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ATRI Releases Top Truck Bottlenecks List, Chicago Ranks #6

February 26, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The American Transportation Research nInstitute has released its 2022 list of Top Truck Bottlenecks, with some particular areas continuing to see little improvement.

Traffic across the country has returned to similar levels as before the pandemic due to more people returning to in-person workdays, as well as e-commerce and the overall demand for goods growing exponentially. Throughout 2021, rush hour speed averages for trucks dropped 11%, down to 38.6 miles per hour.

“ATRI’s bottleneck list is a road map for federal and state administrators responsible for prioritizing infrastructure investments throughout the country,” said Chris Spear, President of American Trucking Associations. “Every year, ATRI’s list highlights the dire needs for modernizing and improving our roads and bridges.”

The bottleneck list is compiled by ATRI’s assessment of truck-involved congestion levels at 300 different locations throughout the country’s highways. To collect data, ATRI utilizes truck GPS data and insights from more than a million commercial vehicles.

“The annual study from [ATRI], based [on] real-time GPS data, provides a timeline and actionable blueprint for prioritizing road and bridge funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill,” explained ATA in a tweet.

Chicago’s I-290/I-90/I-94 interchange, named the Jane Byrne Interchange, made sixth place on the list for the second year in a row. By the end of 2022, the city plans to complete the interchange’s $800 million upgrade.

The top worst freight bottleneck in the United States, for the fourth year in a row, was deemed to be the intersection of New Jersey State Route 4 and Interstate 95 in Fort Lee, New Jersey–this bottleneck has ranked near the top of ATRI’s list for more than a decade. Average rush hour speeds in this bottleneck were 22.4 miles per hour, down from 2020 by 28.2%. Average overall speeds were just 30.1 miles per hour.

In second place was the I-71/I-75 intersection in downtown Cincinnati, located along the Ohio River, north of the Brent Spence Bridge. This major bottleneck comes after a late-2020 bridge fire brought a shutdown as engineers rushed to fix such a heavily-utilized area. The major checkpoint brought about by the damage caused transportation officials in Ohio and Kentucky to consider a nearby companion bridge project, which would help ease traffic issues close to the Amazon hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Following behind is Houston’s I-45/I-69/US-59 intersection, which is two spots higher than its place on 2021’s list. Interstate 45 was likely to undergo reconstruction and rerouting through a $7.5 billion proposal, which was approved by the Texas Department of Transportation in 2021. However, the project will require the demolition of 340 businesses, 1,100 homes and apartments, and five places of worship–so it has understandably been met with heavy opposition from various groups.

Fourth and fifth place were both taken by Atlanta bottlenecks–one at the “Spaghetti Junction” of the I-285/I-85 North interchange in DeKalb County, as well as the I-20/I-285 intersection on the west side of the city. Behind Chicago’s sixth-place ranking was Los Angeles’ California state Route 60 and State Route 57 interchange, dubbed the “Diamond Bar interchange,” and in eighth place was Texas’ I-45/I-30 interchange in Dallas.

I-30 in both directions from downtown Dallas to I-634 in the city’s Mesquite suburb will be modernized and widened through a $1 billion project likely beginning in 2026, according to officials at the Texas Department of Transportation.

In ninth and tenth place were San Bernandino’s I-10/I-15 interchange and Chattanooga’s I-75/I-24 intersection, respectively. Chattanooga’s bottleneck is currently in the midst of a $12.6 million upgrade, the second phase of which is set to begin in mid-2023.

“We have seen, most recently in Pittsburgh, that the cost of doing nothing could also cost lives,” said ATA’s Spear, referring to the 10 people in Pittsburgh who were injured during the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in late January. “It’s time to fund these projects and get our supply chains moving again.”

Truck Parking Woes Hinder Driver Recruitment

February 25, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Yesterday, we reported on the difficulties around truck parking availability that have been exacerbated by urban traffic challenges and the recent e-commerce boom. As frustrating as this issue has been for existing truck drivers, the lack of parking poses another problem for the industry: retaining and recruiting truckers during the ongoing truck driver shortage.

“There are people who want to be truck drivers, but sometimes they can’t become drivers because they don’t know where to park,” said Roehl Transportation’s vice president of driver employment, Tim Norlin. As residential truck parking has become more frequently banned in various cities, drivers may be deterred from joining the industry if they have nowhere to park while they’re at home.

This is a major challenge for drivers recruitment efforts, as many fleets have prioritized a focus on offering ample time at home for truckers. These conversations around truck parking availability typically begin early on in the recruitment process, Norlin added.

“More than half of our drivers are home every week,” he said. “If other carriers are doing the same thing, it is compounding that issue. We try to find out what [a driver’s] plan is, and if it is to park in the street in front of their house…it is getting more and more challenging, and it is not just [within] the major metro areas. A lot of smaller cities don’t want trucks in their parking lots.”

This is also doubly difficult on drivers who need especially safe areas to park in, such as female drivers; this problem is making recruiting women into the trucking industry as tricky as ever.

“Women are almost 50% of the workforce in general, but in trucking, they are 6.5-to-8% of drivers,” said Dan Murray, American Transportation Research Institute’s senior vice president. “They have told us time and time again–safety and security is their biggest issue. They need lighting, fences, and restrooms.”

Some mobile apps are coming into play to hopefully make finding available parking easier, such as Trucker Path; the app’s chief marketing officer, Chris Oliver, noted that parking on the East Coast has been more difficult than on the West Coast because of overall population density.

“There are certainly large metropolitan areas in both the East and the West, but the big difference is the space between those large metro areas,” he explained.

Through crowdsourcing information (like sending pop-up questions to ask about available spaces or if a lot is full), Trucker Path is able to offer real-time parking availability information directly to commercial drivers.

“This is made possible via geofences we’ve established around all of the known parking locations,” said Oliver.

In addition, American Trucking Associations, ATRI, and Natso, a truck stop-and travel plaza-representing trade association, have collaborated to create the Truck Parking Leadership Initiative, from which the app, Park My Truck, was born. In the app, rest areas, truck stops, and other locations are able to report the number of spaces available in their lots at any given time.

Everyone involved in the shipping process can help with parking challenges, from customers and receivers to distribution centers and shippers, noted Shawn Brown, Cargo Transporters’ vice president of safety.

“It is so huge that internally, we remind our customer service team of the importance of knowing ahead of time places [in which] we can and cannot park, so the drivers know,” he explained. “That is as important as the rate.”

Often, even if a trucker can park at the location of a shipper or receiver, there are not enough of the amenities a driver may need readily available. Because of this, industry members are urging that all parties honor delivery and pickup times as closely to the given schedule as possible.

“Just because you drive a truck with a sleeper berth, it doesn’t solve your problems for all of life’s basic necessities,” said president of the Minnesota Trucking Association, John Hausladen. “You need access to food, restrooms, and showers. If you’re not on duty, [you need to be] able to interact with others.”

Making known that safe, reliable parking is available will be a major key to boosting recruitment numbers, Brown added.

Drivers “can be more productive with their time away from home, make more money, and have less stress” when safe parking is available, he said. “A happy driver leads to reduced turnover, and [peace of mind] can bring more drivers into the industry.”

On the drivers’ part, trip planning should always include a plan for parking, as well, Roehl’s Norlin added.

“Don’t just drive to an area and hope to park,” he said. “Plan or know from experience where to park. It’s all about [security]. We need a gated, secured location for drivers to park, and it is getting harder and harder for drivers to find.”

Truckers Go Above and Beyond to Bring Giant Christmas Tree to US Capitol

November 30, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

With the help of many transportation workers, the Capitol Christmas Tree, an 84-foot white fir, has arrived at the U.S. Capitol Building.

This year’s giant tree made its way across the country in late October, beginning in the Mad River Ranger District of the Six Rivers National Forest in California. Then, System Transport began trucking the tree across the United States as the official designated carrier for the Capitol Christmas Tree.

The 84-foot tree is one of the largest firs ever chosen for the event and was transported by a Next Generation Kenworth Truck Co. T680. This is the eighth year in a row a Kenworth big rig has hauled the capitol’s special tree.

“It’s been quite an honor for us to be a part of this,” said Kenworth’s director of marketing, Genevieve Bekkerus. “It’s something that we definitely look forward to every year.”

Scheduling and preparation for this tree-hauling typically begins about a year before the start of its trek, and a new location from which a tree is selected is chosen every year. The Capitol Christmas Tree tradition has lasted for 51 years now as a collaboration between the United States Forest Service and its partners. Of course, the tree has become affectionately known as the “People’s Tree.”

“This project would not be possible without partners and without partnerships,” said Choose Outdoors director of communications and sponsorships, Jodi Massey. “It’s a Forest Service project, but really, truly where the magic happens is [in] partnerships, and in particular, [with] those in the trucking industry that help us bring this project to life every year.” Choose Outdoors works closely with the Forest Service and its partnership initiatives.

Two teams stepped up to the plate to get this tree to Washington, and System Transport made sure six different drivers were available to handle each necessary segment of the journey. One such driver included Jeremy Bellinger, who has driven 2.5 million miles with System Transport over the last 21 years. When he heard his company would be hauling the tree, he called his supervisor right away to get involved.

Still, transporting this holiday cheer is a whole different ball game for most truckers, and this particular trip included 25 separate stops for the people within both rural regions and at large events to catch a glimpse of the tree–especially around the state of California where the tree originated.

“A lot of [the areas we stopped in] were small communities,” said one of the Capitol Tree’s drivers, Bill Brunk. “It was really cool to see the small communities come out–they were really excited about the tree.”

One particular stop for the giant tree was in Chillicothe, Ohio, the home of the Kenworth plant where the tree-hauling truck was manufactured.

“The folks there, at the Chillicothe plant, were really, really impressed with the event,” said Bekkerus. “They were really happy to see their project on the road. There’s so much passion and so much pride that goes into every build.”

An especially heartwarming stop for the tree was at the CoxHealth Dee Ann White Women and Children’s Hospital, added System Transport’s Bellinger. 

“[At] the children’s hospital in Springfield, Missouri, we backed up in front of the hospital and the kids were coming out to the windows,” he recalled. “They were happy to see the truck.”

Each year’s Capitol Christmas Tree has a specific theme–this year’s is “Six Rivers, Many Peoples, One Tree,” in reference to the Six Rivers National Forest from which the tree was chosen. The tree’s public display also includes a banner for visitors to sign their names as they learn about the tree’s trip across the U.S.

“We brought a small piece of a California national forest that’s famous for its redwoods, famous for its sequoias,” said U.S. Forest Service spokesperson, Samantha Reho. “And we brought it to each community that we went to.”

The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree will be lit at a ceremony on the building’s West Lawn tomorrow, December 1st.

As for the truckers who worked those long hours to make sure the tree reached its final destination?

“They’re kind of our Santas,” said Reho.

Truck Drivers Gear Up for Winter Weather, Industry Experts Offer Safety Tips

November 28, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“As soon as you stop using the air conditioning, that is the time to start winterizing the vehicle. That will change year to year,” said the safety supervisor at Prime Inc., Dennis Davis. Typically, trucking fleets will begin the winterization process in early September.

These precautions come due to weather unpredictability with the fluctuating low temperatures and seasonal changes between September and March. Many truckers work along routes that are susceptible to blizzards, and early preparedness and winterization is the best method of making it through elemental obstacles in order to keep both truck and trucker as safe and operational as possible.

Driver safety training is typically offered by fleets year-round, but is doubly important at the start of the winter season. Still, this winterization process should keep truckers mindful throughout the entirety of winter and early spring.

“It’s probably not a surprise that many of our trucking cases involve crashes on snowy, slippery roads,” explained Levinson and Stefani’s Jay Stefani. “While truckers can’t control the weather, the rules say they must drive with ‘extreme caution’ during hazardous conditions. And, if the weather is really bad, they are required to pull off the road.”

Because of this, Stefani urges passenger drivers to leave plenty of space for heavy-duty trucks in any kind of inclement weather.

“It is a lot harder to maneuver or stop an 80,000-pound tractor trailer when the roads are covered in ice and snow,” he said. “So, when you are driving on the roads and highways this winter, be sure to give those trucks plenty of room–don’t slide into the lane in front of them thinking they can just slow down.”

Truck driver education is vital to a fleet’s overall safety, and drivers should continue working on their own training continuously, especially when it comes to working a block heater or implementing fuel additives to prevent gelling, explained senior vice president of equipment and properties at J.B. Hunt, Nathan Smith.

“Every week, we send messages out to drivers to tell them little tips, “ he said. “We have a maintenance tip every week–we start reminding them that winter is coming and to make sure they have the proper gear in their trucks.”

Drivers should always have the necessary items on hand for any winter-related situations or emergencies, such as blankets, hats, gloves, scarves, water, food, and a fully-charged cell phone battery. A driver should also have fuel additives, jumper cables, working wiper blades, salt and ice melt, an ice scraper, and a lighted extension cord.

“We have a fleet support team of over 150 people who are just dealing with breakdown situations for a driver, 24/7, with the goal of responding to any driver in under a minute and 10 seconds,” Smith added. “We check back with drivers every 30 minutes to make sure they’re in good shape and let them know when help is on the way and give them updates. We don’t want anyone left out in a winter situation without a lifeline.”

Drivers should always have a spare pair of wiper blades, in addition to newly-installed blades, for the winter season, added Day & Ross’ senior director of maintenance, Matt Trites. Wiper blades are often neglected, but keeping these working properly in the wintertime is of the utmost importance.

“If there is the slightest bit of cracking or wear, it is a good idea to change the blades,” he said. “You will need those in the wintertime to remove snow and ice from the windshield. If you can’t see clearly out your windshield, that puts you in a very, very hazardous place.”

Truck batteries also need to be working perfectly and holding a charge in the winter, as batteries often freeze when not fully charged. Additionally, drivers may turn their ignitions multiple times in cold weather to start the engine, which drains the battery.

Tires should also always be in decent condition any time a driver is on icy or snowy roads.

“Tires have to be a good tread depth,” added Trites. “We recommend an aggressive tread with respect to traction–a good traction tire that has a good amount of tread still left on the tire is imperative for traveling in the winter on snowy roads.”

Finally, truckers should make sure their air tanks are drained to rid them of liquid condensation, so they can avoid the condensation turning to ice.

“Yes, it’s a chore, but it is much easier to crawl underneath and drain tanks as opposed to sitting on the side of the road because it froze up,” Trites noted.

Truckers Receive Well-Deserved Praise During Truck Driver Appreciation Week

October 6, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“Truck drivers are the lifeblood of our economy,” said U.S. Department of Transportation undersecretary of transportation for policy, Carlos Monje. “More than 3.5 million professional truck drivers haul 70% of the country’s freight.”

Monje’s praise comes as the Department of Transportation celebrates National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, which took place last between September 12th and 18th. The department also held an appreciation event at its headquarters, and many DOT officials noted truck drivers’ key role in keeping the United States’ economy healthy–especially during the pandemic era.

These truckers have also been vital in keeping highways as safe as possible during the movement of freight that has been in particularly high demand over the last year and a half.

“The essential nature of the work that truck drivers do every day, often behind the scenes, is crucial to the nation’s economy, public health, and roadway safety,” Monje added.

Deputy administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Meera Joshi, also expressed her gratitude for truck drivers’ efforts in recent months.

“As we become more and more reliant on e-commerce, and through pandemic and climate crises, [truckers’] critical role is even more evident,” Joshi said. “Truck drivers, with their broad highway presence, set the tone for highway driving.”

When truckers are as safe as possible, so are our roadways, she added.

“Careful, professional truck drivers [who are] attentive to driving are saving lives every day,” she said.

American Trucking Associations also made sure to urge folks to thank a trucker during the dedicated week for truck appreciation, as well.

“Happy [National Truck Driver Appreciation Week 2021]!” ATA exclaimed in a Tweet. “A special thank you from Dana Incorporated and ACT1 Trucking, National Driver Appreciation Week 2021’s premier sponsor. There is no better time to thank the highway heroes that help keep our highways safe while moving America’s essential goods!”

ATA’s President, Chris Spear, also spoke out in regards to the appreciation efforts aiming to call attention to truckers’ prominent roles within our country’s economy and communities.

“This nation owes a tremendous amount to the men and women who drive our trucks,” Spear said. “In times of crisis, they are among the first to respond. And when others stay home, we hit the road delivering the things this country needs to keep moving.”

Spear also noted that although Appreciation Week isn’t necessarily all the thanks that truckers who have been on our frontlines during the pandemic deserve, the industry is happy to show its gratitude as much as it can.

“National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is just a small gesture acknowledging the efforts of drivers like Henry and April, and we’re glad that DOT has taken time to recognize them and all of the 3.7 million professional drivers,” said Spear.

One of the drivers Spear mentioned is April Coolidge, an America’s Road Team captain and Walmart Transportation driver. The other, another America’s Road Team captain and a TForce Freight driver, is Henry Bruster, who attended the appreciation event at DOT headquarters and explained his lifelong dream to work in the industry.

“My love for trucks and the trucking industry began at a very early age,” said Bruster. “As a little boy, I always wanted to climb in the truck, talk to the driver, and grow up to be one of those drivers I idolized as a young child.”

Other trucking organizations, state agencies, freight companies, and lawmakers also spoke out about their gratitude for truck drivers throughout the country.

“This week is Truck Driver Appreciation Week!” said U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee member, Representative Mike Bost of Illinois, last month. “As a former truck driver myself, I want to thank all of the hardworking men and women who spend long hours driving over the road to ensure that store shelves are stocked.”

Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, Garner Trucking CEO and ATA Chairman, also made sure to point out that 2021 is a particularly important year to acknowledge and thank truckers thoroughly.

“I call on every American to join ATA and me in honoring our drivers,” she said. “This year has a special meaning in recognizing these frontline heroes who have continued to deliver life’s essentials during the pandemic.”

As National Driver Shortage Continues, Carriers Boost Trucker Wages

June 18, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Female African American courier staring a mini van while going on package delivery.

“Our drivers have worked extremely hard during these unprecedented times of high demand and tight capacity, and we are proud to recognize them with this industry-leading pay package,” said President of Maverick Transportation, John Culp.

These kinds of updates come as trucking companies throughout the industry see the continuing driver shortage carrying on, and as more truck drivers desire boosted wages in order to stay in their positions–(and not worsen the shortage as it stands).

Maverick, specifically, recently announced it would increase pay for its marine, glass, flatbed, and dedicated drivers, with Averitt Express announcing later its promise to boost wages for dock associates, diesel mechanics, local drivers, and shuttle drivers as well.

Earlier in April, WEL Cos. also announced it would be increasing wages by 4 cents a mile for its truckers.

“Our local driving and support associates are the champions of the communities we serve,” said Averitt’s vice president of operations, Barry Blakely, in regards to the company’s boosted wages. “For 50 years, Averitt has been committed to serving our customers and our team, and this increase will ensure that we can continue to provide exceptional service in all areas.”

Beginning May 16th, student drivers at Maverick began to see payments rise to around 60 cents per mile–an average income of about $80,000 per year. Flatbed and glass over-the-road truck drivers at the company are now receiving an increase of 3 to 4 cents a mile, with experienced truckers earning up to 66 cents per mile.

These are not the first times in 2021 trucking companies have made efforts to boost employee wages–Maverick first announced a pay raise for glass, flatbed, and dedicated drivers in early January, with the other two companies following suit–Averitt announced a pay bump for all of its regional flatbed and truckload drivers back in March, and WEL had also increased rates by 3 cents per mile earlier in the year.

Still, though, it has been made clear to many industry professionals that a truck driver shortage of this caliber can not simply be remedied with just pay boosts, explained Bob Costello, Chief Economist for the American Trucking Associations.

“There is so much going on here,” he said. “You can write a whole PhD thesis on this if you really wanted to.”

Costello noted that he believes these current circumstances and motivations to boost wages are just a regular market reaction.

“Things that come to mind include the natural market reaction to any situation where demand outstrips supply as price goes up,” he explained. “And so, I am absolutely not surprised at all that pay is going up for drivers. It should go up, [and] it will continue to go up. But it’s also sign-on bonuses and guaranteed minimum weekly pay. It’s all this sort of stuff. But as I say over and over and over, if this was only about pay, this would be easy to fix.”

According to Costello, the trucking industry lost around 32,000 overall jobs in 2020, with most of those positions being those of truck drivers. Only a small number of jobs have been added since then, including in sectors where roles were cut–production jobs, nonsupervisory roles, for-hire trucking jobs and non-local trucking jobs. As of now, the official number of truck drivers let go or who left the industry in 2020 is not yet available.

“Back at the end of last year, we were actually at the height of all this in terms of drivers coming back,” noted FTR Transportation Intelligence vice president of trucking research, Avery Vise. “[During] the fourth quarter of last year, trucking added almost 29,000 payroll jobs. And that’s actually the most that have been added in any three-month period in 25 years. That was actually the middle of what seemed to be a speedy recovery.”

Trucking companies now need to prioritize retention, Costello explained, as companies throughout the country are working with the same pool of candidates and a limited number of new truckers entering the industry. Additionally, for driver recruitment to see any significant increases, potential employees and contractors need to know that their quality of life on the job will be high, in addition to attractive benefits and pay.

“I think it was a hole that we got dug into,” said Costello in regards to 2020’s obstacles. “Now that the vaccine is more prevalent and getting around, I think we can make some headway in this area. But what I’m saying is you’re not going to dig out of this hole–that training gap hole–any time soon.”

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