Arkansas Trucking Association

Freight Index Rises to Best Level on Record

The amount of freight carried by the nation’s for-hire transportation industry rose 1.2 percent in November from October, rebounding from a one-month decline to reach its highest all-time level, according to a new U.S. Department of Transportation report.

The November 2013 Freight Transportation Services Index level of 116.5 was 22.8 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession and exceeds the previous high of 115.4 in September 2013. Records go back to 2000.

Fleet Failures Increase Despite Higher Freight Demand

Despite improved freight demand, ongoing cost and regulatory pressures are to blame for the highest level of fleet failures in more than three years, according to Avondale Partners analyst Donald Broughton.

A total of 335 fleets with 7,775 trucks failed during the fourth quarter, the highest since the third quarter of 2010 and more than double the 150 carriers and 2,515 trucks in the final quarter of 2012.

Yellow Light for Green Gas

Blu LNG and Clean Energy, two of the largest developers of natural gas fueling stations, have cut back on expansion efforts.

Blu LNG has laid off 20 percent of its staff, ousted several senior executives and slowed development of fueling stations. The company has a network of about 25 locations, with plans to grow to 40 to 50 by the end of the year, far less than it originally planned. It has cut its number of employees by 40 to 170.

Competitor Clean Energy Fuels is also slowing development of its network, reportedly altering plans to open one station every week-and-a-half to one every two weeks.

The reason? “To let the trucks catch up on us,” said Blu LNG CEO Merritt Norton, as development of the LNG networks has outpaced sales of LNG-powered trucks.

Holy Hog

It’s unknown whether Pope Francis ever rode the custom 2013 Dyna Super Glide that was a gift from Willie Davidson, a retired Harley-Davidson designer and grandson of the company’s co-founder. But an unidentified bidder agreed to pay $327,000 for the motorcycle at a Paris charity auction.

Arkansas Trucking Association Unveils New Website

The Arkansas Trucking Association (ATA) has created a new and improved website that former ATA President Lane Kidd says is a “dynamic, centralized communications hub geared to the needs of our association members and other important audiences in today’s information intensive, 24/7 world.”

ArkansasTrucking.com now has a much more engaging user experience. The overall design and content features of the website have been updated to better reflect ATA’s standing as a recognized industry leader. The entire website is designed to portray the far-reaching, positive impact the industry has in the lives of families and communities, and in our state and national economy.

Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Enacted by FMCSA

Required under MAP-21, last year’s highway reauthorization bill, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced on February 12 a proposed rule to establish a drug and alcohol clearinghouse for all national commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders.

The Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, as it’s known, would help improve roadway safety by requiring carriers to report to FMCSA failed drug tests and test refusals, along with requiring them to query the clearinghouse when making new hires and once annually for current drivers.

Arkansas Best Opens Health Clinic for Employees

Arkansas Best Corp., the parent company of ABF Freight System, Inc. of Fort Smith, is opening a primary care clinic less than a half mile from its headquarters to serve more than 1,000 employees and their dependents.

IMWell Health of Fort Smith will manage the clinic, which will offer yearly physicals and provide treatment for routine illnesses and chronic diseases.

Fayetteville Firm Develops Traffic Warning System

Fayetteville, Arkansas-based VisuaLogistic Technologies entered into a partnership with the state, to introduce its Automated Detection Alert System, or ADAS, to Arkansas highways.

The system entails a series of wireless, solar-powered roadside sensors placed roughly a quarter-mile apart that are updated in real time to inform drivers of what’s ahead-congested traffic, emergency vehicles, even hazardous conditions. Each sensor will flash different colors based on the conditions ahead-for example, yellow for stalled traffic.

Griffin's Political Sabbatical Cut Short

Four months after declaring he would not seek a third term in Congress, U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) said he will run for Arkansas Lt. Governor, joining a crowded field of Republican candidates.

”Last year, I announced my decision not to seek re-election to Congress when my term ends. The decision to leave Congress and return home was an agonizing decision but the right one for my young family. Since that announcement, I have been urged to continue public service... After much prayer, thought and discussion with my wife and family, I have decided to seek the office of Lieutenant Governor,” said Griffin.

New tax rules that start January 1 will change the way trucking companies and other U.S. businesses account for real estate and business equipment and could create room for more same-year deductions rather than multiyear depreciation, according to several tax experts.

The number of freight brokers disappearing from the federal rolls has been increasing by the hundreds every day since December 1, following the new requirement to carry a $75,000 bond, boosted from $10,000 by the MAP-21 highway funding act passed last year.