Arkansas Trucking Association

Preventing the spread of new dangerous virus has uprooted the plans of almost everyone on Earth. All of the events we would normally gather for (birthdays, holy days, big games, graduations, memorials, concerts, ceremonies) are being re-examined as possible vectors for illness. Arkansas Trucking Association has had to look at its own calendar and pivot to accommodate current guidance about gatherings.

ATA’s Annual Business Conference & Vendor Showcase has been rescheduled for August 17-18 in Roger, Ark. The event was originally set to take place on May 5-7, but the new dates will allow time to observe social distancing guidelines and pivot to a speaker and topic lineup that addresses the changing realities of what's next for navigating the rebounding of our economy as well as safety, shifting regulations, technology and politics.

The American Transportation Research Institute has released new data showing that trucks are continuing to move – in many cases faster than usual – to respond to the demands placed on the industry by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February, ATRI released its list of top bottlenecks in the country where congestion for trucks is the most challenging. Those locations, just a month later, saw traffic reduce drastically as cities and states began directing quarantines for citizens exposed to the coronavirus or social distancing for everyone to prevent the virus’ spread.

Some states are taking advantage of less congested roads as they move forward with infrastructure projects.

“Given that the traffic is down and everything, I’m going to be looking at accelerating some of these infrastructure projects,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

“When you’re doing those on busy roads, it causes a lot of problems,” DeSantis continued. “When those (roads) are no longer busy, and if that’s going to be the case for the next month, then we’re going to need to make use of that time.”

The Arkansas Trucking Association assures citizens that trucks will continue to safely and efficiently deliver essential supplies and aid during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some consumers around the state likely encountered empty shelves last week as reports continued to come in regarding the spread of a new corona virus. Experts have advised citizens should take measures to protect the hospitals and health institutions, which will be overtaxed if everyone contracts the illness at the same time. Many buyers headed to the grocery stores to stock up on toilet paper, hand sanitizer and food.

The Arkansas Trucking Association commended the American Transportation Research Institute on its newest research that documents the collection and distribution of toll revenue. The research sheds light on many questions about tolling, including how much toll revenue is generated versus reinvested in toll facilities, and contrasts truck-generated toll revenue versus truck utilization of toll roads.

Arkansas Trucking Association has consistently opposed tolling as a source of infrastructure funding because as ATRI’s study demonstrated toll facility costs are high and a significant portion of toll revenues are subsidizing unrelated transportation costs.

Home Depot, home improvement retailer, has opened a flatbed distribution center in Dallas, Texas, that will enable flatbed trucks to drive through the warehouse for more efficient loading.

Because the company earns 45% of its annual sales from customers who professionally remodel, repair or maintain housing projects, finding a way to improve the speed and convenience of distributing their products was important.

The new 800,000 square foot facility will be able to handle up to 65 to 75 trucks a day, adding thousands of deliveries each week in the Dallas area and replacing the older process that allowed only smaller trucks to load a couple of orders and then make multiple trips. Home Depot plans to open similar ones in other cities as part of a $1.2 billion, five-year investment in its supply chain.

On Jan. 20, FedEx Freight launched a surcharge on all shipments moving to, from and within California.

The $7 per-shipment fee, named the "California Compliance Surcharge," comes a few weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law, AB 5, that requires companies to prove workers are independent contractors instead of employees. The law has since been stayed by LA Superior Court Judge William Highberger, who determined the law is preempted by the federal rules of the 1994 Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act.

In a letter to Senate Finance Committee leaders, the American Trucking Associations encouraged Congress to include “common-sense funding mechanisms” in future surface transportation legislation this year and to forget about trucking-only taxes and fees as a resolution to infrastructure funding problems.

 “Any discriminatory funding schemes, like a truck-only vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax, will be met with resolute opposition by the industry, and must be dismissed as a misguided and prejudiced funding gimmick.”

With Google Maps as his canvas and a little red wagon filled with 99 phones as his medium, artist Simon Wreckert created a virtual traffic jam on the streets of Berlin.

While Wreckert walked up and down the street for a couple of hours, Google Maps reflected 99 cars moving alongside him because he had rented the phones and opened the maps application on all of them. The stunt was to make a point about how much space cars take up and the data we trust to reflect experience.

Before the Kansas City Chiefs claimed victory over the San Francisco 49ers during the Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Feb. 2, FedEx celebrated the 20th anniversary of delivering the grand prize for football’s biggest event.

A recent analysis of household expense data by HNTB Corporation shows that, on average, American families pay far less in federal and state motor fuel taxes in comparison to electricity and water service, among others.

On average, HNTB’s analysis found that American drivers pay $274.69 annually, or less than $25 a month, in combined federal and state motor fuel taxes at the pump.

Arkansas Trucking Association is pleased to announce it is accepting applications for a college scholarship opportunity for students interested in pursuing a career as a medium and heavy duty truck technician. ATA has established the Carl Tapp Memorial Scholarship Fund to encourage growth in the state’s technician workforce and to help assure that the safest, most knowledgeable and skilled technicians are working on the trucks and trailers on our nation’s roads.

Applicants must be graduating seniors from accredited high schools. Two scholarships for up to $7,500 will be awarded for students attending a two-semester (30-hour minimum) medium and heavy duty truck technician program at an Arkansas institution.