CCJ

November 2014

Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal

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4 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2014 T hroughout the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's rulemaking process for the new hours-of-service regulations that ultimately took effect in July 2013, trucking industry stakeholders were kicking and screaming at the potential negative impact on their operations. By the time the dust settled, trucking had absorbed a 3 to 5 percent hit in productivity, according to some analysts. You don't have to attend a business economics seminar to know productivity is a driving force in any thriving enterprise. But in the business of trucking, productivity is absolutely critical. In 2013, traffic congestion alone cost the trucking industry more than 141 million drivable hours on the Interstate System and $9.2 billion in lost revenue. Throw in capacity constraints faced by most fleets across the country, and productiv- ity becomes front-of-mind for fleet executives, owner-operators and company drivers alike. Considering all of that, it's no surprise that HOS came in No. 1 when the American Trans- portation Research Institute unveiled its annual "Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry" during a press conference at the American Trucking Associations' annual Management Conference & Exhibition last month in San Diego. HOS holds the top spot for the second year in a row after usurping Compliance Safety Accountability, which was the top concern in 2012 and now sits at No. 3. ATRI's survey (you can download the full report at atri-online.org) includes more than 4,000 responses with a 70/30 split between fleet executives and drivers. Here's how the complete list shakes out for 2014 (numbers in parentheses reflect ATRI's Industry Concern Index): 1. Hours of service (100) 2. Driver shortage (90.4) 3. Compliance Safety Accountability (78.2) 4. Driver retention (54.6) 5. Electronic logging device mandate (42.2) 6. Truck parking (29.6) 7. Transportation/infrastructure/congestion/ funding (27.3) 8. Driver health and wellness (20.7) 9. Economy (18.8) 10. Driver distraction (17.7) Mike Card, president of Combined Transport and a former ATA chairman, echoed the senti- ment of many fleet executives during ATRI's press conference. "Hours of service has always been a big concern," said Card. "It's about productivity, about drivers. That 34-hour restart was really such a bad law. It really hurt us. This one actually created unintended consequences and created more of a safety problem. That's why ATA has been battling to try and change that law." The driver shortage – No. 2 on ATRI's list – also hosts its own set of productivity challenges. This is easily the top concern among carriers, and these days we can't have a conversation with a fleet executive without the topic coming up. Of course, top industry concerns can be a revolving carousel based on topics du jour. According to a recent U.S. Department of Transportation report, FMCSA expects to publish at least five proposed or final rules to either change existing or add new regulations to the industry between now and mid-year 2015. Those include liability insurance, a CSA Safety Fitness Determination rule, speed limiters, a drug and alcohol clearinghouse for commercial driver's license holders and the long-awaited electronic logging device mandate, which is the only future rulemaking currently on this year's ATRI survey list, com- ing in at No. 5. As the industry reacts and adapts to inevitable regulatory and supply chain challenges, next year's ATRI survey is sure to have more newcom- ers to the Top 10 list. ATRI survey reveals industry more concerned with HOS than driver shortage BY JEFF CRISSEY UPFRONT Another year, but worries remain the same JEFF CRISSEY is Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com. Think your fleet graph- ics are up to snuff? If so, we invite you to submit them in CCJ's annual Five Flashiest Fleets contest at ccjdigital. com/5ff. CCJ and Overdrive editors and art directors will select the five best tractor-trailer graphics in the industry and publish the results in next month's issue. CCJDigital readers also will choose the second annual "Read- ers' Choice" winners. Don't delay – entries are due Nov. 14. Enter CCJ's Five Flashiest Fleets contest

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