FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) system for evaluating carrier safety has long been criticized by the trucking industry. Trucking points out that CSA does not distinguish between accidents in which the truck or truck driver is to blame and accidents in which the truck clearly was not at fault. Accidents factor into CSA’s Crash Indicator […]
CRASH ACCOUNTABILITY TOO EXPENSIVE AND INEFFICIENT FMCSA SAYS Read More »
There are now 3.2 million more Americans earning paychecks than there were 12 months ago. That additional cash tends to boost consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of economic growth. Americans are feeling better about the economy. Consumer confidence jumped in January to its highest level in a decade, according to a survey by
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE, SPENDING SIGNALS ECONOMIC RECOVERY Read More »
The for-hire trucking industry added 2,400 jobs in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Department of Labor’s monthly report, released Feb. 6. It also upwardly revised December’s job gains to 11,900 — up from the 7,300. For-hire trucking employment now totals 1.443 million on a seasonally adjusted basis — up 3.5 percent
TRUCKING EMPLOYMENT NEAR 8-YEAR HIGH Read More »
Federal officials are making permanent a controversial three-year pilot program that allows Mexican truckers to haul goods inside the U.S. beyond the border zone. FMCSA will soon start accepting applications from Mexican truckers who didn’t participate in the pilot but want the authority to operate beyond the U.S.-Mexico border region. The move is likely to
U.S. MAKES CROSS-BORDER MEXICAN TRUCKS PERMANENT Read More »
Predicted to run $770 million over budget, newly-elected Governor Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) has called for the state’s “private option” Medicaid expansion to continue in its current form only through 2016. “This avoids harm to the 200,000-plus covered through the private option and assures our hospitals and providers financial stability,” Hutchinson said during an address at
ARKANSAS GOVERNOR PROPOSES TO END MEDICAID EXPANSION AFTER 2016 Read More »
ABF Logistics has purchased Smart Lines Transportation Group, a truckload brokerage firm based in Oklahoma City, for $5.17 million on Jan. 2. Smart Lines, founded in 2003, has 24 employees and approximately $18 million in annual revenue, primarily serving the food, energy and industrial segments. The acquisition will expand ABF Logistics into the Oklahoma City
ABF ACQUIRES SMART LINES TRANSPORTATION GROUP Read More »
America’s Road Team represents the country’s 3.2 million professional driver and serves as an example of the dedication and teamwork needed to deliver America’s freight safely and on time. Last month, American Trucking Associations named 19 professional truck drivers as Captains of the 2015-2016 America’s Road Team. The 19 new captains have 453 combined years
ARKANSAS DRIVER NAMED TO AMERICA’S ROAD TEAM Read More »
After admitting that he exchanged drugs for tractor-trailer tires, a West Virginia trucking company owner faces up to 20 years in prison. U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says 50-year-old Kenneth Ray Cisco of Lesage pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the distribution of oxycodone. Cisco owned the defunct Cisco Trucking in Huntington, W. Va. Goodwin says
TRADING TIRES FOR PILLS Read More »
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported that the annual minimum random controlled substances testing rates for employees in safety sensitive positions, including tractor-trailer and bus drivers, will remain at 50 percent through 2015. The agency’s decision to maintain the current testing rate was based on data from motor carrier industry controlled substance lab
FMCSA TO KEEP RANDOM DRUG TESTING AT 50 PERCENT Read More »
The company that produces SkyMall, the in-flight shopping catalog that entices airline travelers with offers for iFetch ball launchers for dogs and mini clap-on alarm clocks, is bracing for a hard financial landing. SkyMall parent firm Xhibit Corp filed for federal bankruptcy court protection in Phoenix on Jan. 23, citing a funding crisis and seeking
NO MORE IN-FLIGHT SHOPPING Read More »