Arkansas Trucking Association

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry's not-for-profit research organization, has launched the 2015 Top Industry Issues Survey. The annual survey, commissioned by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), asks trucking industry stakeholders to rank the top issues of concern for the industry along with appropriate strategies for addressing each issue.

"In complex times like this it is critical that we do our part to help ensure a thriving future for the trucking industry," said ATA Chairman Duane Long, Chairman of Longistics. "With your participation, we can speak with a collective industry voice on the issues most important to us."

The results of the 2015 survey will be released at the ATA Annual Management Conference and Exhibition, to be held October 17-20, 2015 in Philadelphia.

The survey is in its 11th year and participation by trucking stakeholders has grown each year. Industry stakeholders are encouraged to complete the survey from the website: www.atri-online.org.

Maverick USA, Inc. announced the acquisition of Flanary and Sons Trucking, Inc. (FAST), based in Church Hill, Tenn. Through the purchase, Maverick acquired substantially all of the assets of FAST, including approximately 75 tractors and 175 trailers.

FAST, founded in 1984 by Curtis Flanary, is privately held and family owned. The company services the architectural flat glass market in both the United States and Canada.

While founder Curtis Flanary will be retiring, Shon Flanary, the company’s President, and his brothers, Aaron and Andre Flanary, will join Maverick with the acquisition and continue to work out of the office located in Church Hill, Tenn.

"With increasing regulatory and industry challenges, we felt joining a larger company with greater resources provided the best long term growth opportunity for FAST,” said Shon Flanary. “We are confident this acquisition will allow our employees to grow and the company to better serve the glass industry.” 

Stephen Selig, President and COO of Maverick said, "FAST is an outstanding glass carrier that shares the same core values and desire for excellence that Maverick does.  We are very excited to combine our expertise and resources with that of FAST to offer our customers premier specialized glass freight services throughout North America."

Samsung released a video showcasing its new “Safety Truck” technology, which links various onboard vehicle cameras and turns the back of a semi-trailer into a large, heads-up display screen.

The Safety Truck has a wireless camera attached to the front, connected to a video wall made out of four exterior monitors located on the back of the truck.

The truck will run pilot tests in Argentina, a country of mostly two-lane roads and one of the highest rates of auto accidents in the world.

The camera systems allow a driver struck behind a big rig to access the same view the truck driver has. The concept allows following drivers visual information about the road ahead – specifically road hazards, accidents or unsafe drivers. Drivers can better anticipate problems and changing conditions instead of merely reacting to brake lights in front of their vehicle.

The next step according to Samsung’s company blog is to perform the corresponding tests in order to comply with the existing national protocols and obtain the necessary permits and approvals. For this, Samsung is working together with safe driving NGOs and the government.

Facebook posted a first look at the solar-powered drone, called Aquila, which was built to deliver Internet connectivity to remote parts of the world.

The aircraft has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and a battery life of three months. It will use lasers to transmit data to the ground faster and with more precision than any previous technologies.

The project is part of Facebook’s Internet.org, which aims to bring Internet access to the places people have little or none. Facebook has been working with mobile operators to provide free access to parts of the Web on low-end phones. Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote that the drone technology is necessary for the most remote locations.

"This effort is important because 10 percent of the world’s population lives in areas without existing Internet infrastructure. To affordably connect everyone, we need to build completely new technologies," he wrote. Facebook plans to test the systems "in the real world" over the coming months.

Scott Darling III, chief counsel and acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), has been nominated by President Obama to be the agency's administrator.

Darling has served as acting administrator for the past year after former administrator, Anne Ferro, resigned. He had been appointed chief counsel by President Obama in September 2012. Darling previously held the deputy chief of staff and assistant general counsel positions at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the public transit agency serving the greater Boston area.

The Arkansas Trucking Association-sponsored program is a public education service made possible through the Arkansas Commercial Truck Safety Education Program. It is designed to address highway safety and to educate the public on safe driving, especially near large commercial vehicles.

Arkansas Road Team Captains will be trained for speaking to media, schools and lawmakers about their passion and expertise in the field. They will also appear at industry events like the ATA annual conference and state trucking conference and state trucking championship to reinforce safety values.

Arkansas Road Team Captains will be available upon reasonable request to conduct Share the Road demonstrations, safety best practices, industry promotion, and a variety of other topics.

The Arkansas Road Team nomination process is open until Aug. 31. Contact David O’Neal at 501.372.3462 or davidoneal@arkansastrucking.com for more information about nominating a driver to represent your company and the industry as a Road Team Captain.

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) is pleased to announce a formal partnership with the Arkansas Trucking Association (ATA) to promote the new inGauge™ Online Performance Benchmarking Service to ATA members. The inGauge™ service was formally launched September 1_^st and has quickly caught the attention of the trucking industry.

inGauge™ allows motor carriers and their employees to anonymously compare their operational results on approximately 15–30 performance metrics against a chosen peer group, and share best practice knowledge to enhance future results. The service is available on a monthly subscription basis with no annual commitment.

“A strong association is built with strong members,” stated Shannon Newton, President of ATA. “We are pleased to support this initiative that seeks to enhance the performance of our members. Evaluating against past performance is important, but being able to compare results to other well-managed motor carriers will help to eliminate status quo in a company, as well as validate macro trends that other companies have experienced.”

In addition to quantitative results, the service will provide the results of monthly qualitative surveys on a dedicated Best Practices Dashboard. This feature will help to translate specific strategic and operational decisions into improved bottom line results.

“Benchmarking, both external and internal, is crucial to the positive long term performance of motor carriers. inGauge™ leverages the data and knowledge we have gained through our successful Benchmarking groups over the past 13 years,” added Debbie Sparks, VP of TCA. “We are pleased to be able to deliver this valuable and sophisticated tool to ATA members.”

Regular online webinars will be conducted for ATA members, as well as personal online demonstrations as requested. For those interested in a personal online demonstration, please go to www.tcaingauge.com/online-demo-request/ and register. ATA has published a calendar of scheduled group webinars accessible via the following link: http://tcaingauge.com/

Dave Hall and Loren Hatfield, both of ABF Freight, each placed second in their respective divisions at the 2015 National Truck Driving Championships. Hall and Hatfield joined 429 other professional truck drivers in St. Louis, Mo., August 11–14 to compete in the annual “Super Bowl of Safety” sponsored by the American Trucking Associations.

The 431 contestants represented all 50 states and 85 different companies.Arkansas sent 9 competitors, each representing an Arkansas Trucking Championship winner from 7 different companies. The event spanned four days with contestants tested on their knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry. The championship includes an obstacle course testing competitors’ skill of real life driving situations.

According to David O’ Neal, director of safety services at the Arkansas Trucking Association, "Arkansas should be very proud of Dave and Loren. They represented their company, state and industry professionally and positively all week. They both worked really hard for this accomplishment and are deserving of this national honor."

Hall won the grand champion title at the 2015 Arkansas Trucking Championship in June, finishing with the highest score in the 4-Axle class. He has worked in the industry for 28 years with over 2 million lifetime safe driving miles. He resides in Austin, Ark. with his wife Eileen and children David (17), Zachary (16) and Madison (13). A two- time winner, Hall also placed 6th at the national championships in 2008.

Hatfield has worked for ABF Freight for 16 years and holds a no-accident record over the course of 21 years in the industry. He has received a 10 year safety award and numerous other safety and performance awards from his employer. Hatfield volunteers for the Jr. League of Little Rock and currently serves as a Captain on the America’s Road Team as well as on the ABF Road Team. He and his wife Tammy live in Maumelle, Ark. They have two children: Jeff (25) and Skylar (20). Hatfield has competed in the state-level truck driving event since 2004, finishing 1st in the Flatbed division in both 2013 and 2014. Over his years of competition he has also placed in Twins and Tank divisions, earning the state grand champion title in 2009 and 2013.

"The industry is safer than it has ever been because of the professional drivers who commit to safety and take such pride in their jobs. All the competitors who took part in the National Truck Driving Championships are the best of what truck driving has to offer," Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton said. "And it is an honor to have so much Arkansas talent, skill and professionalism representing the industry.

Little Rock, AR – Fifteen Arkansas Trucking Association member companies, including five companies headquartered in Arkansas, are among the Top 100 freight carriers in North America according to the annual ranking compiled by Transport Topics, an industry trade newspaper. The list ranks companies by their 2014 gross revenue. Companies on the 2014 list represent a combined revenue of $209.5 billion in 2014, an increase of 7.4% from $195.1 billion in 2013.

Freightliner Trucks received the first license in the United States for an autonomous-driving truck to operate on public highways from Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval.

The Freightliner Inspiration was previewed for the media at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on May 5, “a historic day in the areas of transportation and innovation” and a “monumental day for the human race,” Sandoval said.

Trucking industry analysts and media got a chance to ride in the Inspiration Truck nearby while the vehicle operated in autonomy on May 6.

The Truckload Carriers Association presented the 2015 Clare C. Casey Award to Dean Newell, vice president of safety and training for Maverick Transportation, LLC, of North Little Rock, Ark. Presented at the Safety & Security Division Annual Meeting in Charlotte, N.C, the award is given to a safety professional whose actions and achievements have had a profound and positive benefit or contribution to better safety on our highways.  

Newell has been employed by Maverick Transportation for more than 30 years.  

The trucking industry reported a record $700.4 billion in revenue in 2014.

Trucking revenue rose 2.6 percent last year. The record $700.4 billion accounted for 80.3 percent of all freight transportation spending, according to the American Trucking Associations’ “American Trucking Trends” report.

The growth was slower than that of 2013, when trucking revenue expanded 6.2 percent, but it marked the first time industry-wide revenue has ever exceeded $700 billion.