Trucking Industry

DOL Rule Should Stay, Carriers and Independent Truckers Seem to Agree

June 12, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

There has been a lot of back and forth stipulation in regards to the recently-issued rule determining whether or not a truck driver is considered an employee or a contractor at the federal level.

The rule, which was recently officially implemented, was explained by the U.S. Department of Labor as helping to create “certainty for stakeholders, reduce litigation, and encourage innovation in the economy.”

Now, independent contractors and motor carriers across the nation have made clear their objection to the agency’s proposal to withdraw the rule. More than 1,000 written comments have been made in response to this new proposal.

The initial federal rule, which was issued near the end of 2020, aimed to eradicate the ABC test that had been used in the state of California as a method of determining whether or not a truck driver is an independent contractor, or if the driver is in fact an employee. Motor carriers deemed the rule as being favorable and the American Trucking Associations made clear their support. Some independent contractors even issued comments expressing their opposition to dropping the rule.

Regardless, many industry experts understood that the Biden administration’s review of this rule would likely lead to its dismissal. Public comments have shown a desire to keep it in place; however, the Labor Department has not made a decision as to whether or not this will be the case.

“As a sizable commercial motor carrier utilizing both employee drivers and independent contractors, CRST opposes the rescission of the final rule,” said CRST The Transportation Solution Inc., a carrier based out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “In trucking, the independent contractor/owner-operator model provides hundreds of thousands of drivers the opportunity, autonomy, and entrepreneurial empowerment to run their own business and work in ways that suit their individual business, financial goals, and lifestyle.”

According to Spirit Transport Systems Inc., keeping the final rule in place will be vitally important, “specifically and in general to the intermodal transportation and drayage industry.”

Spirit operates within the drayage sector with 38 independent contractors.

“These small business owners earn a commercial driver license, invest in a tractor, and bear the associated operating costs attributable to registration, licensing, insurance, and fuel,” wrote Spirit in response to the proposal. “They also invest a significant amount of time developing their knowledge of–and complying with–federal and state safety regulations.

American Trucking Associations has also strongly opposed the final rule being reversed, noting that it believes these workers should be able to choose the capacity in which they earn their income.

“The final rule achieved a streamlined and commonsense process for more consistent application of independent contractor status,” wrote ATA. “The final rule importantly continues to recognize that working Americans should have the freedom to pick the occupation and economic framework for making a living that they desire.”

The agency also explained its belief that the updated description of independent contractors can help ensure that these workers don’t face any potential litigation in regards to an independent contractor’s duties.

“The final rule also provides businesses with clarity on the characteristics of a bona fide independent contractor so they can more easily comply and avoid litigation while ensuring that DOL’s Wage and Hour Division can pursue those who improperly misclassify their workers as independent contractors.”

Contractor Joseph Cunnigham agreed with ATA’s stance.

“The new DOL rule helps me and freelancers like me to build meaningful, rewarding careers,” he said. “For the sake of millions of others like me–many of whom are women and minorities–please keep the new rule.”

Still, though, the argument against keeping this rule is that truckers working as employees are able to earn a minimum wage, overtime, benefits, and will have companies that will be liable–and have better coverage–in the event of an accident. Keeping truckers on as independent contractors is cheaper for trucking companies–but not necessarily better for those involved in a truck-related crash.

It seems, however, that many independent truckers do indeed value their freedom over these benefits.

“The ABC test in AB 5 implemented three factors for determining employee/independent status and resulted in a situation in which it became extremely difficult to even qualify as an independent contractor,” explained James Alburger, an independent contractor himself. “There are hundreds of thousands of us who thrive on our independence when it comes to the work we choose to do, the way in which we do our work, and the compensation we receive for our work.”

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.”

Republican Senator Requests Bipartisanship for Highway Legislation

June 10, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Currently, federal policymakers are considering potential comprehensive highway policy legislation. In this case, bipartisanship is key, explained the top Republican on the United States Senate transportation committee, Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

Moore Capito also currently serves as the ranking member on the Environment and Public Works Committee.

According to her, the panel will only be able to come up with an effective and efficient multi-year highway policy bill that serves everyone involved if it has the necessary input from both republicans and democrats. The current premier highway law in place will expire in September of this year.

For support in the updating of the current law in place, republicans would need to see cooperation from lawmakers in regards to policy and funding belief differences. For example, House and Senate majority democrats have explained that the modernization of all transportation systems would have to come at the hands of particular transportation legislation that focuses strongly on helping to ease the effects of climate change. For Republicans, surface transportation corridor repair-focused legislation is the most important subject needing legislation consideration.

In terms of transportation program funding, neither republicans nor democrats have approved any potential method or strategy.

“We need the give and take of this bipartisan process to produce legislation that can make it to the president’s desk,” explained Moore Capito earlier in Spring. “It will take work from all levels of government and the private sector to meet the nation’s transportation infrastructure needs. We will have to take an all hands on deck approach.”

Moore Capito is looking to find the securement of long-term funding for highway systems across the nation, and plans to back the allocation of resources for infrastructure technology enhancement across all areas of the sector. Additionally, she is currently proposing a potential highway bill that would boost connectivity along freight corridors, enhance transportation project safety and capacity, and boost commuter mobility options for all methods of travel.

Republicans and democrats alike have been concerned about the overall longevity of the Highway Trust Fund, which relies on federal fuel tax revenue and aims to help state transportation agencies in regards to construction, repairs, and upgrades among bridges, transit, and roads. For what is currently needed in these regards, the 24.4 cents-per-gallon diesel tax and 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax revenue will not be enough.

The general fund has had to cover shortages from the trust fund’s revenue since 2008.

“Funding our infrastructure should not be a political battle,” said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member, Sam Graves. “It’s time to set a definitive path toward the long-term sustainability of the Highway Trust Fund, a path that is totally funded by all users of the system and not by insufficient gas taxes and deficit spending. This is how we realize the transformative projects everyone wants to accomplish.”

Moore Capito is also receiving support from other senators, especially for the updates needed in the United States’ highway legislation. Senator Tom Carper of Delaware noted that he plans to set in place a potential highway bill that would likely be implemented sooner than later. Carper also currently serves as the panel’s chairman.

“We’re told that the average number of years a vehicle has on the road is about 15 years, so we’re going to be using gas and diesel for some time, but by less going forward,” Carper explained. Because of this, the panel has been looking to implement alternative revenue streams that would be user-based and able to bring in further transportation program funding.

The trust fund’s shortcomings are only getting worse, many stakeholders have claimed. This deficit could even lead to late payments for completed work in many states.

“Unless additional revenues or transfers are authorized, the [Highway Trust Fund] could diminish to the point that the U.S. Department of Transportation may have to delay payments to states for completed work,” explained National Conference of State Legislatures transportation program director, Douglas Shinkle. “Late payments or reduced federal transportation spending to accommodate for the shortfall is not an option for states.”

To fund portions of his $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan, President Joe Biden has proposed a corporate tax rate raise from 21% to 28%. This kind of funding would hopefully eradicate the need for a potential national vehicle miles travel fee that would charge motorists for each mile they drive.

“Fundamentally, he does not believe that paying for this historic investment in rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure and creating millions of jobs should be on the backs of Americans.” said Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary.

ATA’s Chris Spear Gets Extended Contract; ATRI Celebrates 20 Years

June 10, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Chris Spear, President of American Trucking Associations, has accepted a contract that will extend the length of his current position for another five years.

“I’m grateful for the confidence and support of the ATA Board, and I’m excited to take on the challenges that lie ahead,” said Spear. “I am honored to work on behalf of this incredible industry, and I look forward to continuing to strongly advocate for trucking, as well as grow ATA’s impact and influence.”

ATA announced the extension in May, and Spear made official his signing of the new contract at the 2021 ATA Mid-Year Management Session.

“We have been fortunate to have Chris at the helm during the past five years,” said treasurer of ATA and CEO of FedEx Ground, John Smith. “Chris’ strong, smart leadership has benefited ATA immensely, and we look forward to how his passion and innovative thinking will continue to position the association and the industry for success.”

Since his induction to the position in July of 2016, Spear has prioritized highway safety and infrastructure improvements, particularly.

“Chris has proven himself as an exceptional leader of ATA during the past five years, elevating the organization and providing tremendous vision for our industry at a critical time,” said Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, Chairman of ATA. “We look forward to how he will chart the course for the association in the years ahead.”

Also acknowledging an industry accomplishment is the American Transportation Research Institute, which is celebrating two decades of collecting and analyzing helpful industry research to push the trucking world forward.

ATRI came into fruition when the ATA Foundation and members of American Trucking Associations wanted to find ways to best conduct adequate research to help the transportation industry find answers and solutions to the challenges it was facing. Thus, American Transportation Research Institute was born, and aims to provide further insight into the largest concerns of trucking industry members and experts.

ATRI has also developed a widely-respected and referred-to annual ‘Most Wanted’ list, which the industry monitors closely to find the most pressing issues needing to be addressed as efficiently and quickly as possible each year.

Because the primary goal for ATRI is research and analysis, it has a much different job than that of the ATA Foundation, said Rebecca Brewster, Chief Operating Officer and President of ATRI.

“Former ATA Foundation Chairman Mike Wickham’s vision was that we would have industry input to identify these topics, and the separation between ATRI and the American Trucking Associations–because ATA is an advocacy and lobbying organization–that’s what they do,” she explained. “That greater firewall between ATRI as a research organization and ATA gives us more credibility.”

The ‘Top Traffic Bottlenecks’ annual report is another of ATRI’s most highly-considered, which has helped many companies determine where their truckers may be stuck in traffic as well as where and how their hours-of-service compliance capabilities may be compromised.

“It might change the timing of some of our routes, or how we dispatch our drivers or utilize them, and it’s critical we get [those things] right,” explained Judy McReynolds, CEO of ArcBest. “And when you have ATRI’s research reporting on the impact of that, it helps both the businesses and the regulators to really see that.”

Not only has ATRI researched bottlenecks and congestion issues, but it has also studied methods of boosting truck parking capability, truck driver health and wellness, infrastructure funding, and truck driver wages and retention.

“It was obvious to many that the industry needed a research-based, science-based organization, and ATRI was formed,” said McReynolds. “Many times, there are topics that are talked about and looked at in [the] press and in government that really need this research to come to the right conclusions. It’s almost hard to believe that the industry could function without ATRI.” McReynolds also added that her company regularly utilizes data released by ATRI to determine where to build additional congestion-relieving terminals, as well as how to recruit and retain new truckers.

Additionally, ATRI has made major efforts to advocate for drivers and fleets in terms of potential new legislation.

ATRI’s research “is also valuable data for different areas of the government–Congress, the House, Senate,” noted Pitt Ohio COO, James Fields. “This data is so well-respected, it is often used in hearings and other government proceedings. I think over the years ATRI has been an undisputed source of accurate data about the trucking industry. It has built a reputation of being a go-to source for data.”

Tractor-to-Trailer Data Exchange Methods Need Big Changes

June 9, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Car interior with digital interface on blurry bokeh background. Double exposure

“Fleets, truck OEMS, and trailer OEMS should get actively involved at a higher level to drive a consensus agreement on the path forward,” said S.1 Next Generation Tractor-Trailer Electric Interface Task Force chairman, Paul Menig.

Tractor-to-trailer data sharing needs major boosts in regards to its connectivity, industry experts are saying. Luckily, more and more tractors and trailers are seeing a plethora of electronic and innovative sensor options to make these efforts easier.

During the recent virtual meeting of the Technology and Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations, these kinds of connection upgrade possibilities were a main topic of discussion.

Currently, the enhanced Safety, Maintainability, and Readiness Through Technology (eSMARTT) Trailer Survey is set to be released through TMC’s annual meeting–which will take place in-person–in Cleveland during mid-September. This survey will focus on the readiness of rental and lease companies in regards to these kinds of technologies.

Now, TMC is exploring new studies that have focused on the adoption of automated and intelligence technologies by tractor-trailer owners, as these kinds of platforms and services are becoming more commonplace than ever before across the trucking industry.

“When you consider that GPS trailer tracking has been around for over 20 years and is still not universally accepted and implemented, it is easy to understand that getting to a fully eSMARTT trailer is going to take time, even after the best pathways are defined,” explained WIllGo Transportation Consulting CEO, Charles Willmott.

Willmott is collaborating with Menig to not only conduct the survey, but to analyze the data collected for TMC. Menig also serves as the CEO for Business Accelerants.

“Lots of new ideas and so-called ‘smart trailer’ products have been introduced in just the last few years by component suppliers,: said Willmott. “Individually, many of these products have outstanding benefits to carriers and other trailer owners, but collectively, they product a cacophony of noise I refer to as ‘innovative dysfunction’ that makes it incredibly difficult, expensive, and risky for trailer owners to navigate and commit to future strategies.”

S.1 Next Generation’s most vital subjects currently involve: high-speed, high-power signaling and wireless communication connections for drivers and other transportation workers to use on mobile devices; both wired and wireless air, power, low-speed signals, and high-speed signal connections; high-speed communication connections among autonomous operating systems, safety systems, and cameras within tractor-trailer interfaces; standard power line carrier connections within commercial vehicles (such as within SAE J2497) and their ability to provide multiple data signals between trailers and tractors, as well as their 7-pin connector and two air line power systems; cooperation and collaboration between groups like TMC, The Society of Automotive Engineers, and the International Organization for Standardization; and an overall future-focused approach to establishing efficient tractor-trailer connections along with trailer backward compatibility.

Wabco North America system innovation leader, Wolfgang Hahn, explained during TMC’s presentation that autonomous systems and advanced safety systems need electronic braking capabilities, and that innovative camera systems will be needing gigabit ethernet transmission technology–a capability that is already implemented in fleets throughout Australia and Europe.

“The brake control system basically becomes kind of a spinal cord for this overall vehicle combination,” he noted.

Field sales support manager for original equipment at East Penn Manufacturing Co., John Cathey, added that absorbed glass-mat batteries will allow for the “cycle counts you are looking for in trailer applications for lift gates and all the other power demands that you might have.” He also added that “AGM seems to be the preferred choice in the market today.”

In regards to implementing high-speed communication connectivity between tractors and farms, the agricultural industry is much more advanced than the trucking industry at this point, explained Haldex’s chief engineer, Dave Engelbert.

“They are currently talking to chip manufacturers to find one that can produce the chips they need for this high-speed ethernet,” he said.

“We could learn something from them,” Menig chimed in, “and, potentially scale better by collaborating with them.”

Trailers use these chips in their anti-lock brake systems, as well as in their tire pressure monitoring, trailer tracking, and lift gate electronic controls, Menig explained.

“There will be many more in the future,” he said.

$7 Million Dedicated to Illinois Truck Traffic Projects

June 8, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

ATACAMA, CHILE – NOVEMBER 14, 2015: Semi-trailer truck International Navistar at the interurban freeway.

“Illinois is the country’s transportation hub, with freight activity a cornerstone of the state’s economy,” said Omer Osman, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation. “At IDOT, we want our local partners to have the necessary tools to manage traffic safely and spur even more job creation and economic growth.”

$26 million has been allocated to 21 different transportation projects throughout Illinois, with IDOT distributing $7 million to projects specifically working to boost infrastructure and upgrade Illinois truck traffic accommodations.

“IDOT has awarded $7 million to put toward a total investment of $36 million for communities to better handle truck traffic and spur economic growth,” said IDOT Illinois recently in a tweet.

These funds come from IDOT’s Truck Access Route Program grants, an initiative calling for all towns, counties, and municipalities needing road upgrade assistance in regards to the transitioning of roads into designated trucks routes (that can accommodate heavy trucks) to apply.

According to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, this funding is meant to ensure local communities have everything needed to better manage economic growth, attract more business, and improve the overall quality of life of their locals.

Projects aiming to improve designated truck route-to-business connections in efforts to boost freight traffic can receive a maximum of $900,000, IDOT explained. To apply for a grant, interested groups should list traffic figures, the number of lanes involved, and the length in both feet and miles of the project as a whole.

Out of the most recent funding, $900,000 was allocated to Champaign County, whose funds will help its County Highway 20, a north-south stretch connecting to U.S. 45 and reaching from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. $651,000 was awarded to DeKalb County, a northern Illinois town 60 miles west of Chicago, which is working to upgrade Chicago Road and its connection to Route 23. Williamson County is receiving $250,000 for its Thompsonville Road, a route connecting Corinth Road with Locust Grove Road.

Boone County is also receiving $630,000 for its Poplar Grove Road connecting the City of Belvidere to the Village of Poplar Grove, La Salle County is receiving $518,400 for its County Highway 2 connecting U.S. 34 with U.S. 52, and McLean County is receiving $366,300 for its County Highway 24 and $517.000 for its Meadows Road connecting 2555 North Road to U.S. 24.

Additionally, a Franklin County project regarding County Highway 14 was given $318,500. Franklin County is 100 miles southeast of St.Louis and reaches around the bottom half of Rend Lake, and County Highway 14 connects to north-south southern Illinois route SR 148.

Rebuild Illinois was initiated in 2019 as an infrastructure improvement initiative that would work to invest in the improvement of transit, roads, bridges, state parks, historic sites, clean water infrastructure, and education, and Pritzker announced recently that $250 million of these funds would be dedicated to Illinois transportation projects.

For county, town, and municipality-focused projects, $1.5 billion was also allocated by Rebuild Illinois. These grants will be distributed evenly throughout six installments over the next three years to local government agencies. In March, IDOT sent the third of its six $250,000 million installments as part of the overall multi-year, $33.2 billion capital program.

A job-training program was also announced by Pritzker, along with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. This effort has been created in collaboration with the Association for Supply Chain Management and aims to boost the recently unemployed or underemployed due to challenges faced throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The job-training program is also meant to find methods of helping Illinois locals better understand and utilize the exponential growth of logistics, shipping, and e-commerce across the state–especially that which skyrocketed during the nation’s stay-at-home orders.

To funnel funds to Rebuild Illinois, the state’s fuel tax rate did increase in 2020 after doubling in 2019, with current fuel tax rates coming up to 46.2 cents per gallon for diesel and 38.7 cents per gallon for gasoline.