Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/47076
FOR THE RECORD TRUCKING NEWS HOS update FMCSA sends final hours rule to White House after postponing publication date STAFF REPORTS t press time, the White House Office of Manage- ment and Budget was reviewing the final rule for truck drivers' hours of service after receiving the rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation Nov. 1. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had sent the proposal to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray La- Hood for review on Aug. 11. A Under the current proposal, FMCSA is, among other changes, considering whether to reduce the daily driv- ing limit from 11 hours to 10 hours and to limit the 34- hour restart provision by requiring that it include two periods from midnight to 6 a.m. and limiting its use to once per week. The American Trucking Associations and the Owner- Operator Independent Drivers Association have said the proposal is costly and unnecessary since studies indicate safety improvements under the 2008 rule. In 2009, FMCSA had entered into a settlement agree- ment with safety advocacy groups and the Teamsters union to revisit the 2008 rule and publish a revised rule. This agreement stipulated if the agency produces a "substantially different" rule from the current one, this "may" eliminate the need for further judicial review. The FYI SuperRigs calendar available for order The latest edition of Shell Rotella's SuperRigs calendar, featuring 12 working trucks, is available for order at www.Rotella.com. The 2012 cal- endar includes many winners from this year's Shell Rotella SuperRigs contest that took place at the Kenly 95 Petro in Kenly, N.C. Daimler to rebrand Detroit Diesel Daimler Trucks North America will rebrand its Detroit Diesel brand of engines to help expand the scope of the products offered by the engine manufacturer and allow it to offer alternate fuel and unconventional powertrain technologies. Detroit Die- sel will become the Detroit brand of powertrain products with the formal name change early next year. NAFTA trade surges in August Surface transportation trade between the United States and 12 TRUCKERS NEWS DECEMBER 2011 Canada and Mexico in August was 18.3 percent higher than a year ear- lier, rising to $80.4 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Transpor- tation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. This was the second time on record that U.S.-North American Free Trade Agreement trade by land exceeded $80 billion in one month. Truck and trailer orders increase September Class 8 net orders rose 55 percent year over year and 12 U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia orig- inally set the Federal Register publication deadline for July 26, which it later extended to Oct. 28. FMCSA on Oct. 28 announced it would not be able to publish the rule by that day's court-imposed extended deadline. The deadline was extended to Nov. 28. U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) recently proposed to add language to the transportation appropriations bill (H.R. 2112) that would block the planned changes to the hours-of-service regulations. The measure, Senate Amendment 754, states that "none of the funds made available under this heading may be used to finalize, en- force, or implement the hours-of-service regulations pro- posed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on December 29, 2010." The Senate passed H.R. 2112 Nov. 1, sending the bill to House-Senate committee discussion before going to the White House for President Obama's signature. continued on page 65 NEWS BRIEFS percent over August to 23,600 units, ACT Research Co. reported. Trailer net orders in September were up 22 percent year over year and almost 31 percent over the previous month, ACT said. Missouri gets grant for truck parking The Missouri Department of Trans- portation received a $1 million Fed- eral Highway Administration grant to build new truck parking spaces on continued on page 65