ELECTRONIC HOS TRACKING ENCOURAGED,
REST AREAS TO REOPEN, AND...
THE FUTURE MAY BE
LOOKING BRIGHTER!
by Wayne Schooling
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
Even in the best of times, truckers have to deal with a wide variety of obstacles. From stop-and-go traffic, absent-minded drivers in 4-wheelers, waiting hours to get unloaded at warehouses and trying to decipher directions from geographically-challenged dispatchers, truckers have a lot to stress-out about. But in the worst of times – which our industry, along with the rest of the U.S. economy, is hopefully pulling out of as we write these words – it no doubt seems like the weight of the world is pushing truckers toward the brink of disaster. And if the economy isn’t throwing enough curveballs at truckers, chances are a governmental agency is tossing screwballs in terms of new rules and regulations.
For example, the hours of service (HOS) rules are always a bone of contention – not to mention confusion – for many drivers. Now, we hear that President Obama recently signed a presidential memorandum calling for the first-ever fuel-economy standards for heavy trucks. While just about everyone is in favor of safe, well-rested drivers and more fuel-efficient big rigs, it can be difficult and expensive to comply. In light of all this junk, I’d like to pass on some positive statistics for all of you trucking professionals who get the job done – regardless of the economy, the rules, the regulations or the aggravation. Hold on tight for a little longer, because it seems that brighter times may be on the horizon.
In reading recent headlines of various trucking magazines, one can see a glimmer of hope for the future. I see that the cost of diesel dipped by 0.5%, May tonnage gained 7%, trailer orders jumped 59% in May, and Arrow Truck Sales, one of the nation’s largest dealers of used trucks, said sales increased about 60% during the first five months of 2010. Also, FedEx Ground announced plans to build a fifth package sorting and delivery facility in Chicago. TransCore, one of NTA’s service providers, reported a tripling of activity on their load board (postings of loads by brokers and/or shippers looking for trucks), while website TruckersEdge.net recently said that May was the busiest May they had seen in ten years.
According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly wages for heavy duty truck drivers was $17.92 in May 2008. The Bureau of Labor projects an overall growth of 9% in truck driving jobs between now and 2018 – that equals about 291,000 new jobs across the country! Orders for new Class 8 trucks – the largest tractor size – rose 28% in March, 6.6% in April, and 13.5% in May, as compared to the same months in 2009. What that means is that there is an increasing pressure on motor carrier’s to hire more drivers!
In the struggling state of Michigan, where unemployment hit 15% last March, there has been a dramatic turn-around in the last 90 days. Things have started to pick up and employers are becoming more favorable to entry-level drivers than they were just a year ago. In Idaho, truck driving jobs are expected to grow 17.5% by 2019.
For those unemployed individuals who want to make the transition into trucking, all of these statistics may seem appealing, but most come from jobs where they are used to being home every night. This is the REAL transition. There is good money to be made in trucking, but drivers have got to be gone to make it. Long haul or over-the-road driving jobs are often the only jobs available to new drivers. Once they have some time in the seat, they may be able to get a better position or a better run that is closer to their home, but things will be tough at first.
HOS POLICY PUSHES DIGITAL TRACKING
The FMCSA has announced the new supporting documents policy for electronic devices for tracking hours-of-service (HOS). They have eliminated six items, but motor carriers without qualifying electronic mobile communication/tracking technology must continue to retain the other 27 supporting documents that may be used to verify the information on the driver’s Record of Duty Status (RODS). For each vehicle for which a motor carrier seeks to take advantage of the less burdensome supporting documents retention requirements available under this policy, the motor carrier is only required to show: 1) Positioning Frequency; 2) Vehicle Integration; 3) Report Functionality; 4) Report Content; and 5) Retention. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that it is easier for a machine to keep track of five items rather than a human trying to keep track and file 27 items. You might as well face it – our world is going digital whether you like it or not!
FIVE ARIZONA REST AREAS TO REOPEN
Arizona has announced that it plans to reopen some closed rest areas. The Arizona Department of Transportation said they plan to reopen five of the thirteen rest areas that it closed last year because of budget troubles, and more could be reopened in the fall. The five rest areas, which reopened at the end of July, include Canoa Ranch on Interstate 19, Meteor Crater on Interstate 40, and three on Interstate 10 near Ehrenberg, Sacaton and San Simon. The department said four more closed rest areas will undergo repairs in hopes of fall reopenings. If everything goes right, the state hopes to have more money after their financial situation stabilizes.
FMCSA POSTS MORE LOGBOOK CHANGES
The FMCSA posted a notice stating that all interstate drivers of commercial motor vehicles may change the way they prepare a duplicate copy of the record of duty status for each 24-hour period. “The FMCSA has determined that the current requirement may be satisfied through the preparation of an original handwritten record, and a subsequent electronic submission to the motor carrier of a scanned image of the original record; the driver would retain the original while the motor carrier maintains the electronic scanned image along with any supporting documents.”
~ NTA is a name and organization you can trust. Not only is our website (www.ntassoc.com) an official US DOT Internet Training Site, but we are also the administrators of a Nationally Accredited Drug and Alcohol Program. If you have any questions, call me at (562) 279-0557 or send me an e-mail at wayne@ntassoc.com. Until next month, “Drive Safe – Drive Smart!”