commercial trucks

More Than Ever, the Trucking Industry Expects Extremely Fast Repair Times

June 11, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“The unanimous customer feedback was that every hour–and sometimes every minute–counts when it comes to uptime,” said Aftermarket senior vice president, Stefan Kürschner. “This is why we evolved our commitment to 24 hours or less–because it’s what our customers need to operate their businesses, and it’s what they need to satisfy their customers.”

Kürschner is referring to the changing standards when it comes to commercial truck repairs or maintenance–because for trucking companies, time is more valuable than ever.

For example, Daimler Trucks North America used to have a promise that it would be able to repair vehicles in three days or less–which wasn’t nearly quickly enough.

Peterbilt has also tightened its maintenance times with an overarching goal of averaging only 24 hours for repair. According to the company’s director of after sales, Bruce Croker, Peterbilt collaborates with dealerships to stick to this goal. A dealership can qualify for the company’s Platinum Program if they have an average time of 2.5 days or less for their own repairs.

To make these quick turnarounds possible, Peterbilt has implemented innovative communication tools and data flow capabilities in an effort to ensure its customers are receiving regular updates in regards to their repairs, and so that it can efficiently monitor the repair process to see right away if any approval or maintenance issues take place at any of its dealer locations. Peterbilt currently operates at 400 different sites.

“There’s lots of things that happen in a service event, and any one of those can slow down things to a crawl,” Croker explained. “So we’re data mining like crazy to work on our bottlenecks.”

The parts distribution sector of the industry is also seeing the effects of these changing standards, explained Rush Enterprises truck dealerships’ managing vice president of operations, Mike Eppes.

“When Amazon and others are delivering next-day or even same-day, that becomes your expectation in your business world as well,” Eppes noted.

For the best–and fastest–customer experience, Rush has ensured customers can order parts any time of day and hold their place in line for when warehouse employees show up. The company has also invested in route optimization for all of its delivery trucks to be able to reach customers as quickly as possible.

Additionally, Rush is utilizing an innovative call center system. This system is able to analyze data in a way to leverage these analytics to meet the needs of all customers in the most efficient way. Dwell times have also seen major reductions thanks to mobile repair capabilities–with 500 mobile technicians now part of the Rush team, explained the company’s vice president of service, Victor Cummings.

USA Truck’s vice president of maintenance, Jeff Harris, explained that other aspects of the trucking industry are undergoing changes in repair time expectations. USA Truck has quick time out estimations for all its equipment.

Hours-of-service requirement updates have also made these companies feel further pressure when it comes to repair times. If a fleet loses time, it loses money just as quickly.

“Operations is just waiting on you,” Harris said. “They just want to know when you’re going to have it done, and do they need to make a move with the driver?”

Because of this, USA Truck is utilizing capabilities to internally and externally track repair times, and ensure that it doesn’t need to wait on any other fleets.

P.A.M. Transport has never set a 24-hour benchmark, but aims to just get all repaired trucks back on the road as soon as possible. The express triage lanes of dealers have helped overall uptimes, P.A.M’.s vice president of maintenance, Shane Barnes, explained.

“In the old days, a carrier’s wait would depend on whatever kind of truck repairs were in front of it,” he said. “You might be behind an oil change, or you might be behind an engine swap.”

C.R. England doesn’t have the same approach, and has one of the fastest turnaround times of all–a 10-hour-or-under target for all repairs requested.

After initially assessing the vehicle, C.R. England’s technicians begin their estimated completion times which come with an accuracy target of 75%, plus or minus one hour of the time given. Because of this, repair times can come down to the minute.

“We’re trying to push the dealers to kind of do the same thing: Geofence your lot,” said vice president of maintenance for C.R. England, Doug Kading. “Don’t tell me when you wrote the work order up. Tell me how long, again, it was physically present at your location.”

New Commercial Driver Panel Launched to Advise FMCSA

December 28, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A new commercial driver panel has been implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety administration as part of its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee.

Members of MCSAC come from various safety enforcement groups, trucking companies, and labor organizations. The new panel, which was announced in mid-September, will work to advise leaders within FMCSA on safety topics and current issues surrounding things like driver training, parking challenges, and hours-of-service regulation changes.

The commercial driver panel will consist of up to 25 drivers within various industry sectors, including tractor-trailer operators, motorcoach drivers, hazardous material-haulers, and transporters of agricultural goods.

“Truck drivers and other commercial vehicle operators are American heroes who have stepped up during the current public health emergency to keep our economy moving,” said Elaine Chao, U.S. Transportation Secretary. “So, their input is essential to strengthening safety on the roads.”

FMCSA said that over the last few years, it has worked diligently to listen to the concerns and opinions of commercial truck drivers across the country and to implement those comments into further safety initiatives.

“The Department of Transportation and this Administration believe in listening to our drivers and hearing their concerns directly,” said Wiley Deck, FMCSA Deputy Administrator. “We know that many of the solutions to the challenges we face don’t come from Washington–they come from the hard-working men and women who are behind the wheel all over our nation. This new subcommittee to MCSAC will further help us hear from America’s commercial drivers.”

Longtime MCSAC member and vice president of Clark Freight Lines, inc., Danny Schnautz, explained that panelists come from a multitude of regions across the country and will hopefully bring a wider variety of perspectives to the discussions and ideas brought to light through MCSAC’s efforts. Schnautz said personal experiences and stories from drivers can unveil the realities that many drivers across the trucking industry face on a day-to-day basis.

Schnautz, who has 180 drivers operating CMVs within his company, said he works to communicate with his drivers each day and to hear their concerns–and that listening to these first-hand accounts of daily driver life is what helps him really understand the goings on of the industry as a whole.

“Some driver says, ‘One time, I was going through Florida…’ [and] whenever you realize that there’s thousands of those stories that say, ‘One time this happened…’ then, you can put together a pretty good pattern, and you can see what’s good and what’s bad in the way we’re regulating trucks,” Schnautz explained. “These are differences that don’t come out unless you’re talking to a driver, because management really can’t tell those stories.”

The experiences he hears about show Schnautz the kinds of worries drivers have that others throughout the industry may not be paying much attention to, such as parking availability, waiting times, hours-of-service regulations, and factors of FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program. Then, Schnautz is able to bring these concerns straight to the panel.

Going straight to the source and into the trucking field is the best way for government officials to learn about what truckers really want for their jobs and livelihoods, Schnautz said. Government officials like Deck, who has been working as deputy administrator for only a couple of months, would be able to gain deeper insight into the realities of the industry by going on ride-alongs or visiting loading docks.

“Don’t discount what you can gain by investing that time to get out,” he said. “Really, we’ve got to prioritize that.”

Right now, the FMCSA is seeking nominations for MCSAC membership from those with particularly beneficial experience, training, and education regarding commercial motor vehicle issues and industry initiatives. A nominee needs to represent at least one of the four membership sectors, which include: safety advocacy, labor, industry, or safety enforcement.

Additionally, members of the committee will need to be able to attend at least two or three meetings each year, either in person or virtually. Nominations are due by November 30th and interested parties can find more information on applicant requirements and eligibility here.

Additionally, FMCSA said it will continue to host discussions and listening sessions with members of the motor carrier industry and the public in order to gain further insight and opinion in the priorities and efforts of the agency.

Pandemic Uproots Fleet Replacement Cycles, Although Industry Stays Optimistic

December 1, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

When the pandemic first hit the United States, fleets across North America expected purchase delays for a short time, but never expected how long equipment replacements would actually be stalled.

Truck dealers were “hit pretty hard,” said Rush Enterprises chairman and CEO, Rusty Rush. Rush operates more than 100 commercial vehicle dealerships across the country.

Although retail sales of Class 8 trucks have begun to grow steadily since the drop in early spring, WardsAuto data show these purchases are still well below numbers from 2019. According to Rush, fleets paused equipment replacement cycles at the start of the pandemic, and, because many manufacturing companies had to close their doors during that time, new trucks haven’t been readily available.

Still, major fleets need to return to their regular replacement schedules, and Rush believes although the setback was a challenge, trucking companies will be able to get back to their normal growth cycles. He also doesn’t expect any more huge changes will come to replacement purchasing cycles unless another major outside change occurs.

Additionally, used trucks have had drops in sales during the pandemic, but have had their values begin to regulate once again, making it a smoother process for fleets looking to trade in their trucks. Shippers also saw difficulty in securing both trucks and drivers to meet the onslaught of consumer demand, but the market is finally beginning to stabilize.

“It’s like the story of two different years,” said Rush. “There was January through the first half of March, and then the second half of March is when everything changed.”

Research firm FTR vice president, Don Ake, explained that a majority of fleets have halted their replacement orders due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, but larger fleets have continued on, especially beginning in June and July.

Orders are still behind regular replacement demand, though, and Ake said fleets that are confident that the economy is indeed improving right now have begun resuming their regular orders, and less-profitable fleets will likely continue to wait to begin replacement cycles again until 2021.

Ake also noted that although the consumer market may seem to be gaining strength, it’s still receiving support from supplemental government income programs, which have expired. According to FTR, a bumpy recovery will progress into next year, when the market will likely reset.

For refrigerated and last-mile delivery providers, Kenworth Sales Co. president Kyle Treadway said replacement cycles are steady, while carriers within the energy sector are having more trouble.

Treadway also believes that used truck values dropped 5% to 8% lower than their trough during the first quarter of 2020, and said he thinks used truck values have reached their lowest numbers.

For Kenworth, new truck sales have resumed to match his fleet’s 2019 numbers, while used truck sales numbers have fallen by 30%. Treadway also predicts delayed growth numbers during the spring of 2021, and that smaller fleets will begin returning to the market around that time. Fleets will need to catch up from this year’s pause, and replacement cycles will gain traction in 2021 for that reason.

“The uncertainty is the problem, not the outcome,” Treadway said regarding how the upcoming presidential election will affect quarter-to-quarter sales throughout the rest of 2020, which he expects to remain flat. “Groceries and garbage are still going to move, regardless of who’s in the White House.”

The market will see a major shift, though, explained ACT’s Denoyer, who said replacement cycles could become shorter, as fleets have been noticing more late-model used trucks having better trade-in values due to fuel efficiency.

For Penske Truck Leasing, customers will work with the company to evaluate replacements on a truck-by-truck basis, according to the company’s senior vice president of procurement and fleet planning, Paul Rosa.

“We are always evaluating the entire equation,” Rosa said.

With truck technology advancing and trucks becoming more durable overall, they are able to last longer, even if a truck hasn’t moved much throughout the time of the pandemic. Still, Penske’s customers may opt not to have extended first lives of 5-year-old trucks and may instead prefer a newer model with better comforts, safety suites, and fuel mileage–which often help with driver retention and recruitment.

For P.A.M. Transport, although replacement cycles were paused due the pandemic, the company continued to follow its typical three-year replacement cycle plan by allowing the delivery of everything it had ordered before the pandemic, as well as orders it made more recently for trailers set to arrive in late 2020.

“We’ve still got to rotate our fleet,” said Shane Barnes, P.A.M.’s associate vice president of maintenance. “I mean, this isn’t going to last forever.”

TMC Meeting Focuses on Industry Tech, Advancing Careers

February 28, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“If you’re all about technical stuff, we’re the place to be,” said Executive Director of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council, Robert Braswell.

TMC is currently taking place at the Georgia World Congress Center, an annual meeting in Atlanta for trucking industry professionals focusing on technology and equipment to gather, tackle current industry issues, and find ways to work together toward improvement.

“This event is one of the few times that key industry decision makers and technology providers come together to review the latest developments in truck technology–including safety, fuel efficiency, and more,” said Braswell. “It is an event that ATA and TMC’s members should take pride in.”

The TMC website explains the meeting and transportation exhibition as “home to trucking’s leading fleet professionals, vehicle manufacturers, and component suppliers.” It says the conference will include the industry’s most innovative sessions that are “planned by fleets, for fleets,” and that it covers all aspects of maintenance and design for trucking vehicles.

“Now in our seventh decade, TMC continues to promote professionals and develop technical standards for the trucking industry,” said Altec Industries’ fleet optimization manager, Kenneth Calhoun. “The annual meeting and exhibition is a critical part of these efforts. Being able to see the technology in practice on the exhibit hall floor and to discuss and learn about the latest advances in truck technology in our myriad of task forces and educational sessions.”

TMC’S theme is “Advancing Careers in Maintenance Management,” which will aim at addressing the largest maintenance issues across the industry. It will bring together almost 5,000 representatives from across the board–manufacturers, suppliers, government officials and more. Among the service providers present will include some of the largest corporations in the industry, such as Wabco Holdings Inc., CIE Manufacturing, Eaton Corp., Dana Inc., and Mack Trucks.

The exhibit began with around 350 exhibitors on its first day, and will continue hosting displays of innovative technology progression, equipment, and maintenance methods.

“In terms of fleet-driven, member-driven, [and] best practices-driven organizations, that’s what we do,” said Braswell.

The electrical study group will discuss its battery tech while the engine study group will dive into diesel fuel issues. There are also sessions focusing on in-cab systems, wheel maintenance, and trailer repairs.

According to Braswell, these study groups are permanent committees that research and analyze current issues, while task forces are more transient and work to solve certain problems more quickly and then disperse.

One major issue the conference is tackling is that of a shortage of technicians. Currently, the demand for diesel technicians is likely to hit 25,655 by 2021, according to TMC and TechForce Foundation’s research.

During the conference, a three-session track dedicated to career development and management will cover time management for supervisors, causes of waste within fleet maintenance, and company communication skills.

According to Calhoun, the career development session will work to support new careers for employees entering the trucking industry while simultaneously allowing current employees to find help in “building their [benches].”

“I would encourage those members that are coming to look around to say, ‘Where are those individuals in my organization that have shown that spark and that initiative?’ And, ‘How do I get them here to take advantage of professional development opportunities?’” said Calhoun.

In addition, the council has a program dubbed “Leaders of Tomorrow” for fleet maintenance professionals gaining traction in the industry who are in their early 40s or younger, or who have at least five years’ experience.

The Be Pro Be Proud initiative will also take precedence–an effort that works to introduce students to careers in the industry through various presentation methods, including virtual- and augmented-reality technology.

This program has its own trailer equipped with interactive demonstrations, such as how to work with a diesel technician and how to maintain utility poles, and will have locomotive and excavator simulations.

“That’s very rewarding when you can share a vision like that and it actually produces something tangible,” said Calhoun. “As I look at the ability to produce something like [the simulations], where we can begin to engage young people while they’re still in middle and high school to think about the opportunities that are out there, [and] that will be around hopefully long after I’m gone–that’s a big deal.”

Trucking Employees Weigh in on CARB’s Plan for Electric Trucks

January 23, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Right now, truck manufacturers are looking closely into California’s proposed rule regarding the sale of electric trucks.

California environmental regulators are working to determine the best way to move forward with a plan requiring truck manufacturers to start selling zero-emission vehicles within the next four years.

The California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Truck Regulation, the first proposal of its kind in the nation, would bring about these sales by 2024, but would not force fleets to purchase vehicles of this kind or require a particular zero-emissions technology to be put in place.

“Zero-emission technology continues to improve rapidly, and costs continue to come down,” said CARB in a proposal summary.

The regulation, which was presented by staff to CARB earlier this month, would require 3% of Classes 7-8 trucks sold by large truck manufacturers to be zero-emission vehicles by their 2024 models, and 15% to be zero-emission by 2030. Other manufacturing companies producing models such as refuse trucks and step vans would need to have a certain percentage of zero-emission trucks by 2024 as well.

For straight trucks, the number jumps from 7% in 2024 to a whopping 50% by 2030.

The proposal would also mean California carriers with gross revenues of over $50 million, or that own more than 100 8,500-pound trucks, must report their vehicle activity by April 1st, 2021, with a detailed description of the vehicles assigned to their facilities.

CARB accepted public comments on the proposal until December 9th, and had a public hearing on the regulation December 12th. The final vote is anticipated for next year.

However, as of now, the industry is divided regarding the proposal. The hearing’s commentators included believers that this plan would try to implement the new technology far too quickly, as well as those saying it hasn’t been put into place fast enough.

“Our goal here is to transform the transportation system,” said Mary Nichols, CARB’s board chairman. “It’s not just to meet a target. We need to move as fast as we can without screwing things up. This is tough stuff. If it were easy, it would have been done by now.”

California has offered rebates in an attempt to offset higher sticker prices for hybrid and zero-emission trucks. CARB, though, recently announced that the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project has a wait list that currently exceeds the fiscal 2019-20 budget’s funding.

In late October, CARB announced its program’s new attempts to better “align eligible technologies with HVIP goals.”

CARB also released a fact sheet regarding the proposal, which detailed more than 70 models of zero-emissions trucks, vans, and buses that are currently commercially available. California also has funding assistance available for technologies such as these through multiple programs.

“As technology advances, zero-emission trucks will become suitable for more applications.” said CARB. “Most major truck manufacturers have announced plans to introduce market ready zero-emission trucks in the near future.

Regardless, the ability to convert the entire industry from diesel to electric–which is the goal in California by 2045–seems extraordinarily difficult.

“We support zero-emissions vehicles,” said Jed Mandel, president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, at the hearing. “But designing a program based on a naked sales mandate is fundamentally flawed. Trucks are not cars.”

His suggestion was that CARB starts with the segments of the trucking industry that have the ability to implement the technology now, such as step vans and buses, rather than heavy longhaul trucks.

“There’s a great deal of intrigue when it comes to electric trucks, but not a lot of experience,” said American Trucking Associations’ California-based director of environmental research, Mike Tunnell. “There’s hope and anticipation that these vehicles will be able to stand up to the daily demands of the industry in terms of range, durability, and reliability.”

He also said that trucking companies are only evaluating prototypes right now.

“We are just beginning the stages of understanding the challenges and opportunities that this technology presents,” Tunnell explained.

CARB board member Hector De La Torre agreed.

“I think the key is availability,” he said. “From what I’m hearing, it won’t be until the mid-2020s that commercial trucks will be available. I’m talking longhaul [Class] 7s and 8s. So, we’re not there yet with those, clearly.”

New Federal Rules Will Help Trucking Companies Hire Safe Drivers

November 6, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Federal government has adopted new policies aimed at taking unqualified truck drivers off the road. Registration is now open for the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, a new substance abuse screening system for truckers that is scheduled to be operational early in 2020 . The Clearinghouse is a database that will keep track of drivers who have violated drug and alcohol policies in order to stop them from operating commercial vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration anticipates that the implementation of this database will substantially reduce motor vehicle crashes involving heavy trucks.

The federal rules regarding professional truck drivers already prohibit drivers from getting behind the wheel when they test positive for illegal drugs. Of course, everyone knows that drunk driving is illegal. The Clearinghouse database will allow trucking companies to screen drivers applying for jobs to see if they have previously tested positive for drugs and are looking to get hired at a new place. Drivers can also lookup their own information once they have registered with the Clearinghouse themselves. Once registered, drivers can search for their own information for free. The database will include information about whether a professional driver has any drug or alcohol program violations and, if applicable, the status of their petitions to return to duty.

The new system is meant to act as a check on drivers who violate substance abuse rules follow the proper protocol to get back in to good standing, if possible, before they are allowed to keep driving. Drivers with commercial driver’s licenses, employers, law enforcement, medical review officers, and substance abuse processionals will be among the groups who will be authorized to access the Clearinghouse.

As for what should be reported to the database – Federal Statutes cover that:

Employers will report a driver’s drug and alcohol program violations. Medical review officers will do this as well. A driver does not need to register him or herself into the system for a medical review officer to enter a violation in the system. In fact, it is not mandatory for a driver to register. But, if an employer needs to conduct a full check on a driver, that driver will have to register. This means, drivers who don’t want to take part may not be able to get hired for certain jobs because perspective or current employers will not be able to conduct a full search on the database for their information. After January 6, 2019 a driver will have to be registered with the Clearinghouse in order for an employer to be able to conduct a full search on their record for new hires. Drivers who are registered will be able to give their consent to release drug and alcohol program information to employers. Also, when new information is added to their profile, drivers will receive notifications from the Clearinghouse in the mail or electronically.

Drug abuse is a problem that needs to be addressed with treatment and counseling. Allowing drivers to keep working when they have a substance abuse problem by slipping through bureaucratic cracks doesn’t help drivers who may need help to get sober. It obviously makes roads less safe.

In the computer age with so much information going digital, this just makes sense. Professional truck drivers have a difficult job. They have to work long hours, often by themselves, away from their families. They have to keep alert on the road and get enough rest to do so. Drug use is a problem that poses a great risk to the health and safety of, not only professional drivers, but also everyone else who shares the road with them. Safety is on the roads is imperative. This database is likely the least intrusive way to keep records of drug and alcohol program violations so that employers know if they are sending a driver out on the road with the proper credentials.