Public Health

Trucker Training Faces the New Realities of the Pandemic

January 8, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Trucking operations across the country have had to adapt their protocol and day-to-day business practices to the realities brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. These changes included everything from technology use to sanitation routines, but some major changes that have come about are those regarding new driver orientation and training methods.

“We’ve done quite a few things,” said Roadmaster Drivers School president, Brad Ball. “We stopped training on the weekends and enhanced our cleaning efforts. We started handing out protective gear to the students. We’re requiring masks on campus and 6-foot distancing.”

The biggest difference, Ball said, is the change in driving student numbers allowed at a time.

“We reduced the number of students we have in school because of social distancing, and we actually took out chairs and computers so the students are sitting 6 feet apart. All of our schools across the country have a lower maximum number of students in the classroom.”

Additionally, at Roadmaster, students now must be informed of all potential coronavirus risks during any training process. Informative signs have been posted throughout training facilities, and an additional class has been added that is dedicated specifically to a trucker’s coronavirus risks while on the job.

“The first thing that we did was we met with our physician and outlined a questionnaire to make sure that anybody we were bringing in did not have an extra risk in contracting COVID,” said Prime Inc. manager of driver recruiting, Travis Bacon. “We required everyone to pass that questionnaire.”

Springfield, Missouri-based Prime Inc. has been keeping students as separated as possible with more options of class times, and has implemented virtual training classes–something not often considered in the world of new truck driver training and onboarding processes.

“We also started going to a virtual orientation,” said Bacon. “Basically, we were having them complete their interview virtually, [and] all the classes that they are able to do virtually.”

C.R. England’s vice president of driver recruiting and schools, Wayne Cederholm, agreed that the virtual aspects of the new reality of training have been a major shift within the industry, and that there are some hefty limits to remote truck driver training in general.

“It has been the most unique challenge I have faced in my career, personally, when it comes to training truck drivers, and even recruiting them,” Cederholm explained. “[Out of] a couple of big changes that we have made, one is that we do have a remote orientation. We provide masks to every single employee, driver, [and] applicant that comes through our facility. We have spread out how many people can go on a truck at any given time. We have completely reduced our rations.”

In terms of new driver training technology, Schneider National unveiled its completely-remote driver orientation program in September, which will work to help incoming truckers social distance and still receive proper orientation and onboarding experiences.

“The remote course that is covered in hotel conference rooms is the same curriculum that is being presented at Schneider training academies,” said Schenider’s vice president of safety, driver training, and compliance, Tom DiSalvi. “It’s just being broadcasted remotely to allow for even greater social distancing.”

DiSalvi also explained that remote orientation has the capacity to be provided to the same number–or to even more–students than would regularly be training in a traditional in-person class, and all orientations are conducted from designated hotels located close to Schneider training facilities.

“Very little change was required, other than [that] all of our students are now issued Chromebooks,” said DiSalvi. “We have coordinated remote training classes for our office and shop associates in the past, but this is the first time we’ve done remote training for our driver associates.”

Not all trucking companies have fully embraced virtual orientation and training, yet, though, and understandably so, when truck driving is, of course, a career with duties that must be executed in-person.

“We have dabbled in [remote training], we’ve tested it, and we’re not there yet,” said Roadmaster’s Ball. “We’re not convinced virtual training is an efficient method of training people who are learning how to drive a truck. It’s a very hands-on thing that we’re teaching here, and we just found that being in the classroom is just the right way to teach this curriculum at this time.”

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week Reaches New Heights Following Pandemic Efforts

December 12, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

We have recently reported on the huge amount of support and appreciation Americans have been giving truckers as they work overtime throughout the coronavirus pandemic. During this year’s National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, drivers received more–well-deserved–recognition and celebration than ever before.

“The critical impact and service of the professional men and women behind the wheel who drive our economy forward every day can never be understated,” said Chris Spear, president of American Trucking Associations. “National Truck Driver Appreciation Week provides a chance for America to honor and thank these national heroes, let them know how much we appreciate them, and tell their remarkable stories.”

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, which happened to fall during the appreciation week, Baylor Trucking made a plan to show appreciation for its own drivers.

“To be able to start a trucking business from the cornfields of Indiana and sustain through 75 years of economic cycles is a remarkable accomplishment,” said Cari Baylor, president of the company. “We are grateful to God and give praise to all of our professional drivers and team members who have contributed to our success.”

Baylor Trucking, a dry van and refrigerated truckload carrier that was founded by World War II veteran Chester Baylor in 1945, offered gifts and raffle prizes to its drivers during this time of celebration.

“As we commemorate our 75th anniversary during NTDAW, Baylor Trucking wants to go above and beyond to acknowledge our gratitude and to honor our amazing professional drivers,” said the company in a statement.

Many of Baylor’s drivers were also able to operate a fleet of special 75th anniversary trucks. Additionally, driver appreciation messages and giveaways were posted on the company’s Facebook page in the days leading up to National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

Garner Transportation Group joined in on the appreciation efforts as well, offering refreshments and goodies to drivers around its Ohio location.

“We are so proud of you,” said Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, president of Garner, in a video message to the company’s employees. “We have so many things going on this week, and we want to start the week by saying thank you but [also by] inviting you to come through the shop here in Findlay. In the lobby, we have some snacks. Stop by, pick something up, [pick up] some drinks. Staff will be fueling your truck so you’ll be able to take a break.”

Garner also provided truckers with backpacks filled with gifts to show its thanks.

TravelCenters of America expressed its gratitude for truckers by offering discounted showers and parking, as well as gift packages, catering, and other refreshments to its truckers throughout the company’s offices across the country.

“Professional truck drivers play an integral role in keeping our economy moving, and that was especially apparent since the onset of the pandemic this year, [when they were] delivering everything from gasoline to groceries and medical supplies,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. “Volvo Trucks would like to give these drivers the recognition they deserve and thank them for their commitment to the crucial job of transporting the food, cargo, consumer products, and equipment that are essential to our everyday lives.”

Peterson Manufacturing, along with ATA, decided to show its thanks by offering a $1,000 bonus to truckers who have faced certain challenges throughout the pandemic in an effort to provide extra help to these drivers going above and beyond while undergoing their own difficulties.

“We are proud of our industry truck drivers, and how they have supported our country during these uncertain times,” said Peterson fleet business development manager, David Black. “We are happy to be able to give back to the industry with our Shining the Light on America’s Truck Drivers campaign.”

Many major trucking companies took to various social media platforms to express their truck driver appreciation.

“There are 3.4 million professional truck drivers in America, including [more than] 136,000 UPSers, who have been delivering for our communities throughout the pandemic,” said Carol Tomé, CEO of UPS, in a Tweet. “Thank you for moving our country forward, especially during these challenging times.”

Great West Casualty Company also tweeted its thanks, announcing its surprise appreciation lunch at a Jefferson, South Dakota weigh station.

“What a great day–Great West surprised 200 truckers today with free lunch at the Jefferson, SD weigh station as part of Truck Driver Appreciation Week,” said the company on Twitter. “Thank you to all drivers for keeping our supply chain moving.”

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.”

Trucking Companies Work to Help Victims of Hurricane Laura

November 29, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Fleets have banded together to bring aid to victims of Hurricane Laura since it first hit land at the end of August.

“Truckers have moved millions of meals, water, tarps, plastic sheeting, generators, fuel, and other items in support of response operations to both Texas and Louisiana,” said a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesperson. “They have operated day and night to keep critical commodities flowing into the states.”

Louisiana, which suffered the worst damage, has been the focus of trucking companies transporting much-needed emergency supplies.

“I have family and friends who live in the west and southwest side of the state–the Lake Charles area and the DeRidder area,” said Frisard’s Trucking Co. Inc. chief operating officer, Cully Frisard. “Of course, we have drivers that live out in those areas as well that were impacted by the storm. It really did catastrophic damage.”

Frisard, based in Gramercy, Louisiana, began organizing a donation drive, but quickly realized there was much more work to do.

“I was out there, and a bunch of other family members were out there helping,” said Frisard. “I said, ‘We have to do more than this. This is not going to be enough.’ We turned around and partnered with the United Cajun Navy in Baton Rouge. We have since delivered a total of 10 loads.”

Back in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Frisard allocated seven of its trucks to help victims in the area along with the volunteer-based United Cajun Navy. For Hurricane Laura aid, Frisard noted any supplies that are donated should be sent directly to the United Cajun Navy. Frisard is also working with sheriff’s departments around the affected areas to find out what areas of relief need the most support.

“We have been hauling everything that has to do with relief,” said Frisard. “First-aid kits, water, nonperishable food items, tarps, and baby items such as formula, diapers, wipes, and hygiene items for men and women.”

Van Buren, Arkansas-based USA Truck has also been working with relief efforts and is hoping to be of the most help possible during this time.

“We’re teaming up with the United Way to provide a spot for donations,” said USA Truck assistant general counsel, Edwin Anglin. “We’re providing the drop-off location and then we’re providing transportation.”

USA Truck also set up donation collection locations in Fort Smith, Arkansas and in southwest Louisiana.

“Basically, what we’ve been hearing is that they need bottled water, Gatorade, sunscreen, cleaning materials,” said Anglin, also adding that first-aid kits, bug spray, and building materials were of high importance as well.

Anglin, who created United Way to jumpstart Hurricane Laura Relief efforts, said USA Truck is still accepting donations and began transporting supplies to affected areas the week of September 14th.

UPS Inc. has also been transporting supplies for multiple hurricane relief groups, and recently sent two truckloads of supplies to Louisiana for the American Red Cross. UPS’ fleet has also been helping The Salvation Army, ToolBank, and Good360, and has also collaborated with Coca Cola and Coyote Logistics for these efforts, as well.

“The UPS Foundation has moved 20 truckloads of relief materials to impacted areas near the Gulf Coast to help relief and recovery efforts,” said a UPS spokesperson. “Additionally, The UPS Foundation has provided $50,000 in grants for Hurricane Laura response and recovery efforts.”

UPS explained that two recent shipments held 606 rakes, 600 shovels, 600 tarps, 600 trash bags, 600 dust makes, 600 work gloves, 600 flashlights, 595 bottles of hand sanitizer, 584 storage totes, 576 clean-up kits, and 25 signs.

U.S. Xpress Enterprises has also been working with other organizations to get emergency supplies where they’re needed most, as quickly as possible.

“We’ve been working closely with our core strategic partners within our customer base to handle shipments of water, generators, batteries, and other essential relief items across a range of industries,” said U.S. Xpress chief revenue officer, Justin Harness. “With our dedicated accounts, we’re keeping essential shipments moving, helping to ensure shelves are stocked and businesses and families have the goods they need.”

Additionally, Bengal Transportation Services has been transporting food to the Lake Charles areas and has even held a cookout to feed relief workers, first responders, volunteers, and locals.

“We took several trucks from our own fleet to bring all of the supplies that we needed to cook that day, as well as other supplies,” said marketing manager for Bengal, Ashley Baham. “We had a refrigerated truck that housed the ice and chickens that is still down there. And we’re about to start a donation drive here.”

Reliance on Online Orders Leaves Private Fleets Adapting to New Reality

October 24, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Since the beginning of the pandemic, private fleets have been riding the wave of steep rises and falls in demand.

Business levels dropped quickly for many carriers, but changed just as rapidly when people began relying on online shopping more as shelter-in-place mandates spread across the country. This boost in freight demands started stretching fleets’ resources thin in many cases, and overall demand in e-commerce hit all aspects of the transportation industry–hard.

Now, the effects COVID-19 has had on the industry have changed supply chain structures and operations for good.

“People stopped going out to the local pizza joint [and instead began] ordering online and getting deliveries,” said Gary Petty, National Private Truck Council president. Private food service and grocery carriers were hit extremely hard in March and April when the public begun panic-shopping and emptied store shelves.

These actions depleted grocery and drug stores’ resources and put added strain on private fleets when they struggled to meet the needs of replenishment for various goods.

Additionally, as internet commerce demands soared, final-mile transportation demand went right along with it as more and more people ordered home goods online more often than in-store. The need for more local delivery drivers skyrocketed as well as restaurants had to transition to having only pickup and take-out options for their customers.

For example, Petty noted that Papa John’s typically uses its in-house delivery fleet to deliver fresh pizza ingredients to its more than 5,300 stores, but as pizza demand rose, Papa John’s had to hire an additional 14,000 delivery drivers–and plans to hire 6,000 more this year.

The company also brought in 50 new Class A-licensed drivers to operate its more than 200 tractors, 300 trailers, and 15 box trucks. Papa John’s now has about 500 total drivers serving its locations.

New standards also arrived at shipping warehouses, where drivers started having to wait in mile-long lines for temperature checks and needing to fill out health surveys in their trucks as they waited to complete pickups. Still, private carriers continued making important deliveries as needed, and “their value was reaffirmed in an unprecedented moment of crisis,” said Petty.

“If you make a great product and you can’t get it to the customer, your brand is diminished,” he explained further. “Private fleets stood strong. The flexibility, reliability, and ability to control operations at the customer level [during the pandemic] has been eye-popping [and] impressive for so many of the fleets.”

A large national processed poultry company, Brakebush Bros., had to make major adjustments to its methods of operation when stay at home orders were implemented, said the company’s director of transportation and logistics, Mike Schwersenska.

“About 50% of our business went away in a two-week period” at the beginning of the pandemic, he said. “Fortunately, being in cheese country, over the years we’ve also become a carrier for many other [food] manufacturers, so we could switch capacity over to assist with their freight needs. We didn’t have to cut back and were able to keep everyone busy.”

Brakebush quickly had to adapt the roller coaster of demand as restaurants using its products switched to takeout and delivery-focused business practices.

“As a company, we had an all-time sales and volume record in June,” explained Schwersenska. “Our transportation group had record miles traveled and record pounds delivered. It was the craziest thing we’d ever seen. Our team did a tremendous job making sure our customers had product when and where they needed it. And, more importantly, they did it safely.” The company did not have any drivers using the temporary hours-of-service exemption put in place during this time.

Brakebush is also one of many businesses that have adopted new health-focused practices to keep workers safe, such as sanitizing trucks regularly–which includes all doors, handles, seats, dials, and brake line gladhands. All of the company’s shared spaces are sanitized daily and all offices are disinfected as much as possible. Additionally, all business transaction receipts are now sent through paperless options.

Luckily, Schwersenska says none of the company’s workforce has tested positive for the virus throughout its entire fleet of 75 trucks and 220 refrigerated trailers. He also said he’s sure the spikes in e-commerce will not end with the pandemic, but have made consumers much more reliant on online orders–so it will likely become a new reality.

Health Considerations are a Priority for the Transportation Industry, Experts Say

October 11, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Planning experts are saying the transportation industry, along with all public agencies, needs to begin implementing more health considerations into any policy changes or decisions.

A new “Health in All Policies” framework is currently recommended by Conduent Transportation’s strategy and innovation leader, Renee Autumn Ray, to be adopted into public agencies at each level of government.

“This really makes sense to a lot of agencies because, pretty much every public agency has a foundational principle to administer for the health, safety, and welfare of all of the people in their jurisdictions,” said Ray. “Health is kind of embedded, at least at some level, in a lot of the work of transportation and other public agencies.”

Ray recently published a paper called, “Increasing Access to Essential Health Functions: The Role of Transportation in Improving America’s Health,” in which she discusses how obstacles to transportation access have a negative effect on health care access. The paper also explains how those without a personal vehicle typically have to rely on less efficient or less convenient methods of transit.

Additionally, Ray explained that integrating a health-in-all-policies method could decrease the difficulties that come with social and systemic factors that affect both personal economic growth and care. These factors also include education, job access, and socioeconomic status; all of these conditions can cause differences in quality of life and overall health.

“Transportation access is one of the fundamental objectives of the public sector,” said Eno Center vice president of policy and finance, Paul Lewis. “It’s also one of the most important ways the government can enable residents to live healthy and productive lives.”

Ray also said that impoverished people tend to move far outside the city and into its outskirts where lower costs of living and fewer options for public transportation are available. The distance from city centers, she said, also has a large impact on a person’s ability to work just one job and the amount of time they have for leisure.

Longer life expectancy can also cause transportation difficulties, said Ray in her paper. On average, she noted, people outlive their driving ability by up to a decade.

“When we think about where older adults are living, most of them are living in suburbs that it’s going to be very difficult to run transit through,” Ray said.

Ray believes the most effective way to make any positive changes is to communicate thoroughly with members of the community–the ones who are directly affected by these issues.

“The best way to understand how to do planning is by having local relationships,” she said. “You need to go into different communities that you’re planning for and talk to those people, and then do the things that they tell you. Doing a better job listening to folks in the community is important.”

She is glad, though, that more and more people have been dedicating themselves to the studies of planning and public health, and says that the upward trend of those entering multiple sectors can only be a good thing.

Ray also pointed out that although the majority of public transportation experts and public health workers typically want the same kinds of improvements for their communities, their verbiage may differ, and it’s important for the public to understand that.

“I think one thing that’s important to note is that we use different jargon, but we’re frequently trying to do the same thing,” she explained. “Getting a framework for some of that jargon, to me, is helpful to understand that there are some foundational principles that lie across all of the work we’re doing in our various public agencies.”

Whatever words are used to describe issues and solutions, Ray insists that creative problem-solving through a collaborative effort is key. For example, throughout the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has worked on a program allowing curbside pickup and grocery delivery services to be used for specific subsidized food benefits.

Ray says actions like these during COVID-19, and other efforts to improve overall community health, give her hope that public sector officials will help the nation come out better than it was before the pandemic.

“[Positive change] is hugely important now, with COVID,” said Lewis. “But this has always been an issue.”