Used Semi Trailers is the #1 online resource for sourcing used trucking equipment and providing a convenient and secure selling platform for trucking equipment. Today, we’re looking at the impact of high fuel prices and the reaction of the American trucking Association:

In a March 13, 2011 statement to the House Natural Resources Committee, American Trucking Association President and CEO Bill Graves spoke out about rising fuel prices and the role Congress could play in making things better for the trucking industry.

Graves told the committee that there is no single solution to the high (and climbing) oil prices.  He proposes that conservation and the accumulation of more oil combined is the only way to combat the high prices.  Graves gives as an example, the increase in the projected spending of the trucking industry.  Reportedly, the trucking industry will spend a total of $135.8 billion dollars on fuel in 2011, a good $35 billion dollars more than 2010.  However, the amount of fuel purchased in 2011 does not merit the increase.  The cost of diesel fuel is simply higher, and continues to rise.

Graves says that companies are having trouble recovering the cost, and that this impact is passed on to consumers, who have to pay more for their everyday essentials like food and toiletries.  As the trucking companies have to pay more for fuel, stores have to pay more for product, and so does the consumer.

Graves says that the measures taken thus far are not enough to make a difference.  Even with the increase of the national speed limit to 65 miles per hour, the reduced traffic congestion and truck fuel efficiency is not enough to make up for the increased spending on fuel.  Graves suggests that Congress take steps to increase oil drilling in the Gulf o f Mexico, and should promote the development of oil shale and coal-to-liquid and gas-to-liquid (also known as liquefied natural gas) or order to make fuel more available, and therefore less expensive.

In addition, Graves suggests that a financial incentive such as a tax credit should be implemented in order to encourage trucking companies to make the switch to liquefied natural gas trucks, which cost twice as much as standard diesel-powered trucks.  These liquefied natural gas trucks (LNG) also weigh more than standard trucks, so Graves suggests that standard weigh stations should be federally encouraged to extend the weight variance to accept these heavier, more expensive trucks so that weight fines are not an issue.

Used Semi Trailers brings you news, views and information on the trucking industry – we’re also the #1 resource for used semi trailers. Today, we cover the Mid-America Trucking Show and the NTSB Chairwoman’s ridealong:

March 30, 2011 marked the day that National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman embarked on a journey that will end at Louisville, KY’s Mid-America Trucking Show.  Hersman, Chairman of the NTSB since July of 2009, holds her own CDL, and traveled with five different female truck drivers from Washington, D.C. to Louisville for the event that started March 31 and ended April 2, 2011.

Stephanie Klang, a driver for Conway Truckload, was the first driver to have Hersman as a passenger.  Other professional trucking companies that employ female drivers acted as escorts for the NTSB Chairman, including UPS, U.S. Express, Schneider, and Wal-Mart.  Hersman’s journey to the event included several stops.  One was a Maryland weigh station, where she observed a Level 1 roadside inspection.  Another stop was a travel center in West Virginia.  Another stop included listening sessions:  one with safety officials and one with professional industry drivers.  She also met with West Virgina and Kentucky safety advocates and transportation officials.

The final destination of this journey, the Mid-America Trucking Show, celebrated its fortieth anniversary this year.  The first of these events was in 1972 and had 83 exhibitors and 4000 attendees.  Now, the event is the largest heavy-duty trucking tradeshow and expo in the world.

On April 2, Hersman honored female truck drivers at the 2^nd Annual Women in Trucking Salute to Women Behind the Wheel event, which was expected to set a Guinness Record for the most female professional truck drivers gathered in one place – a record set by a Netherlands event that occurred in 2004.

Hersman herself has been a member of the NTSB since 2004, and she served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation prior to that.  Prior to her trek from Washington, D.C. to Louisville, K.Y., she expressed her great honor at speaking at the Salute to Women Behind the wheel, stating that it was “a thrill” to participate in such an event.

2010’s Salute to Women Behind the Wheel drew over three hundred professional women truck drivers, a third of whom had hit a million miles or more of safe driving.  This year’s event was expected to draw six hundred participants, more than enough to beat the Netherland’s record of 415 female truckers.

In addition to the many events and exhibitions that occurred at the Mid-America Trucking Show, there were plenty of refreshments and entertainment to keep the crowd happy.

Used Semi Trailers is the main online resource for buying and selling trucking equipment, including all kinds of semi trailers from lowboys to refrigerated vans.

In this post, we take a look at the efforts of Truckers Against Trafficking to help truckers combat human trafficking, which is a real problem right here in the United States:

We are all aware of the issue of human trafficking into the United States, particularly across the border with Mexico and the activities of criminal gangs of people smugglers. What many truckers are not aware of, and most members of the public at large, is that human trafficking is a serious and growing problem right here within the United States.

Of particular concern is the scale of child trafficking, especially involving children who are sold for sex. Many truckers will have already experienced the site of young women plying their trade as prostitutes, however some of those ‘young women’ are not women at all – they are children. Child sex trafficking is a serious crime, or at least it should be, however it has gained more than a foothold in every single state across the country.

Truckers Against Trafficking is an organization which has been established to engage truckers in combating the problem. They provide practical advice and guidance on what to look out for, particularly at truck stops (as trucks are frequently the number one type of vehicle used to transport people across the country) and what to do if you see something suspicious.

The bottom line is this – if you see something suspicious, report it at once to law enforcement and keep on at them until they respond.  Remember: a child’s life may be in danger.

Another organization is Shared Hope International, which ranks and reports on child sex trafficking levels around the world and at home. A recent scorecard was released for Arizona, which demonstrated a mediocre performance from that state in establishing and enforcing laws to protect children and women from the twin evils of human trafficking and forced prostitution. It is important to remember that Arizona is not an exceptional state in any regard – the problems facing Arizona are the same problems facing every state in the country and Arizona is no better or worse than most states in its response to the situation.

The scorecard consists of 6 assessments made of the local laws, local law enforcement and judicial action and an assessment of the scale of the overall problem of sex trafficking involving children. The overall rating for Arizona is moderate, or mediocre as some observers put it.

An example of how poorly we are treating child sex slaves in the United States is demonstrated by amendments to AZ state law which have reduced the severity of charges under child prostitution laws in that state. A charge of sex with a child prostitute has been reduced from a Class2 felony (carrying a 21 year jail sentence) to a Class 6 felony (carrying as little as 90 days) if the sex buyer, ‘John’, can show he was not aware of the child’s age and the child is aged between 15 and 17. The problem is that it is impossible to prove a john did know the child’s age, which means in practice that a child sex offender will be free on the streets again in a very short time.

Used Semi Trailers is the leading online website for buying and selling used semi trailers and a trucking accessories.

Today, we look at the emerging trends within the trucking industry for 2011 as we come to the close of the first quarter:

The trucking industry is important as an advance warning industry for the rest of the economy. What is happening with the performance of the trucking industry tends to act as a reliable forecast for the rest of the economy – the trucking sector is the first to experience economic downturn and the first to lead the country out of recession.

So, what are the major trends which are emerging in 2011?

The Cost of Fuel

We expected fuel prices to rise as this is a natural progression from increased demand for fuel as the economy picks up and consumers start spending money again. If it was simply a matter of balancing the inflationary pressure upon fuel prices against the tentative economic growth we are seeing, then the story would end here. However, events in the Middle East are casting a serious cloud over the reliability of future oil supplies and this is helping to drive fuel price increases to the $4 a gallon level (seen in California).

A Shortage of Trained Drivers

Some pundits have claimed that the trucking industry shed over 300,000 driver jobs during the recession, however with the recovery under way, 2011 is seeing a dramatic shortage of trained drivers to fill vacancies. The revised Hours of Service (HOS) rules are also compounding the situation as it is not simply a case of more work for each driver as they are restricted to how many hours they can work in any event – HOS means more drivers are needed to do the same level of work in the past.

Increasing Shipping Costs

Freight costs are increasing, and again this is due to the inflationary pressures which are associated with economic recovery. The rise in shipping costs is something to be concerned about because it is not simply due to recovery inflation, but also to the shortage of drivers which is artificially fueling demand for freight and logistics services.

NAFTA – Canada, Mexico and the US

Hilary Clinton has already held secret talks with her Canadian counterparts on revisiting the NAFTA trade treaty (North American Free Trade Association), which is sort of letting the cat out of the bag. The lion which is now being set free however is the US/Mexican cross border trucking deal which is only one part of the issue. Look forward to a deal sealing the NAFTA Superhighway; a highway route linking Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Used Semi Trailers is the #1 online resource for buying and selling used trucking equipment, including flat beds, lo-boys, reefers and refrigerated trailers and vans.

Today, we’re taking a look at the forthcoming cross border trucking deal with Mexico and the US:

The cross border trucking deal between the US and Mexico is looking like a done deal after the announcement made by President Obama and Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon. The deal has been a long time coming, but President Obama has apparently given in to increasing pressure from US exporters and supporters of NAFTA to take action over the international trade dispute which has cost US companies billions of dollars in punitive tariffs and lost market share.

While the trucking deal is good news for US exporters who have been getting slaughtered in the Mexican markets (and remember that Mexico is one of the largest of the US’ trading partners), others are not so happy about the deal.

Trucking and equipment safety is high on the list of objections for those who oppose the deal.

The US has made great strides in trucking road safety over the last twenty years. Current statistics for trucking accidents, injuries and fatalities are at all-time lows, however it has taken an enormous investment in both terms of financial investment, training, selection and compliance procedures backed by increasingly stringent monitoring and enforcement to get it that way.

Now enter Mexican drivers and Mexican trucks.

The big question is just how safe are they?

Part of the cross border truck deal is that the US taxpayer will pay to fit Electronic OnBoard Recorders (EOBRs) in every Mexican truck seeking authorization to enter the United States under the agreement. The total cost is not that high in the scheme of things ($4.3 million versus billions of dollars of trade and $2.4 billion savings in no more tariffs), but this begs the question, if an operator isn’t prepared to pay for an EOBR should they be in the trucking business to begin with, in the US?

US Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) has written to the US transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on the matter. DeFazio makes a very valid point – the FMCSA is paying out $4.3 million collected by trucker fuel taxes to subsidize Mexican carriers. With the average Mexican trucker paid a third of US drivers, US carriers are steeling themselves for an assault on their business in the US by south of the border operators.

Used Semi Trailers is the premier resource for trucking equipment and accessories including providing the most secure platform for online selling and purchasing of used semi trailers.

Today, we focus on the proposed Bill before Congress to extend TWIC renewal deadlines:

The Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) ID program allows truckers to gain quick access and exit from ports and some secure warehouse facilities.  While they are not essential to gain access, the TWIC allows truckers to gain admittance without having to pay for a TWIC ID holder to accompany them onto the facility’s premises (something which several ports have expressed disquiet about, including New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles).

The first wave of TWIC renewals is due to start next year, however US Representative, Ben Thompson (D-MS) is asking Congress to pass a bill which will extend the need to renew TWIC ID’s back to 2014, or until the S Department of Homeland Security issues the final card reader rule (if earlier).

Currently, there are in excess of 1.8 million US workers who have been issued with a TWIC ID, this includes over 300,000 truckers.  The TWIC ID program was started as security was drastically tightened up in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The program actually started in 2007 with the issuance of 5-year TWIC ID cards, with expiry dates in 2012.

Despite the implementation of the ID program, the cards have been criticized because they are only perfunctorily checked. Many claim they are ‘flash passes’ and do nothing to engender enhanced security which has led to calls to implement a card reader system to automate the ID procedure before access is granted.

Unfortunately, the Department of Homeland Security has not made much progress in establishing a viable biometric system into which the TWI ID cards could be integrated.

The current system is simply delaying truckers and also imposing a burden of time and cost upon them to get the TWC IDs renewed.

Thompson is a ranking member of the US House Committee on Homeland Security, and the bill is currently before them for consideration. Currently, the cost of applying for a TWIC is $132.50, though some workers who already have acquired a similar identification and undergone comparable threat assessment background checks are charged a reduced fee of $105.25. There is also some empirical evidence that TWIC cards are being required by non-government facilities as an alternative form of identification to gain admittance to commercial facilities.

Used Semi Trailers is the number one web resource for buying and selling used trailers and trucking equipment.

Today, we post on the proposals to increase truck weights on the highways:

A pilot program has been in operation in Vermont and Maine, where maximum permissible truck weights have been raised to as high as 120,000 pounds. That contrasts with the 80,000 pound weight limit which is imposed nationwide by federal rules.

The argument for increasing maximum truck laden weight has revolved around the improvements made in technology since the original weight limits were imposed (over 20 years ago) and by the increased logistical efficiencies and benefits which could be obtained.

Congress is currently considering a proposal to raise the federal weight limit from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds. That’s an increase of 21%, but the increase has got some people worried.

OOIDA, the leading Owner-Operator drivers’ association in the country, opposes the proposals. They believe that increasing weight limits is going to have an adverse impact on road safety and will also lead to a loss in trucking jobs. The greater the load which can be carried by one driver means that someone, somewhere loses out on truck driving work.

OOIDA is also not convinced by the safety arguments either. They have a serious point: heavier truck loads are more difficult to control, especially when a driver control situation occurs and starts to deteriorate into an incident which the driver cannot recover from. Many accidents occur not because of a single factor but a combination of errors, not anywhere near being always the fault of the truck driver, but the cumulative effect of errors becomes irreversible and disaster strikes. A collision with an 80,000 pound tractor trailer unit is bad enough, but when the load weight s increased so is the damage capability.  Some may argue however, that there is not much difference for cars which collide with an 80,000 pound trailer and a heavier truck though – it’s like the difference between falling from 80,000 feet and 97,000 feet. Either way, it’s going to be a bad day.

Another factor against increasing load weights is the impact on the road infrastructure itself. Many of our highways are in desperate need of repair and maintenance, and this includes bridges and associated infrastructure. Increasing truck weight means that it is going to cause more damage to the already vulnerable roads. A countering viewpoint is that demand for road freight haulage is predicted to dramatically increase over the next 15 years, and it has to be hauled somehow with moving freight onto the railroads is not going to be a universal solution.

In this post Used Semi Trailers will focus on the recent “listening session” in Washington D.C.

The United States spends 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on its road infrastructure. This was the message sent to Congress on February 19^th at a “listening session” staged in Washington D.C. The message is underlined by the levels of spending by governments overseas on their own road networks – the European Union spends 5% of GDP on its roads, whereas America’s emerging global competitor, China, spends a massive 9%.

For all the talk of putting more cargo onto the railways or increasing use of intermodal transportation systems, the bulk of cargoes hauled across the US are carried by trucks. A major reason for logistical inefficiencies in the US today are tied up in the poor state of the road infrastructure. The United States has delayed and ignored funding requirements for the state of our roads, however with freight levels set to double by 2025, we can expect more and not less road use by heavy vehicles.

Road infrastructure is such a basic and fundamental requirement for the health of the country in every aspect of its life, that we have no choice but to address the parlous state of our roads. Congestion is a huge problem on our roads, and this is exceptionally costly to the economy and the enjoyment of all road users (car drivers as well as truckers). It is estimated that road traffic congestion is responsible for the loss of 4 billion man hours and 5 billion gallons of gas each year. These enormous numbers will only increase the longer we delay putting our roads into proper order.

The issue is how to raise the huge sums of money involved to properly fund road infrastructure development.

One proposal has been through the road fuel tax. At the moment, the federal gas tax is responsible for 18.4 cents on each gallon (for diesel it is 24.4 cents). In both cases, the tax rate was set way back in 1993 and has not kept pace with developments, nor the need to invest in our road networks. The proposals call for an increase in these rates, though some believe the tax levels could rise as high as 31 cents for a gallon of gas and 42 cents for diesel. This would generate an additional $25 billion annually for investment in the road networks, especially on the roads and bridges which are heavily utilized by the trucking industry, however the question arises – is $25 billion anywhere near enough?

Today, Used Semi Trailers is taking a look at the proposed changes in truck weight limits.

The Safe & Efficient Transportation Act has been reintroduced into Congress last week.  The bill looks to provide individual states with the authority to set the Interstate commerce weight limit for trucks travelling through the state.  At the moment, the regulation of Interstate commerce is under the jurisdiction of the federal government which set the weight limit at 80,000 pounds back in 1982.

There is increasing pressure to change this now, especially with the first Highways Reconstruction review in six years currently underway.

SETA proponents claim that the current weight restrictions are hampering the efficiency of the trucking industry.  The experience from overseas demonstrates that increasing truck load limits results in dramatic transportation efficiencies, and the US trucking industry could be 30% more efficient over the next ten years simply by raising the weight limit.  This experience has been backed by the increase in the truck load limits in the United Kingdom.  The Brits increased their maximum laden weight limit to 97,000 pounds in 2001.

A further effect of increasing truck weights is the reduction in truck-related fatalities and injuries. Again citing the UK study and experience, the increase in truck weight results in a decrease in the number of trucks required to ship cargo (which stands to reason).  Fewer truck journeys means the probability of accidents is reduced and this was observed in practice in the UK.  Overall, fatal truck-related incidents reported a decline of 35% in fatalities.

At the same time, the US is under increasing pressure to maintain trucking efficiency.  Freight tonnage is expected to double by 2035, while truck traffic is increasing at a voracious rate (11 times faster than the road infrastructure which supports it).  By increasing the weight limit for Interstate commerce, there will be a reduced requirement for truck journeys on America’s roads, though there will still be an overall increase in trucks and cargo totals shipped (which means there will not be a need for job losses).

Fewer truck journeys also have environmental implications.  Increased weight limits mean greater fuel efficiencies and that means reduced costs to operators, but also fewer emissions per ton of freight hauled.  Environmentally, there will be reduced emissions for the same amount of freight hauled and a reduced need for trucks to haul it – with very positive and beneficial implications for the environment.

SETA is being proposed by Representatives Michael Michaud (D-ME) and Jean Schmidt (R-OH), and the Bill has broad bi-partisan support.  There are objections on the grounds of increased environmental harm, the ability of the existing road infrastructure to handle the increased weight and from some truck industry representatives concerned over the potential for job losses.