Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Jan. 26, 2024: Former Roehl president Ingersoll joins RoadOneRoadOne IntermodaLogistics (CCJTop 250, No. 73) this week named Don Ingersoll as its Chief Operating Officer to expand the company’s executive team. Ingersoll joins RoadOne with extensive transportation and logistics knowledge and leadership experience at some of the largest companies in North America. Prior to joining RoadOne, he served as President of Roehl Transport (No. 62), where he led the Truckload, Refrigerated and Dedicated divisions. At XPO Logistics (No. 8), he held the role of Vice President of Transportation overseeing operations of the intermodal and drayage business units in North America. He also spent 14 years with J.B. Hunt Transport in a variety of leadership positions in the Dedicated and Intermodal businesses. In recent years, RoadOne has broadened its national footprint with over 14 acquisitions and continues to reinforce its position as a single source logistics and distribution services company. Ingersoll will manage alongside RoadOne founders Ken Kellaway and David McLaughlin. RoadOne offers a number of services, including drayage, fleet operations, transloading, depot and yard management, warehousing/DC and fulfillment services. C.H. Robinson expands eBOL service in LTLThird-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson has now implemented an electronic bill of lading (eBOL) with 10 of the top LTL carriers in the nation and is in the process of doing so with four more, the company announced recently. Standards for the eBOL were developed by the NMFTA’s Digital LTL Council, creating greater efficiency and real-time visibility for LTL shippers. In the past year, 17,240 C.H. Robinson customers benefited from the eBOL and even more will in 2024 as C.H. Robinson helps additional LTL carriers come on board, the company said. “While there are fewer carriers in the LTL universe and the top 25 handle over 90% of the market, the complexity of moving LTL freight means that digitization in this part of the logistics industry has been more challenging than truckload,” said Greg West, Vice President for LTL at C.H. Robinson. “With truckload freight, there’s generally one origin and one destination and a customer has exclusive use of the trailer. With LTL, you can have up to 30 customers’ freight on a trailer, with 30 destinations and 30 sets of paperwork. That makes it so valuable to have a common eBOL everyone can use.” [Related: Why the entire trucking industry needs a common standard for electronic bills of lading] Traditionally in LTL, a carrier would generate a tracking number for each shipper’s freight and print out stickers with those numbers. The driver would take the stickers to a shipper’s loading dock, affix them to a paper bill of lading and to each pallet – then do it all over at the next pickup. The tracking numbers from all the bills of lading would then be manually entered into the carrier’s computer system and sent to the logistics provider overnight or the next day. Now, a tracking number is generated within seconds of the shipment being tendered to the carrier via API, and a complete bill of lading is ready for the shipper when the driver arrives. The driver just has to scan it. All the manual work is eliminated, which lowers administrative costs, cuts down on errors and increases efficiency at every shipper’s dock. And with a tracking number known in advance, shippers can gain real-time visibility – starting with status updates via C.H. Robinson’s Navisphere platform when their freight is picked up. [Related: NMFTA plans development of LTL industry API roadmap] https://ift.tt/JH5ZwU8
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Thursday, January 18, the third meeting of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Truck Leasing Task Force kicked off with a reminder from task force Chairman Steve Rush, retired founder of fleet Carbon Express, of the panel's mission. In his words: to "prevent predatory people of taking advantage of the drivers, through lease-purchase." To that end, the group focused in on maintenance covenants in inequitable lease-purchase contracts carriers/affiliated leasing companies and operators. Though the new task presented to the group asked specifically about how terms in lease agreements might impact maintenance of the vehicle itself, much of the conversation around the topic focused on how inequitable contracts in practice can disadvantage the operator leasing the truck, in various ways. "Often the problem is not necessarily the language of the leasing agreements themselves," said Paul Cullen Jr., task force member attorney with the Cullen Law Firm. "Problems that occur are with the motor carrier or the leasing company’s failure to abide by the agreements, or actions that are apart from the agreement." Maintenance escrows nickel-and-dimed by a motor carrier or leasing company near end of the operator's time with the company, for instance, to zero them out before severing ties. Another problematic practice can be terms that limit use of service facilities to those owned by or in the preferred network of the carrier itself, with fees charged for taking the truck out of network for service. Illustrating the latter, some contracts "will say the lease-purchase-ee is responsible for all the maintenance and service," said Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Supervisor Jim Jefferson, another task force member. "In some cases you’ll see they have a maintenance fee collected out of the settlements," often building in an escrow account, "but the lessor gets to pick where the truck is fixed. And they charge you for taking it elsewhere." Greater freedom of choice around maintenance in lease-purchase contracts would allow the free market for services to work like it should, several panel members suggested, and mitigate issues that stem from the lessor carrier's control of both revenue opportunity and, with respect to maintenance, cost of operation for the operator lessee in the worst deals. In lease-purchase contracts that are inequitable to start with, equipment failures can tend to have a cascading effect, Jefferson and others added. "What’s more important, putting food on the table or getting the oil changed? Because the lease isn’t fair and equitable, [operators] don’t have the funds to maintain the truck and keep them safe the way they should be." In addition to Rush, Cullen and Jefferson, four other of the nine empaneled task force members contributed to the discussion last week:
The task force is charged with issuing recommendations to FMCSA’s Administrator in a comprehensive report later this year. The agency will review the final report and submit it to the Secretaries of Transportation and Labor, as well as to the appropriate congressional committees. The third meeting continued discussion toward that end, and also launched a new effort to potential host a meeting and public forum alongside the Mid-America Trucking Show in March. [Related: FMCSA's Truck Leasing Task Force explores the path forward] Used-truck lease-purchases can saddle lessee with 'mechanical debt'Tamara Brock, one of a couple working owner-operators among task force membership, has shared her own story of getting into business ownership via a lease-purchase program in her early years in business. That story was referenced by task force members numerous times throughout last week's discussion as underpinning a desire among some to combat predatory lease-purchase practices without driving a veritable stake in the heart of the carrier lease-purchase model itself. Brock offered a distinction between outcomes of various lease-purchases depending on whether the truck leased is brand-new or a used, sometimes even previously leased vehicle. "If you do not get a brand-new truck that is fully under warranty and everything is taken care of other than tires and PMs," Brock said, a lease-purchase operator holds a "much greater risk to lose everything you invested in that truck. It's not if but when it’s going to break down." Aftertreatment-related equipment she singled out as particularly pricey and prone to failure in this day and age. For an operator who runs into a repair so expensive that it exhausts funds in the maintenance escrow many deals come equipped with, furthermore, carriers might front the money to fix the truck, then turn that into a loan with various terms the operator's now committed to in addition. "Now you’ve got an extra expense," she said. The "main reason" most lease operators aren’t able to complete the lease payments and ultimately purchase the truck, she added, had all to do with maintenance. "Once you get to about 500,000 miles, a lot of expensive issues begin to pop up," she said, and as a truck operator "you’re going to do whatever it takes to get the truck back on the road," even if it means going into further debt to the lessor. The lessor carrier then could be expected to well know that "something else is going to happen." When it does, she said, speaking from the point of view of the lessor carrier, "Bam, I've got a truck that the owner-operator had previously paid off" to put a company driver in or lease to yet another operator. [Related: The top five diesel fault codes, and emissions issues you can do something about right now] Josh Krause of OTR Leasing called maintenance dynamics in used-truck lease-purchases "mechanical debt," of a fashion, an unsuspecting operator inherits the minute they enter into a contract. "Mechanical failure is a significant reason for an owner to fail in their contractual agreement," he said. "Yet it’s the inconsistency of the mechanical failure matched with the inconsistency of the relative compensation to the individual" that then creates the cascading effects that lead to the failure -- with the lessee without reserves enough to "handle the significant downtime," even short-term downtime in the worst cases. Cullen and others pointed toward federal Truth in Leasing regulations for a potential model for used lease-purchases when it comes to disclosure of maintenance records. In those regulations, rules related to the establishment of escrows by the carrier require disclosure of "how much will be deducted" and "what things deductions will be made for. In many instances, it’s for maintenance," Cullen noted. Thinking about a potential recommendation for regulation around carrier lease-purchases, Cullen offered the notion of a requirement of disclosure of maintenance, yet "not after the fact," he said. Rather: on the front end before the operator enters into the contract on a used truck in the first place. Steve Viscelli agreed. "That would at least help drivers assess what they’re getting," Viscelli said. "Carriers should at least have the responsibility of disclosing what they know about that vehicle." [Related: The truck lease-purchase model: Should we drive a stake in its heart?] Lease-purchase contract examples, experiences soughtThroughout the task force's meeting, a variation on a theme emerged -- the need for a better tranche of lease-purchase contract examples than what the task force had seen to date. Here's how Ryan Kelly, representative from the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sitting in on the meeting, put it:
For that, and for getting closer to the "full story" when it comes to predatory practices around lease-purchases, task force members began to prep for a potential session at the Mid-America Trucking Show in March, which would be the task force's official fourth meeting but also a chance to engage with those in the public who've administered and/or participated in lease-purchase programs. A draft series of questions/requests for information the task force considered putting forward to the public included the following, presented in partial form/summary. (If the task force moves forward with the MATS meeting, expect a notice with more detail in the Federal Register and/or notification on the Truck Leasing Task Force website.) Data collection
Potential questions/discussion topics
[Related: Trucking Law: Your rights under the leasing regulations] https://ift.tt/JH5ZwU8 GoTreads, a provider of foldable traction tools and recovery boards for vehicles, has launched a tire traction option for a heavy-duty vehicles operating on surfaces such as mud, snow and sand. GoTreads XXL are a longer version of the company's popular GoTreads XL, measuring 70 inches in length and 9 inches in width. Each XXL folds up to a compact 12 inches by 9 inches by 6 inches for easy storage and transport and capable of supporting large fleet vehicles like trucks, buses, semis and emergency vehicles. https://ift.tt/JH5ZwU8 Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024: Truck tonnage fell 1.7% in 2023Trucks hauled less freight in 2023 than in 2022, according to the American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. The seasonally-adjusted index showed a 2.1% increase in tonnage hauled in December over November, with the index reading 115.7 compared to 113.3 in November. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello noted, however, that tonnage remained in a recession for the year despite the stronger finish. “For-hire contract freight, which is what comprises our index, in December was 2.6% above the trough in April,” Costello said. “For the entire year, tonnage contracted 1.7% from 2022 levels. This makes 2023 the worst annual reading since 2020 when the index fell 4% from 2019, and the only year since 2020 that tonnage contracted." Compared with December 2022, the index fell 0.5%, which was the 10th straight year-over-year decrease, albeit the smallest over that period. In November, the index was down 1.6% from a year earlier. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 110.7 in December, 1.9% below the November's level (112.8). In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. ATA's For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight. Ruan promotes new executive VPRuan Transportation Management Systems (CCJTop 250, No. 31) has promoted Jeff Harpole to executive vice president, the company announced Tuesday, Jan. 23. Harpole, who joined Ruan in 2020, currently serves as Senior Vice President. He will succeed Dan Van Alstine as Chief Operating Officer when Van Alstine retires near the end of 2024. Van Alstine will serve on Ruan’s board of directors starting in 2025. “Ruan has experienced historic success under the leadership of Dan Van Alstine, which is a significant achievement when considered over Ruan’s 92 years of serving customers across North America,” said Ruan CEO Benjamin McLean. “These contributions will define Dan’s legacy at Ruan, as will his critical role in developing and preparing his successor, Jeff Harpole. In working closely with Jeff, I have been extremely impressed with his highly effective people and customer leadership skills. Even more importantly, Jeff demonstrates and continues the leadership culture that has enabled our success.” Harpole joined Ruan after serving as vice president of transportation for one of the country’s largest retailers. During his 12 years at the company, he managed an $800m transportation organization and worked closely with transportation providers in developing solutions, performance metrics, and pricing approaches. Harpole also helped launch the company’s private fleet, overseeing every aspect of the operation, including equipment investments, safety and compliance processes, driver relations, and maintenance operations. Ron Hanson, Ruan’s Chief Administrative Officer, will also retire in 2024, the company announced. Empire Freight Logistics acquired by holding companyCleveland-based Kodis Holdings, a collection of niche logistics companies, has completed the acquisition of Syracuse, New York-based Empire Freight Logistics. This is Kodis’ most recent acquisition since purchasing Tomball, Texas-based Standard Freight Logistics in July 2021. During this same time frame, Kodis also launched a new entity, SOLVR Logistics, providing on-demand warehousing solutions. As a result, Kodis now offers a broad suite of logistics services, including freight, warehousing, and supply chain technology. These moves were designed to help the company diversify its service offering and position it as a leading provider of comprehensive logistics services targeting such niche markets as digital infrastructure, HVAC, power generation and distribution, commercial construction, underground construction, renewable infrastructure, and electronics. "We serve a very particular client whose shipments are of a mission-critical nature and who can't afford an unreliable or unsophisticated logistics provider," said Michael Kokal, founder and CEO of Kodis Holdings. "Kodis’ strength is the aggregation, translation and synthesis of information from varied sources into a single source of truth that drives smarter business decisions for customers. We have strengthened that position by strategically welcoming Empire Freight to the KODIS family." According to Kokal, Empire Freight Logistics was attractive because of its proven track record and reputation focused on pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and health science services. Its well-established network allows Kodis to further diversify its service offering to include LTL and enclosed trailer shipping. Former U.S. Xpress exec joins TMS provider as CEOTMS provider Sheer Logistics has announced that Joel Gard has been named CEO and Board member. Founding CEO Joe Egertson has assumed the role of Executive Chairman of the Board. Gard brings experience in providing 4PL/Managed Transportation Services and driving digital transformation in the logistics and supply chain industry to Sheer Logistics, the company said. Prior to joining Sheer, Gard led the business transformation program at American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) where he was tasked with building an internal 4PL/Managed Logistics platform for one of the nation’s leading marine transportation companies. Prior to ACBL, Gard helped launch and lead Coyote Logistics’ European operations. Gard also served as President of Xpress Technologies, U.S. Xpress’ tech-enabled brokerage platform, and as CTO at U.S. Xpress. “Joel is a proven leader with a strong track record of serving the complex needs of global shippers, developing transformative technology and successfully driving profitable growth,” Egertson said. “With a deep background in 4PL/Managed Transportation Services and logistics technology, Joel is the ideal choice to lead the Sheer Logistics team. I look forward to working closely with Joel in my new role as Executive Chairman, and I’m excited for Joel to build on Sheer’s legacy of truth, transparency, and trust in serving the needs of middle market shippers.” “Since its founding in 2009, Joe and the team at Sheer Logistics have built a world-class 4PL/Managed Transportation Services and value-based logistics offering powered by an ecosystem of best-in-class logistics technology, including the proprietary SheerExchange Integration Platform as a Service (IPaaS),” Gard said. “Mid-market shippers are facing unprecedented challenges in today’s highly competitive global marketplace. Sheer’s 4PL/Managed Transportation Services and tech-enabled logistics solutions were purpose-built to serve their needs and help them achieve their goals. I am grateful to Joe and the team at Sheer Logistics for the opportunity to join and lead this exceptional organization.” https://ift.tt/ji6FwE7 A popular tech provider in the trucking industry has filed suit against a competitor, alleging intellectual property theft. San Francisco-based IoT company Samsara, which provides ELD, telematics, safety cameras and more, claims fleet management provider Motive Technologies Inc. has engaged in illegal conduct that includes patent infringement and false advertisement. Samsara is asking the court to enter judgment recognizing Motive’s infringement of the company’s patents covering several of its solutions in fleet management and driver safety included within Samsara’s telematics, video-based safety and sustainability solutions, to permanently stop Motive’s conduct. The company is also requesting the court order Motive to compensate Samsara for its losses and damages under state and federal law. Samsara Founders Sanjit Biswas and John Bicket said via statement that prospective customers would remark how similar Motive’s products appeared to Samsara's in terms of form and functionality. That escalated, the pair claimed, into "Motive deploying misleading marketing campaigns and sales tactics, which led us to take a closer look." In 2022, while investigating a deceptive third-party benchmark report about Samsara products that Biswas and Bicket allege Motive bankrolled, "we discovered a comprehensive, years-long campaign by Motive to copy Samsara – from our patented technologies down to our company mission statement ... Looking at what a competitor is doing can be acceptable and even productive in that it might spur innovation to help better serve customers," they said. "But that is not what Motive is doing here ... We believe that integrity matters in our industry, and the customers we serve deserve transparency and technology partners who truly invest in and prioritize innovation. Motive’s leadership team has taken the opposite approach, focusing its business strategy on stealing our intellectual property. This has led us to resort to litigation today to protect our company and the substantial investment we have made over multiple years into R&D. It is important for our entire industry that innovation continues. Our customers run the world’s critical infrastructure, and they deserve the best technology to increase the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of their operations." The lawsuit, filed in a Delaware federal court, states that Motive – formerly known as KeepTruckin – based much of its product line and even its business strategy on routinely stealing Samsara’s technologies and fraudulently accessing Samsara’s platforms. The filing asserts that Motive illegally accessed Samsara’s platform, copied Samsara’s marketing materials and made unsubstantiated advertising statements. Motive Co-Founder and CEO Shoaib Makani said in a statement Thursday to CCJ that "Samsara’s allegations and associated campaign against Motive are meritless. They are a result of Samsara’s inability to develop competitive AI technology and the fact that they are losing customers, especially large enterprise accounts, to Motive. This courtroom tactic is an attempt to limit competition and we will fight these baseless accusations to the fullest extent." Samsara claims Motive stole its core technologies, infringing three of its patents that protect its flagship IoT devices, data platform and features as well as commissioned two intentionally flawed and misleading benchmarking studies to test and compare Motive’s product against Samsara’s. Samsara said in a release that it had previously asked Motive to cease these unlawful activities but that the company had continued to introduce copycat products as recently as November 2023. Samsara’s filing says Motive’s director of product continued to attempt to access Samsara’s platform, evidenced by Samsara's activity logs, even after Motive claimed to have asked its employees to stop. Samsara’s evidence against Motive includes activity records showing that Motive employees used invented credentials to view Samsara’s dashboard more than 20,600 times from 2018 to 2022; call records showing Motive employees contacting Samsara customer service and pretending to be Samsara customers; and video footage showing Makani and Chief Product Officer Jairam Ranganathan testing and commenting on the performance of Samsara's products and features. Solera subsidiary Omnitracs filed a similar lawsuit against Motive in December. https://ift.tt/ji6FwE7 The freight market has been tough over the past year, and with his front-row seat to the action, Tobenna Arodiogbu said he kept seeing owner operators getting wiped out. Arodiogbu, co-founder and CEO of the CloudTrucks software platform for owner operators, said although the market seems to have leveled out some, his company was motivated by the downturn to implement a program that would better ensure the success of the owner operators that lease onto the CloudTrucks authority. The company’s Virtual Carrier platform recently launched a minimum revenue guarantee (MRG), designed to provide owner operators with the consistent and predictable revenue that is typically only associated with company driving roles. [RELATED: Lawmakers intro bill guaranteeing truck driver overtime pay] Virtual Carrier drivers who drive at least 2,000 loaded miles each week over a two-week period are guaranteed a weekly revenue of $4,500, and those who drive at least 1,500 loaded miles each week over the same period are guaranteed $3,250 in weekly revenue. That’s about $2.25 per mile and $2.16 per mile on average, respectively. Arodiogbu said the idea is to provide a safety net under the condition that they maintain their rate per mile and adhere to safety standards. “We decided to launch this because we were seeing that when we look at the drivers who are leased onto our authority, there's quite a bit of variance on their performance sometimes. You can have two drivers who live in the exact same area, and one of them is making $5,000 a week and another one is making significantly less than that,” he said. “We started asking ourselves what exactly is going on and how can we help make the lower-performing driver become more like the high-performing driver. As we dug into this a lot more, we came to the realization that it's a tough market right now, and sometimes you might be sitting and waiting for the perfect load, or maybe you took a load that took you into a bad market, and now you're trying to figure out what to do next.” Arodiogbu said one bad week can lead to another and result in an owner operator shutting down their operation, but the MRG gives them some peace of mind if something goes wrong. “Even if you've had five great weeks in a row, it doesn't mean that you might not have that one load that puts you in a market where you just can't find a high-paying load to get out, but with this you can plan with a lot more confidence,” he said. While many company drivers across the trucking industry have access to this type of pay, it’s less common for owner operators. More trucking companies have opted into this model in an effort to recruit and retain drivers, but that wasn’t the goal here, Arodiogbu said. [RELATED: New year brings new per diem pay option at CCJ Top 250 carrier] He said the program is different not only in that it serves owner operators but because they still have the freedom to pick their own loads. The company pilot tested the program with a small group of owner operators on its platform prior to the official launch so it could receive feedback and make appropriate changes. Arodiogbu said CloudTrucks initially tested a model where it provided the guarantee while helping drivers select loads, but the company found that owner operators didn’t like having someone “looking over their shoulder.” Drivers wanted something that served more like an insurance policy. The program launched at the beginning of the year, but the feedback has already been positive. “CloudTrucks is helping us out in the tough market,” said Tory Matthews, owner-operator at Mr. Boone Logistics. “We still get the flexibility of maintaining our own business: picking our own loads, running regionally and being home on the weekends, if we choose to.” https://ift.tt/ji6FwE7 Parts and labor costs climbed late into last year, jumping 1.9% during the third quarter of 2023, according to data released Thursday in the latest Decisiv/TMC North American Service Event Benchmark Report. The increase follows a 1.3% decline in the second quarter across the top 25 Vehicle Maintenance Reporting System (VRMS) codes. The jump in costs reflect an equal rise in parts and labor expenses – both of which rose 1.9% individually during the third quarter, according to the report. On a year-over-year basis, parts costs are up 0.9% and labor costs rose 4.9% for a total combined increase of 2.5%. Despite running fewer miles, handling less freight and an influx of newer less maintenance-intensive trucks, Decisiv President and CEO Dick Hyatt said fleets and service providers still face inflationary cost pressures on parts prices and higher labor costs. Detailed data from Decisiv on quarter-over-quarter combined parts and labor costs indicated increases in 18 of the 25 VMRS codes. Year-over-year, parts and labor cost increases were seen in 22 VMRS codes. The data on 25 VMRS codes accounts for more than 97% of total parts and labor costs for more than seven million assets and over 300,000 monthly maintenance and repair events at more than 5,000 service locations. Considering that truck tonnage and consequently mileage continue to decline, the report concludes the likely explanation for higher parts costs is the impact of ongoing inflationary pressures. In September, the American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.1% compared to the previous month and was down 4.1% year-over-year, the seventh straight annual decrease and the largest over that period. In the same month, ATA’s not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in freight tonnage actually hauled by fleets, was 6.8% below August. The labor costs side of the equation is equally challenged, driven in large part by the ongoing technician shortage affecting dealers and fleets. Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the costs associated with technician recruitment will not see any relief for the foreseeable future, with a projected need of about 23,900 heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians annually over the next decade. The Decisiv/TMC North American Service Event Benchmark Reports are generated using data from the Decisiv SRM platform on service and repair events for more than 7 million commercial assets operating across the U.S. and Canada. The industry’s largest asset service management system is being used to manage a weekly average of 70,000 service events at nearly 5,000 locations. https://ift.tt/ji6FwE7 Representatives from three very different fleets sat down with moderator Molly MacKay Zacker at the Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue (HDAD) on Monday. Terry Wall is the senior manager for maintenance and technical support, national accounts, for Ryder. His company runs between 100,000 and 150,000 power units nationwide and oversees 800 service locations. He says Ryder "definitely" bought more than 500 trucks last year and has dabbled in alternative fuels. Justin Olsen is the Eastern regional maintenance manager for TCW. His company operates 325 trucks on mostly intermodal business with slip seat drivers. TCW bought around 125 trucks last year, and Olsen says more purchases were pushed to 2024., when the company plans to buy around 50 trucks. The company doesn't do much with alternative fuels yet, Olsen says, but expects that will change when port requirements change. Doug Arns is the director of maintenance for Freymiller. He says the company has around 730 trucks and 1,100-1,200 trailers at any given time. The fleet is 100% reefer and they mostly handle no-touch freight. The company purchased around 150 new trucks last year and replaced reefer units on 150 trailers. Arns says he expects to purchase another 150 trucks in 2024. Freymiller previously tried natural gas trucks, but Arn says he wouldn't recommend it for his duty cycle and application. For repairs, all three fleet representatives say they lean heavily on their equipment warranties. But if it's not under warranty, all three say they'll turn to the aftermarket where it makes sense. They're also continuing some practices they started during the pandemic parts shortages, such as remanufacturing some parts. "The only thing we're still having issues with is the harder items, like harnesses," Olsen says. Arns says he's also seen availability improve, except for things such as harnesses. "Some are still on allocation," he says, where the dealer gets a limited number of parts and has to decide where to send them. Wall says the sheer size of Ryder's fleet helps them with things such as parts availability and pricing, but the company is still seeing some difficulty on both fronts. He says Ryder's procurement team has conversations weekly about parts pricing, with a particular concern for the truck's next life. "We look at our secondary market as a very important part of our industry," Wall says. "We want to make sure the truck is reliable." Arns' computer system tracks pricing and he says he's seen some parts jump by 50-70%, and it's not necessarily all supply and demand. Olsen says tires are always going up and the company always keeps an eye out for ways to save. Finding good help is a perennial problem in the industry. Arns is the only one who says technicians aren't necessarily a issue for Freymiller. [RELATED: Ryder accelerating tech recruitment, training efforts] "We've been pretty fortunate in that we don't have real high turnover with technicians," he says, adding the company pays for ASE testing and certification in full, and techs can get a pay increase and bonuses based on their accomplishments. When they do need new hands, Arns says the company has a relationship with the local trade school. Arns' bigger concern is the availability of technicians when trucks are on the road. "There's a lot of times one of our units will go down in the field, they'll roll into the dealer and I'll get a message that says, 'Hey, they don't have anyone to work on this for two days,' or 'They don't have anyone to work on a Cummins engine," Arns says. For a reefer trailer hauling food, that can be catastrophic. "If it doesn't get there in time, I have to buy that," Arns says. "Some of those meat loads are $500,000." He says his company has gone so far as to go out and get the truck and bring it back to its Oklahoma headquarters for work. All three representatives reported they've seen a gradual shift away from manual transmissions in the market. Olsen says in the beginning, his company was 100% manual, but has had to move to automatic or automated manual transmissions to find drivers. "That's mostly because people that are coming out of the truck driving schools aren't being taught how to drive manual transmissions," Arns says. As far as what they'd like to see in 2024, Wall and Arns both picked the economy while Olsen says he needs parts more quickly. Wall says he'd like to see economic conditions as a whole on the upswing, while Arns homed in on freight rates in particular. "Freight rates gotta go up," he says. "We're hauling the same volume as we did two years ago at half the price." https://ift.tt/ji6FwE7 Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024: FMCSA proposes to remove certain medical examiners from registryThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to remove medical examiners (MEs) from its National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners who have failed to access their National Registry account using login.gov and update the profile information in their account as required. Since June 2018, by using the email, physical address and telephone number these MEs provided to FMCSA in their National Registry account, the agency has attempted to notify them of the requirement to access their account using login.gov. There are approximately 15,727 MEs who have not accessed their National Registry account using login.gov and as a result, are not able to fulfill regulatory requirements such as reporting results of DOT physicals performed on commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers, receiving FMCSA communications, and completing required training. MEs who are removed from the National Registry will no longer be certified to perform DOT physicals of truckers. To avoid being removed from the National Registry, MEs to whom this notice applies must complete certain corrective actions. Within 30 days of the notice being published on Wednesday, Jan. 24, MEs who are subject to the notice must create a login.gov account and correct all outdated contact information in their profiles. MEs who do not complete this process within 30 days will be removed from the National Registry. The agency said MEs not using login.gov must be removed from the National Registry before June 23, 2025, when FMCSA will begin electronically transmitting medical certification information for CMV drivers from the National Registry to the state driver’s licensing agencies. If an ME does not access their National Registry account using login.gov and report results of physicals performed, FMCSA will not be able to electronically transmit those results for posting to the drivers’ records. Medical certificates issued by MEs who are removed from the Registry before they are removed will not be invalidated. MEs removed from the Registry will continue to appear on the public website for three years following the date of their removal with an indication that they are no longer certified as an ME and have been removed from the National Registry with a removal date. [Related: FMCSA making security changes to Portal account system] Atlas Van Lines brings Suddath subsidiary back on as agentAtlas Van Lines (CCJ Top 250, No. 67) and the Suddath Companies (No. 116) announced that Suddath Moving & Storage LLC is re-joining the Atlas Agent family. Suddath was a key Atlas Agent and stockholder partner from 1950 to 1981. “Suddath coming home to Atlas brings two highly regarded brands back together in the moving industry and further positions Atlas as an industry-leading van line,” said Jack Griffin, Chairman and CEO of Atlas World Group. “Atlas offers Suddath flexibility and stability, while Suddath brings vast capabilities that directly align with Atlas’ daily operations and long-term vision. We are pleased to welcome Suddath back home and into our Agent family and remain committed to the highest level of success for our Agents, Professional Van Operators, customers, and employees.” By welcoming Suddath Moving & Storage, a subsidiary of The Suddath Companies, to its expansive Agent network, Atlas Van Lines will grow its footprint while sharing a common goal of providing the highest level of service and care for customers, the company said. Atlas Van Lines is owned by its Agents, who are industry experts helping customers by providing household relocation moving services and specialized transportation of high-value items. Suddath, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, offers relocation services serving corporate, military and B2C customers domestically and internationally. Joining the Atlas Agent family provides an opportunity for Suddath to partner with a van line that is aligned with its vision and strategy and shares a passion for growth in the core household goods moving business, the companies said. With 15 locations and an extensive domestic and global partner network, Suddath Moving & Storage provides national and global reach. Through the partnership, Suddath will build on its current customer base while being supported by one of the world’s most trusted moving companies. “Household goods continues to be a critical part of Suddath’s core business, and partnering with Atlas will help us accelerate our growth strategy, especially in the corporate, B2C, and military relocation segments,” said Mike Brannigan, President and CEO of The Suddath Companies. “We are excited to pair Suddath with a van line that brings capability, quality and flexibility to its Agent-centric business model. We have long admired that Atlas actively seeks Agent engagement and input, from processes to technology, to ensure there is alignment across the enterprise supporting and maintaining its core vision and culture. We look forward to a very successful, long-term partnership with Atlas.” [Related: CCJ Innovator: Suddath’s tech moves the conversation beyond labor, truck rates] Georgia-based dry-, liquid-bulk fleet acquiredMacon, Georgia-based American Material Services (AMS), a dry- and liquid-bulk fleet, was acquired late in 2023 by AGI International. The deal was announced by mergers and acquisitions advisor Generational Equity. AMS provides transportation services for dry bulk and liquid bulk customers located throughout the eastern and southeastern U.S. In 2000, AMS expanded its operation through the purchase of the assets of Site Services Corp, strengthening its position in the dry bulk market and diversifying operations into the liquid bulk transportation market. AGI International, headquartered in Indianapolis, was founded in 2003, by E. Jerome Agnew. AGI provides domestic sourcing, global sourcing, contract manufacturing & assembly, warehousing and distribution, supply chain risk mitigation, material cost improvement, and product development for U.S. based companies and key automotive and industrial customers. AGI is continuing to strengthen its commercial division, providing services in supply chain management, and transportation and logistics. "AMS has significant expertise and experience in large- and small-scale regional projects,” said Barry DeWitt, Managing Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Generational Equity. “The company has built a solid reputation for competitive pricing and on-time delivery for its projects, which is in line with AGl's core values. This acquisition gives AGI a strong presence in the Georgia and North Florida market.” https://ift.tt/K8I49lM |
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April 2023
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