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Oct. 16, 2008
‘Hot fuel’ report sheds little heat
The Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association advocates requiring automatic temperature compensation devices while the American Trucking Associations opposes them.
Federal Maritime Commission votes to block port concessions By CCJ Staff
The Federal Maritime Commission on Wednesday, Oct. 29, determined by a 2-1 vote that implementation of certain portions of the Clean Truck Program by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are likely, by a reduction in competition, to produce an unreasonable increase in transportation cost or unreasonable reduction in service.
The commission authorized staff to file a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia pursuant to section 6(h) of the Shipping Act of 1984, to enjoin aspects of FMC Agreement No. 201170, including concession requirements that mandate exclusive use of employee-drivers.
In authorizing this action, the commission said it appreciates the potential environmental and public health goals of the ports' CTP, and recognizes that some transportation cost increases may be necessary to generate clean air and public health benefits. However, the commission concluded that the reduction in competition resulting from certain agreement-related activities will result in substantial transportation cost increases, beyond what is necessary to generate the public benefits asserted by the ports. The commission said it believes that surgical removal of substantially anti-competitive elements of the agreement, such as the employee mandate, will permit the ports to implement on schedule those elements of the CTP that produce clean air and improve public health.
The Shipping Act directs FMC to evaluate the potential anti-competitive impacts of all agreements. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are marine terminal operators under the Shipping Act, and are permitted to collectively develop and implement their CTP pursuant to an agreement on file with the FMC.
Subject to the commission's jurisdiction and ongoing oversight, parties to agreements receive immunity from the U.S. antitrust laws. This oversight ensures that activities of the agreement parties do not result in unreasonable increases in transportation cost or reductions in service, or otherwise give rise to unreasonable practices under the Shipping Act.
Commissioners Harold Creel and Rebecca Dye, casting the majority vote, commented that FMC must ensure that foreign trades operate free from substantially anticompetitive activities, and that the shipping public should be afforded the full benefit of the protections of the Shipping Act. Commissioner Joseph Brennan dissented from the determination.
The American Trucking Associations is continuing its challenge of the ports' CTP with some high-powered help: the U.S. Department of Justice. In an Oct. 20 filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Justice Department addressed the question of whether the regulation of motor carrier operations at the ports violates federal law that preempts state and local laws that impact motor carrier rates, routes and services. The district court ruled that the plans directly affected motor carrier rates, routes and services, but it found them to be protected from preemption because they generally advanced port safety and security interests.
While the federal preemption provision exempts state regulation of motor vehicle safety, the Justice Department argued that motor vehicle safety is a “circumscribed realm” that “does not encompass requirements loosely based in a general notion of public safety.” The district court’s broad view on the issue would “permit the exception to swallow the rule,” the department said. Several aspects of the concession plans clearly have no relationship to motor vehicle safety, including prohibiting the use of independent contractors and imposing financial oversight of carriers granted concessions, the Justice Department said.
With the courts refusing to block the concession agreements initially, 598 companies had signed up as of Oct. 1 to participate in the concession program. The district court held that carriers would not suffer irreparable harm because they could seek damages if they later win on the merits. But ATA argues in its appeal that securing individual damages would be difficult, if not impossible, and that forcing companies to either accept the illegal terms or stop doing business at the ports is itself irreparable harm.
ATA isn’t challenging other elements of the CTP that went into effect Oct. 1. The program immediately banned trucks built before 1989 – more than 10 percent of port trucks as of Oct. 1 – and requires that all trucks meet 2007 emissions standards by 2012.
CARB proposes rules to cut truck emissions By Avery Vise
The California Air Resources Board on Friday, Oct. 24, made two draft regulations available for public comment that require the installation of devices and phaseout of older equipment in order to reduce the emissions of oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and greenhouse gases from trucks and buses. The regulations apply to equipment operated in California regardless of where they are based.
The first proposed regulation would require truck owners to install diesel exhaust filters on their trucks starting in 2010, with nearly all vehicles upgraded by 2014. Owners also must phase out engines older than the 2010 equivalent according to a staggered implementation schedule between 2012 and 2022.
The statewide truck regulation gives truck owners a choice of one of three compliance options. Exceptions to the regulation include low-use vehicles, emergency and military tactical vehicles, and personal-use motor homes. School buses would be subject only to requirements for reducing diesel particulate matter and not for engine replacement.
The second regulation would require that fleet owners adopt SmartWay specifications for long-haul tractors pulling 53-foot van trailers as well as the trailers themselves. The goal is to reduce fuel consumption, thereby cutting greenhouse cases. New tractors and trailers would be required to meet SmartWay specs beginning with model year 2010. Older tractors would have to be retrofit with fuel-efficient tires by 2012, while older trailers would have to be retrofit with aerodynamic devices and fuel-efficient tires by 2013.
The state already has approved more than $1 billion in grants and low-cost loans to help truck owners fund early or additional compliance. CARB is looking at ways to integrate the two programs so that truck owners can obtain grants and loans for both simultaneously, minimizing paperwork and reducing the monthly payments for a new truck loan.
A public hearing on the two proposed regulations is scheduled for Dec. 11-12 in Sacramento. For more information on the greenhouse gas reduction measure, click here. For more information on the statewide truck and bus regulation, click here.
The proposed regulations also will be among several issues discussed in a free CCJ webinar, “The Impact of California on Trucking Operations,” to be held Thursday, Oct. 30. Mike Tunnell, director of environmental affairs for the American Trucking Associations, will discuss several major environmental initiatives in California that are affecting and will affect the trucking industry. Attorney Henry Seaton will address legal worries for trucking in California, especially challenges to owner-operator classification. For more information and to register, visit www.ccjwebinars.com.
Source: CCJ Magazine
Related Story - U.S. backs ATA on ports' concession plans
The Department of Transportation has completed work on a final driver hours-of-service regulation and sent it to the White House for a final review. Along with related regulations concerning electronic onboard recorders, the hours rules are the most significant regulations on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s plate as the Bush administration tries to wrap up key rulemakings before it ends in January.
Details regarding the new rules will not be disclosed until the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completes its review and the rules are published in the Federal Register.
The regulations now pending at OMB represent FMCSA’s third attempt at a rewrite of the regime that had stood for more than six decades. Following a lawsuit by Public Citizen and others, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia invalidated the first attempt in July 2004 on the grounds that the agency had failed to consider the effects of the rules on driver health as required by Congress.
In August 2005, FMCSA issued new rules that sharply limited the use of sleeper berths for split rest, but it left other key elements in place, including the 11 hours of driving and the 34-hour restart. Public Citizen and its allies sued again, and the appeals court struck down the rules once again in July 2007, this time on the grounds that FMCSA had not provided adequate notice of its methodology for analyzing crash risk.
In December of last year, FMCSA issued an interim final rule holding the current regulations in place and requesting comments and data to help in its reconsideration of the regulations. Because the appeals court invalidated the current hours rules on procedural grounds, it has yet to consider the merits of Public Citizen’s challenge. Another lawsuit following the third final rule is virtually inevitable.
Four other FMCSA rulemakings – final rules regarding intermodal equipment, new entrant fitness and medical certification; and a proposed rule to establish a National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners – are under final review by OMB.
Source: CCJ Magazine 23 OCT 2008
U.S. backs ATA on ports' concession plans
By Avery Vise
The American Trucking Associations failed to secure an expedited injunction to block the concession agreements implemented by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach on Oct. 1, but the group is continuing the challenge through the more routine litigation process with some high-powered help: the U.S. Department of Justice.
In a Monday, Oct. 20 filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Justice Department addressed the question of whether the regulation of motor carrier operations at the ports violates federal law that preempts state and local laws that impact motor carrier rates, routes and services. The district court ruled that the plans directly affected motor carrier rates, routes and services, but it found them to be protected from preemption because they generally advanced port safety and security interests.
While the federal preemption provision exempts state regulation of motor vehicle safety, the Justice Department argued that motor vehicle safety is a “circumscribed realm” that “does not encompass requirements loosely based in a general notion of public safety.” The district court’s broad view on the issue would “permit the exception to swallow the rule,” the department said. Several aspects of the concession plans clearly have no relationship to motor vehicle safety, including prohibiting the use of independent contractors and imposing financial oversight of carriers granted concessions, the Justice Department said.
With the courts refusing to block the concession agreements initially, 598 companies had signed up as of Oct. 1 to participate in the concession program. The district court held that carriers would not suffer irreparable harm because they could seek damages if they later win on the merits. But ATA argues in its appeal that securing individual damages would be difficult, if not impossible, and that forcing companies to either accept the illegal terms or stop doing business at the ports is itself irreparable harm.
ATA isn’t challenging other elements of the Clean Truck Program that went into effect Oct. 1. The program immediately banned trucks built before 1989 – more than 10 percent of port trucks as of Oct. 1 – and requires that all trucks meet 2007 emissions standards by 2012.
Source: CCJ Magazine 22 Oct 2008
Daimler to discontinue Sterling Trucks brand in March
Daimler to discontinue Sterling Trucks brand in March By CCJ Staff
Daimler Trucks North America on Oct. 14 announced that it will discontinue the Sterling Trucks brand in March 2009 as part of a response to continued low truck sales and structural changes in the market.
Other elements of the plan include closing the St. Thomas, Ontario, manufacturing plant – where Sterling trucks are built – in March when the existing agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers expires. And the 39-year-old Portland, Ore., plant will close in June 2010, sending Western Star production to Santiago, Mexico, and Freightliner military truck production to a plant in the Carolinas. A migrating supplier base and high logistics costs had resulted in higher production costs in Portland.
“Plans based on an expectation of brief, sharp market events driven by regulatory change, followed by periods of reasonable growth, are out of step with the emerging realities of the latter part of this decade,” said Chris Patterson, president and chief executive officer of Daimler Trucks North America. “We’ve examined every part of our organization in light of the changed economic environment.”
In announcing Sterling’s demise, Daimler noted that the brand’s models have substantial overlap with offerings in the Freightliner Trucks product line and have achieved only one-fourth the Freightliner market share. Daimler launched Sterling in 1998 as a replacement brand for the newly acquired Ford heavy-duty truck business. Daimler said it would be adding to the Freightliner and Western Star product ranges to address market segments that had been served exclusively by Sterling.
Daimler said it expects that the Sterling dealer network will continue to perform warranty repairs and maintenance services, supply replacement parts and provide technical support for Sterling Truck owners. Dealers will continue to accept orders until Jan. 15, 2009, and new truck sales will continue until present dealer stocks are depleted.
The decision to close the Portland plant will not affect the location or operation of the company’s headquarters in Portland, Daimler said. The company recently moved sales, marketing and customer support functions to Fort Mill, S.C., leaving 2,200 administration, product development, procurement and information technology employees in Portland.
Daimler said production at its new Saltillo, Mexico, plant, which will produce the Cascadia, will begin as planned in February.
The renewed push by big trucking and shipper groups for longer combination vehicles – or LCVs – has OOIDA leaders questioning where they are all going to park. OOIDA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs Joe Rajkovacz said that if Congress passes federal legislation allowing more states to have LCVs, few states have adequate truck parking spaces to accommodate trucks longer than 80 feet.
Associate Editor Dave Tanner wants to know where the proponents of longer, heavier trucks get their environmental statistics from … and why some agencies and lawmakers take the bait.
At first glance, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s four-year surface transportation bill contains some wins for small-business trucking, but will those be enough to overcome possible deal breakers such as longer and heavier trucks on federal highways? Here’s a look inside the bill. OOIDA leadership continues to review the contents of the 700-plus page bill.
Port truckers in Washington state would be reclassified as employees in a bill moving through the statehouse. The House Labor and Workforce Development Committee voted Monday, Jan. 30, in favor of a revised bill that would deem drayage truck operators, as well as any owner-operators going onto a port, to be employees of companies that “directly engages the services.”
A Memphis man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday, Jan. 27, for violating the Mann Act. Charles Kizer, 53, of Memphis, pleaded guilty in federal court on Aug. 31, 2011, to violating the Mann Act by “transporting a woman across state lines for the purpose of having her engage in prostitution.”
A federally appointed committee meets in early February to finalize recommendations for a rulemaking on obstructive sleep apnea and commercial vehicle operators. The committee is also addressing a court mandate that ensures EOBRs are not used to harass vehicle operators. OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer is a member of the 18-member committee.
Pennsylvania lawmakers beat the clock with the deadline to comply with a federal truck rule. Gov. Tom Corbett signed a bill into law Jan. 27 to bring Pennsylvania in line with federal rules on medical certification. Separate provisions in the bill extend the Philadelphia red-light camera program and increase the fine for out-of-state trucking operations that avoid licensing.
High school seniors still have time to submit their applications for financial assistance from the OOIDA Mary Johnston Scholarship fund. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, Feb. 1, for the 2012-2013 school year.
Medical conditions sideline numbers of professional truck drivers each year. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund is now accepting applications for a one-of-a-kind scholarship fund to help those drivers move forward with their lives.
We are counting down until the 2012 Mid-America Trucking Show. Now is the time to start planning your trip. The 41st anniversary of MATS is set for March 22-24 at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, KY.
IMPORTANT EVENT. . . International Conference on Road Safety at Work; February 16-18, 2009; Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and partners will hold the International Conference on Road Safety at Work on February 16-18, 2009, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Conference co-sponsors include the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, International Labour Organization, U.S. Department of State, and National Safety Council.
NIOSH is the federal agency in the U.S. that conducts research and makes recommendations to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths.
NIOSH is working with partners on strategic research and outreach to reduce the toll of road traffic injuries at work, which are a leading cause of workplace death, injury, and disability in countries around the world. In the U.S., road traffic injuries account for over 35 percent of all occupational fatalities. Worldwide, road traffic accident deaths from all causes are projected to increase from 1.2 million in 2002 to 2.1 million in 2030, primarily due to increased motor vehicle fatalities associated with economic growth in low- and middle-income countries.
The International Conference on Road Safety at Work will provide a forum for business, labor, policy makers, and the research community to discuss strategies to prevent road traffic crashes in the workplace.
This is the first international conference dedicated to this important occupational safety issue. Conference sessions will address topics such as crash analysis and benchmarking, strategies to protect drivers in emerging markets, labor perspectives on occupational road safety, corporate social responsibility, and the role of technology in monitoring driver performance and efficacy. A discussion paper on best practices in occupational road safety will be available before the conference.
Arkansas freight broker sentenced for defrauding carriers By CCJ Staff
An Arkansas freight broker recently was sentenced to 51 months in prison in connection with a scheme to defraud interstate carriers entitled to freight fees, according to the Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office.
John D. Russell, a commercial freight broker and forwarder, was sentenced Oct. 20 in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith, Ark., DOT-OIG said. In addition to receiving prison time, Russell also was sentenced to three years supervised release and ordered to pay $165,712 to about 15 victims.
According to DOT-OIG, Russell operated transportation brokering companies that collected freight fees from shippers; he would broker the loads for transportation to other carriers, collect the freight fees and, in many instances, failed to pay the companies that transported the freight.
Russell pled guilty to the wire fraud charge in February, said DOT-OIG, which conducted the joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
List of Fuel Prices by State For 8 Major Truck Stops
The national average price of a gallon of diesel dropped another 6.5 cents in the week ending Sep. 22 to $3.958, which is 92.6 cents more than in the same week of 2007. It was the tenth consecutive week of falling prices.
Avoid areas with the highest fuel prices - visit Overdrive's Daily Fuel Report (http://www.dailyfuelreport.com) to find the lowest average fuel price by state, then compare fuel prices for 8 major truck stop chains to find the best place to fuel up during your next run.
Crude oil prices in retreat Friday
NEW YORK (UPI) -- Crude oil prices headed toward $80 per barrel Friday as fears of a global economic slowdown mounted.
The economic downturn has pulled oil 44 percent below its peak above $147 in July.
"The whole market has lost confidence in everything," Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist with ANZ Bank told The Wall Street Journal. "Everyone is worried about global growth, and oil is the front line commodity for that," he said.
Crude oil prices fell $3.94 to $82.65 per barrel. Heating oil prices fell 0.1092 cents to $2.3094 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline fell 0.0881 cents to $1.9392 per gallon. Natural gas prices slid 0.175 cents to $6.65 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.403 Friday, down from Thursday's $3.668 a gallon, AAA said.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
This news arrived on: 10/10/2008
Qualcomm introduces Fuel Manager
The Web-based Fuel Manager features a dashboard-style presentation with querying tools to aid companies in reducing fuel consumption by tracking and managing vehicle and driver behaviors that cause unnecessary fuel usage, such as speeding, idling and over-revving.
OOIDA blasts PQ Minister for reneging on speed limiters; promises to sue
11/05/2008
OOIDA hopes Ontario and Quebec's speed limiter
plans aren't infectious and spread to south of the border
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – Quebec's Transport Minister Julie Boulet has backed out of a promise to hold off on mandatory speed limiters until other Canadian jurisdictions jump on board the bandwagon, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is complaining.
So far, Ontario is the only other province to pass speed limiter legislation requiring truckers to set engine speed settings to 105 km/h. As todaystrucking.com was the first to report last week, both provinces are aiming for a 'soft enforcement" implementation date of Jan. 1, 2009.
In a press release, OOIDA denounced Boulet for the "changé l'esprit." Last December, Quebec trucker and OOIDA member Jean Catudal insists he was given assurances by transport officials that Quebec would hold off on its proposed rule until the rest of Canada enacted similar legislation and Transport Canada released its own studies on the effectiveness and safety issues of speed limiters.
Transport Canada unveiled that series of reports this past summer, and while an initial press release from the minister's office chose to tout the environmental benefits of speed limiters, the completed studies, when read fully, don't exactly paint a rosy picture of mandatory engine governors (as we reported at the time in an exclusive feature, found here).
"Our members are furious," said Rick Craig, OOIDA's director of regulatory affairs. "Not only is Minister Boulet going back on her word, she is also disregarding the grim implications this decision will have on trade at a time when Canada and the U.S. can least afford it."
The 160,000-trucker strong, Missouri-based group -- backed by its Canadian counterpart, the Owner-Operators Business Association of Canada -- is forging ahead with plans to sue the provinces if they go through with the enforcement of speed limiters. OOIDA says the rules are an affront to NAFTA.
"If Minister Boulet follows through with this announcement, thousands of truckers throughout Canada and the U.S. will effectively be barred from operating in Quebec. That is a serious anti-competitive move that cannot go unchallenged.”
The large trucking companies who are pushing for a speed limiter mandate "well know it will not increase safety or benefit the environment as they’ve advertised," Craig added, reiterating a common concern of many independent operators. "They’re in it for limiting competition and harming the little guy."
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