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For the fifth year, the Arkansas Trucking Association plans to award scholarships of up to $7,500 to students interested in pursuing careers as medium and heavy duty truck technicians. Scholarship applications are being accepted now through April 1, 2022, and are available at arkansastrucking.com/tech-scholarship. “We are proud to have awarded $52,500 in scholarships to seven students […]

Debate among Democrats led to an announcement on Friday, Oct. 1 of an indefinite delay of a House vote on final passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Originally scheduled for Sept. 27, then pushed back to Sept. 30, the longer-term deferral of final passage resulted from ongoing insistence by House Progressives

Ongoing shortages of replacement parts for failed diesel exhaust fluid quality sensors are believed to be causing thousands of trucks nationwide to be disabled and parked. The sensors, which measure the quality and level of diesel exhaust fluid in the tank, are part of the global computer chip shortage, causing a backlog and rising the

On Sept. 16, dozens of safety-minded organizations launched a national coalition aimed at reducing the deadly threat of distracted driving on the nation’s highways. The National Distracted Driving Coalition, governed by a 100-member steering committee, plans to act as a central clearinghouse for local and state safety groups to promote national, innovative and collaborative approaches

The Federal Reserve indicated it may start raising its benchmark interest rate sometime next year, earlier than it envisioned in June. In a statement, the Fed also said it will likely begin slowing the pace of its monthly bond purchases “soon” if the economy keeps improving. These changes potentially signal that high inflation pressures will

FedEx, in partnership with Aurora Innovation Inc. and Paccar Inc., launched a commercial pilot of autonomous trucking between Dallas and Houston, a 500-mile round trip, along the I-45 corridor. “This is an exciting, industry-first collaboration that will work toward enhancing the logistics industry through safer, more efficient transportation of goods and we are pleased to

The University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville celebrated the grand opening of its new Workforce Training Center on Sept. 21. “Our hope is that this center will be a marker for an increase in skilled education in the state,” Zach Harber, UACCB director of career and technical education said. Since January of this year,

NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville will use a $288,700 grant from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to establish a commercial driver’s license training and truck driving program, which is expected to launch in phases starting late this fall. “This technology improvement grant will allow NWACC to support local and regional efforts in attracting

The Internal Revenue Service announced it will increase the allowable per diem rate for owner-operators from $66 to $69 beginning Oct. 1. This reimbursement designed to cover meals and incidentals gives drivers more take-home pay because less taxes are withheld. The per diem rate for owner-operators has been $66 since Oct. 1, 2018, when the

A new FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse report shows the number of positive driver drug tests through August increased nearly 13% compared with a year ago. The report showed increases in marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines and positive drug tests overall. Positive marijuana tests account for more than 53% of the total number of the 14 different