News roundup, Nov. 5: OOIDA’s Truckers for Troops campaign set for next week, Louisiana TA adds KFC

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Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019:

OOIDA hosting annual Truckers for Troops campaign next week
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s 13th annual Truckers for Troops campaign will be held Nov. 11-15. The campaign raises money to send care packages to military personnel in combat zones, as well as to help a variety of veteran’s facilities that assist or house wounded, disables or homeless veterans.

During the campaign, OOIDA will offer membership at a discounted rate of $35 – down $10 from the normal $45 dues – with 10% of the amount paid during the campaign week going to the Truckers for Troops fund. OOIDA will then match those funds. Since 2007, the group has raised more than $600,000 to send packages and help veterans homes.

Individual tax-deductible contributions to Truckers for Troops are also welcome and can be paid to the OOIDA Foundation. More information on the campaign can be found here.

Louisiana TA adds KFC restaurant
The TA travel center in Greenwood, Louisiana, located off of I-20 at exit 5, now boasts a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. This KFC is the first to open in TA-Petro’s network and is operated by TA Restaurant Group.

New trailer-lease program offers flexible terms for short-exchange lifecycle, based on operational cost data
The Fleet Advantage company’s new EXchangeIT Trailer Lease Program aims to reduce cost for companies of all sizes with business intelligence and flexible finance programs to prove a lower total cost when shortening trailer-lease lifecycle with likewise flexible terms. Fleets that replace trailers every five to seven years through EXchangeIT, as opposed to legacy practices of operating them for ten years or longer, can achieve significant savings, the company says. Refrigerated trailers see the largest cost savings, a per-unit savings of $8,758 in the first year, when replacing a 2015 model year with a 2021 model year.

Fleets experience significant savings in fuel cost as a result of a more efficient unit, fuel savings from aerodynamic components such fairings and low-rolling-resistance tires, and weight reduction, as well as significant maintenance and repair savings, particularly on the reefer unit. And that’s among other savings as equipment continues to become more sophisticated, to the benefit of the owner.

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“Transportation fleets that leverage Fleet Advantage and its EXchangeIT program and analytics software ultimately save on the cost of their trucks and trailers over the long-term,” said Brian Holland, Fleet Advantage President and CFO, “since they make replacement decisions based on economic obsolescence rather than functional obsolescence.”

Fleet Advantage bases flexible trailer lease on market trends, fuel economy and business conditions, which provide these options:

  • EXchangeIT by replacing individual units at Lessee discretion when economically obsolete
  • EXtendIT by extending individual units beyond the lease term at fixed, reduced rates
  • Terminate individual units