Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/716013
14 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2016 JOURNAL NEWS • The U.S. Senate on July 14 confirmed by voice vote T.F. Scott Darling as administra- tor of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Darling has run the agency on an interim basis since the August 2014 departure of Anne Ferro. President Obama nominated Darling to head the agency as the permanent administrator in August 2015. • The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration delayed the final imple- mentation of its Unified Registration System until Jan. 14, 2017. Dr. Kelly Regal, FMCSA associate administrator of research and information technology, said the agency is updating its IT systems and migrating exist- ing data to new servers, which is causing the delay from the previous implementation date of Sept. 30. • InstiCo Express acquired Morrison Road Transportation as part of its growth plan to increase equipment offered, lanes serviced and services provided by its dedicated fleet. InstiCo said the acquisition, terms of which were not disclosed, expands its presence in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. The Grapevine, Texas-based truckload company now operates 42 tractors and 62 dry van and 11 refrigerated trailers nationwide. • Fines for violations of federal safety regula- tions have been updated for inflation and went into effect Aug. 1. Some fines are higher than previous years, while some are lower. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration made the adjustments based on the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. • The Texas Department of Public Safety inspected 7,795 commercial vehicles dur- ing the annual nationwide Roadcheck held June 7-9 and placed 1,751 (22.5 percent) of them out of service. While tires were the specific focus of Roadcheck 2016, TXDPS said brakes and vehicle lighting were the most common vehicle infractions. In addi- tion, 224 drivers were placed out of service, mostly for hours-of-service violations and improper logs and licenses. TXDPS also issued 1,972 citations and more than 20,446 warnings during the three-day inspection blitz. • Pilot Flying J and Speedway entered into a joint venture consisting of 120 travel plazas in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Speedway, which acquired WilcoHess in 2014,will contribute 41 locations, and PFJ will contribute 79 to form PFJ Southeast LLC. All 120 locations will fly either the Pilot or Flying J flag, and investments will be made to upgrade and renovate the 41 Speedway locations. • YRC Worldwide Inc. (CCJ Top 250, No. 4) acquired a $450 million asset-based revolv- ing credit facility through a 12-bank group directed by Citizens Commercial Banking. The Overland Park, Kan.-based less-than- truckload company will use the financing for general corporate purposes and to support the issuance of letters of credit. • Part of Volkswagen's $15 billion emis- sions cheating scandal settlement with the U.S. government announced in late June includes more than $2 billion set aside for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act to encourage owners of older vehicles and engines to replace them with newer cleaner technology. • Vermont increased fines for truckers caught driving on State Route 108 through Smugglers' Notch from $162 to $1,000. The scenic stretch crosses a mountaintop, where an extreme turning radius causes as many as 10 trucks to get stuck each year, despite signs banning trucks. INBRIEF 8/16 Untitled-47 1 5/20/16 9:15 AM