety violations from their record by firing a driver.

To obtain a copy of the ATRI CSA Driver Survey Report, go to www.atri-online.org.

— Jill Dunn

New service offers detailed used truck reports

RigDig, a new service, provides history reports to help prospective buyers evaluate used truck purchases.

By logging onto RigDig.com and typing in a truck’s vehicle identification number, buyers and sellers can get vital records on a commercial vehicle.

“The launch of RigDig marks the first time buyers can check a truck’s background using a service designed specifically for the commercial truck market,” says James Vogel, RigDig general manager, noting that the service “gives truck buyers a level of confidence in making purchase decisions that’s unprecedented.”

RigDig was developed by Equipment Data Associates, a division of Overdrive’s publisher, Randall-Reilly Business Media & Information. EDA has compiled equipment-related data in trucking and construction for more than 20 years.

RigDig reports, which cost $34 each or three for $60, alert buyers when the truck may be:

• Junk or salvage yard vehicle. Through RigDig’s partnership with the Department of Justice’s National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS), RigDig alerts buyers to trucks that have been in junk or salvage yards.

• Total loss insurance claims. RigDig can help the used truck buyer know if a vehicle was written off as a total loss before they buy or sell.

• DMV title brands, such as Junked, Salvage or Flooded. RigDig delivers title information in real-time.

• Involved in a federally recordable accident. RigDig’s database includes more than 639,000 federally recordable, tow-away accidents for Class 3-8 trucks (for valid VINs) since 2000.

• Involved in a less-severe, non-federally recordable accident. RigDig’s database includes more than 139,000 post-accident inspections for Class 3-8 vehicles since 2000.

• Properly maintained. Inspections or out-of-service violations are identified.

• Truck specifications. Original factory specifications are identified.

• UCC Liens. Buyers can verify if any Uniform Commercial Code liens were tied to a truck’s VIN.

— Staff reports

Bill would allow heavy trucks on all interstates

U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) introduced The Commercial Truck Safety Act, legislation intended to ease interstate commerce and enhance safety on highways and secondary roads.

The bill would eliminate what Snowe identifies as inequitable government regulation permitting six-axle trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on some states’ interstate highways and not others.

“The Department of Transportation has created an inequitable system where some states, including Maine, must seek individual exemptions from year to year while 27 states benefit from permanent exemptions,” said Snowe, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Presently, trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds in the remaining 23 states must either unload cargo or travel to their destination on winding secondary roads through small towns.

During a recent pilot program allowing six-axle trucks up to 100,000 pounds on Maine’s interstates, there were 14 fewer crashes compared to the previous year and no fatalities involving six-axle trucks.

The Commercial Truck Safety Act would end the need for states to seek individual weight limit exemptions from Congress by granting states like Maine the authority to petition the Secretary of Transportation for a permanent waiver.

The legislation would authorize the Secretary to institute a three-year pilot program waiving the weight limit and requiring the creation of a safety committee, which would determine whether the exemption should become permanent.

— Staff reports

Illinois changes weight regs

Beginning Jan. 1, Illinois will begin allowing a maximum truck weight of 80,400 pounds if an auxiliary power unit is used.

Also, when a truck’s registered gross weight is 77,000 pounds or exceeds certain weight limits by up to 2,000 pounds, the owner or operator must remove the excess weight.

A law that became effective July 28 allows dual semi-trailer hitching using a single pivot point.

— Staff reports

Wanted: Truck stops for electrification

Shorepower Technologies is seeking truck stops with at least 75 parking spaces to participate in a national truck stop electrification program to reduce idling.

Through the federally funded Shorepower Truck Electrification Project, qualifying truck stops can receive a complete TSE system at no cost to them. Shorepower will handle everything from construction through grand opening. Truck stop operators will share revenues with Shorepower.

Installations will take place over 18 months, but Shorepower needs to select the sites by September, the company says.

The first TSE installation of a planned 50 truck stops around the country is at the Baker Truck Corral off I-84 in Baker City, Ore.

Drivers will be able to access 120-volt, 208-volt or 240-volt AC power sources. Power will be sold at $1 an hour, and cable TV will be included at most locations, with wireless Internet available for an additional charge. Access and payment can be handled with a card, smartphone, laptop or telephone activation system.

A second component of STEP is providing equipment-purchase incentives to about 5,000 vehicle owners who will commit to using the TSE hook-ups to reduce engine idling.

The program is being administered by Cascade Sierra Solutions, in partnership with Shorepower.

Around the country, EnviroDock completed electrification on 30 parking spaces at TR Auto Truck Plaza, off of I-40 in Dandridge, Tenn. More than 50 electrification units were completed at Eco Travel Plaza in Crossville, Tenn. EnviroDock and Shorepower Technologies installed units.

A New York state grant has allowed EnviroDock to complete its installation of five E-Dock Stationary units at Canaan Truck Stop, off I-90.

This summer, Florida Turnpike officials opened electrification units at Okahumpka and Canoe Creek, while IdleAir recently has said it has started services at new locations in Shepherd, Texas, and Claysville, Pa.

— Staff reports and Jill Dunn

Cat fined $2.55M in clean air case

Caterpillar agreed to pay a $2.55 million penalty – $2.04 million to the United States and $510,000 to California – as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice for alleged Clean Air Act violations.

Cat allegedly shipped more than 590,000 highway and off-road diesel engines without correct emissions controls, according to EPA. Caterpillar also allegedly failed to comply with emission control reporting and engine-labeling requirements.

The settlement requires Cat to recall the known defective engines, install the correct aftertreatment device, and reprogram the fuel injector and fuel map settings. The recall will continue until all engines with incorrect catalysts, fuel injectors or fuel map settlings have been addressed, or until Dec. 31, whichever is earlier, according to EPA.

In addition to the recall, Caterpillar will mitigate excess emissions through permanent retirement of banked emission credits, according to the settlement. 

Caterpillar fully cooperated with the government, says company spokesperson Bridget M. Young.

“Caterpillar denies any wrongdoing, but does agree that the decree represents a good faith effort,” she says.

— Tina Barbaccia

SHORT HAULS

TRANSCORE’S North American Freight Index in July marked the seventh consecutive month of record year-over-year increase. The index, measuring spot market truckload freight volume, increased 22 percent since July 2010. Compared to June, July freight volume declined 24 percent, following the typical seasonal pattern.

EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS to honor truckers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Sept. 11-17, are being compiled on a searchable website, www.DriverAppreciation.com.

TRUCK TONNAGE as measured by the American Trucking Associations seasonally adjusted index rose 6.8 percent in June from a year earlier and 2.8 percent from May, ATA said.

NHTSA raises stopping distances

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it slightly increased its new stopping distance requirements for new truck tractors at lower initial speeds in response to petitions for reconsideration of the agency’s 2009 final rule.

NHTSA said that based on testing results and the agency’s concerns, the stopping distance for typical loaded tractors tested at an initial speed of 20 mph is being increased from 30 feet to 32 feet, and for unloaded tractors from 28 feet to 30 feet.

NHTSA’s final rule amended the federal standard for air brake systems by requiring improvements in stopping distance on new tractors. This rule, which became effective Aug. 1, reduced the maximum allowable stopping distance at 60 mph from 355 feet to 250 feet for most loaded heavy trucks. For a small minority of loaded, very heavy tractors, the maximum allowable stopping distance was reduced from 355 feet to 310 feet.

Petitions for reconsidering the stopping distance performance requirements at lower initial speeds were filed by the Truck Manufacturers Association, the Heavy Duty Brake Manufacturers Council of the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

USED TRUCK SALES in June increased 9 percent over May despite low inventory, said ACT Research Co. For the year, used sales are 6 percent behind last year’s pace. Used truck mileage is increasing as fleets hold on to vehicles longer, the firm said.

CLASS 8 NET ORDERS for North American truck makers fell 12 percent in July from June to 18,532 units, the lowest monthly total since September 2010, according to FTR Associates. Although July marked the third straight month with declining orders, the total was up 63 percent from July 2010, FTR said.

DART NETWORK, whose holdings include Dart Transit, has eliminated 67 non-driving jobs to allow the company to focus on recruiting and retaining truckers.

CARB to fund $40M for clean vehicles

The California Air Resources Board has approved up to $40 million for the third year of funding to promote the purchase of next-generation clean cars, trucks and off-road equipment.

Californians will be able to use vouchers or rebates on a first-come, first-served basis toward the purchase of zero-emissions or plug-in hybrid cars and zero-emissions or hybrid trucks and buses.

CARB approved the following funding:

• $15 million to $21 million for continued funding of consumer rebates of up to $2,500 toward the purchase of zero-emissions or plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles;

• $11million to $16 million to continue providing vouchers for California businesses to buy lower-emitting and fuel-efficient hybrid and zero-emission trucks and buses; and

• $2 million to $3 million toward promising locomotive, truck and bus technology demonstration projects.

The Air Quality Improvement Program invests in new emissions-reduction technologies. In its first two years, the program funded about 2,000 zero-emissions passenger vehicles and more than 1,000 hybrid and zero-emissions trucks and buses, totaling $58 million. Funding for these programs is generated from expected revenues from smog abatement, vehicle and vessel registration fees.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

FEDERAL TAXES on diesel fuel, truck tires, heavy equipment and heavy-vehicle road use are set to expire Sept. 30 unless Congress acts on a transportation bill when it reconvenes after its summer recess. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) expired in 2009, but taxes going into the Highway Trust Fund were collected for an additional two years.

TRUCKING JOBS GREW for the sixth straight month in July as for-hire trucking companies added 1,300 new positions, according to preliminary estimates. Compared with July 2010, trucking employment is up by 43,000 positions, or 3.5 percent.

Con-way driver wins National Championships

Paul Phillips, a Con-way Freight driver from Coarsegold, Calif., was named 2011 Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion Aug. 13.

Phillips’ driving skills and knowledge of transportation and truck safety information topped those of 428 other drivers in the championships, held in Orlando, Fla.

The 74th annual “Super Bowl of Safety” is sponsored by the American Trucking Associations. Phillips has logged 35 years as a professional driver, with more than 1.6 million miles behind the wheel. He began competing in his state truck driving championships in 2004, and this year he made his second trip to the National Truck Driving Championships.

The contestants were state champions in nine truck types from all 50 states.

Phillips also won the individual straight truck driving competition. Joining Phillips as champions in their respective classes:

• Three-Axle: John Hazlett, ABF Freight System Inc., Philadelphia;

• Four-Axle: Gary Harms, Wal-mart Transportation, Olathe, Kan.;

• Five-Axle: Hershel Evans, Holland, Bremen, Ga.;

• Flatbed: Edward Hawkins, Leavitt’s Freight Service, Springfield, Ore.;

• Tank Truck: Leo Flack, A. Duie Pyle Inc., West Chester, Pa.;

• Twins: Jeffrey W. Payne, Reddaway, Cedar City, Utah;

• Sleeper Berth: Joshua Carr, Wal-mart Transportation, McCall, Idaho; and

• Step Van: James Sheehan, FedEx Ground, Hendersonville, Tenn.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

FOR-HIRE FREIGHT as measured by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s index rose 2.6 percent in June from May and 4.1 percent from a year earlier.

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION trade between the United States and Canada and Mexico was 16 percent higher in May than in May 2010, totaling $77 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

MANUFACTURING expanded in July for the 24th consecutive month, but just barely, according to the Institute for Supply Management. New orders are contracting, says ISM.

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

GEORGIA. The state has received a federal loan from the Federal Highway Administration for the proposed Northwest Corridor Project that would add express toll lanes to I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties. The $1 billion project is to include a private operator that will repay the federal loan using toll revenue.

ILLINOIS. Beginning Jan. 1, truckers and four-wheelers will share a 65 mph speed limit on four-lane highways outside the Chicago area.

INDIANA. I-70 lanes will be closed from State Road 59 to two miles east of State Road 267 for a resurfacing project that’s scheduled to be completed by Nov. 22. Additional work will extend the project until May 18.

NEW YORK. A new law will require truck drivers traveling in New York City to mount front-end mirrors. Beginning Jan. 18, trucks weighing at least 26,000 pounds and base-plated in New York must have the mirrors when traveling through any of the city’s five boroughs.

NEW JERSEY. A proposal by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey could sharply increase tolls on bridges and tunnels starting in September. The plan would raise cash tolls for five-axle trucks to $85 from $40 roundtrip. E-ZPass users would see peak fees increase to $70 from $40 and off-peak would go up to $65 from $35. The E-ZPass overnight fee would remain at $27.50 and the overnight window would be expanded to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

RHODE ISLAND. The state has toughened its seat belt law by making it a primary offense, authorizing law enforcement officers to stop drivers for not wearing a seat belt, a violation carrying an $85 fine. An estimated 32 states have primary enforcement of seat-belt laws.

TEXAS. The Federal Highway Administration has approved a state request to add 6.2 miles of U.S. 77 between I-37 and State Highway 44 in South Texas to the interstate highway system. Other procedural steps must be completed before the segment receives the I-69 route number.

VIRGINIA. By early next year, state officials should have detailed proposals for creating 55 miles of new tolled roadway south of Route 460 between Petersburg and Suffolk. Public subsidy, user fees and sources would pay for the limited access, four-lane, divided highway. The highest projected toll for trucks was a flat rate of $75 for tandem trailers.

WASHINGTON. A proposed $3 billion project connecting the state with Oregon is in danger of getting axed in federal budget cutting. The 10-lane bridge across the Columbia River on I-5 would replace an existing six-lane bridge.

A report to Congress says the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants authority to release driver safety data. Doing so would, in effect, reverse FMCSA’s earlier stance that drivers would not be publicly ranked under the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

The agency is seeking increased regulatory authority over drivers via the next highway reauthorization bill, according to a February Government Accountability Office report to Congress on CSA progress. If FMCSA “gains this authority,” the report reads, “the agency plans to make driver safety data public.”

Asked if the intention was to create a public driver ranking system similar to the agency’s CSA motor carrier percentile ranking system, FMCSA spokeswoman Candice Tolliver said, “The Department of Transportation is committed to working with Congress to address this issue.” Requests for clarification went unanswered.

The agency intended years ago to go public with driver data, said John Hill, FMCSA administrator from 2006 to 2008. “We wanted to make sure there was authority to do so, and so would minimize any lawsuits that might arise from some interested party that would not agree with rating drivers.”

A source within FMCSA, speaking off the record, stressed that making public the driver percentile rankings in the Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories of the Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS) “has always been the long-term vision.”

Currently, drivers are not ranked against their peers in the BASICs. Data from their inspections is accessible officially only by prospective employers through the Pre-Employment Screening Program.

When FMCSA initially presented CSA to carriers and drivers in 2009, information about the DSMS was not differentiated from the Carrier Safety Measurement System (SMS) in the same way it is today.

FMCSA has contended the DSMS is an internal tool that will be used only by FMCSA staff during carrier investigations. “Under CSA, individual CMV drivers are not assigned safety ratings,” says the CSA website, csa.fmcsa.dot.gov.

FMCSA’s May-released draft 2011-2016 regulatory goals plan makes no specific mention of the DSMS. The plan does refer to continuing development of “a methodology to assess the safety fitness of drivers to further identify unsafe drivers who should not be in the industry.” That process is not mentioned, however, in the anticipated outcomes listed in the strategic plan, suggesting achieving the goal could be more than five years away.

— Todd Dills

SHORT HAULS

NORTH AMERICAN CLASS 8 truck orders for June are projected at more than 20,000 units for the eighth straight month, according to ACT Research Co. and FTR Associates. FTR preliminary data show June Class 8 truck total net orders for truck makers down 9 percent from May. June orders were 33 percent higher than the same month a year earlier.

USED TRUCK SALES dropped about 15 percent in May from April, due to a lack of available inventory, according to ACT Research Co. ACT also reported U.S. trailer net orders fell 9 percent in May from April, the second consecutive monthly decline for the industry.

DRIVER TURNOVER in long-haul increased in the first three months of the year, according to the American Trucking Associations. At large truckload fleets, the annualized rate rose to 75 percent in the quarter ended March 31. Turnover at small truckload fleets rose one percentage point to 50 percent in the first quarter, the highest point since third quarter 2008. Less-than-truckload fleets increased to 8 percent from 6 percent the previous quarter.

U.S., Mexico sign trucking deal

U.S. and Mexican officials have signed an agreement to end the cross-border trucking dispute under which Mexican carriers could be granted provisional operating authority soon.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes Dionisio Arturo Pèrez-Jàcome Friscione signed a Memorandum of Understanding July 6.

FMCSA’s cross-border pilot program mandates Mexican carriers meet all U.S. motor vehicle safety standards. FMCSA will provide and pay for electronic onboard recorders to track hours-of-service compliance at a maximum cost of $2.5 million.

For Mexican program participants, the agency will review the complete driving record of each driver and require all drug testing samples to be analyzed in U.S. labs. It will assess drivers’ comprehension of English and U.S. traffic signs.

Mexico will provide reciprocal authority for U.S. carriers to engage in cross-border long-haul operations in that country. Neither nation can engage in domestic carriage of goods point-to-point in the other country.

The memorandum does not apply to hazmat carriers or carriers engaged in the cross-border transportation of passengers.

Mexico agreed to a phased-in lifting of retaliatory tariffs imposed on many U.S. goods following Congress’ vote to end a previous program in March 2009.

Following the agreement announcement, Rep. Peter DeFazio filed a bill to limit the administration’s authority to “unilaterally decide how and when to open the U.S.-Mexico border without input from Congress.” The Oregon Democrat’s bill would also limit use of the Highway Trust Fund to pay for EOBRs for Mexican truckers.

The American Trucking Associations, business and farming organizations have supported the cross-border program. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the Teamsters and some safety groups have opposed it.

OOIDA President Jim Johnston said it will hurt U.S. trucking jobs and place an undue burden on taxpayers, and he blasted the DOT’s pledge of transparency to the public over the program.

The three-phase pilot program requires Mexican carriers to have provisional authority for an 18-month minimum. Carriers that participated safely in the previous cross-border program will receive credit for that time and will not to be subject to Stage 1 inspections.

— Jill Dunn

Broker regulatory bill reintroduced

For the second year running, Congress is considering a bill trucking and broker organizations say will mitigate unscrupulous broker practices.

On June 24, U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., introduced the “Fighting Fraud in Transportation Act,” after working on it with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, American Trucking Associations and Transportation Intermediaries Association.

Todd Spencer, OOIDA executive vice president, said current law provides too much opportunity for fraud. “Too often, we’ve seen deceitful brokers get away with collecting payments from shippers, but cheating truckers out of what is rightfully theirs,” he said.

TIA, the third-party logistics association, said the federal broker bond requirement has been $10,000 since the mid-1980s. In recent years, some transportation associations pushed for requiring escrow accounts and upping bond to $500,000, while there was a Congressional move to demand brokers disclose profit margin on invoices.

The trucking and broker industries compromised with a $100,000 bond requirement and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator would have the option of reconsidering that amount every five years.

The bill would demand the U.S. Department of Transportation establish an annual screening of registered motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders and list only those with current operating authority.

If the legislation is enacted, companies would have up to four years to comply with new regulations that:

• Increase requirements and disclosures for seeking broker or freight forwarder authority.

• Clarify that carriers need separate broker or forwarder authority and bond to broker freight. 

• Establish significant penalties for violating broker regulations.

• Set strict guidelines on companies that provide and administer brokers with surety bonds.

The bill, H.R. 2357, was referred to the House transportation committee. TIA stated the bill could be attached to a more comprehensive transportation-related bill.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

TRUCK TONNAGE DECLINED 2.3 percent in May from April on a seasonally adjusted basis, as measured by the For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index from the American Trucking Associations.

TRUCKERS MAY TOUR Detroit Diesel’s Detroit manufacturing plant, have lunch and get free merchandise as part of a driver appreciation promotion for August, the engine maker announced. CDL holders should sign up 48 hours in advance and can register at www.DetroitDiesel.com by clicking on the “August is Driver Appreciation Month” icon.

FOR-HIRE TRUCKING JOBS increased by 4,400 positions in June following a revised 3,000 increase in May, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since the end of December, payroll employment in trucking is up nearly 27,000, according to preliminary BLS figures.

Carriers up the ante for owner-operators

As driver pools tighten, carriers are offering signon bonuses as high as $10,000 to attract owner-operators.

Several carriers have hiked per-mile and fuel rates, posted bonuses and reduced truck-lease payments to compete for operators or persuade company drivers to convert to ownership.

FFE Transportation has restructured its Drive-To-Own truck lease program by reducing weekly payments and balloon amounts and extending manufacturer warranty programs. In January the carrier launched a driver academy to train applicants looking for a CDL.

All-owner-operator Roadrunner Transportation Services is offering up to a $10,000 bonus spread over five quarters to experienced operators, says Mark Pluff, director of linehaul development. He says the bonus varies depending on lanes where the company wants to add power.

“We’ve gotten good response from a much higher caliber contractor,” Pluff says.

In August, small all-owner-operator carrier Christenson Transport is increasing contractor pay from 88 cents a mile to 91 cents and adding 5 cents a mile for East Coast routes. The Springfield, Mo.-based carrier offers a $3,500 bonus that is paid by reducing truck lease payments by $75 a week, says Barry McGowen, vice president.

In February, Barr-Nunn Transportation increased its Pure Pay base rate for owner-operators 3 cents a mile to $1 a mile and 10 cents a mile to 80 cents empty, says Jeff Blank, director of recruiting. The carrier also offers a program that pays on length of haul.

“We’ve probably realized a 15 percent increase in our recruiting this year,” he says.

On June 1, Jacobson Companies of Des Moines, Iowa, increased new operator pay to 95 cents a mile from 93 cents, while also raising existing operator pay by 2 cents a mile. That followed a February increase in the carrier’s sign-on bonus for contractors to $2,500 from $1,000, says Joe Santone, a vice president.

“Over the last 45 days, our recruiting is up about 20 percent,” Santone said. Among other owner-operator pay developments at carriers:

• Schneider National last March increased van operator pay 5 cents to 95 cents a mile (92 cents plus 3 cents quarterly performance premium).

• At Transport America, all owner-operators on July 3 began receiving a 2 cent increase to 93 cents for all paid miles.

• In March, American Central Transport jumped its owner-operator pay to 98 cents for loaded miles and 90 cents for authorized empty miles.

— Max Kvidera

Trucking reps knock hours plan

Trucking executives told a U.S. House subcommittee hearing that the proposed hours of service revision would be costly and unproductive.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposal would reduce the daily driving limit, decrease the maximum on-duty time limit, require mandatory breaks and change the current 34-hour restart provision. Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations Chairman Mike Coffman, R-Colo., convened the hearing to explore its potential impact.

Truck-related crashes have dropped more than 40 percent since the current HOS rules were implemented in 2003. But the FMCSA created the “complicated and cumbersome” notice of proposed rulemaking based on outdated truck-related crash data, Coffman said.

“Even more disturbing is that it is estimated that there will be a cost of $2.5 billion annually on the industry if the proposed hours of service regulations are finalized,” he said.

James Burg, president of James Burg Trucking Co., said the proposal would restrict productivity and increase congestion and emissions. It would force Burg to add drivers and trucks, making it necessary for his 75-truck Michigan-based company to try and increase retained earnings by between 20 and 25 percent.

Paul James, president of Colorado-based Rex Oil Co., testified on behalf of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America. His drivers are home every night and the proposal should not apply to short-haul drivers, he said.

In 2009, safety and labor groups challenged the current HOS rule. The U.S. Court of Appeals granted the parties’ joint motion to hold the case in abeyance, pending the issue of a new HOS proposal.

“If the FMCSA promulgates a new rule that is substantially different from the 2008 rule, that may obviate the need for judicial review of the current rule,” the court stated.

— Jill Dunn

Roadcheck finds 14% using e-logs

The three-day Roadcheck 2011, a nationwide driver and vehicle inspection event, this year queried drivers on their use of electronic logging devices. The technology was being used by 14 percent of drivers, said the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which conducted the June 7-9 Roadcheck 2011.

More fleets have begun using electronic onboard recorders with the advent of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

Inspectors at 2,550 locations across North America performed 70,712 truck and bus inspections June 7-9. Inspectors focused on the North American Standard Level I inspection, motorcoach inspections, hours-of-service log books and household goods carriers.

Log book violations led overwhelmingly in driver violations cited, accounting for half of all driver out-of-service violations.

This year’s event produced the lowest out-of-service rates since Roadcheck began in 1991, CVSA said.

The overall vehicle compliance rate was 80.7 percent, compared with 80 percent in 2010. The overall driver compliance rate of 95.8 percent compared with 95.6 percent from last year.

For NAS Level I inspections, the compliance rates were up to 77.2 percent for vehicles (76.7 percent in 2010) and 96.3 percent for drivers (unchanged from 2010). In addition, there were 296 fewer safety belt violations in 2011 (863 vs. 1,159 in 2010).

Hazardous materials inspections resulted in a vehicle compliance rate of 82.1 percent versus 83.7 percent in 2010. The driver compliance rate of 97.5 percent was unchanged from the previous year.

— Staff reports

Rest area commerce bill opposed

A coalition of highway businesses has opposed a bill it says threatens thousands of businesses operating at exits along the nation’s Interstate Highway System, jeopardizing the jobs of more than 2 million Americans.

The legislation, authored by U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), would permit states to sell food and fuel from interstate rest areas.

The Partnership to Save Highway Communities says Kirk’s legislation would pull the rug out from under the nation’s interstate-based fast-food franchisees, convenience stores, gas stations and truck stops at a time when the businesses are just starting to see signs of recovery from the recession. It would also decrease sales tax revenue for city and county governments by taking sales away from those businesses.

“This legislation does nothing more than grant state governments a monopoly directly on the interstate shoulder or median,” said Lisa Mullings, president and CEO of NATSO, a member of the coalition representing truck stops. “The right-of-way location of the commercial rest areas gives the state a major advantage over the businesses at the exit.”

Kirk hopes his legislation to remove federal restrictions on private-public partnerships would encourage privatization to create more money for transportation projects nationwide, saying his plan could spur more than $100 billion to build new highways, railroads, public transportation, airports and ports.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION TRADE among the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 12 percent to $74 billion in April compared with April 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

THE NATIONAL Transportation Safety Board has announced its new list of the most critical transportation issues that need to be addressed to improve safety. This year’s action items are: Address human fatigue, require safety management systems and require image and onboard data recorders.

IRS delays new HVUT forms

The IRS has not published Form 2290 for reporting Heavy Highway Vehicle Use tax for the period that began July 1.

The transportation funding bill that governs this annual tax on vehicles with registered gross weights equal to or exceeding 55,000 pounds expires Sept. 30, forcing the agency to wait on the new law.

Currently, truckers can still pay their 2010 excise tax, get their 2011 tags and register new or used vehicles.

U.S. regulations allow states to register a heavy highway vehicle when the owner applies during July, August or September. “If you have your receipted Schedule 1 for the previous year’s taxable period, in this case, July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, states can accept it as proof of payment,” the IRS stated.

States must register newly acquired heavy highway use vehicles without proof of tax payment if presented with the original or a photocopy of the bill of sale. This only applies if the vehicle was bought during the 60 days before the date the state receives the application for registration.

Taxpayers who no longer have their Schedule 1 for the taxable period July 1, 2010, through June 30, can call the Excise Tax division at (866) 699-4096 to get a copy.

More information on HVUT is available by calling (800) 829-4933.

— Jill Dunn

State diesel tax rates change

On July 1, Connecticut increased diesel taxes 6.6 cents a gallon.

Nebraska’s fuel tax dropped 0.1 cent per gallon through December, said Larry Johnson, president of the Nebraska Trucking Association.

On June 23, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal suspended a 1.6-cent-a-gallon fuel tax increase set to begin July 1. The increase is delayed through Dec. 31, and the rate remains at the May 1 rate until at least year’s end.

North Carolina increased its diesel tax 2.5 cents a gallon, while Maine raised its tax 1/2-cent a gallon.

— Jill Dunn

Tax credits sought for electric trucks

U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl 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, including vehicles weighing more than 33,000 pounds. The maximum credit is $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. The credit for infrastructure, for example, 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.

— Jill Dunn

FMCSA inspector charged with bribery

A federal court indicted a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration border inspector for allegedly taking a bribe in exchange for providing a Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance decal for a truck without inspection.

On June 8, a U.S. District Court grand jury indicted Eric Hernandez, a safety specialist for the FMCSA. The Laredo, Texas, court charged he sold a driver a Level I CVSA sticker knowing the vehicle lacked the corresponding inspection.

State and federal inspectors issue the CVSA decal to trucks passing roadside or periodic inspection.

An indictment is a grand jury’s formal charge that it found sufficient evidence the defendant committed the crime to justify a trial. The investigation is ongoing.

— Jill Dunn

Navistar sues EPA again over SCR

Navistar has filed another lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to support its exhaust gas recirculation-only engine against competitors that use selective catalytic reduction technology to meet 2010 diesel exhaust emissions regulations.

Navistar opted to use in-cylinder EGR technology to meet current standards in conjunction with banked EPA credits for meeting and exceeding pre-existing emissions regulations in effect prior to the 2010 regulations.

In the suit filed July 5 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Navistar alleges, with research from a contractor and the California Air Resources Board, that nitrogen oxide emissions skyrocket when drivers don’t keep diesel exhaust fluid topped off. This renders EPA’s rule “irrelevant” altogether, Navistar says.

Navistar accuses EPA Director Lisa Jackson of failing to uphold the Clean Air Act and her agency of failing to protect public health.

Navistar spokesman Stephen Schrier said the lawsuit is about ensuring level competition in the heavy-duty truck market. He notes that testing done by Navistar shows that operators can “defeat” SCR systems by adding water to the system instead of DEF, allowing trucks to operate in violation of 2010 emissions regulations.

“The complaint is frivolous,” said Brandon Borgna, spokesman for Volvo Trucks.

John Walsh, spokesman for Mack Trucks, said, “Their complaint has no merit, and we intend to file a motion to intervene.”

Navistar previously had sued both EPA and CARB over their acceptance of SCR technology without stronger measures to prevent engine operation without DEF or an operational SCR system. The truck maker last year settled both lawsuits by garnering a commitment for further review.

In June, EPA updated its guidance for truck engine certification, calling on SCR engine makers to continue developing warning systems that alert drivers when the truck’s DEF tank is nearly empty or filled with a liquid other than DEF.

— Jack Roberts

New state laws affect owner-operators

Trucking-supported changes affecting owner-operators and workers’ compensation became law last month in Tennessee, while similar legislation will soon become state regulations in Pennsylvania and Maine.

Tennessee’s new law, SB 932, excludes unemployment compensation for leased operators and owner-operators contracted to common carriers while engaged in interstate commerce.

Pennsylvania’s independent contractor definition under workers’ compensation will broaden Aug. 29 when HB 440 becomes effective. It will allow sole proprietors, partners of partnerships and limited liability company officers to purchase workers’ compensation insurance.

The Maine Motor Truck Association had requested legislation to determine if someone is an independent contractor for purpose of workers’ compensation.

In September, LD 1099 takes effect, which will define Maine contractors through several factors, including if compensation is based on factors directly related to the work performed, such as mileage-based rates. The contractor also substantially must control the means and manner of performing services and be responsible for a significant amount of operating expenses and maintenance.

The sponsor of a California bill to bar owner-operators from working ports ordered the bill, AB 950, to the inactive file on June 2.

— Staff reports

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

CONNECTICUT. Construction is under way on the I-95/I-91/Route 34 Interchange to accommodate the new 10-lane Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, or Q Bridge, under construction. The interchange, to be completed in 2016, extends one mile on I-95 from Interchange 46 to about East Street.

KANSAS. Speed limits on divided four-lane highways in the state have been increased to 75 mph from 70. The more than 800 miles covered under the new law include most of the Kansas Turnpike from the Kansas-Oklahoma border to Kansas City, Kan., and rural sections of interstates 70 and 35. Neighboring states Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma are among states that have 75 mph speed limits on rural Interstates.

KENTUCKY. Drivers can take a new parkway to avoid a clogged 9-mile section of U.S. 41-Alternate near Hopkinsville. If traveling westbound on Interstate 24, continue to the new exit 82 to the Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway and head north. If southbound on the parkway, do not take exit 7 because the parkway now continues south.

LOUISIANA. Funding has been arranged to extend I-49 north of Shreveport to the Arkansas state line. Construction is scheduled to begin next summer and work on the final segment is scheduled to start by summer 2013. Construction could be complete by 2016.

MAINE. The speed limit has been raised from 65 mph to 75 mph along 90 miles of I-95 from Houlton to Old Town.

OKLAHOMA. Traffic on Interstate 44 and the Will Rogers Turnpike will be disrupted into next summer for construction projects. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority plans to repair 4.5 miles of pavement and replace the Five Mile Creek Bridges. Traffic on I-44 will be limited to a single lane in each direction from near the Missouri state line to Mile Marker 325 in Oklahoma. During the first phase through November, lane reductions will begin just west of Exit 1 in Missouri.

NEVADA. The state, the 34th to do so, will prohibit talking or texting on a cell phone while driving, beginning Jan. 1. Law enforcement will commence warnings Oct. 1. Fines will be $100 for the first offense, up to $200 for the second offense and up to $250 for the third offense.

NEW MEXICO. A rule change provides special permits to operate overweight trucks up to 96,000 pounds for specified breakdown loads within six miles of a port of entry on the Mexican border. Commercial vehicles in Mexico operate under different weight limits from trucks operating in New Mexico.

OREGON. A statewide idling law takes effect Jan. 1. Commercial vehicles are limited to five minutes an hour of idling on property open to the public, though there are exceptions for outside temperature and other variables. Violators will face $180 fines.

TEXAS. Highways speeds as high as 85 mph have been signed into law in the state. One new law allows highways built after June to post an 85 mph speed limit as long as engineering supports the speed. Another new law ups to 80 mph the speed limit for all vehicles on 520 miles of Interstates 10 and 20 in West Texas. Speed limit on most rural highways is 75 mph.

WISCONSIN. The state’s Department of Safety and Professional Services is targeting owner-operators and small fleets for grants covering half the cost of idling-reduction equipment. Applicants must be based in the state and pay at least half the cost of each idling-reduction device. Trucks must have a 1999 model year or newer engine.

Following two years of improving freight levels, carriers are turning to owner-operators to increase capacity.

More than 42 percent of fleet executives responding to a May TruckGauge Market Pulse survey said they plan to add independent contractors in the next six months.

Such demand means “owner-operator pay is poised to take off” and could increase as much as 6 cents per mile over the remainder of this year, says Gordon Klemp, president of the National Transportation Institute, which tracks driver pay.

Many carriers, such as Barr-Nunn Transportation, have already started to bump pay. A series of increases has brought Barr-Nunn’s basic owner-operator pay package to $1 per loaded mile, a figure Klemp calls “pretty aggressive.”

More carriers would have already raised pay but for one missing factor: churn. “Many owner-operators are still convinced the economy is fragile and because of that they don’t want to change jobs if they feel they are with a secure carrier,” Klemp says. “If that changes I think we’ll probably see wages – and churn –really pick up.”

More carriers will also offer lease-purchase programs, Klemp says. Barr-Nunn’s program, launched in 2009, more than doubled the number of owner-operators leased to the carrier.

Crete Carrier Corp. plans to “help as many of our drivers become owner-operators” as have the desire to do so, says Director of Recruiting Richard Snyder. Crete had stopped hiring owner-operators during the recession and focused instead on keeping the ones it had. But today the company is adding owner-operators and is revamping its lease-purchase program to combat a limited supply of late-model used trucks and a tight credit market, says Todd Amen, president of owner-operator business consultant firm ATBS. For the next couple of years, lease-purchase programs may be the best alternative for aspiring owner-operators to get into the business, he says.

— Linda Longton

Researcher trashes hours studies

The American Trucking Associations on June 9 said an internationally recognized safety researcher has questioned the cache of studies submitted recently by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to support its hours of service proposal, saying the studies contain many problems.

A former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration researcher refutes recent safety studies the agency is reviewing in considering hours of service rule changes.

 Dr. Ronald R. Knipling, former head of FMCSA’s research division, questioned the validity of the studies the agency inserted into the docket on May 6 after closing the comment period for its proposed rule.

FMCSA reopened the comment period until June 9 for discussion related only to the new documents. The agency does not comment on rules while they are open for comment.

Knipling raised “fundamental criticisms” of a study conducted by researchers at Pennsylvania State University, concluding the sample of drivers, trucks and crashes, as well as minimal attention paid to other factors in crashes, rendered the study of little value. “It would be erroneous and unwarranted to accept Penn State’s principal findings and conclusions without extensive reanalysis, internal validation and external replication,” he wrote.

Similarly, Knipling said a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute was lacking.

Regarding a study of Florida transit bus drivers, Knipling concluded the “significant differences between Florida’s transit bus operator work rules and those for interstate truck drivers render schedule-related research findings for one largely inapplicable to the other.”

— Staff reports

Shell selects SuperRigs trucks

At its annual SuperRigs show in early June, Shell named the 12 trucks that will be featured in its 2012 Shell Rotella SuperRigs calendar.

Scott Diller’s 1981 Kenworth W900A was selected as one of 12 trucks to be featured in the 2012 Shell Rotella SuperRigs calendar.

Jeremy Heiderscheit of Peosta, Iowa, won Best in Show in competition held at the Kenly 95 Petro in Kenly, N.C. He won a $10,000 prize for his 2003 Peterbilt 379.

Selected for the 2012 calendar are:

Jerry Kissinger’s 1991 Mack Superliner (Stoughton, Wis.)

Scott Diller’s 1981 Kenworth W900A (Bethel, Pa.)

Randy Supak’s 2010 Kenworth W900L (Caldwell, Texas)

Jake Lindamood’s 2011 Peterbilt 389 (Irving, Texas)

Michael LeJeune’s 1987 Peterbilt (Church Point, La.)

Ron Elledge’s 1994 Kenworth W900 (Hampton, Va.)

Ray Graves’ 1982 Peterbilt 359 (Anthony, Kan.)

Joe Rondeau’s 2011 Peterbilt 389 (White Bear Lake, Minn.)

Bill Warner Jr.’s 1989 Ford LTL (Circleville, W.Va.)

Wayne Baker’s 2011 Peterbilt 389 (Taylor Ridge, Ill.)

Cory Radke and Vinnie Diorio’s 2007 Peterbilt 379 (Richfield, Wis.)

Jeremy Heiderscheit’s 2003 Peterbilt 379 (Peosta, Iowa)

— Staff reports

Groups push for safer trucks

The American Trucking Associations and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association on June 8 called on the federal government to begin researching how standards for crashworthiness for heavy trucks could benefit truck drivers.

“NHTSA has continuously developed crashworthiness standards for automobiles and light trucks, but to date has generally not applied crashworthiness standards to commercial trucks,” the two groups wrote in a June 6 letter to David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “We believe there may be opportunities to enhance the survivability of professional truck drivers if appropriate, research-based uniform standards are developed.”

ATA and OOIDA highlighted the need for improving cab structure and occupant restraints such as safety belts and airbags, strengthening windshields and doors to prevent occupant ejections, and installing more forgiving interior surfaces.

Todd Spencer, OOIDA executive vice president, said his group is “making this request to hold the safety of professional truck drivers to as high a standard as all other motor vehicle users.”

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

OWNER-OPERATOR OF THE YEAR nominations are being accepted by the Truckload Carriers Association and Overdrive. Nominees should run a majority of their miles in the truckload segment and have strong records in safety, professional accomplishment and contributions to the industry and their communities. Nominations will be accepted through Sept. 15. Nominations can be made at Truckload.org.

CON-WAY INC. is contributing $100,000 to tornado relief efforts in Joplin, Mo., headquarters of Con-way Truckload, one of the company’s three principal business units. The company is also donating $100,000 to Joplin employees of Con-way Truckload who suffered losses in the storm. Con-way employees nationwide have pledged nearly $100,000 in contributions, along with other donations for disaster relief.

Daimler, Mack ramp up hiring

Daimler Trucks North America and Mack Trucks are increasing truck production and hiring workers to meet increased demand.

Daimler Trucks North America (pictured) and Mack Trucks are increasing production and hiring workers at their North American plants to meet rising sales.

DTNA announced it plans to hire a combined 1,350 workers at manufacturing facilities in Mt. Holly, N.C., Portland, Ore., and Saltillo, Mexico, and a parts plant in Gastonia, N.C., during the next six months. A majority of the hires will come from laid-off employees, the company said.

The Mt. Holly plant will add a second shift and plans to fill an additional 535 manufacturing and 37 related administrative positions by September.

The Portland plant plans to fill an additional 155 manufacturing positions in the fourth quarter, the company said.

The Saltillo factory had planned to add a third shift and 479 manufacturing workers beginning in June. Thirty-two staff postions are estimated to be filled.

Company officials said the hirings are in addition to more than 1,300 positions filled in the company’s truck and parts facilities during the first half of this year.

Mack said that due to increased demand for its Mack Pinnacle trucks the company will boost production at its Macungie, Pa., truck plant in August and hire approximately 300 people. The company said all the additional personnel will be new hires.

The production increase will include adding a second shift. The company plans to have the new hires in place in early August.

Current employment at the plant is 1,030. The company hired 60 new employees who began in May and added 125 people who were either recalled or newly hired last October.

— Staff reports

FMCSA seeks hours comments

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public comment on its revised estimate of the paperwork burden of the hours of service rule.

To comment, go to www.regulations.gov; the docket number is FMCSA-2011-0065.

FMCSA also has requested approval by the Office of Management and Budget to revise and extend an existing request to collect information on HOS. The agency, effective June 4, 2010, authorized the use of electronic onboard recorders to create driver records-of-duty status to document HOS. The revised information request estimates the paperwork burden of motor carriers voluntarily using EOBRs.

The currently approved estimate is 181 million hours, as approved by OMB on Aug. 20, 2010; the expiration date of this information collection is Aug. 31. In the newly revised request, FMCSA proposes to reduce the paperwork burden by about 9 million burden hours, or by 5 percent, to 172 million hours.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY expanded in May for the 22nd consecutive month, though at a slower rate, according to the Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The PMI for May registered 53.5 percent, and while readings above 50 percent generally indicate growth, May’s figure was the first reading below 60 percent for the year.

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION trade between the United States and North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico increased 15.6 percent in March over March 2010 to $80.8 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The March total was the largest since data collection began in 1994.

Fewer drivers available

Trucking’s well-publicized driver shortage will grow next year and beyond, said an FTR Associates economist at an online meeting June 9. The problem is due to fewer new hires to replace retiring drivers, a smaller number of illegal aliens and regulations removing truckers, said Noel Perry, an FTR senior consultant.

He noted that with the Baby Boom generation moving into retirement, the number of people available to trucking to replace those retiring will drop to about 500,000 a year from 1.5 million previously. He added that tougher immigration laws will keep many other potential drivers out of trucks compared with the last decade. In addition, many truckers who were laid off during the recession have either left the industry or found jobs with other carriers, he said.

“It’s going to be fundamentally harder to recruit people,” Perry said.

Take away about 300,000 drivers who will be forced to the sideline because of poor safety records and the driver shortage will grow from about 150,000 positions this year to 300,000 next year and almost 350,000 in 2013, he estimated.

Perry said that productivity gains, primarily by shippers and receivers making changes in their operations, could absorb a large piece of the impact of the driver shortage. Yet, he said, many shippers aren’t convinced of the problem’s size and haven’t acted. That could change quickly if shortages begin appearing.

On rates, Perry forecast a 9-10 percent rise by the end of this year and double-digit increases next year and in 2013.

Fleets of 500 trucks and more have the money and are buying replacement trucks, but smaller fleets have less cash and aren’t buying as many trucks, he said.

Perry added that carriers that put off replacing trucks or adding trucks to meet rising business could be caught in a vise if they’re expanding in late 2013 or later when he believes the U.S. economy will be back in recession.

— Max Kvidera

FMCSA sets rules dates

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a new schedule of pending rulemaking, which includes publishing a Dec. 9 final rule establishing a national medical examiner registry.

Some rulemaking has been delayed for reasons that include a need for further analysis, insufficient resources or staffing and more pressing priorities. Explanations are not always provided for postponing publication and some schedule information is incomplete.

The Dec. 9 final rule will establish training, testing and certification standards for medical examiners; provide a medical examiner database; and require medical examiners to identify drivers they have examined to the FMCSA.

The agency anticipates publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for safety auditor certification May 29, 2012. It would require safety inspections or audits and compliance reviews be conducted by a certified inspector, auditor or investigator.

The agency did not provide publication dates for new rules regarding Mexican carriers to operate in the U.S. and distracted driving.

Other publication dates the FMCSA listed:

• Aug. 31 for a United Registration System Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The URS would replace the DOT number identification, commercial registration and financial responsibility systems with an online unified registration system.

• Nov. 2 for a Carrier Safety Fitness Determination rule notice.

• Nov. 25 for an Entry Level Driver Training for CDL holders’ final rule.

• Dec. 1 for a CDL Drug and Alcohol Database rule notice.

• Aug. 23, 2012, for a rule notice to amend the diabetes standard for CDL holders.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

DRAYAGE TRUCKS with model year engines 2003 or older are eligible to be replaced under the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Truck Replacement Program.

The TRP is a first-come, first-served limited offer to provide grants and financing to truck owners to help them purchase newer, more environmentally friendly trucks. Eligible applicants will receive a grant that covers up to 25 percent of the cost of a newer truck.

Coalition objects to driver test rule

Industry groups have asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reconsider a final rule that would, with one exception, prevent third-party testers from administering skills tests to applicants trained at the testers’ commercial school.

The American Trucking Associations, Commercial Vehicle Training Association, National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools, Truckload Carriers Association and the Professional Truck Driver Institute filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the FMCSA.

Coalition members want to reconsider the prohibition contained in the May 9 Commercial Learners’ Permits rule, effective June 8. FMCSA will allow an exception if the nearest alternative third-party tester or state skills testing facility is more than 50 miles from the training school.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the petition, but stated in the rule that the provision is intended to reduce the chance of fraud and bias in testing.

FMCSA did not provide opportunity for commentators on the 2008 proposal to respond to the new stipulation inserted in the rule, which they say lacks a valid cost/benefit analysis. “It will substantially impact literally hundreds of training organizations that currently use third-party test administrators to test their students,” the petitioners said.

According to the coalition, the rule provides adequate safeguards to ensure the quality of third-party testers.

The May 9 rule notes Oregon’s Department of Motor Vehicles and the Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association suggested the restriction in comments filed on the 2008 rule proposal. The statements were not noticed for comment by other parties before issuing the rule, the organizations said.

California does not permit third-party testing and currently has testing appointments backlogged for 45 days, the groups added.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

INTERMODAL EQUIPMENT operators wouldn’t have to submit or retain driver-vehicle inspection reports if the driver hasn’t been made aware of any equipment defects, under a proposal by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The proposed rule responds to a joint petition from two intermodal operator associations. FMCSA had extended until June 30, 2012, the compliance date of the requirement for drivers and motor carriers to prepare a no-defect DVIR while it considered the groups’ petition.

TRANSALIVE USA’s AmCoach is in Joplin, Mo., as a command center for truckers working recovery and debris removal following the May 22 tornado. AmCoach’s services for drivers includes food, counseling, sleeping accommodations and communication with local agencies.

CLARIFICATION. Timothy Brady’s consulting firm, truckersu.com, and his collaboration in developing Doug Bench’s trucking business, were omitted in “Adding a Truck” in the June Overdrive.

APRIL TRUCK TONNAGE as measured by the American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index dropped 0.7 percent from March.The April figure was 4.8 percent higher than a year earlier.

TRUCKING EMPLOYMENT slowed in May as the industry added only 100 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Through April, payroll employment in trucking for the year had risen by 18,000. Compared with May 2010, trucking payroll employment is up 3.2 percent.

CLASS 8 TRUCK ORDERS for all major North American truck makers in May dropped 37 percent to 24,063 from a historically high 37,922 units reported in April, FTR Associates said. Despite the decline, orders were still 85 percent higher than prior-year levels. Also, orders received in the last six months project to an annualized 337,600 units, significantly above the same period a year earlier.

Highway Angel named

Alton Greeson, a driver for Transport America of Eagan, Minn., was named a Truckload Carriers Association Highway Angel for attempting to save a baby’s life.

On April 24, Greeson was about to go through a toll booth near Carteret, N.J., when he saw an overturned pick-up truck on a barrier that separated the toll lanes. He approached the pick-up and saw a baby lying on the floor, not breathing.

Greeson began performing pediatric CPR on the baby until a state trooper arrived. He and Greeson cleared the baby’s blocked airway and used a defibrillator to keep the baby alive until emergency personnel arrived. The baby, however, did not survive.

“If I ever see anything like it again, I’ll definitely be helping again,” Greeson said. “Even if a load is late, a life is more important.”

— Staff reports

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

ALABAMA. An initial $1.5 million in Federal Highway Administration funds is available to the state to pay for emergency repairs to highways damaged during April tornadoes. It is anticipated the cost of repairs will exceed $10 million.

ARIZONA. Nearly 20 miles of U.S. 60 has been closed from Springerville to the New Mexico state line due to the Wallow Fire. This closure stretches from Milepost 384 to 401. More than 200 miles of state highways are closed due to major wildfires. Other closed highways include U.S. 180 and U.S. 191.

CALIFORNIA. Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, one of the busiest freeways in the country, will be closed for 53 hours from the night of July 15 until the morning of July 18 to allow demolition of part of the Mulholland Drive Bridge. Northbound I-405 will be closed for 10 miles between I-10 and U.S. 101, and southbound I-405 will be closed for four miles between U.S. 101 and the Getty Center Drive exit.

IOWA. All lanes of I-29 for a 10-mile stretch north of Council Bluffs are closed because of Missouri River flooding and may not reopen until August. A 40-mile detour runs over I-80 and I-680.

LOUISIANA. Funds have been earmarked for the state to complete construction of I-49. The road runs from I-20 in Shreveport to the Arkansas line and from I-10 in Lafayette to the West Bank Expressway in New Orleans. Bills authorizing the funds are moving through the legislature. If approved the project could be completed by 2016.

MARYLAND. Tolls for five- and six-axle commercial vehicles may double or triple by July 2013 on the state transportation authority’s eight facilities. One-way tolls on bridges on U.S. 50/301 and U.S. 301 would increase from the current $15 to $30 on Jan. 1, and to $48 on July 1, 2013. A $30 toll on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway on I-95 would jump to $36 in 2012 and to $48 in 2013.

MAINE. In September, violators will face a minimum fine of $100. Maine is the 33rd state to prohibit texting while driving.

MISSOURI. I-55 welcome centers near Hayti and Marston are open with parking spaces, restrooms and picnic areas.

NEVADA. A bill has been sent to the governor that would establish the state’s first toll road around Boulder City. The $400 million, 15-mile bypass is aimed at relieving traffic from the opening of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge.

OREGON. The governor signed a bill that voids any motor carrier contracts executed after May 26 that indemnify shippers for losses caused by their own negligence. The Oregon law pertains to contracts for transporting property for compensation or hire; entry on property to load, unload or transport property; or any service incidental to such activity, including packing or storage of property.

PENNSYLVANIA. Ephrata’s Milestone Restaurant and 222 Truck Stop closed May 31, and will be demolished. Planned for the site is a convenience store and fuel station.

TEXAS. A bill would authorize speeds of 85 mph on highways built after June 1, 2011. Speed limits for trucks now range from 60 mph for farm to market roads up to 70 mph for Interstates 20 and 10.

Love’s opens two travel centers

Love’s Travel Stops has opened two new locations in Ocala, Fla., and Dickson, Tenn.

The Ocala facility at I-75 exit 358 offers 73 truck parking spaces, 16 auto fuel dispensing stations, eight truck fuel dispensing stations, two Diesel Exhaust Fluid dispensers, CAT scales, a lotto machine and Subway and Chester’s restaurants. The company will open a tire care center at the travel stop in mid-June.

The travel stop in Dickson is located at I-40/Highway 48 at exit 163.  The company is donating $2,000 to local youth sports organizations. n

The trucking industry will have to wait longer for possible changes to the driver hours of service rule proposed by FMCSA.

Hours comment deadline extended

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration extended the comment period to June 9 for its proposed hours of service rule and as a result will be unable to meet a court-negotiated deadline of July 26 to issue a final rule. The agency didn’t estimate a new date for a final rule.

With the extension, FMCSA made public four additional documents. The agency reopened the comment period to allow for review and discussion of the documents and FMCSA’s possible consideration of the findings in achieving a final rule.

The agency said only comments related to the four additional documents will be considered during the extension. The four studies include research on fatigue and commercial driver performance.

FMCSA also said it had to adjust the rulemaking schedule previously agreed to in litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Case No. 09-1094). Under an Oct. 26, 2009, agreement among Public Citizen, other petitioners and FMCSA, the agency was to publish a final rule within 21 months of the date of the settlement agreement.

FMCSA said the extra comment period for the four additional documents will require additional time that was not envisioned in 2009 and that it will be unable to publish a final rule by the previously agreed-upon date of July 26.

To comment on the four additional documents, go to www.regulations.gov; the docket number is FMCSA-2004-19608.

— Staff reports

Lawmakers protest cross-border 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.

Written by Congressmen Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.), the draft was 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.

“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.

The previous program, which Congress ended two years ago, required GPS units only, which cost the DOT $711,640.

The legislators said Mexico lacks safety standards equivalent to the United States. Also, Mexico’s increased crime in recent years would negatively affect border security.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

CLASS 8 truck orders in April were about 38,000, according to analysts FTR Associates and ACT Research. FTR said April orders were 32 percent higher than the March figure, while ACT said the April total increased 158 percent over a year earlier and was the highest monthly total since March 2006.

TRUCK FREIGHT as measured by the American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 1.7 percent in March after falling a revised 2.7 percent in February. The March index was 6.3 percent higher than a year earlier.

DIESEL FUEL PRICES will average $3.89 a gallon this year and $3.93 in 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy forecast in May. Those projections are down 9 cents and 14 cents, respectively, from the previous month’s forecast. Diesel averaged $2.99 in 2010.

Bill would allow truck safety tax credit

A House bill has been re-introduced that would allow truckers a tax credit for some advanced safety systems.

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax would provide a tax incentive for brake stroke monitoring, vehicle stability, lane departure warning and collision warning or mitigation systems.

It would create a tax credit for 50 percent of the cost of the system up to $1,500 and allow a $3,500 per vehicle maximum tax credit. Any one company could receive an annual maximum credit of $350,000.

The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association support the act, H.R. 1706. Reps. Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) introduced the bill, which was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Last year, the House and Senate each introduced the legislation, which was referred to committees.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

USED CLASS 8 TRUCK prices have surged in the last 15 months, with the March average price up 6 percent from February, ACT Research Co. reported. ACT said the average used truck price in March was $38,516 for sales in all channels, including auctions and retail and wholesale transactions. In March 2010, the average price was $27,923, and in February the average was $36,195.

TRUCKERS WILL PAY $20 instead of $16.25 in cash tolls to drive a five-axle truck across tolled Delaware River bridges between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission approved the increase for its seven toll bridges, the first since 2007. The hike is to pay debt, continue capital improvements and offset low truck revenue collections from 2008 and 2009.

WILLIE’S PLACE, the former truck stop in Carl’s Corner, Texas, has reopened as a Petro Stopping Place travel center. TravelCenters of America bought the Dallas-area property, which included Willie Nelson as an investor, March 1, after it was posted for foreclosure. Willie’s Place opened in 2008.

FMCSA issues CDL amendments

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 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 (CLP).

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.

FMCSA’s final rule on driver testing and standards requires a commercial license permit holder to meet virtually the same requirements as those for a license holder.

Successful completion of a knowledge test, currently a prerequisite for the CDL, now will be required for a CLP. 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 prohibits use of foreign language interpreters in the administration of the knowledge and skills tests to reduce the potential for fraud.

The final rule requires each applicant obtain a CLP and hold it for at least 14 days before applying for a CDL. It establishes a minimum age of 18 for a permit, which must be a separate document from the CDL, tamperproof and include the same information as the CDL. The only endorsements allowed on the CLP are a restricted passenger endorsement, a school bus endorsement and a tank vehicle endorsement.

In addition, the final rule strengthens the legal presence required 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.

FMCSA’s final rule is effective July 9. States must comply by July 8, 2014. To read the final rule, go to www.regulations.gov; the docket number is FMCSA-2007-27659.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

THE OUTLOOK for shippers declined in April, based on FTR Associates’ Shippers’ Condition Index. The index fell to -11.4, reflecting tightening capacity and accelerating transport costs. Readings below zero indicate an unfavorable shipping environment.

MANUFACTURING activity expanded in April for the 21st consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 23rd consecutive month, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business.

TRUCKING JOBS in April grew by 4,500 positions as part of 244,000 nonfarm jobs added on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to April 2010, the number of jobs in for-hire trucking was up 41,600, or 3.4 percent.

SURFACE TRADE between the United States and Canada and Mexico rose 12 percent to $66.5 billion in February from February 2010, reported the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

California bill targets owner-operators

California’s Assembly is considering legislation to require truckers working ports to be classified as employees.

If the Assembly passes that bill, AB 950, it will go to the Senate. Democrat Assembly Speaker John Perez sponsored the bill, which would, in effect, ban owner-operators from working state ports.

The Assembly’s labor and employment committee voted 5-1 to pass the measure on May 4.

A California bill would essentially do away with owner-operators who work ports by classifying them as employees.

The Assembly’s analysis of the bill noted that many organizations have voiced opinions on the bill, with trucking and business organizations opposing it and labor organizations backing it.

The legislation is “the first step to eliminating independent owner-operators throughout the trucking industry,” wrote the California Trucking Association. “Today, it is the ports. Tomorrow it will be agriculture, construction, and over the road.”

Bill supporters say owner-operators cannot afford to upgrade and maintain their vehicles to California standards and that the bill would result in owner-operators having access to health insurance through trucking company employers.

In 2005, the California Legislature approved a bill, sponsored by the Teamsters Public Affairs Council. It would have utilized the state doctrine of federal anti-trust law to authorize port owner-operator drivers to organize collectively. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill because he said it could violate federal anti-trust law.

The American Trucking Associations has appealed a lower court’s ruling in favor of the Port of Los Angeles’ requirement that port truckers be carrier employees. Oral arguments will begin June 10 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Ports nationwide have lobbied to replicate the Los Angeles port plan.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

THREE HOUSEHOLD GOODS moving companies face fines of $25,000 each after a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enforcement sweep in March in nine cities. The companies are Guardian Moving & Storage of Los Angeles, Lightning Van Lines Inc. of San Leandro, Calif. and Viking Moving and Storage Inc. of Oakland, Calif.

U.S. Xpress driver wins a Freightliner

Scot Hays, a driver with more than 17 years of experience with U.S. Xpress Enterprises, received a 2007 Freightliner truck after being named the first grand prize winner of the company’s Idle Reduction Sweepstakes.

Hays reduced his idling to about 5 percent during the first quarter to qualify for the prize drawing.

Hays was chosen in a random drawing from among 150 top qualifiers in the contest. The company will make payments on the truck for two years, and Hays has agreed to become an independent contractor leased to the carrier during that period.

“This is the greatest thing that has happened in my career,” said Hays, a member the U.S. Xpress Million Miler Safe Driving Club. “I was blown away when I heard my name called as the winner of the truck. I have talked to several contractors over the years here, and I know that I am going to have the support to be successful. I can’t wait to get started.”

U.S. Xpress President John White said all the top qualifiers received cash prizes for their efforts during the contest, which will be repeated quarterly. “Through our Idle Reduction Sweepstakes, U.S. Xpress has been able to create an additional focus on cutting down engine idle which also offered a valuable business opportunity for our drivers,” he said.

— Staff reports

Groups debate bills for heavier trucks

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa joined Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.), safety advocates and family members of highway accident victims May 3 to endorse the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act. The legislation would restrict the size and weight of commercial trucks on U.S. highways.

SHIPA also would extend the freeze on truck size and weight limits on the interstate system to also apply to the National Highway System. The bill’s supporters, which include the Association of American Railroads, argue that large trucks are more dangerous to drive and damage highways and bridges and that heavier trucks will only accelerate highway and bridge wear and tear.

The Teamsters point to a recent nationwide poll that found that 89 percent of the general public strongly opposes larger trucks. The union also notes that half of the nation’s bridges are more than 40 years old, with one in four structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

The American Trucking Associations, which supports competing legislation that would allow states to increase weight limits on interstate highways, responded. “In the two years since ATA unveiled its 18-point safety agenda, a comprehensive approach to addressing both primary and secondary causes of highway crashes, these alleged ‘safety’ groups have not made a serious proposal to address trucking safety,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. “Their fix is to arbitrarily cut working hours to advance labor’s agenda, and further restrict truck size and weight to advance the railroad’s agenda.”

The Senate Safe and Efficient Transportation Act of 2011 (S. 747) would give states the option to allow tractor-trailers weighing up to 97,000 pounds access to its interstate highways, provided owners equip trucks with a sixth axle to preserve braking distances and pavement wear patterns, and agree to pay a supplemental user fee. There’s an identical House bill, H.R. 763.

— Staff reports

States eye fuel price gouging

Kentucky’s attorney general has accused Marathon Petroleum Co. of fuel price gouging, while officials in other states warily eye the issue.

Kentucky AG Jack Conway asked for a temporary injunction against Marathon May 13, alleging the company illegally raised wholesale fuel prices during an emergency. The pleading filed in Franklin Circuit Court accuses company officials of violating Kentucky’s price-gouging statute during a state of emergency declared April 26 because of flooding.

Conway asked the court to require Marathon to lower wholesale prices in Kentucky to the price charged on April 25. His filing was included in an ongoing case against the company and its subsidiary, Speedway, for alleged price-gouging violations following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The law permits suppliers to increase prices only if there has been a hike in the supplier’s costs, but the company’s costs do not justify the price increases, Conway said.

In 2008, his office began investigating how wholesale fuel prices affected Louisville market prices. Marathon’s 1996 acquisition of Ashland Oil reduced fuel market competition in Kentucky, he said. Conway referred that antitrust investigation to the federal Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group, which investigates allegations of fraud and market manipulation in the oil and petroleum industry.

— Jill Dunn

Road Team driver goes to White House

Ralph Garcia, a member of America’s Road Team, told Obama administration officials that the government should encourage job-seekers to enter trucking. His appearance at the White House forum was part of National Transportation Week.

Garcia, a driver with ABF Freight System, was one of 20 transportation professionals who participated in the May 16 roundtable that focused on how best to promote careers in transportation.

“In my 30 years as a driver, I’ve seen so much of this great country that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experience,” said Garcia, a native of New Mexico.

— Staff reports

Jason’s Law reintroduced

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.). Tonko had introduced similar legislation during the previous Congressional session.

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.

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 as he sat in his truck at an abandoned gas station in South Carolina.

Tonko and Jason’s widow, Hope Rivenburg, were joined at a May 11 news conference by representatives of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, ATA, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, American Moving & Storage Association and NATSO, the truck stop trade association.

Mary Phillips, ATA senior legislative affairs vice president, said truckers should not have to park on Interstate shoulders, ramps and other locations, placing themselves and other drivers at risk.

— Staff reports

Spot market freight falls during April

TransCore’s North American Freight Index measuring spot market truckload freight volume declined 14 percent in April from March, but was 12 percent higher than in April 2010.

Freight volumes in the South and Midwest were hampered by extreme weather conditions during April.

TransCore said the month-to-month decline from March to April was the first time in 15 years when spot market freight volume dropped during that period. From March to April, dry van capacity increased 6.7 percent and freight availability declined 9.5 percent.

Refrigerated capacity increased 3.4 percent, while freight availability slipped 5.1 percent. Flatbed capacity and freight volumes dipped, 2.6 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively.

TransCore’s monthly North American Freight Index measures trucking freight movements on the spot market.

— Staff reports

Survey: Cell phone link to crashes

A survey shows that 32 percent of companies have knowledge or evidence of on-the-job crashes that resulted from distractions caused by employees using cell phones while driving, software maker ZoomSafer says.

The survey polled 500 business managers in North America and was designed to gauge corporate attitudes and best practices pertaining to distracted driving.

The survey shows 62 percent of companies have written policies prohibiting employees from using a mobile phone while driving on the job. The survey also reveals that while many companies have written cell phone driving policies, only 53 percent try to enforce compliance.

Among companies that do enforce compliance, the survey found 61 percent rely on post-incident disciplinary measures, and only 2 percent use technology to proactively measure and manage employee compliance.

“The fact that so many companies are telling employees to put the phone down while driving is encouraging from a policy perspective; however, from a practical perspective, it’s simply not enough to change behavior,” said Matt Howard, CEO of ZoomSafer, which creates software to prevent distracted driving. “To truly change behavior and fully protect themselves from liability, companies must actively measure and enforce employee compliance.”

— Staff reports

Truck insurance broker charged

A California insurance broker was scheduled for arraignment June 1 in San Bernardino County Superior Court on charges of swindling truckers.

Paul Daniel Conejos, 29, did business as TATEMAS Truck Insurance Services and Royal Insurance Group Services Inc. in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

He allegedly collected premium payments from long-distance trucking companies, did not remit payments to insurance companies, but issued fraudulent insurance certificates, according to the California Insurance Commission.

Conejos pleaded not guilty to four felony counts of grand theft, three felony counts of forgery, two felony counts of theft by false pretense and three misdemeanor theft counts, according to court records. Client losses are about $38,000 for what is referred to as premium diversion from April 2008 to March 2010.

The commission is considering disciplinary action against Cornejo’s license to sell insurance, it said.

Truckers who suspect fraud should report it to the insurance commission for the state where the agent or broker is licensed, said Frank Scafidi of the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

— Jill Dunn

DOT awards grants for truck parking

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $4.5 million to Michigan’s I-94 Truck Parking and Information Management System and more than $2 million to Minnesota’s Comprehensive System for Assessing Truck Parking Availability.

Both systems will deliver real-time information on parking availability through intelligent transportation systems.

The Federal Highway Administration is providing the grants under the Truck Parking Facilities Discretionary Grants Program, which helps improve safety on interstates by promoting projects that allow trucks to park safely in areas away from moving traffic, instead of alongside roads.

— Staff reports

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

CALIFORNIA. Truckers’ one-year exemption from last year’s toll hike will end July 1 on San Francisco’s toll bridges. The Bay Area Toll Authority said the two-phase toll increase for multi-axle vehicles takes effect on July 1 and July 1, 2012. Cash tolls for five-axle vehicles will climb to $18 from the current $11.25. A year later the toll will be $5 times the number of axles.

DELAWARE. The state has opened an electric shorepower truck parking area at the Smyrna rest area on U.S. Route 13. An automated system allows truckers to use a Smyrna Rest Area credit card to access the service at the 24-space area. They can pay $20 for a reusable window adapter, which includes the credit card with eight hours of usage time. Additional hours can be purchased for $2.50 an hour.

FLORIDA. The governor was expected to sign a bill that would end the practice of local ports issuing access cards that duplicate the federal identification card.

GEORGIA. State law enforcement is targeting aggressive car and truck drivers on State Highway 400 in Fulton and Forsyth counties through July. The targeted corridor is from exit 5 (Abernathy Road) to exit 16 (Pilgrim Mill Road).

INDIANA. The state becomes the 32nd to prohibit texting while driving. Effective July 1, violators face a maximum fine of $500.

MISSOURI. Watch for I-70 construction projects in the Kansas City area through most of the summer. Projects include a third lane in each direction of I-70 under I-435, rebuilding I-70 bridges and resurfacing of I-70 between Pittman Road and I-470. State Department of Transportation requires two lanes open on I-70 during construction.

NEW YORK. The State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division said the state didn’t have authority to require retrofits on privately owned trucks, as had been mandated by the state’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

NORTH DAKOTA. Bismarck residents have voted to extend the state’s smoking ban to truck stops, bars and tobacco stores. The state already prohibited indoor smoking in businesses and public places.

TEXAS. A bill is close to passage that would allow heavy-duty trucks with 2008 and newer EPA-certified engines to idle. Current state law restricts idling to five minutes an hour in many areas from April to October. Meanwhile, the state Commission on Environmental Quality is scheduled to meet June 22 to consider amending its regulation to exempt large trucks from idling restrictions during driver rest periods.

UTAH. The state is into the second year of the 24-mile reconstruction project on I-15 south of Salt Lake City. The project will add two lanes in each direction, add or rebuild 63 bridges and extend an express lane the length of the project. The work is on schedule for a December 2012 deadline.

ATA board votes against detention time regs

The American Trucking Associations Board of Directors on May 18 called on policymakers to respect contracts between carriers and shippers and voted to oppose efforts at regulating detention time.

“ATA and its members value the time of our drivers,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. “However, federal intervention into this area would have significant impacts on the contractual agreements between carriers and shippers.”

ATA Chairman Barbara Windsor, president and CEO of New Market, Md.-based Hahn Transportation, said the ability of carriers to negotiate rates, routes and service with shippers is important. “Federal regulation in this area would directly affect shipping rates and would significantly change the playing field for carriers and shippers,” she said.

“No carrier wants to see our drivers’ time wasted,” said ATA First Vice Chairman Dan England, chairman and president of Salt Lake City-based C.R. England Inc. “However, this is not an issue that can be handled with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ regulation and as a result is best addressed in contractual agreements between carriers and shippers.”

— Staff reports

Rest areas closing

Rest areas are closing nationwide, usually because of budget shortfalls. Missouri, however, is converting some rest areas to truck parking only.

The state’s I-70 Mineola rest areas will be used for truck parking this summer. Buildings will be removed, restroom facilities will be installed and 17 new truck parking spaces will result from the change.

South Carolina is closing I-85 Northbound Rest Area at mile marker 88 on June 3. The annual savings will be about $220,000.

On Interstate 24, Illinois shut the Fort Massac Rest Area for six weeks for roof repairs and Illinois 164 Oquawka Rest Area will close Nov. 8 for improvements. Also, the I-57 Rend Lake Rest Area, southbound side, is closed and the I-74 KrisdalaBaka Rest Area near Woodhull was scheduled to be closed until July 1.

North Dakota has closed its Medina rest area on westbound I-94 because water is over the entrance ramp.

— Jill Dunn

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed cross-border trucking project with Mexico will require fewer participants and will equip Mexican trucks with electronic on-board recorders, paid for by the United States.

FMCSA will 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, and 46 carriers participating. It assumes an attrition rate of 25 percent after 18 months in the project.

It believes 4,100 inspections can be made within three years, enough to draw reasonable analysis of the program’s effectiveness. The previous pilot program, which ended in 2009, was to run 18 months.

Mexican carriers would have to complete three stages before the FMCSA issues permanent operating authority. Provisional or permanent operating authority may be suspended or revoked during the pilot program if the carrier has a substandard safety performance or violates program rules, such as transporting placardable hazmat or operating beyond the scope of its authority.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association asserts that Mexico lacks safety standards equivalent to those of the U.S. OOIDA and some congressional members said the U.S. should have challenged the legality of retaliatory tariffs Mexico imposed on U.S. exports after the first program ended.

The American Trucking Associations welcomed the proposal, which it said requires Mexican carriers to comply with U.S. standards and provides sufficient oversight to enforce these rules.

The notice is available at www.fmcsa.dot.gov under “News & Alerts.” The public may comment on the notice by including the notice’s docket number, FMCSA-2011-0097.

— Jill Dunn

Navy vet named Back on the Road winner

Former owner-operator and Navy veteran David Acosta was named Arrow Truck Sales’ Back on the Road winner April 1 in Louisville, Ky. The Orlando, Fla., native was presented with keys to a 2007 Volvo VNL 780, provided by the used truck retailer.

David Acosta received a 2007 truck and a one-year driving agreement as part of his selection as Arrow Truck Sales’ Back on the Road recipient.

Acosta also receives a one-year work agreement with Heartland Express and several other products and services.

Acosta was nominated by his wife, Angela, after several tough years and a growing list of repair bills forced him to lose his truck. Medical bills for the couple’s daughter, Amanda, put stress on the family’s finances as well. Amanda has been battling a kidney disease that requires around-the-clock care from her mother.

“David constantly puts everybody before himself,” Angela said in her nomination. “Money is extremely tight and our family is struggling more than we ever thought imaginable.”

Acosta is the fourth Back on the Road winner.

“Winning Back on the Road is a blessing for not only me, but my entire family,” Acosta said.

Acosta also received:

• X One XDA Energy tires from Michelin

• Auxiliary power unit from Thermo King

• Monthly $500 fuel cards from Pilot Travel Centers

• Business consulting tools from ATBS

• OOIDA insurance

• 3-year/300-thousand-mile warranty from National Truck Protection

• One year worth of filter products from Genuine Volvo Parts

• Custom truck paint job provided Dickinson Fleet Services

• Truck accessories and fenders from Minimizer Products

• Memory foam mattress provided by SleepDog Mattress

• Truck paint from DuPont

• Personalized health and wellness coaching with “Trucker Trainer” Bob Perry

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

FTR’S SHIPPERS CONDITION INDEX continues to decline, reflecting tightening capacity in the trucking sector. The short-term forecast for the SCI calls for continued deterioration as the outlook for capacity shortages worsens.

VOLVO TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA announced it will recall approximately 700 employees between May 2 and June 13 at its New River Valley, Va. The plant, which employs about 1,500 people, is facing a surge in orders for heavy-duty trucks.

CLASS 8 NET ORDERS in North American rose 159 percent to 29,200 units in March from a year earlier, according to ACT Research Co. Net orders in March represented the largest monthly order intake since May 2006. Meanwhile, net orders of commercial trailers rose 25 percent to 21,990 in February from January.

SURFACE TRADE between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico rose 19.5 percent in January over January 2010 to $67.7 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

TRUCKING COMPANIES accounted for 1,600 seasonally adjusted new jobs in March, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The increase followed a revised 10,400-job surge in February. Payroll employment at for-hire trucking companies was 40,000 jobs higher than in March 2010.

RUBIK AVETYAN, 55, of Sunland, Calif., was sentenced to 50 months in prison and fined for nearly $1.12 million for operating a double brokering scheme. His sons, Allen Avetyan, 33, also of Sunland, and Alfred Avetyan, 29, of Porter Ranch, Calif., each received 60 months in prison. Judge Yvette Kane of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled in the fraud case.

Owner-operator named Goodyear Highway Hero

An Olympia, Wash., owner-operator who helped save the lives of two people has been named the Goodyear 2010 North America Highway Hero.

Owner-operator Tilden Curl earned Goodyear’s 2010 North America Highway Hero award for pulling an unconscious driver from a car before it was struck by a train.

From among four finalists, Tilden Curl accepted the Highway Hero award and a $10,000 U.S. Savings Bond and ring in Louisville, Ky. Curl has been driving 18 years and operates under his own authority as Tecco Trucking of Olympia.

On Oct. 27, Curl was driving on Highway 99 near Tulare, Calif., when a vehicle went out of control, coming to a stop with its front wheels lodged over railroad tracks. A woman exited the passenger side of the car, and Curl yelled for her to get clear of the tracks because a train was coming.

Curl, seeing the driver was unconscious, unfastened the man’s seatbelt and dragged him away seconds before the train collided with the stranded vehicle.

Other finalists included Jaime Avitia, of El Paso, Texas, a driver for Stagecoach Cartage, who administered CPR on an accident victim who didn’t have a pulse; Bill Howard, of Litchfield, Neb., an operator for Howard Transportation, who called for emergency assistance and provided assurance to a severely injured driver; and David Nelson, of Orlando, Fla., a driver for Werner Enterprises, who performed CPR and revived a 7-year-old girl who was not breathing.

— Staff reports

SHORT HAULS

A PROPOSED 1099 tax reporting mandate has been repealed by the U.S. Senate. The 1099 requirement was passed in 2010 as part of the health care reform law known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This provision would have forced all businesses to issue a Form 1099 to vendors from whom they buy $600 worth of goods or more annually, and was scheduled to take effect in 2012.

FOR-HIRE FREIGHT DECLINED in February in two indices. American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 2.9 percent after increasing a revised 3.5 percent in January. For-hire freight declined 1.5 percent in February from January, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Freight Transportation Services Index.

TRAFFIC FATALITIES in 2010 fell to the lowest levels since 1949, despite a significant increase in the number of miles driven, reports the U.S. Department of Transportation. 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.

Trucker Buddy recognizes driver pen pals

Trucker Buddy International recognized its monthly winners from 2010 during a luncheon in Louisville, Ky. The program helps educate students via a pen pal relationship between drivers and children in grades K-8.

The December Trucker Buddy honoree, Mercer driver Steven Dyer, got a special treat when four students at the school where he volunteers, Carr Creek Elementary in Hindman, Ky., talked about their relationship with Dyer.

The 2010 honorees were:

• Mike Shultz, who drives for Henderson Trucking.

• Shelia Logan, Interstate Distributor.

• Jacab Person, K&B Transportation.

• Steven Dyer, Mercer Transportation.

• Allen Button, WEL Companies. 

• Carl Ziehlke, Walmart. 

• Herbert Wells, Prime Inc. 

• Richard and Linda Thomas, Interstate Distributor.

• Chuck Lobsiger, Walmart.

• Mike and Kristy Seastrom, Tri-State Motor Transit Co.

• Chris Winkler, Zernicke Trucking.

• Chris Sawyer, Old Dominion.

Trucker Buddy previously announced it would take nominations for its new Teacher of the Month Award. Winning teachers will be recognized at the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas each June.

— Max Heine

SHORT HAULS

METAL COIL HAULERS will get a two-year exemption from certain commodity-specific cargo securement rules, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has decided. The Flatbed Carrier Safety Group applied for an exemption to allow carriers to secure coils grouped in rows with eyes crosswise and coils in contact with each other in the longitudinal direction. Operators will be able to use FMCSA’s pre-Jan. 1, 2004 cargo securement procedures.

INTERSTATE DISTRIBUTOR Co. of Tacoma, Wash., doesn’t plan changes in its operations after it was acquired by Seattle-based Saltchuk Resources Inc. Saltchuk has transportation and other operating groups and was formerly known as Totem Resources. IDC is listed as having 1,930 trucks and 2,294 drivers. When the deal is closed, Saltchuk will replace trucks, bring back contract carriers and expand cash flow and liquidity.

Legislators take TWIC program to task

The U.S. House transportation committee blasted the Transportation Security Administration for delays in approving Transportation Worker Identification Credentials readers.

Meanwhile, Congress is considering legislation to address renewal deadlines for TWIC holders.

TSA is still conducting the pilot program for readers to verify the TWIC biometric identifiers, Chairman Rep. John Mica (Rep.-Fla.) said. “Without any readers, TWIC is about as useful as a library card,” he said.

Mica said he would continue inquiries about full deployment of the $420 million TWIC program. The TSA has estimated TWIC could cost taxpayers and the private sector up to $3.2 billion over a 10-year period.

On March 17, Rep. Bennie Thompson introduced the TWIC Program Act. House members referred H.R.1105, which has six co-sponsors, to the transportation subcommittee on March 25. Also called the Transitioning With an Improved Credential Program Act, the legislation should ensure TWIC cards do not expire before the 2014 deadline for full implementation of electronic readers, the Mississippi Democrat said.

The TSA has issued almost 1.8 million TWIC credentials since 2007. A 2002 Congressional mandate requires truckers and other maritime workers needing unescorted escort at ports obtain the card, valid for five years.

A TWIC card costs $132.50, but applicants with comparable background checks, such as Free and Secure Trade card holders, pay $105.25. Renewal price and the original price are the same.

— Jill Dunn

Forecast: Shortage of drivers, capacity

Truckload capacity shortages will accelerate this year and continue through 2013 as the economy recovers and regulatory restrictions limit the driver pool, an FTR Associates economist said in an April 6 online seminar by consulting group FTR.

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 recent forecasts of shortages have been slow to develop, but will likely hit the market in 2012.

Perry 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.”

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.

“We expect the rest of the year to have relatively strong truck shortages to include price increases,” he said. Perry predicted that prices will continue to rise through next year and into 2013 even as trucking capacity catches up with demand.

Perry noted that truck tonnage will average 5 percent growth this year through 2013.

Current strong new truck orders will primarily replace aging equipment but not add to capacity, Perry said. However, he said if his forecast of higher rates is accurate, he anticipates a “considerable expansion by the industry in 2012 and 2013.”

On another question, the FTR economist said he hadn’t factored in proposed weight-limit increases in calculating productivity gains. But, he said, if allowed weights are increased to 97,000 pounds, it would wipe out the driver shortage he’s attributing to regulatory restrictions.

“Size and weight is a big deal, and has major productivity implications,” he said.

— Max Kvidera

CSA pays more attention to drivers

While the federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program is putting more emphasis on commercial driver behaviors than past safety programs, CSA isn’t designed to score drivers, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration official said in a March 22 online seminar.

“I can’t emphasize enough that under CSA, we are not rating individual drivers,” said Bryan Price, FMCSA senior transportation specialist, during the webinar presented by Overdrive and Truckers News.

Price said the agency is employing driver safety performance as an internal tool used by FMCSA investigators in deciding which drivers to examine in assessing carrier compliance ratings. The driver safety measurement information isn’t available to roadside inspectors or to carriers. He acknowledged that private companies are using driver information to produce CSA scorecards that aren’t “endorsed or created by FMCSA.”

Price said another new program, the Pre-Employment Screening Program, was developed by FMCSA at about the same time as the driver Safety Measurement System in CSA. PSP isn’t part of CSA but was lobbied for by carriers and mandated by Congress to provide an avenue for prospective employers to a driver’s inspection and crash records. Under PSP, drivers aren’t rated or scored and must sign authorization to release the information to a carrier to review.

In addressing frequently asked questions, Colorado State Patrol Major Mark Savage said CSA doesn’t give FMCSA the authority to revoke CDLs and put drivers out of work.

Savage also said that tickets and warnings drivers receive while operating their personal vehicles don’t impact their carrier’s or their own Safety Measurement System ranking. Only violations documented on commercial vehicle inspection reports will be used in the driver’s SMS and count toward the carrier’s SMS record, he said. “This entire program is dependent on our roadside inspection data,” he said.

— Max Kvidera

Show features seminars, truck competition

Overdrive will host a free Partners in Business seminar presented by Kevin Rutherford at 2 p.m. June 10 at the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas.

Rutherford, an accountant, small-fleet owner and satellite radio host, will be joined by a representative from financial service provider ATBS.

The trucking show will feature a broad range of educational seminars and panels during its June 9-11 run at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Also on hand will be Custom Rigs’ Pride & Polish truck beauty show, part of the National Championship Series.

Free parking will be available across the street from the convention center. For details visit www.greatwesttruckshow.com.

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

COLORADO. Three major projects will slow traffic along five miles of I-25 in the Denver area. The I-25 bridge over the South Platte River will be replaced, with construction to continue through August 2013. The I-25 bridges over Santa Fe Drive will be reconstructed and realigned. The Alameda Avenue bridge over I-25 and I-25 under Alameda Avenue will be rebuilt. Work will continue until June 2012.

CONNECTICUT. A state legislative committee has approved a bill that allows tolls on new highways or highway extensions. The state would impose temporary tolls to pay for projects such as State Route 11. Existing highways would remain toll-free.

ILLINOIS. Expect delays on U.S. 20 and I-290 west of Chicago for a construction project that will close eastbound U.S. 20 and shift both directions of traffic to westbound lanes. One lane of eastbound I-290 will be closed in late spring.

INDIANA. Contractors are installing high-tension cable wires along 30 miles of I-65 this year. Cable safety barriers are engineered to prevent vehicles from crossing the center median into the other direction of traffic.

LOUISIANA. The state has raised the speed limit to 75 mph from 70 mph on sections of I-49 between Shreveport and Alexandria. A survey found that 85 percent of drivers were already traveling at or below 75 mph.

MINNESOTA. Various construction projects will cause delays on I-35 eastbound and westbound in the Twin Cities area beginning in May. Interchanges will be reconstructed at County Road 14 over I-35E and County Road 2 from I-35 to Highway 61. Concrete will be replaced on I-35E from CR 96 to junction of I-35W and I-35E.

Coalition backs funding reduction in emissions

A coalition of 444 organizations has sent letters to Congressional leaders requesting funding be restored for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, citing its importance as a national environmental, health and budgetary priority.

When it was reauthorized in December, DERA’s authorization level had been cut from $200 million annually for five years to $100 million annually for five years. In February, DERA was eliminated altogether from President Obama’s 2012 budget proposal.

“The DERA program has proven to be a significant environmental, health and budgetary success throughout the entire United States,” said Allen Schaeffer, of the Diesel Technology Forum.

HIGHWAY HAPPENINGS

NEW HAMPSHIRE. The Memorial Bridge will be replaced with funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the state Department of Transportation. The bridge between Portsmouth, N.H., and Kittery, Maine, is closed to truck traffic. Trucks moving goods from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard are forced to detour.

NEW JERSEY. The state began an idling ban on 2007 model year and older trucks on May 1. Idling is permitted by trucks with engines that meet or exceed 2007 model year engine specifications. Idling exemptions also apply to vehicles being serviced or repaired, vehicles slowed in traffic and vehicles stopped for three or more hours when temperatures dip below 25 degrees, which are allowed to idle for 15 minutes.

NORTH CAROLINA. Traffic will be altered over the next three years as construction continues on I-295 in Fayetteville. This project will complete I-295 from N.C. 210 to I-95, giving Fort Bragg a direct connection to the interstate.

TENNESSEE. Lanes of I-24 in Chattanooga will be closed overnight and on various weekends for a resurfacing project. Work will be completed during evenings and early mornings. Work is scheduled through August.

TEXAS. Speeds could ramp up to 85 mph for certain new roads in the state, according to a bill in the state legislature. The higher speeds could be authorized on highways built after June 1. The state already has more than 520 miles of I-10 and I-20 posted at 80 mph during the day for cars. Trucks are limited to 70 mph.

Bill targets higher 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.

“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.

Runyan said SETA is supported by data collected from academic, state, federal and international experts who have evaluated the proposal and support the six-axle, 97,000-pound configuration. He pointed out that SETA leaves the decision in the hands of state officials.

The American Trucking Associations has estimated the trucking industry will haul 30 percent more tonnage in 2021 than it does today. If current weight restrictions remain the same, ATA estimates the U.S. economy will require 18 percent more trucks driving 27 percent more miles than now.

The House version of SETA, H.R. 763, was reintroduced in February by Reps. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) and Michael Michaud (D-Maine).

— Staff reports

Groups oppose diverting highway funds

As Congress prepares its next long-term transportation funding bill, trucking groups have testified before a House subcommittee against using fuel taxes to fund non-highway projects.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the American Trucking Associations were among 40 witnesses appearing before the House Highways and Transit subcommittee March 29-30.

Congress should not follow a White House proposal to shift Highway Trust Fund dollars to non-highway transportation projects, OOIDA member Kristopher Kane testified. The next highway authorization bill should fund non-highway projects such as transit from the General Fund instead of using fuel taxes, said ATA Chairwoman Barbara Windsor.

Kane said private entities should not be allowed to invest in existing highways and then increase or add tolls. But OOIDA supports allowing states public-private partnerships to add new rest areas and expand services at existing rest areas. The next six-year funding bill should have dedicated funding to expand truck parking, OOIDA said.

Lisa Mullings, president of truck stop trade group NATSO, asked Congress to oppose amending or repealing federal law that prohibits commercial development on interstate right-of-ways. She testified it would signify government intrusion into the private sector and jeopardize related businesses and jobs.

— Jill Dunn

CARB offers filter credit

The California Air Resources Board on April 6 announced an early action compliance credit for trucking fleets that install a particulate filter by July 1 or that make a commitment to purchase a particulate filter by May 1.

By installing a particulate filter early on one truck, a fleet will be able to delay compliance for a second truck in the fleet until Jan. 1, 2017.

The “buy-one-get-one-free” credit applies to trucks with a manufacturer gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds. The number of trucks in the fleet can earn the early action credit is unlimited.

Fleets that install a particulate matter filter by July 1 will get the early action credit.

— Staff reports