User-Based Funding Projects Next in Line for FHWA Grants

June 1, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Through the Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives program, the Federal Highway Administration is awarding $18.7 million to eight user-based revenue testing projects.

The Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives program was implemented by 2015’s Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The focus of this program is to provide backing for states that are working on adopting user-based funding methods.

The newly-funded projects come at the hands of the transportation coalition and various state departments of transportation and their efforts to better evaluate road usage charges and mileage-based user fees.

One grant recipient was Ohio’s Department of Transportation, which will receive $2 million in funds to help with its efforts in creating a public-educating outreach program. This money is expected to help the agency collect the necessary data and find the best possible ways in which it can help more people fully understand road usage charges.

In regards to transportation funding in general, the Ohio General Assembly has requested that the Ohio Department of Transportation begin focusing on how best to take more of a vehicle-miles-traveled approach, according to ODOT’s spokesman, Matt Bruning.

“For decades, the preferred funding mechanism for roads and bridges has been through the motor fuel tax,” explained Bruning. “However, as vehicles become more fuel efficient, the revenue from this source hasn’t been keeping pace with the cost of maintaining our infrastructure.”

With all of the technological and fuel-efficient changes coming to transportation, these grants are set to help these agencies find the most efficient ways to keep up with the evolution of the industry.

“The funds will be used to educate, research, demonstrate need, and determine possible next steps forward,” Bruning added.

The projects that will receive the support they need from these funds are expected to help these states find the best ways in which they can boost the Highway Trust Fund, FHWA noted. For instance, the federal fuel tax has long-supported the Highway Trust Fund, although it has stayed at 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel for the last 27 years. Now, applicants for these grants must prove their intentions to solve issues regarding the effects of user fees on people in various geographic regions or having varying household incomes.

As of now, $73.7 million has been awarded by the Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives program to 37 different projects since 2016.

“The pilot projects under the STSFA program allow states to learn more about potential new user fees structures that can complement traditional funding sources that states rely on to build and improve the nation’s highway and bridge infrastructure,” explained Stephanie Pollack, acting Federal Highway Administrator.

Delaware’s Department of Transportation and the Eastern Transportation Coalition (formerly the I-95 Corridor Coalition) have been gearing up to test mileage-based user fees in places like Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The District of Columbia and 17 other states have been collaborating within the Eastern Transportation Coalition to analyze mileage-based user fees possibilities through pilot programs, for which the groups will receive $4.67 million.

$3.25 million will be allocated to efforts spearheaded by the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Department of Transportation, which are prioritizing the testing of road usage charge systems and their effects throughout the Midwest. This project will study the impacts of this kind of system in regards to supply chain operators and commercial freight haulers, as well as the effects within both agricultural and rural regions.

Additionally, because Utah’s Department of Transportation is working to boost customer service capabilities in regards to potential road usage charges, the state will receive $1.25 million. These efforts are aiming to bring about more supporters and improve public perception in regards to these kinds of policies.

“Customer experience is a key ingredient in advancing acceptance of road usage charge policies and systems,” explained the manager of UDOT’s Road Usage Charge Program, Tiffany Pocock. “Funding this application for customer experience improvements will help Utah grow its own program and provide much-needed best practice guidance to other states.”

The Art of Choosing the Right Tires for Your Fleet

May 31, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Trucking companies across the country now need a wide range of knowledge in regards to their tire choices, and must have an understanding of how to factor in fuel economy, tread ware, price, and technology collaborative capability.

Fuel efficiency is especially important for fleets to take into account right now in regards to tire purchases, as diesel prices throughout the country have been rising steadily in 2021–reaching an average of $4 per gallon in some areas.

“Right now, the return on investment in low-rolling-resistance tires is small, but it should grow as the cost of diesel rises,” said Hirschbach’s chief maintenance officer, Nick Forte. Additionally, wide-base tires can boost fuel efficiency in general, although they need to be replaced more frequently.

According to Forte, Hirschbach’s dual-drive tire replacements log an average of 300,000 to 325,000 miles, while the company’s wide-base drive tires average around 200,000 miles.

Some fleets have been incorporating low-rolling-resistance tires onto their vehicles. This method, although it may be initially more expensive, can help a company reduce its overall fuel costs. Maintenance expenses are a major focus for fleets, and investing in quality tires can make all the difference.

“Tires are behind fuel and labor as an expense, but they are a strong number three [for our company],” explained vice president of vehicle maintenance and fleet services at Pitt Ohio, Taki Darakos. Pitt Ohio is a regional carrier based in Pittsburgh. “They play a large role in our financials.”

Penske Truck Leasing utilizes dual tires, typically, because they are known as an industry standard and the most common type of tire in the company’s fleet. However, Penske will often utilize wide-base, low-rolling-resistance tires for efficiency and regulatory compliance factors.

“If a customer requests wide-base tires, we will provide wide-base, but low-rolling-resistance dual tires are what we use to be compliant with CARB [California Air Resources Board], SmartWay, and greenhouse gas regulations,” said Penske’s vice president of vehicle supply, Scott Brower.

Penske can also monitor tire pressure–another major factor in regards to a truck’s fuel economy–by using onboard technology that can manually maintain or inflate a tire’s pressure. Real-time data pertaining to a truck’s tire pressure is collected by sensors and then sent to Penske through a telematics system.

To further save in overall fuel costs, Penske finds ways to conserve energy through the implementation of aluminum wheels and air tanks, air disc brakes, light weighting specs, automated manual transmissions, smaller engines, boosted fuel capacity, faster rear axle ratios, and vehicle aerodynamics.

However, efficient fuel economy is not the top priority for all trucking companies, such as Averitt Express out of Cookeville, Tennessee.

“We look at total cost, and tire wear drives the numbers, not fuel economy,” said the company’s director of maintenance, Doug Lloyd. “As an LTL carrier, we need robust tires, and fuel economy is a benefit [of that].”

This thought process causes some trucking companies to focus on maximized tire longevity as opposed to fuel economy, explained Cooper Tire’s global truck and bus tire business executive director, Gary Schroeder.

Specifically, Cooper Tire collaborates with fleets to create a total-cost-of-ownership equation that takes into account the casing value, fuel efficiency, mileage, and tire price, and gives a company their best possible options.

“Knowing these four factors and comparing the numbers across brands allows the fleet manager to make informed, fact-based decisions on replacing worn tires,” explained Schroeder.

Still, although companies can use different methods in selecting their tires and boosting their fuel efficiency–including using third-party resources to measure their fleet’s fuel economy–gas prices are becoming a dark cloud over the trucking industry and the economic health in regions across the United States.

These rising fuel prices will force trucking companies to consider further utilization of low-rolling-resistance tires, even though they typically have a less-than-ideal tread depth, explained North American Council for Freight Efficiency executive director, Mike Roeth.

“When fuel hits $4 a gallon, efficiencies will become important,” he said. “Depth of tread helps traction and wear, but higher tread is worse for fuel economy. Less tread depth is better for fuel economy. Lately, engineers at tire manufacturers have been doing good work combining fuel economy, traction, and wear.”

Workforce Legislation for Young Drivers Introduced by Senate

May 31, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Logistics manager controlling truck driver schedule

“Today, 18-year-olds can drive more than 200 miles from New Albany to Gary and back, but they aren’t allowed to drive two miles from New Albany to Louisville,” said Senator Todd Young, who also serves as a member of the trucking policy-overseeing Commerce Committee. “The DRIVE-Safe Act will eliminate this ridiculous regulation and, in doing so, [will] address the driver shortage while providing new career opportunities for young Hoosiers.”

There have, until recently, been widespread restrictions for truck drivers under than age of 21 to operate trucks within interstate commerce, and many groups throughout the trucking industry have been working to relax those regulations in an effort to introduce more drivers into the workforce and help combat the national truck driver shortage. This shortage has been high on the list of trucking industry concerns for quite some time.

Recently, senators released legislation that would allow truckers younger than 21 to operate across state lines. The bill has been named the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE-Safe) Act, and has been backed strongly by Senator Young.

“The DRIVE Safe Act, which has strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, will expand job opportunities in trucking while also enhancing safety training and technology standards,” said American Trucking Associations recently in a tweet.

Young first introduced a version of this bill at a prior congressional session, but the legislation did not make it to the desk of the president. He has now reintroduced this bill to Congress with the support of Senators Kyrsten Sinema, Tom Cotton, Jerry Moran, Angus King, Jim Inhofe, and Joe Manchin–all co-sponsors of the bill.

The bill will focus on boosting employment opportunities and safety training for these young truckers, and would work to implement specific apprenticeship programs that would help all commercial driver license holders who are younger than 21 become able to haul shipments between different states via commercial motor vehicles.

“Now, more than ever, young Montanans need more opportunities to get comprehensive job training, access higher-paying work, and grow their careers early on,” said bill co-sponsor, Senator Jon Tester. “This bipartisan bill will do just that, allowing younger truckers to get top-of-the-line apprenticeships that kick their careers into gear, all while providing a big boost to the thousands of communities across the Big Sky who rely almost exclusively on trucks to move goods in and out of the state.”

Besides the partial solution that this bill would bring to the truck driver shortage, one major benefit, according to the bill’s supporters, is the economic boost it could bring to the country’s supply chain.

The current driver shortage has been a major factor in the nation’s economic struggles, Young explained.

“A strong domestic supply chain is essential for a competitive national economy, and the efficiency of the domestic supply chain is contingent upon the efficiency of our transportation networks,” Young said. “I’m concerned about the trucking industry’s growing driver shortage and its impact on the resilience of our domestic supply chain.”

American Trucking Associations has warned that the driver shortage is likely to continue at an incline over the next few years, with the rising demand in e-commerce (which skyrocketed during the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders) and growing numbers of trucking retirees being the largest causes.

According to ATA, the trucking industry will need to bring onboard an additional 1.1 million new truck drivers–or around 110,000 annually–over the next ten years if it wants to meet the demands of the country.

“This bill has strong, bipartisan backing because it’s both common sense and pro-safety,” said President of ATA, Chris Spear. “It raises the bar for training standards and safety technology far above what is asked of the thousands of under-21 drivers who are already legally driving commercial vehicles in 49 states today. The DRIVE-Safe Act is not a path to allow every young person to drive across state lines, but it envisions creating a safety-centered process for identifying, training, and empowering the safest, most responsible 18- to 20-year-olds to more fully participate in our industry.”

Pre-Planning Efforts by Carriers in Place to Help Truck Parking Crisis

May 30, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“With parking being as big a factor as it is, a successful driver can no longer simply leave out on a trip and decide last-minute [that] they are going to just pull in and park at a given location,” said Cargo Transporters vice president of safety, Shawn Brown.

Right now, the issue of parking availability for truck drivers is a continuous battle, and there have been no widespread solutions–including those in regards to infrastructure updates–to combat this frequent issue.

Because of this, trucking companies are having to go above and beyond what they should have to do to ensure their drivers can find places to park when it’s time for a driver to rest during a long-haul shipment. These methods include securing paid reservations for parking spots or even booking hotel rooms for a driver to be able to take a break, as well as utilizing real-time parking availability information within various technologies and implementing in-depth strategic planning that is mapped out far in advance of a driver’s trip.

”Careful planning needs to occur along with taking into account factors such as time of day, weather, traffic days, et cetera…that all in some way affect how a trip will play out, and therefore how satisfied a driver is,” Brown added.

2020 saw parking challenges increase as stay-at-home orders caused many states to shut down their public rest areas. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, parking for truck drivers became either “somewhat harder” or “much harder” once the pandemic was in full swing for 44% of respondents.

Now, truck parking is the number one overall concern for truckers across the nation.

“I think this peak in ranking is reflective of the continued frustration on the part of drivers who struggle to find a safe place to rest each day,” said Rebecca Brewster, President of ATRI.

This is an especially prevalent issue in some areas that are heavily populated–particularly during rush hour.

“We also see the I-95 corridor from the Virginia-North Carolina line all the way south to nearly the South Carolina line before you come to adequate truck parking,” said Cargo transporters’ Brown. “Many times, drivers will have ample drive time left on their clock, but due to this issue will have to take the opportunity to get parked early in the driving shift so as not to get stuck without parking when the driving hours are almost expired.”

Because of this, Cargo Transporters has found that it needs to plan ahead of time to contact customers and find out if parking is open on their property around the time the driver will be loading or unloading, and will stay in contact with drivers to make the best real-time decisions for their trips.

Luckily, truckers have been outsmarting parking shortage issues with the help of live parking data within certain kinds of technology. The Park My Truck app, developed by the Truck Parking Leadership Initiative, allows rest areas, truck stops, and other establishments to report the number of parking spots open on their properties in real time. The initiative was a collaborative effort by NATSO–a group representing operators of truck stops–along with ATRI and American Trucking Associations.

“Drivers can update [apps like these] to say spots are limited or there are a few spots left,” said Tim Chelette, a truck driver for Big G Express. “It saves you time.”

This is especially true on certain apps that update the platform with real-time parking updates from the public, like Trucker Path. This app has a network of 600,000 truckers adding live, updated parking information throughout the day in regards to 8,000 different locations so that truckers can easily find available parking.

Still, though, some parking reservations are only able to be held for a fee, but trucking companies will typically reimburse drivers for these costs.

“If a driver has to pay for parking, that’s just the way it is,” said Garth Pitzel, director of safety and driver development for Bison Transport. “Ultimately, first and foremost is ensuring the safety of our employees and contractors.”

One parking information app, TruckPark Inc., allows fleets and drivers to pay either on-demand or in advance for up to a 12-hour hold on a parking spot, which the platform reserves in collaboration with certain private businesses. Drivers can also pay for on-demand delivery of fuel for any location other than a designated truck stop.

“You could park at a hotel, rest stop, or shipper and we’re going to dispatch a truck to you,” said TruckPark’s CEO, Anthony Petitte.

Additionally, eight midwestern state Departments of Transportation–Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, And Wisconsin–are working together with the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials within the Truck Parking Information and Management System initiative. This effort is the country’s first regional truck parking information system that allows users to access and share data in regards to common freight corridors.

43 sites across these states will begin collecting and releasing camera, video, and wireless puck data to detect the number of open parking spots multiple times a day. With a $25 million dollar grant in hand, this initiative will require all states involved to utilize the system until 2022, which will likely be extended.

“Now, [truckers] can know what is ahead of them and make better decisions on how much further they can drive before getting to a suitable parking location.” explained transportation planner for the Iowa Department of Transportation, Phil Mescher.

New Large-Truck Crash Causal Factor Study Underway

May 29, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Law enforcement officers work at the scene of a deadly crash in Holtville, Calif., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Authorities say a semi-truck crashed into an SUV carrying multiple people on a Southern California highway, killing at least 13 people and injuring others. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A new Large Truck Crash Causal Factors study is about to be underway as federal regulators move forward with plans to find updated data regarding large truck-related crashes throughout the United States.

According to a recent presentation given by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, this updated study will allow researchers to gather information replacing the data collected in a similar study nearly two decades ago. The $30 million updated study will help researchers find all factors that may play into a dangerous crash–including everything from driver behavior and roadway design to technology innovations and overall vehicle safety.

The study will aim to bring about “an evolutionary focus moving from crashworthiness to crash avoidance,” explained FMCSA statistician, Jenny Guarino. According to Guarino, who explained the intentions of this research in a recent virtual presentation hosted by FMCSA, noted that although the study is in its early developmental stages, it will work to find ways of boosting overall crash avoidance and that it has the potential to save lives across the country.

The main goal of these research efforts will be to present important data regarding the driver behaviors and technology issues that contribute to a crash–data that could help researchers determine and create solutions to such pre-crash factors that may be at play in order to bring an end to large-truck crashes making our nation’s roads a dangerous place.

Additionally, the information found in this study could aid in the development of innovative trucking tech and automation, as well as influence future rule-making for the industry as a whole. There is also a hope that the data will be applicable to crash causal factors research regarding passenger vehicles, as well.

“The data will greatly increase our knowledge about causation and related factors sufficient to create countermeasures through legislation, regulation, enforcement, and education,” Guarino explained, adding that updated analysis into these causal factors is vital right now as the industry undergoes so many changes and upgrades in regards to vehicle safety and technology, roadway designs, and driver behavior. Large truck-related fatal crashes have been on an incline since 2009, and all of these continuous innovations and changes directly affect their severity. Therefore, this kind of vitally important data must always stay up-to-date.

In fact, FMCSA has been working to conduct research of this kind since January of 2020, when it first requested input regarding the potential design for a study of this kind. The agency received 167 comments responding to its information request from stakeholders, academics, and industry experts, the majority of which made clear their support for a new method of study design that would adequately and accurately represent the country as a whole.

Additionally, FMCSA sought after information in regards to how best to implement comprehensive data sources, ranges of crash types and severity, cost efficiency concerns, and the intention to obtain a widely-representative sample.

One particular concern, brought to light last year by National Transportation Safety Board project manager, Ryan Smith, is the challenges that may arise while attempting to collect and understand substantial data in regards to drivers using marijuana and drivers that are otherwise impaired. This worry comes from well-known difficulties surrounding usage and overall understanding of the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s data.

The crash causation study that was released more than 17 years ago focused on detailed large-truck crashes that took place between April of 2001 and December of 2003, and aimed to find a fully-representative sample within that timeframe. In this study sample, each crash analyzed included either a fatality or injury and at least one large truck.

This study collected data from a sample of 963 crashes involving 959 non-large-truck vehicles (which showed 249 fatalities and 1,654 injuries) and involving 1,123 large-truck vehicles (77 percent of which were tractors pulling one semi-trailer, and another 5 percent were trucks carrying hazardous materials). Out of all 963 crashes, 73 percent involved at least one large truck hitting at least one other vehicle.

In this updated study, FMCSA is planning to conduct research over four separate phases. It is currently in its first phase, and the second will involve clearance from the Office of Management and Budget, development of information technology, and overall planning for the rest of the study.

In its third phase, the study will collect its data regarding 2,000 crashes analyzed within 32 different sites across the country–this phase is likely to begin in January 2022 and take another two years. In the final phase, the agency will conduct thorough data analysis, write its final report, and release it to the public.

How Trucking is Making Major Moves with Electrification

May 28, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Toned Trailer truck with glow and motion blur 3d rendering

The electrification of trucks and buses is finally becoming more mainstream than ever as efforts to reach nationwide goals regarding clean air continue to progress. Although electric passenger cars are the vehicles generating the most revenue out of all electric vehicle sales, the Environmental Defense Fund explained that the usage of zero-emission trucks is gaining momentum.

The benefits from these kinds of trucks are persuading shippers, manufacturers, and environmental activists to strongly support these efforts, and these groups are urging the trucking industry to find the quickest and most efficient ways to increase implementation of non-diesel-powered vehicles.

“Eliminating tailpipe pollution from these vehicles is also essential to help meet our nation’s climate goals,” said the Environmental Defense Fund in its recent report. “Our nation must adopt air pollution standards that ensure that all new sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses are zero-emission vehicles by 2040 at the latest.”

On the same day that nearly two dozen companies and business groups released a letter requesting that the California Air Resources Board begin taking a serious approach to establishing rules requiring that trucks become electric throughout the state, the Environmental Defense Fund study released its report.

“California has already established itself as an epicenter of the clean energy economy, with nearly 540,000 clean energy workers,” said the letter written by these businesses. “That figure includes almost 40,000 clean vehicle jobs, which covers jobs in electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturing, repair and maintenance, wholesale trade, and professional service in California’s core EV industries.”

California is part of a 15-state coalition working together to ensure all heavy-duty commercial trucks are powered by clean energy by 2050, and has been working to mandate the usage of electric trucks itself. Its in-state efforts will begin in 2024, with current plans for clean-air initiatives progressing into 2045.

“Today, we are testing 78 zero-emission heavy-duty trucks,” explained Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles. “They’re either on the road or being assembled right now. What’s encouraging is that, after more than a decade of proofs-of-concept and demonstrations, we are starting to have real discussions with truck manufacturers about what it will take to make a zero-emission equipment market here in Los Angeles. Our goal is to have this recruitment deployed first at the Port of Los Angeles.”

FedEx, to the approval of many environmental activist groups, announced last month that it would be investing an initial amount of $2 billion into efforts to begin purchasing electric vehicles by the year 2025, with a target goal of converting its entire FedEx Express delivery fleet to solely carbon-neutral vehicles by 2040.

“FedEx trucks pass through neighborhoods across the nation, making this announcement an important step toward better air quality and climate action,” said Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign director, Gina Coplon-Newfield. “The momentum to electrify delivery trucks is on, and we urge FedEx to move as quickly as possible to get to a 100% electric fleet.”

Many other carriers have recently made announcements that they are working to implement electric trucks into their own fleets, including Walmart. In September 2020, Walmart announced that it would be working to make all of its tractors electric– it currently has a fleet of 7,400 vehicles. This goal includes its long-haul trucks, and the company has noted that it will aim to reach zero overall carbon emissions–throughout all of its global operations–by 2040.

Canada’s Walmart division is also making major clean energy efforts, committing to converting nearly a quarter of its fleet to become electrically powered by the end of next year–and progressing to using completely clean energy by the year 2028. Specifically, it will be increasing its possession of the Tesla Semi–which is battery-electric–to 130 trucks.

Dependable Highway Express, NFI Industries, Penske Truck Leasing, and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings have all expressed their intentions to implement electric heavy-duty trucks into their fleets, with Knight-Swift already deploying a Freightliner Cascadia tractor, its first battery-electric truck. The company’s goal is to reduce its carbon emissions by half by the year 2035.

More trucking companies are jumping onboard this trend, like Cummins Inc. and Navistar, who have begun to collaborate in the manufacturing of their own unique Class 8 truck through U.S. Department of Energy grant funds to create a vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Finally, Amazon Inc. announced its plans to operate 10,000 electric vans throughout the United States in Europe by next year, and 100,000 completely electric delivery vans by 2030. These delivery vans are manufactured by Rivian, a zero-emission manufacturer whose vehicles will be used by Amazon to make deliveries as soon as this year.