Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/409540
12 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2014 JOURNAL NEWS selected based on U.S. Department of Transportation recordable accident frequency rates and their safety and accident prevention training programs. Prescott, Ontario-based Kriska won in the more-than 20-million-mile category, while Grand Forks, N.D.-based Britton won in the less-than 20-million-mile category. t 5SVDLJOH.PWFT"NFSJDB'PSXBSElast month had reached more than 80 per- cent of its $1 million fund-raising goal, representatives of the image-building campaign said. The initiative – launched in March at the Mid-America Trucking Show – aims to inform policymakers, motorists and the public about the ben- efits of trucking and to help strengthen and grow the industry. t %VBOF-POH, chairman of Raleigh, N.C.- based Longistics, was elected as ATA's 70th chairman. Long succeeds Phil Byrd, president of Charleston, S.C.-based Bulldog Hiway Express. t #JMM(SBWFT, who has served as ATA's president and chief executive officer since 2003 after serving two terms as governor of Kansas, reached agreement on a contract extension. t .BDL5SVDLT is again sponsoring the American Trucking Associations' Share the Road program, marking 13 years of continuous support for the public safety education effort. As part of the sponsorship, Mack is providing a 2014 Pinnacle sleeper model. t 5IF'FEFSBM.PUPS$BSSJFS4BGFUZ "ENJOJTUSBUJPOT three-year cross-bor- der trucking pilot program with Mexico officially ended Oct. 14, and FMCSA said that the 13 carriers participating in the program have been converted to provi- sional or standard operating authority, allowing them to continue to operate in the United States. E ven as freight volumes con- tinue to improve, the looming driver shortage could hold back growth in the trucking industry, American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello told the annual ATA Management Conference & Exhibition in San Diego last month. "Freight volumes are growing nicely on a year-over-year basis for most trucking sectors as economic growth remains solid," Costello said during a panel discus- sion, "The Economy and Its Impact on Trucking." Costello noted the ATA tonnage index hit an all-time high in August. "Industry revenue and average revenue per mile are increasing nicely as capacity remains constrained," he said. "However, the industry is having a difficult time adding trucks due to the driver shortage." He said that turnover in the second quarter rose 11 percentage points to an annualized rate of 103 percent, its highest point since the third quarter of 2012. Turnover at small truckload fleets – fleets with less than $30 million revenue – surged 16 points to 94 percent, the highest level since the third quarter of 2012. To simply replace retiring drivers, the industry must attract 92,000 new drivers a year, Costello said. Also, a booming oil and gas industry and revitalized retail and manufacturing sectors mean that trucking will have a lot of competition for qualified workers, the panel agreed. – Kevin Jones T he average cost per mile for fleets rose 5 cents in 2013 to $1.68, according to the American Transportation Research Institute. The jump was the fourth consecu- tive year-to-year increase and was driven primarily by big increases in equipment and labor costs, ATRI said in its annual report "An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking." Retention and recruiting efforts by fleets to mitigate a perceived driver shortage, including wage increases for drivers, are what drove "labor costs" higher, ATRI said. "Carriers have experienced signifi- cant increases in equipment and labor costs, as well as second-level line items like tolls and health care benefits," said Andrew Boyle, executive vice president of Boyle Transportation and a member of ATRI's Research Advisory Committee. Data for ATRI's report is derived from fleets' financial and operational information. – James Jaillet ATA economist: Freight volumes rising, but so is driver turnover "5"$IJFG&DPOPNJTU#PC$PTUFMMPQBSUJDJ- QBUFTJOBOFDPOPNJDQBOFMEJTDVTTJPOBU UIF"5".BOBHFNFOU$POGFSFODF&YIJCJ- UJPOJO4BO%JFHP "53*BUUSJCVUFEIJHIFSMBCPSDPTUTUPSFUFOUJPO BOESFDSVJUJOHFòPSUTCZøFFUTUPNJUJHBUFB QFSDFJWFEESJWFSTIPSUBHF Report: Driver pay, equipment prices drive up trucking costs Continued from page 10