Knight-Swift Transportation (CCJTop 250, No. 5) on Tuesday announced a multi-year deal with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) to provide truckload intermodal transportation service on CPKC's new single-line north-south corridor connecting the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The move unlocks CPKC's broad network of rail lines, terminals, and cross-border efficiency and expertise to Knight-Swift's established Mexico customer base for better service reliability and competitiveness, and CPKC Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer John Brooks said this agreement "creates compelling new transportation solutions for Knight-Swift's current and future customers looking for optionality and increased capacity in their supply chains," adding as Knight-Swift transitions its Mexico-U.S. traffic to CPKC starting in mid-May, his company will focus on growth between Chicago, Texas and Mexico markets. [Related: New rail behemoth sets sights on trucking] Knight-Swift is the second trucking giant to align with CPKC, following Schneider National (No. 9) who last week became a strategic intermodal carrier on CPKC’s north-south flagship intermodal service between Chicago and all major points in Mexico. CPKC's International Railroad Bridge over the Rio Grande River at the U.S.-Mexico border at Laredo, Texas, offers a reliable alternative to congested highway ports of entry. A second span to expand the bridge's capacity and further increase the efficiency of cross-border train movements is currently under construction and expected to be completed by the end of 2024. [Related: Knight-Swift acquiring U.S. Xpress for more than $800 million] "Our agreement with the CPKC will provide another differentiated solution for our customers and their over-arching supply chains," said Adam Miller, Knight-Swift Transportation CFO and Swift President. "The Knight-Swift team is looking forward to engaging with the CPKC railroad on service offerings, customer solution design and demand planning to help facilitate growth on the first single-line railroad connecting Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Our Transmex team and growing LTL offering will also benefit from the newly created railroad and will allow us to continue supporting our customers in new and different ways by providing thoughtful solutions with a solid underlying service product." Environmental considerationsThe merger application for Canada Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KC) rail, green-lit by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) last month, promises to take 64,000 long-haul truck shipments off the road each year and avoid more than 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to the expected improved operational efficiency of CPKC versus current operations, and another 300,000 tons of GHG emissions with the diversion of 64,000 trucks to rail for a total reduction of 1.9 million tons of GHG emissions over the next five years. Diverting 64,000 long-haul truck shipments to rail annually with new CPKC intermodal services will reduce total truck vehicle miles travelled by almost 2 billion miles over the next two decades, saving $750 million in highway maintenance costs. https://ift.tt/orP4sGp
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Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, April 25, 2023: NHTSA estimates decrease in highway fatalities in 2022If preliminary numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hold true, traffic fatalities saw their first annual decline in 2022 since 2019. A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for 2022 from NHTSA shows that an estimated 42,795 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes -- a marginal decrease of about 0.3% from the 42,939 fatalities reported to have occurred in 2021. “We continue to face a national crisis of traffic deaths on our roadways, and everyone has a role to play in reversing the rise that we experienced in recent years,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Through our National Roadway Safety Strategy, we’re strengthening traffic safety across the country, and working toward a day when these preventable tragedies are a thing of the past.” After an 8.7% increase in traffic fatalities in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter the previous year, the second, third and fourth quarters of 2022 saw year-over-year decreases in fatalities, with the fourth quarter seeing a 2.5% decrease in traffic deaths from 2021. The decrease in fatalities come as total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) during the year increased by about 29.3 billion miles, or 0.9%, from 2021. The fatality rate in 2022 fell to 1.35 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from the reported rate of 1.37 fatalities per 100 million VMT in 2021. NHTSA noted that the fatality counts for 2021 and 2022 and the ensuing percentage change from 2021 to 2022 will be further revised as the FARS final file for 2021 and the annual report file for 2022 are available later this year. NHTSA's preliminary fatalities report did not include statistics related to truck-involved crashes. C.H. Robinson intros revamped carrier loyalty programC.H. Robinson has announced updates to its carrier loyalty program, including changes in how carriers are scored and the benefits they can earn. First launched in 2016, the company’s Carrier Advantage Program rewards carriers that provide the highest level of tracking updates and the best on-time performance on their C.H. Robinson loads. In the wake of two highly disrupted and volatile years in freight transportation, shippers are looking for greater reliability in tracking their freight and a return to pre-pandemic levels of service. The updates to the Carrier Advantage Program incentivize all carriers in C.H. Robinson’s extensive network to meet those higher expectations. Carriers will now have access to different levels of freight based on their Carrier Advantage status, with top-performing carriers getting the most and earliest access to freight. Carriers earning the highest status also get better payment terms and better fuel discounts than carriers in the lower tiers. The new scoring criteria went into effect April 3. Carriers can watch their progress with each load, but their status won’t change until May 2. In the meantime, C.H. Robinson has helped carriers learn all their options for automating updates, enhanced its carrier app and website to save carriers time filling in required information, and added notifications to alert carriers when their tracking isn’t enabled or isn’t working. All carriers working with C.H. Robinson are automatically enrolled in the loyalty program. Current carriers needing additional help to optimize their Carrier Advantage score and benefits can find out more at C.H. Robinson’s website, in the Navisphere Carrier app or by calling their C.H. Robinson representative. Schneider exec named Distinguish Woman in LogisticsThe Women in Trucking Association (WIT), Truckstop, and Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) announced last week that Erin Van Zeeland, senior vice president and general manager of logistics and serves as the chief commercial officer for Schneider (CCJ Top 250, No. 9), as the winner of the ninth annual Distinguished Woman in Logistics Award (DWLA). Van Zeeland was chosen among three finalists for the award. The other finalists included Katerina Jones, chief marketing officer for Fleet Advantage, and Nanette Malebranche, managing director of the Tri-State District for FedEx Express (No. 1). The finalists and winner were recognized during the TIA 2023 Capital Ideas Conference & Exhibition. “We’re pleased to recognize Erin with the honor of Distinguished Woman in Logistics,” said Jennifer Hedrick, president and CEO of WIT. “Throughout her career at Schneider, as well as in her volunteer work, she has shown exceptional talent, leadership and mentorship of others – three of the key characteristics of this award.” Van Zeeland is accountable for the strategy, execution, and growth/profitability of Schneider’s fastest growing division, which includes brokerage, supply chain, and distribution management, as well as the power-only service offerings. Additionally, Van Zeeland is the company’s chief commercial officer. In this capacity, she is responsible for overall organizational strategy including activities relating to marketing, sales, sales force effectiveness, product development, and services that drives business growth and expanded market share. She started her career at Schneider in 1993 and has subsequently held several leadership roles in a variety of positions with increasing responsibility for customer growth and business expansion throughout operations, tech, business transformation, human resources, enterprise/global customer engagement, and logistics. Schneider partners with new rail giantSchneider announced last week that it has signed a multi-year agreement with the newly-formed Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) rail company, formed after a merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, to provide new single-line intermodal transportation service on CPKC’s north-south corridor connecting the United States and Mexico. Schneider will transition Mexico-U.S. freight to CPKC starting in mid-May and will serve as a primary carrier on CPKC’s north-south flagship intermodal service between Chicago and all major points in Mexico. Canadian Pacific’s history of operational excellence and service performance combined with the strong history of the KCS and Schneider’s fleet of professional dray drivers and fully asset-based business model, will bring increased reliable service for moving freight between the U.S. and Mexico, Schneider said. [Related: 'Get ready to compete': New rail behemoth sets sights on trucking] Lineage Logistics opens new Georgia facilityLineage Logistics last week celebrated the grand opening of its newest facility in Port Wentworth, Georgia. Savannah Fresh-Port Wentworth is strategically located near the Port of Savannah, the largest single-terminal container facility of its kind in North America and the third busiest container gateway in the U.S. The 220,000-square-foot facility offers cross-docking services for products to enter and exit the facility on the same day if needed, reducing storage time, creating cost efficiencies and ensuring consumers receive fresh produce faster. The facility has 23 inbound and outbound lanes that can process more than 40 trucks daily, moving up to 1.4 million pounds of produce per day. “Today, the demand for port-centric temperature-controlled storage has never been greater and our Fresh solution offerings at Lineage have never been more robust,” said Jim Henderson, Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development at Lineage. “Savannah Fresh-Port Wentworth will allow us to expand our Fresh offering to new and existing customers and also provides the needed capacity to improve market conditions.” Savannah Fresh-Port Wentworth was designed to address the overwhelming influx in imports of fresh produce to ports in the Mid-Atlantic that lack the space to keep up with the demand. With proximity to the Port of Savannah, the new facility will enable Lineage to deliver larger quantities of fresh produce more efficiently to serve customers across the Southeast. Aim Transportation Solutions partnering with Kaleel BrothersKaleel Brothers, a midwest food distributor delivering within a 600-mile radius around Youngstown, Ohio, has tapped Aim Transportation Solutions (CCJTop 250, No. 144) as its dedicated fleet provider. Kaleel delivers to MetLife Stadium, Dairy Queen, A&W and DiBella’s Subs, among others and the Aim-Kaleel operation will begin with 10 tractors, 10 drivers, an on-site supervisor and refrigerated trailers for temperature-sensitive products. Aim is headquartered in Ohio, it has over 100 operations and services over 11,000 vehicles through- out the United States with a reach as far west as Utah and as far east as upstate New York. https://ift.tt/lvs9wzQ Technology news and briefs for the week of April 23, 2023: Transflo Wallet offers digital fuel paymentsFreight automation company Transflo, a subsidiary of Pegasus-Transtech, and FLEETCOR’s payment processor company Comdata Inc. have jointly developed Transflo Wallet. The mobile-app-based cardless fuel payment solution leverages Transflo’s mobile app technology and Comdata’s proprietary virtual card capabilities to enable freight brokers to send digital fuel advances to carriers and drivers through a secure and user-friendly mobile app. The companies joined forces to address the long-standing challenges of conventional payment methods like checks and plastic fuel cards that are inefficient, costly and susceptible to fraud. The advanced security features of Transflo Wallet protect carriers from fraud and unauthorized access. It also delivers features that enable carriers to streamline their fuel management and reduce their overall fuel expenses. Samsara helps fleets with sustainable operationsSamsara Inc.’s existing fuel efficiency and electric vehicle offerings are now combined in the IoT company’s new Sustainable Fleet Management solution, providing additional data-driven insights to help fleets along every step of their sustainable operations journeys. The Sustainable Fleet Management solution introduces several new and enhanced features: • Fuel & Energy Hub, acting as the one-stop shop for mixed-fuel fleets, including Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), EV and hybrid vehicles, to ensure their drivers and assets perform optimally. This new dashboard helps operations leaders visualize an entire fleet's performance while gathering actionable insights into fuel economy, cost and consumption to direct change. • Sustainability Report, allowing customers to visualize their fleet emissions and monitor output across sites and vehicles to pinpoint improvement areas. This report also provides insight into current and predicted fleet emissions over time so customers can set more accurate targets and track progress against their sustainability goals. • Charge Control, combatting driver range anxiety by managing real-time EV charging at scale and easily identifying charging issues. Customers can create custom charging profiles by groups or by individual vehicles and receive notifications for irregularities. Charge Control will be available in open beta this summer. • EV Suitability Report, providing customers with a tailored list of ICE vehicles within their fleet that are most suitable for EV transition. As an evolution of Samsara’s existing Fleet Electrification Report, this new report now includes assessment for all vehicle types and allows customers to configure electrification criteria for advanced recommendations. WARP launches new suite of tracking toolsWARP, a tech-powered freight network specializing in middle-mile solutions, has launched a new suite of tracking tools. DirecTrack, gives shippers a high level of visibility of their freight at the truck, pallet and parcel levels, including temperature monitoring. A shipper typically only receives updates about the whereabouts of its shipment when it leaves a facility and when it arrives (static events). WARP is bringing real-time location updates to the movement of goods throughout the shipment’s entire journey with the interconnected platforms of the DirecTrack suite. The suite includes real-time temperature monitoring using a small tag that can be applied directly to a box or pallet within a shipment; cross-dock tracking at facilities that partner with WARP and use its software; a driver app that provides shippers with exact location of loads, access to view BOLs and PODs, and statistics, including how long a driver took to complete a route, delays and expected delivery time based on location; electronic logging device integrations through an API integration with TruckerCloud; and final-mile API connections, providing visibility on individual parcels with select last-mile carriers. Descartes Aljex integrates with FreightWaves TRACFreightWaves Trusted Rate Assessment Consortium (TRAC) spot rate data is now available in the Descartes Aljex transportation management system (TMS). This integration provides freight brokers with a single solution to gain an up-to-date view of spot rate data to make more informed rate, bid and freight booking decisions. FreightWaves TRAC spot rates are used by brokers, carriers and shippers for benchmarking, analyzing, monitoring and forecasting rates. Data is collected daily at the time loads are covered or accepted by carriers using an enhanced methodology that helps eliminate biased data and provide a more accurate lane representation and freight market view. The scalable, cloud-based Descartes Aljex TMS automates and streamlines daily operations for freight brokers and third-party logistics providers (3PL) to boost efficiency, including order entry, lane rate comparison, load coverage, rate confirmation, carrier acceptance, dispatching and carrier communications. It allows brokerages of all sizes to securely access freight and transportation management data from anywhere. “The pressure is on transportation organizations to deliver high levels of performance at lower costs,” said Dan Cicerchi, vice president and general manager of transportation management at Descartes. “With the combination of Descartes Aljex and FreightWaves TRAC, our freight broker customers have quality data to give better, smarter and faster price offers to carriers, which optimizes freight booking outcomes on a daily basis and drives greater profitability.” https://ift.tt/lvs9wzQ A $1.3 billion acquisition deal between TravelCenters of America and BP Products North America has cleared all major hurdles en route to closing next month. While the successful completion of the deal never appeared to be in question, a last-minute bid from convenience store operator ARKO Corp. in March inserted a degree of drama. TA rejected ARKO's unsolicited proposal, citing the more favorable terms of BP's proposal – an assertion that ARKO rejected, noting it offered more money per share and despite TA's concerns that it lacked financing, ARKO was in position to consummate a deal for the truck stop operator. TA confirmed Monday that it requested and received a contractual waiver from BP and engaged with ARKO to give its proposal due diligence, and that its Board of Directors reaffirmed that ARKO’s proposal "is neither a superior proposal nor could it reasonably be expected to lead to a superior proposal. The Board reconfirms its recommendation that shareholders vote for TA’s pending merger with BP, which, subject to shareholder approval, is scheduled to close on May 15, 2023." A special meeting of shareholders to approve the pending acquisition of TA by BP is scheduled for May 10 – a balloting process that is expected to be a formality and pass overwhelmingly. Under the terms of the pending transaction, BP will acquire all of the outstanding shares of TA common stock for $86 per share in cash. Should the deal close, this will be the second time BP has owned TA. Standard Oil of Ohio bought TA in 1984 from Ryder, and BP bought Standard Oil in 1987. BP sold TA in 1993. ARKO had proposed to acquire TravelCenters for $92 per share but in a letter sent Wednesday to ARKO Chairman, President and CEO Arie Kotler, TA's Board of Directors reiterated its stance that ARKO’s failure to obtain committed financing was problematic and that "execution risk with ARKO is of paramount concern to the TA Board." That risk is compounded by a degree of past trauma between TA and ARKO that stems from a deal five years ago that the TA Board was unwilling to overlook. "Our concern regarding execution risk is augmented by TA's own prior experience with ARKO on another deal. As you may recall, in 2018, in connection with the sale of TA's convenience store division, after the opportunity to conduct due diligence, ARKO made a high bid and then substantially reduced its bid when it was time to commit," the Board wrote. "The Board worries ARKO will do the same here and that, if ARKO is successful in derailing the BP transaction, TA shareholders will lose out on a real deal at a substantial premium to what may be otherwise achievable." ARKO Corp., is one of the largest convenience store operators in the U.S. with 3,200 locations under various brands. TA in 2018 sold its Minit Mart convenience store business for approximately $330.8 million to EG Group, an operator of more than 1,750 c-stores across 33 states under various names. https://ift.tt/lvs9wzQ Natural gas sales 'fickle' but will hold their own in the face of zero emission alternatives4/24/2023 Demand for new trucks isn't trickling into demand for natural gas trucks, as electrification looms large as the likely long-term winner in the alternative fuels race. Sales of natural gas-powered vehicles were mixed from December to February, according to the latest Alternative Fuels Quarterly by ACT Research. December activity lagged its year-ago level by 47%, with January falling behind even more: down 57% year-over-year. February reversed the skid with with year-over-year sales gaining 40%. “In the near term, results were similarly fickle, with December ticking up 1% month-over-month, January plummeting 49% compared to the previous month, and February recapturing 33% of the prior month decline,” said Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research. "Combined, sales in the three-month period ceded their year-to-date November gain, finishing 2022 up 3.2% compared to 2021.” So far in 2023, sales are down 29% year-to-date through February when compared to the same period last year. "Quantifying activity, natural gas sales totaled 3,837 units in 2022," Tam said. "Through the first two months of 2023, reporting OEMs have sold 403 natural gas-powered Class 8 units.” Tam said he expects to see adoption of natural gas trucks to hold their own, even as zero emission pressure mounts from electric and hydrogen. "Frankly, the industry is waiting for the Cummins X15N," he said, "the first of which are just now becoming available in the North American market." The first North American Cummins X15N 15-liter compressed natural gas engine will be incorporated into Walmart’s private fleet. The first Walmart truck – the first of five – will make its inaugural trip from Indiana to California, making pit stops along the way to refuel at Chevron stations with compressed natural gas (CNG) linked to renewable natural gas. https://ift.tt/lvs9wzQ What do drivers want? Find out with this comprehensive research from the editors at CCJ. Download to access insights on driver pay, why they switch fleets, family life/home time and more. Did you know that according to out poll of more than 800 leased owner-operators and company drivers that: • two of the top three concerns among drivers are pay related: paying bills each month (no. 1) and saving for retirement (no. 3). Health was no. 2 among all respondents. • the average age of our survey respondents was 60 years old (59 years for leased owner operators and 60 for company drivers). • the thing drivers dislike most about the job (35%) is something fleet employers can do little about: regulations make it harder to work and make a living. • just 2% of company drivers cited a new/newer model truck as the main reason they would consider changing jobs and driving for another fleet. • a special seat that improves comfort for long hours of driving was the top (62%) equipment feature drivers said was important to them. • almost half (49%) of all respondents said they didn't care one way or the other about battery electric or hydrogen powertrains. • almost 30% of driver respondents (28%) said they are not saving for retirement. Find all this and more in CCJ's updated What Drivers Want report. https://ift.tt/lvs9wzQ Toyota announced Monday that the California Air Resources Board has approved of their Class 8 zero-emission fuel cell kit that will be available later this year for both new and used trucks. The hydrogen-fueled powertrain kit includes hydrogen fuel storage tanks, fuel cell stacks, batteries, electric motors and transmission. “Toyota aims to reduce or eliminate emissions for all mobility solutions, and our fuel cell electric powertrains have proven that hydrogen can play a significant role in the reduction of emissions from heavy-duty transportation,” said Scott Friedman, senior program manager advanced mobility, Toyota Motor North America. “Receiving the Zero-Emission Powertrain Executive Order from CARB is a key achievement for our teams who have dedicated an incredible amount of time and effort, and we are excited to offer this powertrain commercially in the near future.” Toyota’s CARB ZEP-certified powertrain kit is now ready for commercialization, with production slated to start for customers later this year at the company’s Kentucky manufacturing plant. Toyota told Commercial Carrier Journal that in addition to OEMs, the kits will also be available for fleets and operators that would like to convert their current trucks to hydrogen fuel cell. Toyota also told CCJ that range for their kit "will vary by application and the truck manufacturer." Fuel cell electric powertrains are advantageous for heavy- and medium-duty transport compared to all-electric options as they are often lighter to allow for more payload, and they offer more uptime thanks to fueling times that are much closer to conventional diesel powertrains. Toyota’s efforts with hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck powertrains started with Project Portal back in 2017. Toyota has developed multiple generations of powertrain prototypes during development, such as those found the Alpha and Beta trucks that logged nearly 14,000 miles of testing and real-world drayage operations in and around the Port of Los Angeles. Toyota credits the generation of truck named “Ocean” that showed some of the greatest examples of how hydrogen-based powertrains with fuel cell stacks could be used in real-world applications such as drayage, through a proof-of-concept demonstration at the Port of Los Angeles as part of the Zero-and-Near-Zero Emission Freight Facilities’ “Shore to Store” Project (ZANZEFF). For the project, Toyota worked with Kenworth to develop trucks using an updated prototype fuel cell electric powertrain and deployed 10 Kenworth T680 Class 8 trucks. The 10 trucks served real-world customers via drayage routes, with infrastructure support from Shell, hauling cargo between the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the LA Basin. Toyota draws on 30 years of fuel cell experience which includes production of the world’s first mass market passenger fuel cell car, the Mirai. OEMs using Toyota’s certified powertrain may be eligible for CARB’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP), the Clean Truck Fund (CTF) introduced last year by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and certain federal incentives. https://ift.tt/lvs9wzQ No one is safe from cyber attacks, and cargo ships, trucks, and planes in transit are particularly valuable targets. Cyber criminals know these are essential modes of transportation in our global economy, and their efforts will be well rewarded. With the disruptions of COVID-19, hackers have identified vulnerabilities they can exploit to attack strained organizations, particularly with businesses that count on shipping and manufacturing like logistics. Adopting a robust cybersecurity posture with proactive policies is the key to monitoring and addressing the growing threat of cyber attacks to your cargo. Why is cargo at risk of cyberattack?Cargo transportation offers a huge potential payoff for hackers. Aside from attacking the actual vehicle, hackers can attack the logistics companies to gain access to their high-value targets. Hackers may attack a few ways. Malicious domains are a method where hackers create new sites to launch spam campaigns, initiate a phishing attack or spread malware. Usually, these domains mimic those of legitimate companies to attract users. Malware. The global communications that took place during the pandemic allowed hackers to launch attacks more easily, relying on spyware, malware and Trojans that are embedded in interactive features on websites. When the user clicks on the link, they get malware. Ransomware is an effective way to attack companies that rely on their systems. No one can afford to be locked out of their own systems, so these companies tend to pay the ransom to regain access to their operational data and systems. These attacks can be launched using stolen employee credentials or attachments and links. With logistics, that may occur with the logistics company itself or one of its suppliers or vendors, which can be a vulnerability in the entire network. The benefits of implementing security protections for cargoCyber attacks are on the rise, leading many companies to recognize the growing need for cybersecurity in the organization. Despite this, too many organizations take a passive approach to their own security, leaving them vulnerable and doing damage control after an attack occurs. Having a robust cyber security posture comes from building a culture around security and making it a priority in your organization. It requires both proactive and reactive measures, ensuring you can minimize the risks of an attack and know how to respond if an attack occurs to reduce the damage. What is a proactive approach to cybersecurity? Relying on techniques like simulation testing to identify areas a hacker can exploit and testing your system to see how it would fare if an attack occurs; essentially doing “test runs” that mimic a real-world scenario, but with an opportunity to correct the problem in the future with no real damage. Taking a passive approach to cybersecurity, such as patching software, removing malicious software, and keeping software up-to-date are no longer enough to combat cyber criminals with increasingly sophisticated attack options. There’s rarely a lone attacker anymore. These criminals are often part of a gang or a state-sponsored group. Proactive measures help you identify possible attacks and estimate their damage long before they can happen. As a result, you’ll have a stronger security posture and a lower risk than you would with traditional measures. https://ift.tt/3bgw7zd You may have heard of or even played Frogger, an old video game from the '80s that requires players to take a frog past several obstacles including busy and deadly traffic. Commercial Vehicle Safety Administration Roadside Inspection Specialist Jeremy Disbrow said he lived that game in his former role as an Arizona state trooper when he’d have to chase down unsecured cargo that had fallen across a busy highway. Did you miss this webinar? If you missed Thursday's webinar sponsored by Mann+Hummel, don't worry. We recorded it, and you can still get the on-demand version! Just click below, register and we'll send it right to you. “When I grew up playing Frogger, it was one of my favorite games,” Disbrow said Thursday during CCJ’s webinar PM Practices that Beat Inspection Blitzes. “But when I was a state trooper playing Frogger in real life running across the highway trying to get debris, that was probably one of the most scary things I ever did.” Disbrow’s comments came at the beginning of the hour-long webinar when host CCJ Chief Editor Jason Cannon asked Disbrow to first talk about cargo securement from a CVSA perspective. CVSA’s upcoming International Roadcheck is May 16-18 with an emphasis on cargo securement and anti-lock braking systems (ABS). Disbrow was joined by Mike Jeffress, vice president of maintenance at Maverick Transportation; Randy Obermeyer, vice president of safety and maintenance at Online Transport; and Jon Debusk, director of maintenance at Bowerman Trucking. Sponsored by Mann + Hummel, webinar panelists offered advice and maintenance insights on how best to avoid inspection violations, which as Cannon noted can add quickly to costly out of service violations. “During last year’s Roadcheck, in the U.S. alone, of the 33,196 level one inspections that were conducted, 7,912 commercial motor vehicles, which is about 23.8%, and 2,051 drivers, which is about 6.2%, were placed out of service. So I think there's certainly an opportunity to improve there,” Cannon said. [Related: Watch: More advice on Roadcheck including a pit inspection] After opening the discussion with cargo securement, Disbrow quickly turned to his Frogger story. “It's definitely an important issue that we need to look at both for collision-causing events and just safety all around of cargo falling off on the road,” he said. Disbrow said from his experience cargo securement issues typically arise from three different sources. First, cargo is not properly secured prior to the trip; second, cargo tie downs are not rechecked during the trip; and third, cargo in van trailers can be frequently overlooked. “For anybody in this room that deals with van trailers, there's kind of a mindset a lot of the time of 'it came sealed, it's not my problem,''” Disbrow said. “They assume it was done properly, and they just hit the road. But ultimately, we all know that the liability, if there's a collision or there's a problem, all still comes back on the motor carrier and the driver because they're responsible for it at the time. So that's an important thing to consider.” After securing a load during pre-trip, Disbrow said, “it's important for drivers to remember that they need to stop 50 miles into their journey, double check the cargo securement, make sure nothing loosened up, and then check it again periodically throughout their trip. And what the regulation requires is actually that they stop every three hours or every 150 miles during their trip to just double check those things.” Debusk said training drivers on proper cargo securement practices is critical. He also said Bowerman has been retrofitting trailers with cameras that are paired up with telematics to help keep an eye on possible load shifting. “It'll snap a picture [every 15 minutes],” Debusk said. “Obviously, if we sense that any load shifted, then that sends an alert to the back office.” Though technology plays an important part, people are still in the driver’s seat when it comes to securing the load. “You can't go wrong with continual training and communication to the drivers to make sure that they understand that it's ultimately on our end that we make sure it's secure,” Debusk said. Obermeyer agreed that effectively communicating cargo securement expectations is key and added that Online Transport doesn’t typically have freight shifting issues save for occasional challenges with bottled freight like water and soda. “I don't know that there is a silver bullet solution to that but communication's probably the key,” Obermeyer said. At Maverick Transportation, Jeffress said “just about everything we transport requires some sort of securement methodology or practice. It all starts at the beginning when the driver comes to work for us and goes through a plethora of training procedures and processes within our onboarding process. Then after that, there are continuous educational applications that are sent out to the truck that they can view on their telematic device.” ABS and incentivesBraking violations remain the top cause for out-of-service violations, and Disbrow said ABS issues “are pretty high up there” on the list of maintenance issues.“The ABS system is something that we take for granted as a safety feature because it's been in our cars and trucks for quite a while now, and we don't even realize it's doing its thing in the background, but it's constantly doing its job to monitor wheel speed sensors, and it drastically shortens our stopping distance,” Disbrow said. Spotting ABS issues is usually pretty straightforward. Disbrow said after the driver cycles the key in the ignition, they should simply watch the ABS lights on the instrument cluster for both the truck and trailer. If the lights do not go off or if they never come on in the first place, then there’s a problem that needs to be addressed. Obermeyer said they’ll work to spot potential issues ahead of time with ABS and other brake components during PMs. Online Transport plugs in software to help track down issues in addition to getting eyes and hands on the equipment. “Our best practice for just eliminating or reducing ABS issues is that we do a lot of checks on the brake system when we do a PM,” Obermeyer said. “We’re checking one-way check valves; we're checking the tractor protection valve; we're checking the brake stroke, the lining thickness, looking for wheel seal leaks; and we check for wheel bearing play. That's an important one. You get a wheel bearing that gets loose and it affects the tone ring, you can have an ABS light come on from that. So I'd rather get to it before it becomes a problem out there on the road.” Jeffress said that telematics in Maverick’s trucks will notify maintenance management once an ABS fault code is detected. From there, their road assist team will locate the closest repair facility along the driver’s route to help reduce downtime. Some ABS problems spring from compatibility issues with component materials. “One area that we find challenging that we have continued to work for the industry on for many years is corrosion and dissimilar metals with the hub and a particular tone ring,” Jeffress said. “Regardless of what your maintenance practice is, it doesn't ever seem like you can nail down when that dissimilar metal corrosion's going to take place and then ultimately cause that ABS challenge or fault.” Ultimately, between technology and a dedicated and educated workforce, truck issues can be addressed before they result in tough costly out of service violations. “The information's there; it's available. It's how do you use it. How do you act upon it? How do you communicate to everybody else to make the repairs timely,” Jeffress said. Since drivers are oftentimes in a position to spot an issue before it results in a violation, all panel guests agreed that incentives can help drivers take on a more thorough role during their pre- and post-inspections. Disbrow is a firm believer. "If you're considering doing that incentive program as motor carrier and you're wondering how effective it is, I can tell you that I would say roughly 90% of the trucks I had with [an incentive program] had clean inspections, no violations," he said. "I would talk to the driver, and afterwards they would tell me consistently that the reason they do that is because there's an incentive program. It was always because they wanted to get the points, or get the gift card or get whatever it was. It does make a huge difference." https://ift.tt/3bgw7zd Trucking news and briefs for Friday, April 21, 2023: C.R. England partners with autonomous truck makerC.R. England (CCJ Top 250, No. 29) is partnering with autonomous trucking company Kodiak on a pilot program to autonomously ship Tyson Foods products between Dallas and San Antonio, Texas. The deliveries will launch in April using Kodiak self-driving trucks and C.R. England refrigerated trailers. Safety drivers will be in the trucks in the initial stages of the pilot. “Tyson Foods is pursuing the leading edge of technology in all aspects of our business, especially in transportation,” said Patrick Simmons, vice president of transportation at Tyson Foods. “Autonomous trucks are just one piece of the puzzle in this innovation journey to use technology to operate more efficiently and to help ensure our transportation loads are delivered in a timely fashion.” Through the partnership, C.R. England also joined Kodiak’s Partner Deployment Program, which helps carriers establish autonomous freight operations and seamlessly integrate the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak's self-driving system, into their fleet. Integrating self-driving trucks into C.R. England’s fleet will introduce a host of environmental and other benefits, including improved safety, reduced fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions. Utah paper company buys state’s first Volvo VNR ElectricVolvo Trucks North America customer Utah PaperBox, a 109-year-old family-owned business that has delivered paper products in the Salt Lake City region for five generations, has become the first company in Utah to invest in a zero-tailpipe emission Volvo VNR Electric truck. The Class 8 battery-electric truck will help to reduce emissions in the region – which has significant air quality challenges due to its unique topography – and support Utah PaperBox’s commitment to being a sustainability leader. “With roots that go back more than 100 years in the community, Utah PaperBox is a prime example of an established company that is changing the way they operate to be a good environmental steward for future generations,” Jared Ruiz, Regional Vice President – West, Volvo Trucks North America. “In addition to supporting Utah PaperBox, our dealer partner Mountain West Truck Center will support other customers in the region in deploying battery-electric trucks as the dealership completes our rigorous accreditation process to become the first Volvo Trucks Certified Electric Vehicle (EV) dealership in the state.” The six-battery configuration Volvo VNR Electric offers a range of up to 275 miles, enabling the company to service its high-traffic delivery routes between Provo, Ogden and Salt Lake City. Charging infrastructure for the truck is expected to be installed this month in preparation for the truck’s arrival at Utah PaperBox’s Salt Lake City facility. The 150 kW chargers will provide the Volvo VNR Electric truck with an 80% charge in about 90 minutes and will utilize its existing solar power to avoid off-peak costs for charging from the grid. As part of its overall sustainability initiatives, the family-run paper company has made significant investments in solar energy, previously installing 1,000 solar panels that generate up to 1100 kWh per day. The solar panels also provide power to 40 kWh charging stations for employees’ personal electric vehicles at its facility. “My daughter is the fifth generation of our family to join the business, so we understand the vital importance of protecting the air quality in the community where we have lived and worked for decades,” said Steve Keyser, president, Utah PaperBox. “We are proud to be the first company in Utah to deploy a Volvo VNR Electric, and our driver is wild with excitement at the chance to drive the battery-electric truck. I predict we will not be the only company making the transition, not just from an environmental standpoint, but for the many business advantages offered.” XPO names new COOXPO (CCJ Top 250, No. 7) has announced that Dave Bates is joining the company as chief operating officer, North American LTL, effective April 21. “Dave is a high-impact executive with a strong track record of driving excellence in all aspects of LTL operations,” said Mario Harik, chief executive officer of XPO. “We’re delighted that he’ll be leading our operations in creating ongoing value for our customers and investors.” Bates joins XPO from 27 years with Old Dominion Freight Line (No. 10), where he was responsible for all day-to-day operations in North America for the last 12 years as senior vice president, operations. He started his career with roles at Carolina Freight Carriers and Roadway Express. Alaskan driving school seeks ELDT waiverAlaska’s Ice Road Driving School is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption from the skills road test portion of the behind-the-wheel (BTW) entry-level driver training (ELDT) requirements for driver trainees. Specifically, the school is asking for an exemption from the requirements that driver trainees seeking a Class A or Class B CDL demonstrate proficiency in BTW maneuvers related to entering the on ramp, exiting the off ramp, right turns, and left turns. Alaska’s Ice Road Driving School requests the exemption regarding routing prescriptions that are specific to exact off- and on-ramps, and right and left turns, adding that it will aid in the safe administration of road tests by the Alaska State Department of Motor Vehicles. The school says that because of the unique road system and challenging terrain in Alaska, it’s difficult to adhere to the driver training regulations. They further explain that the road configurations lead to only a few major established safe road systems in Alaska. The school said it believes that the road skills test for a CDL applicant can safely be administered by the state test examiner as set routes can be established and approved without the CDL applicant completing certain portions of the mandatory BTW training. Alaska’s Ice Road Driving School is seeking the exemption on behalf of itself and all state and local commercial driving schools in Alaska, as well as individuals qualified as third-party testers in the state. FMCSA is accepting public comments here through May 22. https://ift.tt/iPp2Ox8 |
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April 2023
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