CCJ

August 2015

Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal

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ever-increasing Internet sales and ever-faster logistics to move forward. Efficient trucking operations are vital for keeping this economic engine alive and healthy. At some point, trucking will need some- thing back in return for all the new regula- tions and safety mandates it has been forced to swallow in the recent past – and will be forced to accept in the near future. The biggest single hurdle today to a healthy and productive trucking industry is the driver shortage. While everyone is trying to at- tract, train and retain drivers, the truth is the industry simply doesn't have enough people to man the trucks it needs out on the roads today. There's no way it's going to attract anywhere near the number of drivers it will need to maintain our current freight levels, much less increase those levels in the near future. L ast month, heading into the Fourth of July holiday, news came that the U.S. Senate had cleared a bill setting a dead- line for an electronic log mandate and a speed limiter rule. That news came on the heels of an- other item telling the trucking industry that a stability control mandate was now law and would take effect in August 2017. Then CCJDigital.com posted an excellent story by our Technology Edi- tor, Aaron Huff, exploring ways that fleets can use new technology to combat the severe driver shortage crippling our industry. We also learned that The Coalition for Transportation Productiv- ity advocacy group once again called on Congress to increase truck size and weight limits. Here we have four important news stories that are – at the moment – related to each other only tangentially. But I would argue that these four stories form the basis of a much larger con- versation this industry needs to have with both Congress and the American public about the state of trucking today and the industry's ability to keep freight moving efficiently. I've written at length about truck- ing as low-hanging fruit – specifically, its never-ending role as a political and regulatory punching bag in our national dialogue. What tends to get lost in the conversation is that our economy is shifting to a complex interwoven global model that relies heavily on 24 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2015 PRODUCT REVIEWS, OEM & SUPPLIER NEWS AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT TRENDS BY JACK ROBERTS Industry beset with new rules deserves reward Trucking technology tit for tat LARGER CONVERSATION: This industry needs to con- nect with both Congress and the American public. FORCED TO SWALLOW: Trucking will need something back in return for all the new regulations and mandates. HIGHER SIZES, WEIGHTS: Most four-wheel drivers never would notice them if they were implemented. Why can't safer trucks be bigger and carry more payload in order to maximize the productivity of highly trained but highly limited numbers of drivers?

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