Doubt Cast Over Mexican Truckers' English Proficiency

Doubt Cast over Mexican Truckers’ English Proficiency
Friday, April 04, 2008

Mexican truck drivers, traveling throughout the United States under the patronage of a pilot program created to test how safe Mexican trucks are on U.S. roads, are required by law to demonstrate their English-language proficiency. However, according to a testimony on March 11th at a Senate hearing, U.S. Department of Transportation regulations allow those drivers to answer questions in any language other than English when proving they recognize U.S. highway signs.

Senator Bryan Dorgan, who has always been an opponent of the program, has expressed his concern over such a clear disparity between the legal requirement and that particular regulation, arguing that the Mexican truckers’ English proficiency is an integral component of the safety issue. In addition, he has accused the Bush administration of not requiring Mexican truck drivers to meet the same level of safety standards that U.S. truck drivers meet. Chairing the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing, which was called to examine the six-month-old pilot program, Dorgan demanded an explanation from Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

Peters admitted that during border inspections Mexican truck drivers are allowed to use any language that a U.S. inspector understands when answering questions to prove they recognize U.S. signs. However, she proceeded that inspectors determine the drivers’ English proficiency through other questions, such as asking them their names, what their trucks are carrying, and where they are going.

The Transportation Department's inspector general Calvin L. Scovel III told the panel that the road-sign test is only one factor that inspectors take into account while determining the Mexican truck drivers’ English-language proficiency. However, he acknowledged in an issued assessment report that the pilot program still suffers from some serious defects.

William Quade, associate administrator at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said after the hearing that inspectors normally wait until Mexican truck drivers have demonstrated their English-language proficiency before they begin to ask them to identify signs. He adds that once the Mexican drivers’ English proficiency has been proven, the inspection needs to be carried on in any language that inspectors and drivers understand.

While opponents of the program have sought to shut it down through legislation and litigation, U.S. transportation officials state that a comprehensive inspection process confirms that Mexican trucks allowed in the program are just as safe as American trucks.

The Bush administration regards the program as a step forward toward more north-south trade between the U.S. and Mexico, a trade which would benefit the economies of both countries.

Saskatchewan Budget Focuses on Highways and Transportation Infrastructure

Saskatchewan Budget Focuses on Highways and Transportation Infrastructure
Friday, April 4, 2008

Finance Minister Rod Gantefoer handed down the first budget of the Government of Saskatchewan, which included record-high spending on highways. Gantefoer says that the $1 billion Ready for Growth Initiative is the first budget of the Saskatchewan Party and the largest infrastructure investment in the history of Saskatchewan; it focuses on ensuring that Saskatchewan enjoys safe roads in order to efficiently deliver goods to various markets worldwide, boost the provincial economy, and achieve sustainable growth.

The $1 billion Ready for Growth Initiative will increase transportation spending to $513 million, the largest Saskatchewan's transportation budget on record. Currently, the Highways and Infrastructure budget is up 15% from last year. Highways and Infrastructure Minister Wayne Elhard acknowledges that Saskatchewan is suffering from an infrastructure deficiency, a problem which has been addressed as a matter of urgency so that Saskatchewan people and goods move freely and safely throughout the province. As such, numerous, important plans, concerning building and repairing roads and highways, are currently underway.

The budget is inclusive of $137.5 million in funding allocated for upgrading thin membrane surface (TMS) highways, increasing access to Primary Weights on rural highways, twinning of Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Prince Albert, and linking Highways 1 and 16. In addition, the budget allocates $202.6 million for maintaining and repairing provincial highways. The budget further allocates $19.4 million for replacing and restoring aging bridges and culverts and another $5 million for helping rural municipalities improve municipal roads affected by truck traffic.

Thanks to Saskatchewan’s flourishing economy, $9.37 billion in revenue has been forecasted for 2008/2009, in turn prompting the government to invest in $8.57 billion in expenditures. Gantefoer concludes that the set budget is well-balanced and includes a $250 million debt reduction to help Saskatchewan be in a better position for many years to come.

Con-way Freight Awarded Top Safety Honors

Con-way Freight Awarded Top Safety Honors
Sunday, March 30, 2008

Con-way Freight was honored at the Michigan Trucking Association (MTA) Annual Safety Awards, which was held in Lansing in late February. For the second year in a row, the MTA awarded Con-way a fleet safety plaque for Outstanding Achievement in Highway Safety in the General Commodities division in recognition of its exemplary safety record and practices.

Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Con-way Freight is one of the leading less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers. It offers LTL freight delivery across North America as well as international less-than-container (LCL) ocean Freight delivery from Asia to the United States. Con-way Freight is a subsidiary of Con-way Inc., a $4.7 billion freight transportation and logistics services company.

Walter G. Heinritzi, executive director of the Michigan Trucking Association, said that Con-way Freight has clearly shown an on-going commitment to safety, and the MTA is glad to have the opportunity to honor the company again for its outstanding achievement. On the other hand, John G. Labrie, president of Con-way Freight, said that winning this award for two consecutive years is a living proof that Con-way regards safety as a top priority, and its drivers share this view by adhering strictly to safe driving practices.

Sponsored by the Great West Casualty Company, one of the largest insurers of trucking companies in the United States, the Annual Safety Awards are presented to their respective winners based on certain safety criteria that include covered miles, types of driving, and number of accidents, if any.

The Lansing-Based MTA has been serving Michigan's trucking industry since 1934. It aims at enhancing the trucking industry's image, promoting highway safety, and collecting, maintaining, and distributing information on the trucking industry.

Talk of Renegotiating NAFTA Worries Truckers

Talk of Renegotiating NAFTA Worries Truckers
Sunday, March 30, 2008

Both Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama have made campaign promises to renegotiate the 14-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Adopted back in 1994, NAFTA has sparked interest in the U.S. trucking and developed duty and tariff-free open trade among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. The Democratic candidates are to renegotiate NAFTA in an attempt to make it more favorable on labor and environmental basis. However, for truckers, any talk of renegotiating NAFTA is deeply troubling and may pose a threat to its existence.

ATA President and CEO Bill Graves spoke in favor of NAFTA and other free trade agreements, stating that free trade acts benefit American consumers. Likewise, free trade has been of help to the U.S. trucking industry. Indianapolis-based Celadon attributes 51% of its total revenue to cross-border movements in and out of Canada and Mexico. With the growth of NAFTA trade, Caledon’s growth rate in revenues from its north-south trade in and out of Mexico increased significantly from $399 million in 2005 and $414 million in 2006 to $502.7 million in 2007.

According to the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, surface transportation trade between the United States and its NAFTA partners, Canada and Mexico, saw an increase of 4.9% in 2007 over that of 2006, tallying an annual record of $797 billion. Total truck trade between the U.S. and its NAFTA partners grew significantly from $265 billion in 1994 to $554 billion in 2007, $280 billion of which came from electronics, machinery, nuclear reactors, and motor vehicles. The NAFTA trade is also balanced between imports and exports. This is important to the U.S., which as of 2006, ran a trade imbalance of $763.6 billion, up from the $716.7 billion recorded in 2005.

NAFTA continues to face further challenges. Congress has criticized the Mexico-U.S. cross-border trucking provisions and has voted to stop all funding for a pilot program that has allowed a small number of Mexican truckers to operate in America. Senator Byron Dorgan described the pilot program as being unpopular with safety advocates, the Teamsters Union, and carriers from either country.

The pilot program was supposed to open the door for U.S. and Mexican carriers to operate freely on both sides of the border. Although the pilot program allows up to 100 carriers from Mexico to apply for operating authority in the U.S., only 16 Mexican carriers with 55 trucks have sought such operating authority. Likewise, out of the 1.1 million interstate and intrastate trucking companies registered to operate in the U.S., only five U.S. carriers have applied for and received authority to operate throughout Mexico, and, out of the 8 million trucks registered in the U.S., only 45 trucks are currently operating in Mexico. Such small numbers are attributed to the fact that carriers are well aware that Congress could eliminate this limited one-year demonstration project at any time.

Although the U.S. and Mexican governments have established two supervisory groups to monitor the demonstration project, resolve its problems, and evaluate its results, safety advocates, environmentalists, and labor groups are still nervous over the potentially unsafe Mexican trucks. On the other hand, Mexican carriers feel discriminated against as they recognize that their fleets have to meet a much higher level of safety requirements than those of U.S. carriers.

Any changes to NAFTA now would probably hurt the north-south trade among the three NAFTA nations, as some on-going business in Mexico could move to either Asia or Latin America. Trucking executives, however, prefer not to worry too much about NAFTA’s future; the matter is out of their hands, and, in fact, it remains to be seen whether any talk of renegotiating NAFTA is merely campaign rhetoric or an actual threat to its existence.

Plow Truck Drivers Benefit from Snow Season

Plow Truck Drivers Benefit from Snow Season
Sunday, March 30, 2008

Snowing relentlessly, this winter has been one of the snowiest on record. While most people are fed up with the snow, independent plow drivers have another say; they really enjoy the snowy winter.

For plow truck drivers, the more the snow comes down the more money they make. Although snow plow drivers and plow business owners do acknowledge that the snow damages and wears their trucks down, they say that it is very financially rewarding, and its benefits far outweigh its risks.

City snow plow drivers keep streets clear and traffic flowing; independent snow plow drivers keep parking lots and driveways safe.

Will the Tax Stimulus Package Uplift the Trucking Industry?

Will the Tax Stimulus Package Uplift the Trucking Industry?
Monday, March 24, 2008

Starting in May, U.S. taxpayers will begin receiving stimulus checks from the U.S. government worth $100 billion in total. Congressionally mandated, the tax stimulus package aims at pushing the economy forward by encouraging consumers to indulge themselves in shopping sprees for clothes, travel, home appliances, and other luxuries. Trucking executives hope that the $100 billion economic stimulus package will improve the overall economy and break the deadlock of the supply chain caused by the increased cost of fuel.

Bob Costello, an economist for the American Trucking Associations, believes that the stimulus package will boost the overall economy, and consequently the trucking industry will see modest growth by the second half of the year. Based on Costello’s calculations, freight tonnage will see an increase of over 2 percent in the second quarter, 1.5 percent in the third, and nearly 3 percent in the fourth. Costello believes that this tax stimulus package is different from the $38 billion tax rebate enacted in 2001 in part due to its obviously much larger number and its built-in income caps, which ensure that it will go to those who are most likely to spend it.

On the other hand, Chaz Jones, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc. analyst, questions whether the stimulus package will ever boost the U.S. economy, believing that, in a $12 trillion economy, it will not have any noticeable effect. With more than half of the freight hauled by U.S. trucking companies coming from the construction, automotive, and retail industries, Jones believes that by next summer these sectors will not see any upturn in business. Jones states that inventories run short out there, and retailers are well aware of the prospects of the consumer and overall economy; a tax stimulus will simply not give much of a boost to sales.

While air freight may get some boost as consumers spend their tax rebate on line, the truckload and less-than-truckload sectors are expected to see big gains that could last up to three or four months at least.

Fuel prices, which as of March 10th saw an increase of 42% over last year, along with concurrent freight slowdown, which is hitting the trucking industry, are putting truck drivers out of work and at a near risk of losing their jobs. Mike Bruns, a Comtrak Logistics president, says what is likely to happen in the days ahead is that freight levels will increase, and drivers will continue to go out of business, resulting in a condition in which drivers are less than freight, and eventually an excess of goods will be out there with no one to haul it.

Facing increased fuel prices, shippers try to use fuel-efficient modes whenever they can. Truckloads are being diverted to the railroads, which are three times more fuel-efficient. Last week, Con-Way Inc. limited its trucks speed from 65 mph to 62 mph in an attempt to save both fuel and the environment. In this sense, the fuel savings will add up, and the trucking industry will be more sustainable and environmentally conscious.

Press Focuses on the Downside of Trucking

Press Focuses on the Downside of Trucking
March 24, 2008

The trucking industry is often surrounded by negative perceptions. Recently circulating news headlines about bald tires, faulty brakes, and out-of-service trucks draw a tainted image of the trucking industry. Only accentuating the negative, these headlines fail to capture the positives of the industry.

Between 1999 and 2005, the injury and fatal crash rate of large trucks in British Columbia has decreased by more than 16%. In addition, mechanical problems nowadays account for less than 5% of injury and fatal truck crashes.

The trucking industry is filled with efficient people, who do not make headlines. They quietly and safely push the economy forward by delivering bread and milk and hauling hospital supplies, consumer goods, and building products.

As in every other industry, the trucking industry is plagued with some people who run after easily earned money. Some negligent owners and drivers employ substandard trucks, which can endanger others as well as themselves. Such people should be duly denounced and punished. Moreover, they damage the reputations of efficient and conscientious men and women in the trucking industry who, having a strong sense of personal responsibility, choose to invest in maintenance and state-of-the-art equipment to grow their business.

Negligent and irresponsible companies opt to cut prices to increase business, a decision which leaves them with nothing to spend on maintenance. Consequently, the state of trucks is deeply compromised along with the quality of service. Shippers need to understand that not only does pricing cover a driver's time and fuel costs, but it is also indicative of the quality of service. As such, shippers should demand quality service and be willing to pay for it. When shippers care to compare the quality of service with its corresponding cost, both trucking companies and the public will benefit.

O&S Trucking Inc. to Open in Ohio

O&S Trucking Inc. to Open in Ohio
March 24, 2008

O&S Trucking Inc., a worker-owned firm based in Springfield, Missouri, said that plans of opening its first branch hub in Springfield, Ohio are afoot, and the company is expected to be fully operational in Ohio by the 1st April.

Brian Underhill, vice president of Ohio operations for O&S Trucking Inc., spoke in a release of the company’s initial plan of opening a branch in Columbus. The company said that such a plan was later ruled out due to the 11-hour dispatch time from headquarters, which, if the law limiting 11 hours of driving in a 14-hour time period changes, could prevent a driver from reaching Columbus in one shift.

Underhill and a fleet manager will take charge of Ohio operations. By the end of the year, a third employee will possibly be hired along with 50 drivers.

O&S Trucking Inc., which currently has 100 employees in Missouri and 300 company drivers, owner-operators and lease-purchase drivers, hauls refrigerated trailers. Its business extends from Oklahoma City in the west to Maine in the east and from North Carolina in the south to the Great Lakes states in the north. Its clients include Dole Food Company Inc., Kraft Foods Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., and Reckitt Benckiser PLC.

Driver Competence Essential to Safe Driving

Driver Competence Essential to Safe Driving
March 24, 2008

The most important safety feature a car or truck can have is the presence of a safe and attentive driver behind its wheel. Most traffic accidents happen due to a lack of attention on the driver’s part. Driving under the influence, drowsy driving, phone use and other electronic distractions, and emotional strife contribute to most accidents on the road.

Although a safe car or truck is vital to safe driving, it is inherently not to blame for accidents on the road. While most new vehicles are safe, within the parameters of engineering and design intent, too many drivers behind the wheel are not; their lethargy and less than perfect commitment to the act of driving are the cause of much trouble.

Safety technology only serves a competent driver well; an incompetent driver can never put the design intent of any safety device to use.

Owner-operators Struggle to Keep Business Afloat

Owner-operators Struggle to Keep Business Afloat
Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Trucking’s owner-operators have been hit with high diesel prices, cut loads, and lower shipping rates. The self-employed drivers are almost going bankrupt and seem to be at the risk of losing their jobs.

The housing decline and less consumer spending have cut into loads, and the extra trucking capacity at hand is causing freight rates to spiral downward. In addition, diesel prices, which are always higher in winter, have experienced an astronomical spike, doubling over the past four years.

According to the Department of Labor, nearly 9% of the nation’s 3.4 million truck drivers are independent owner-operators. John Saldanha, who teaches logistics at Ohio State University, said that trucking will be deeply affected if owner-operators ever lose their jobs; the trucking scene will turn into a group of regional and national oligopolies that, once the economy revives, would send shipping prices higher.

On the other hand, business looks far more promising for the large public trucking companies as they have had their stocks climb since January. Big trucking companies, like J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and YRC Worldwide Inc., tend to buy everything from fuel to tractors in bulk; as such, thousands of gallons of diesel are bought at a time on the commodities market to be stored later on.

In the end, owner-operators are left feeling neglected and on the fringe more than ever. In order to survive in the business, truckers call for caps on diesel prices, or tax credits for them and further constraint for intermediaries who broker truck loads.

Annually, rumors of a nationwide truck strike circulate. In January, some truckers kept their trucks off the road for a week in the hope that a week’s strike might be what they need to not ultimately lose their jobs.