Arkansas Trucking Association

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 a court-supervised sale of their assets.

When WalMart trucker George Hart drives into the sunset March 6, he could be the second employee in Walmart’s history to log more than 4 million accident-free miles.

The Anderson County, Mo., resident has spent the past 34 years driving big rigs for the retail giant. He logs about 3,000 miles per week hauling freight from Bentonville to St. James, Mo. 

After the release of data from the Federal Highway Administration of estimated miles traveled by large trucks in 2013, the American Trucking Associations calculated a 1.6 percent decline in the large truck-involved crash fatality rate in 2012. With 2013's decline, the fatality rate has plummeted 39.2 percent over the past decade. The injury rate saw a 34.2 percent decline over the past decade as well.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will study hours-of-service flexibility and drivers’ ability to split sleeper berth time to determine whether splitting sleeper berth times affects highway safety.

FMCSA Chief of Research Martin Walker said the agency plans to award a contract for the study and start data collection by January 2016.

The American Trucking Associations’ Safety Management Council honored a number of fleets, safety professionals and a state association with awards at the group’s annual Safety and Human Resources National Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Fla.

Judy R. McReynolds, President and CEO of ArcBest Corporation, has been named Chairman of the Board of the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI).  Judy succeeds Steve Williams, Chairman and CEO of Maverick Transportation, who recently completed his term as ATRI Chairman.  Judy McReynolds was first appointed to the ATRI Board of Directors in June 2010 and will now chair the Board comprised of 15 trucking industry presidents and CEOs.

TrueVoice, in alliance with GE Capital, Transportation Finance, recently performed a year-long study that looked over fleet services trends. According to the report, there were 250 million online areas that were searched and the researchers found the most topical and debated conversations in the industry.

Responses to a recent survey, conducted by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), found that few truck drivers feel they are harassed by their employers or shippers, and drivers who use electronic logs experience no more harassment than those who use paper logs.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration does not expect to publish its final rule mandating the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) for carriers until Sept. 30, 2015, the agency said in its November significant rulemakings report.

Bill Davis of Haynesville, La., a professional crude oil driver from Frank Thompson Transport, of El Dorado, Ark., saved a driver in an overturned vehicle from drowning in a collision on Highway 19 in Magnolia, Ark.

Davis was traveling south on Highway 19 as a vehicle, approaching the bridge in the north bound lane, veered into the south bound lane.

American Trucking Associations announced it is committing on behalf of the trucking industry and its members to hire 100,000 veterans as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring 500,000 Heroes campaign.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research organization, released a white paper highlighting a challenging future for the trucking industry based on demographic data and a dramatic shift in the age of the industry’s driver workforce. The analysis offers evidence that the driver shortage is likely to worsen in the future.