Freight Carriers and Owner Operators May Experience Environmental and Emmission Standard Regulations in the Near Future (if the EPA and DOT have their way)

By: Brad Hollister | Freight Access, Inc. (http://www.freightaccess.com) CLICKING HERE. or CLICKING HERE

Later this week, the FMCSA together with dept . of transportation will undoubtedly be meeting to continue a rule making session trying to get medium and also heavy duty vehicles and tractors environmental standards being placed into law. This issue of gasoline proficiency has unquestionably been controversial. A number of proceedings occurred in attempts to push regulation regulating freight truck fuel performance for tractor makers; to take effect for tractor versions built between 2014-2018. On-lookers and the ones near to the situation believe that final regulation may be in position prior to the end of 2011.

The fuel consumption along with emissions quantities currently being taken into consideration are based on President Obama's dedicated initiatives to change the transportation industry's specifications. Even while much disagreement has taken place, the agencies writing the legislation assure trucking executives that they are implementing prevailing technologies in legislation and also believe medium level trucks as well as heavy duty tractors can certainly Increase their gas mileage by ten to twenty percent. Regulators from the Us Epa along with the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are the organizations assigned in order to manage this reform.

The earliest open public hearing occurred on November 15 following a notice of 600 plus page draft of recommended regulation which had been published on October 25th. The upcoming hearing will be slated for November 18th in Cambridge, Massachusetts in which the board may administer oral arguments around the 600 page legislation as well as the investigation of National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's ecological impact study which can be the foundation of the breakthrough for the suggested guidelines.

Once notice of the planned regulation is technically written and published to the Federal government Register, the environmental Protection Agency along with National Highway Transportation Safety Administration must begin a 60 day time period where the public can make remarks, as part of the public process. Currently, the new legislation is targeted at implementation of existing technologies such as focusing on speed limiters, anti-idling technology, aerodynamics, and use of lighter materials. The legislation being discussed is targeted to affect heavy duty pickups, vans, vocational vehicles, as well as combination tractors... in model years starting as early as 2014.

Needless to say, many in the industry are concerned the implementation of further restriction can devastate an already fragile transportation business. The domestic United states Transportation business has been under extreme stress due to new legislation. Industry leaders believe that these added technologies will significantly increase not only the costs of operation but the expenses of purchasing new equipment in the future. Numerous small carriers and Owner Operators will no longer be able to afford new trucks and thus will be forced to keep older equipment as well as fleets on the highways much longer under the new legislation; while law makers argue the increased expenses of these technologies far outweigh the benefits as well as operational savings throughout the life of the truck.

The federal Administration officials point out that the benefits of technology could deliver savings of up to $74,000 per truck; far out-pacing the increase in costs. The regulatory authorities think environmental programs will improve the truck driver's earnings along with improvement in environmental impact. Numerous producers such as Ford, Navistar and others joined the truck Manufacturers Association and Engine Manufacturers Associations are in favor of implementation of the new standards. These groups providing comments strongly urged the Epa and FHTSA to be practical regarding implementation of new standards.

Kyle Treadway, chairman of the American Truck Dealers Division of the National Automobile Dealers Association strongly encouraged these agencies to be realistic while considering the implementation of suggested requirements. Mr. Treadway focused his remarks on practical implantation, suggesting the new legislation be realistic, affordable, and technologically feasible. He went on to say that if any of the three criteria is not met, Mr. Treadway believes that truckers will not purchase new vehicles which may considerably damage truck lots. Low-rolling-resistance tires were also under attack, as it was suggested that the Epa and NHTSA investigate these technologies completely to ensure that the added effectiveness are not endangering the traction each tire can achieve.

View Full Article Here: http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/11/transportation-market-to-face-further-restrictions/

QUESTION: A question for the shipping community...What are your plans for qualifying carriers under CSA?

Good question. The wording of your question is interesting because it covers a broad spectrum I'd like to break down & clarify. CSA 2010 will have larger impact on the Transportation Professionals than the Supply Chain Professionals. LET ME EXPLAIN:

I have several friends (Long Term Clients) managing Fortune 100 Supply Chains (and smaller of course) who have not even heard of the CSA 2010 initiative. I have been asking all of them what they are doing to prepare for carrier enforcement. What I believe is happening in terms of preparation for Supply Chain Professionals (Manufacturers / Distribution Companies), is quite the opposite of what professionals on the Logistics/Transportation side are experiencing. Supply Chain professionals are looking at the new regulations from the perspective that the Federal Government is now accepting a role in their quality control procedures by monitoring carriers and intervening non-compliant carriers.

I see there are two folks who posted excellent comments (from Transcore) related to this question. The tools Transcore is offering however, are targeted primarily to Logistics/Transportation professionals who make up the majority of Transcore's client base as Transcore has very little penetration in the direct Shipper market. The solutions introduced by Transcore are directed more at Logistics / Transportation Professionals who would certainly open themselves up to liability by hiring companies outside of compliance guidelines.

Direct Shippers & Distributors however (anecdotally of course) have far less interest in their degree of additional liability directly from tendering their own (or customers) freight. Many of these Supply Chain professionals already have quality & performance guidelines in place to restrict their carrier network to a finite number and do not feel as though further monitoring or program creation offers a palatable ROI due to current anemic resources staffing levels at this point in the economic cycle.

I just wanted to clarify the question and identify the stakeholders we are referring to in the 'Shipping Community' because the impact of the new regulation varies greatly from Stakeholder Type to Stakeholder Type. Shippers certainly will pay more for tightened capacity, while one could make the argument 3PL's actually will make MORE (since they often operate on margin and freight pricing will be higher) so long as these 3PL's have proper procedures in place to reduce liability from hiring non-compliance carriers.

Good topic and great responses. It is entertaining to see that this Industry has continued to live up to its Opportunistic Nature. There seems to be THE REPORT or THE SOFTWARE that you need to 'survive CSA 2010' in every other email. The truth of the matter is that the direct impact of CSA 2010 varies from company to company, while the indirect impact increases prices for all across the board (and potential profits also as identified above for 3PL).

Thank you;

Brad Hollister
http://www.freightaccess.com

CSA 2010 Deadline Could Reduce Drivers by More than 20%

Substantial change is on the horizon for the Transportation Industry and it seems as though news of the effect is actually falling upon deaf ears. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has stated a limited number of the 500,000 current trucking companies have logged onto the CSA 2010 web page to check out their own profiles. The FMCSA has strongly encouraged helping drivers and companies understand the impact of the brand new regulations and also the particular importance associated with observing their overall performance. FMCSA authorities have been pleased that just over 2% of all freight carriers have actually logged in to determine their own results and make sure that they are in compliance with the rapidly approaching policies.

Several people in the community from Owner Operators, Consultants, and Carriers, to Freight Brokers, 3PL's and Shippers have deemed CSA 2010 Regulation as a "GAME CHANGER" for the trucking industry. The coverage of the new regulation has been wide-spread and has been the topic of numerous heated discussions. Certainly, there has been countless charged debates the business and the FMCSA and Congress. Despite the pleas of countless in the industry, Federal Officials have concluded that the large number of companies whom have not logged on is a direct outcome of many carrier's focus on day-to-day operations which usually do not allow them to concentrate on the quickly nearing regulation.

The brand new Safety project may begin in December and also will continue to be integrated through most of 2011. Federal, State, and Local Officials may continue to prepare and refine the new system. December, 2010 may be a very fast paced month for the staff of the FMCSA. The Agency's goal for December 2010 is to make the CSA data readily available to trucking firms as well as open to the public. In addition to making info obtainable, the FMCSA will certainly commence sending letters to carriers whose information does not match recent compliance requirements and discovering carriers which may receive field inspections.

Perhaps the most significant problem of the initiative is that the FMCSA still does not have written standards with regard to precisely how the agency will certainly determine safety fitness. The FMCSA will issue a suggestion for exactly how it decides to figure out safety fitness through the first half of the year. The Physical fitness requirements is a crucial factor of the CSA Regulation which in turn will serve to separate the Compliance Review from a carrier's safety score and add the criteria to the monthly performance data from the new Safety Management System.

The FMCSA recognizes that much concern exists in the driver and carrier communities. The FMCSA is not contemplating a public driver scorecard or rating/ranking of any sort. The Agency went on to further explain it is not looking to issue large driver suspensions and the Agency will not be considering plans to stop or limit trucker's potential to drive based on bodily characteristics such as weight, body mass index or neck dimensions.

Though the FMCSA is certainly not restricting drivers based on physical fitness, there are significant reasons why carriers ought to pay attention to their own standing in the new system. There are numerous risks carriers face when and if their own fleets drop outside of government guidelines, while the FMCSA is being rolled out:

In addition to Federal Regulation, the actual dangers of having inadequate CSA scores in respect to their rankings.

Risk # 1) Shipper's Carrier selection. If a Carrier's ratings tend to be jeopardized a Shipper, Manufacturer, Freight Broker or 3PL may possibly route their business to a different carrier with better compliance scores. It is important to realize the importance of effectively serving their Customers with great service and compliance with federal regulation.

Risk #2) Accessibility of Reasonable Insurance Premiums. Insurance companies regularly evaluate safety and compliance ratings as a basis for determining carrier insurance premiums. Following December's availability of the new CSA legislation, it seems insurance companies will implement these ratings as the benchmark for selecting rates. Non-compliance with these standards can inevitably result in higher premiums or lack of available premiums all together.

Risk #3) Claims payouts. Carriers with poor compliance scores typically pay higher Claims settlement values largely because the added care and safety taken with much more efficient operations produces reduced claims rates.

Risk # 4) Poor Driver Environment. Excellent drivers will continue to seek out companies having higher CSA Scores as those companies with higher emphasis paid on much better scores may be more searched for by Shippers.

Risk #5) Potential FMCSA Intervention. Skirting the line of compliance may continuously place your company at risk of intervention or shut down by the FMCSA. This will cause employees and clients a like to feel much less confident about your ability to provide solutions for their needs and in your company's service overall.

Preliminary data indicate that virtually 20% of all truckers on the road are in jeopardy of a FMCSA Intervention into their operations. The new formula with regard to examining safety compliance under the new regulation has found that more than 1/5 of the carriers reviewed will be very likely to get 'unsatisfactory' results; especially within the Fatigued Driver Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories. The sample of 60,000 carriers indicated that the smallest fleets with less than five trucks saw risk of intervention grow from 10 to 15 percent, while the largest fleets with greater than 500 power units saw their own risks decrease to 42 percent.

Driver fatigue continued to be the largest cause for concern, even though vehicle maintenance, and dangerous Driving had been also seriously problematic categories. The crash indicator and dangerous driving BASICS diminished across the board specially amongst large fleets. Viewing of preliminary Safety Improvement Categories began August 16, 2010. The CSA 2010 Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICS) are:

1. Driving Unsafely.
2. Driving Outside of Driving
3. Driver Health & Fitness
4. Driver Chemical Abuse
5. Maintenance of Vehicle
6. Cargo Regulation Violations
7. Crash Statistics

Carriers due date to preview their safety performance data and also deal with any alarming conduct which could lead to accidents and fatalities on our roadways is on Dec 5, the national roll out of CSA2010.

View Full Article Here: http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/11/carriers-slow-to-respond-to-csa-2010-requirements-as-deadline-rapidly-approaches-says-brad-hollister-of-freight-access-inc/

Red Tape at Warehouse Prevents Truckers from Shelter During Tornado

Several Truck Drivers across the country have become furious over the treatment of fellow truck drivers whom had been not allowed into a Cincinnati, OH storage facility overseen by Excel Transportation. On October 26, 2010, storm sirens sounded as wind gusts exceeded 80 miles per hour, leaving drivers lacking safety from the 100-year weather system. Company spokes people from Excel Transportation and J.M. Smucker Company have assured truck drivers and also freight corporations they will equally do more to be able to give protection to drivers and also personnel any time extreme weather threatens the basic safety of professionals at or around a facility.

A Wisconsin-based trucker named Duane Soderstrom was basically not permitted safe entry into the J.M. Smucker Company owned facility during the tornado sirens. A security guard refused Mr. Soderstrom entry and demanded he return to his rig until the storm was over and that Mr. Soderstrom would be alerted once he was allowed to enter the facility once once more.

Maribeth Baderstcher, Executive for the J.M. Smucker Company conveyed her extraordinary dissatisfaction regarding the method in which truckers were treated at the facility and also assured the public that future processes would increase basic safety of all personnel for future occurrences. Ms. Baderstcher went on to mention that the safety objectives for individuals while on the J.M. Smucker building was not really achieved and acknowledged the significance of encouraging a safe climate for all, through not only extreme conditions but all times in which a person's safety is jeopardized.

Just about all parties involved in this potentially dangerous situation in Cincinnati seem to acknowledge partial responsibility. The Lease-Operator of the facility (Excel Transportation) has identified mis-communication as a important cause of the situation stating that the contracted security team appeared to be plainly executing assignments to the written requirements of the agreement rather than using commonsense into account while making important safety decisions. Lynn Andersen, Executive of Communications apologized to the truck drivers for the procedures implemented, and the danger these types of procedures may have prompted to the basic safety and well being of all involved.

The two corporations have made plans to extend their apologies directly to the truckers. The tactical error as identified by Ms. Andersen was that safety procedures for personnel during emergency situations were not extended to all people on-site at the time, but instead simply employees and personnel of Excel and or J.M. Smucker Corporation. Ms. Andersen assured drivers in which all security personnel and facilities management would extend emergency processes to take care of all personnel, individuals, and truck driver on property during emergencies and disasters.

Regardless of the action taken by management, the Fruit company left drivers with a bad taste in their mouths. Mr. Soderstrom pointed out this event topped any adverse treatment he has experienced in more than 25 years on the road. He had been extremely thankful a tornado did not indeed touch down near the facility and that no one was hurt throughout storm. Mr. Soderstrom feared what would have took place to the stranded truckers had circumstances worsened and still stays bitter at the lack of regard for the stranded truckers.

The events of October 26, 2010 must serve as a excellent reminder to all of us in the community that we as fellow inhabitants of earth need to reach out a hand to those in need. This particular occasion reminds all of us that we must apply common sense when interpreting procedures and continue to keep in mind the safety of others throughout all emergency circumstances.

By Brad Hollister
Freight Access, Inc.

Full Article Here: http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/11/truck-drivers-safety-engangered-during-tornado-by-corporate-supply-chain-red-tape/