Community Partners

Community Partners
August 14, 2008

America – the land of opportunity.

America – the land of community.

Every year, communities across America demonstrate that, underneath the hustle and bustle of everyday life, lay the hearts and souls of millions of hard-working people who recognize the need to give back to their communities a little of what they have received.

Statistics show that volunteerism is on the rise in the U.S. As a result of the partial recession that has struck worldwide, many communities are taking up the slack in social programs that would otherwise be understaffed or non-existent. Also, as gas prices remain high, many people are working together to create solutions to help themselves and others deal with the crisis.

But, beyond donating human resources, America is also a leading country for philanthropy, both private and corporate. Despite sluggish economic indicators in 2007, Americans reached a new record for giving, donating $307 billion to charities, up almost 4 percent from the prior year.

Although corporations only accounted for roughly 5 percent of this philanthropy, it is important to note that behind corporations are people. Many companies have instituted unique corporate programs that attempt to attract increased amounts of donations in various ways. Some create challenges; others institute matching programs. Interesting to note is that charitable giving takes places from small mom-and-pop groceries way up to huge mega-corporations.

A prime example of corporate America helping support local communities is the program initiated and sponsored by the Wal-Mart Foundation and the fleet of private truck drivers that serve Wal-Mart stores in Arkansas.

The Wal-Mart Corporation is a strong supporter of education and supports numerous educational endeavors through its corporate foundation, donating millions of dollars annually for a variety of community educational programs across the nation.

During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (August 24 – 30), private truck drivers for Wal-Mart will be driving extra carefully. The Wal-Mart Foundation has pledged to donate to local schools one cent for every accident-free mile driven by the drivers. Based on last year's program, schools will receive between $1,000 –$5,000. Last year, Wal-Mart transportation offices nationwide contributed more than $150,000 to their community schools.

Wal-Mart is proud of the safety record of their drivers, and is equally proud to be a sponsor of local education programs. Similarly, the truck drivers are equally proud to do their part in supporting education. By working together at a grass roots level, programs like this are a win-win situation for everybody.

Showing Appreciation

Showing Appreciation
August 6, 2008

You can say what you want about America, both good and bad. Whatever you're looking for, you're bound to find in one of the states of the Union. But, there is one aspect of America that is unsurpassed around the world. In fact, the country probably holds an international record. The U.S. is unparalleled in establishing National Days and Weeks for many causes that Americans wish to celebrate or appreciate.

During the week of August 24 -30, Americans around the country will have the opportunity to say thank you for delivering America. That's right! National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is all about saying "thanks" to the nearly 3.5 million men and women who daily move the goods and products that make up the national economy. Without America's truck drivers, the country simply could not function.

The first wave of recognition is from elected officials. In many states, governors have issued official proclamations designating the week as Truck Driver Appreciation Week in their respective states.

Next in line are the national motor carriers, state trucking associations and trucking industry manufacturers and suppliers. In the past, they have honored drivers in various ways including safety awards, cash bonuses, gifts, extra paid holidays, free meals and company picnics. Other companies have arranged special sales on truck parts and accessories at reduced prices. Some companies even had management roll up their sleeves and wash drivers' trucks. And, sometimes, even a simple SMS message of thanks can bring a smile to the driver out on the road.

But what about showing appreciation from outside the industry? After all, everyone benefits from America's truckers.

One promotional company on Long Island (N.Y.) prepared a catalogue of promotional gifts for this special week with everything from posters and banners to travel mugs, t-shirts, and even first aid kits. The gifts of appreciation are plenty but, of course, where there's a cause, there's a buck to be made.

On the other hand, many local businesses around the country are taking the opportunity to say thanks to the people who help keep them supplied. No direct profits to be made from the deal – just good old fashioned "thank you" for a job well done.

A fine example is to be found in Toledo, Ohio. A local insurance agency, that insures a large number of trucks and drivers, is taking the opportunity of this week to give something back. The agency is sponsoring a contest to encourage drivers to send e-mails or short videos describing how they best employ computer technology to stay ahead in a tough economy. The winner with the most creative answer will receive a new Dell laptop computer with gaming capabilities and a built-in web cam. Runners up will receive awards of hundreds of dollars of free fuel.

As National Truck Drivers Appreciation Week approaches, hopefully many other local businesses will take the initiative and find ways to thank those dedicated drivers who help keep America supplied and functioning 24/7.

Unemployment and the New Jersey Trucker

Unemployment and the New Jersey Trucker
July 28, 2008

June 2008 was the sixth month in a row that the United States lost jobs. Across the nation, 62,000 jobs were lost in one month, bringing the total this year to a staggering 438,000. This is the longest losing employment streak in the US since 2002. The unemployment rate, currently holding steady at 5.5 percent, is expected to climb and will likely top 6 percent early next year. Currently, there are approximately 8.5 million unemployed Americans.

June was an exceptionally hard month for the Garden State. Over 4,200 jobs were lost throughout the state, almost 7 percent of the national total. All the jobs were in the private sector. Of all the industries affected by the layoffs, the hardest hit was the trucking industry. Nearly one quarter of the jobs lost in June - 1,000 jobs - were trucking jobs.

In what appears to be a strange irony, the trucking industry throughout the US is showing signs of recovery and even posting profits in many states. On one hand, thousands of jobs are being cut throughout the industry. Due to the excessive rise in fuel prices, maintaining large fleets has become economically hazardous, especially for independent companies. The result has been a sharp increase in company closures and bankruptcies. However, consumer demand for transport has not declined. In fact, the remaining companies, having downsized and consolidated, are having difficulties keeping up with the demand. This has resulted in a seller's market for services, with high prices of fuel being absorbed by the consumer, and profits increasing for the industry. In the middle of this economic see-saw is the trucker. Many independent drivers cannot compete with the large companies, and many large companies have trimmed the number of employees in order to remain profitable.

New Jersey has seen a slump in the housing market which, in turn, has reduced the demand for building products and home furnishings. This reduction, combined with major declines in statewide manufacturing, has contributed heavily to lost trucking jobs as these industries are major customers of the transport market.

The Rutgers Economic Advisory Service, which studies the New Jersey economy, does not see any immediate relief in site for the state. In fact, indicators show that New Jersey will continue losing jobs until 2010. They predict that the state's economy will begin to turn around in the second quarter of 2010 and the state will recover its lost jobs by mid-2011.

Until then, many residents of New Jersey's hardest hit industries, including its truckers, face a worrisome future.

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.

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.