CCJ

April 2012

Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal

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JOURNAL NEWS INBRIEF 04/12 Continued from page 11 The on Feb. 29 filed charges against Indianapolis- based Celadon Inc. alleging it unlawfully subjected driver applicants to medical screenings and rejected them because of disabilities or perceived disabilities. Paul Will, Celadon president and COO, said the 3,300-truck carrier only rejected driv- ers who didn't meet U.S. Department of Transportation standards. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted a petition for recon- sideration of its previous determination that the credential display requirement of commercial motor vehicle tax is preempted by federal law. New York City's CMV tax qualifies because the city's sticker require- ment existed before 2006, FMCSA ruled. The settled 33 cases of air quality violations by trucks and buses during the fourth quarter of 2011. Fines totaled $226,950; Dole Fresh Fruit paid the largest settlement, $24,750. announced plans to acquire Netherlands-based package firm TNT Express for about $6.8 billion. purchased a significant portion of the operating equip- ment of Teton Transportation Inc.; terms were not disclosed. The deal includes about 180 tractors and 280 trailers. Cargo theft grew throughout the western hemisphere in 2011, with the United States, Mexico, Brazil and other South American countries reporting substantial increases in theft, according to , a global logistics security solutions provider. The installed Lee Long, director of maintenance for Columbia, S.C.-based Southeastern Freight Lines, as its 2012-13 general chair- man and treasurer. Dale Decker, 88, former owner of Fort Dodge, Iowa-based , died Feb. 18. 12 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2012 The Truckload Carriers Association, seek- ing to join ATA's litigation, filed a motion to intervene on March 14. TCA said its Executive Committee decided to file the motion in the interest of developing a rule that is based on sound science, advances public safety and meets the operational needs of its members. "Since the 2004 hours-of-service rule went into effect, we have experienced a year-over- year decline in crashes and fatalities involving commercial vehicles on our nation's high- ways," said Chris Burruss, TCA president. "Safety is paramount to the trucking industry, and while we remain committed to continuing to reduce accidents, we believe the new rule will take us backward, not forward. We have an obligation to protect our drivers and the motor- ing public, and we believe this rulemaking stands in conflict with that obligation." A coalition of safety advocacy groups on Feb. 24 also sued to overturn FMCSA's latest rewrite of the hours-of-service rule. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen and the Truck Safety Coalition successfully challenged FMCSA over a previous version of the rule; the latest regulation published December 2011 followed a legal settlement between the groups and the agency. ANALYST PREDICTS TRUCKLOAD GROWTH, WORSENING DRIVER SHORTAGE T ruckload growth will average 4 percent or more through 2013, while the worsening driver shortage and other factors are likely to cause labor costs to rise in the next few years, said Noel Perry, FTR Associates senior consultant, during a March 8 webinar. Trucking growth will be about double the growth in Gross Domestic Product, Perry said. Predicted growth in the service sector, which accounts for 80 percent of the total economy, could lead to an increase in con- sumer spending this year and next, he said. The current driver shortage is the result of a "cyclical drag" – the industry's inability to recruit and employ drivers fast enough – and a "regulatory drag" brought on by new government rules, Perry said. Today's shortage of about 200,000 drivers will increase to about 800,000 drivers in 2014, he said. Perry forecasted freight rates increasing 5 to 6 percent annually through 2013 due to rising fuel prices, introduction of new pricier equipment and increased labor costs.

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