Category Archives: Industry News

As is often the case with rulemakings, publication date for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed rule on mandated speed limiters for trucks has been pushed back from spring to the end of the summer, and may very well be pushed back again to an even later date.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has the second highest number of pending rules of any agency other than the Department of Health and Human Services, which has the most, according to a government regulation website.

It’s been a year since the proposed rule to mandate speed limiters on trucks (probably at 65 mph although the exact speed is unknown at this time) was sent to the Office of Management and Budget.

This rulemaking was a joint effort by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

John Larkin, managing director and head of transportation capital markets research at Stifel, Nicolaus and Co., told delegates at a recent Truckload Carriers Association Annual Convention that rulemakings such as the speed limiter mandate, ELDs and more rigorous medical check-ups may shrink the number of compliant carriers.

Trucking industry analysts at FTR said the final count for net orders of commercial trailers for May met expectations, totaling 13,300 units.

Order activity was down 16 percent month over month and down 15 percent year over year, registering the weakest order month since August 2010. Orders have totaled 286,000 units for the last 12 months and backlogs are now down 9 percent year over year.

Dry van orders dipped 20 percent month over month, but that was expected to happen based on strong backlogs. Refrigerated van orders held fairly steady versus last month. Flatbed, tanker, and dump trailer orders were comparable to April’s totals, which also was expected. Production did increase 3 percent over April.

Truck tonnage climbed 5.7% on a year-over-year basis in May and also increased from April, helped by stronger consumer demand and a long-awaited drop in inventories, American Trucking Associations reported. The federation’s advanced seasonally adjusted index increased to 139, a rise of 2.7% above the April result. The latest report reversed two consecutive months of tonnage declines and lifted the index out of the doldrums seen late in 2015 and earlier this year. Until the latest report, tonnage had barely budged from the level seen in both November and December 2015. “Following two consecutive decreases totaling 6%, May was a nice increase in truck tonnage,” said Bob Costello, ATA’s chief economist. “Better consumer spending in April and May certainly

If you drive along I-94 in northwest Indiana, you can expect to be part of a pilot program for a virtual weigh station that uses sensors embedded in the pavement.

The Indiana Department of Transportation, Indiana Department of Revenue, Indiana State Police and Purdue University are partnering with Kapsch TrafficCom to study a new process to weigh trucks traveling on the highway.

The system combines cameras with in-pavement scales to identify and weigh trucks as they pass. This eliminates the need for trucks to slow down to go through a weigh station. When combined with federal and state compliance information, the system can provide a compliance assessment, according to INDOT, to help law enforcement target overweight trucks.Cameras will capture the DOT and license numbers of passing trucks, allowing law enforcement to a

Members of the Joint Transportation Research Program at Purdue University will review the results of the pilot program to ensure accuracy of the sensors and provide recommendations for possible legislative changes to enforcement policies.

In Boston, Massachusetts, a truck driver was fired by his employer when he refused to violate HOS regulations during his delivery.

The incident occurred in August of 2012. According to the lawsuit, NFI Interactive Logistics Inc. of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, assigned the driver to deliver a load of Poland Spring bottled water. The trucker was instructed to haul the water from Northboro to Jersey City, New Jersey.

According to MassLive, at that time, a severe thunderstorm, flooded roads, crashes on the route and heavy traffic made his trip much longer than expected. The truck driver believed that he lacked enough time to deliver his haul without violating HOS restrictions.

Volvo Trucks, with support from the Swedish Energy Agency, has developed a new fuel-sipping concept truck, the result of a five-year-long research project aimed at creating more energy-efficient vehicles. – See more at: http://www.truckersnews.com/volvo-concept-truck-cuts-fuel-consumption-30-percent/#sthash.aiB9wK7o.dpuf

president and CEO Volvo Trucks, says energy-efficient trucks are a high-priority for the company, adding the Volvo Concept Truck – a Volvo FH 420 with D13 Euro 6 engine – cuts fuel consumption by more than 30 percent thanks to a 40 percent boost in both truck and trailer aerodynamic efficiency.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 40 (S.Con.Res.40), expressing opposition toward increasing the 12% Federal Excise Tax (FET) on heavy trucks and truck bodies, according to the NTEA.

In 2015, House Representatives Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.) introduced companion legislation, H.Con.Res.33. Although concurrent resolutions do not have the force of law, they can make a strong statement.

“NTEA commends the Senate on the introduction of this legislation,” said Steve Carey, NTEA executive director. “FET is a complicated tax which deters the purchase of the cleanest, safest, and most fuel-efficient trucks. It is a volatile, undependable funding mechanism for the U.S. highway system, and preventing further increases to this tax is critical.”

Going green isn’t cheap, and for many in the trucking industries the extra cost often has meant that the cleaner choice doesn’t get made.

That’s a situation California-based Calstart wants to end. The organization is dedicated to helping commercial trucking interests as well as air quality and public health regulators work cooperatively.

It’s a role that often puts the nonprofit in an awkward spot as mediator between two sets of antagonistic players — regulators attempting to enforce various legislative requirements and commercial interests threatened by the costs of complying with ever-strengthening clean air rules.

But companies in California, New York and Chicago have been able to take the greener path thanks to innovative, Calstart-backed government voucher programs that put cash upfront to help defray the immediate cost of acquiring clean-technology vehicles.