Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/129328
JOURNAL NEWS INBRIEF 5/13 • Freightliner Trucks recalled 46,000 2013 and 2014 model-year Cascadia trucks produced between May 7, 2012, and March 2, 2013, due to glitches that cause daytime running lights to become nonfunctional at points after the turn signal function is activated. All owners will be notified by May 15, Daimler Trucks North America said. Truck owners may contact DTNA at 800-547-0712. • FMCSA ordered shutdowns of Oak Park, Continued from page 9 of enforcement and industry training if the court's decision alters the rule, Shuster stated. Shuster's letter also was signed by ranking committee member U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, (D-W.Va.); U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), chairman of the highway subcommittee; and U.S. Pete DeFazio (D-Ore.), ranking subcommittee member. At press time, neither FMCSA nor LaHood had responded to Shuster's letter, and the court hearing ATA's case had not yet released a ruling. FMCSA made the hours-of-service rule final in December 2011, and the changes go into effect July 1. ATA says FMCSA doesn't understand the science that went into the rulemaking, specifically the 30-minute mandatory break. It's also arguing the rule would restrict drivers from being able to manage their schedules effectively. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has intervened in the case on ATA's side. Meanwhile, Public Citizen is suing FMCSA because it says the hours rules are not restrictive enough. – CCJ Staff Mich.-based Highway Star Inc. and Atlantabased General Trucking Inc. and Southern Mexican carriers denied entry into cross-border program Transportation Inc. for various violations, includ- he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in early April said that two carriers that had applied to participate in its cross-border pilot program were denied eligibility based on their unsuccessful completion of the Pre-Authorization Safety Audit. Transportes Mor SA de CV and Adriana De Leon Amara both failed a section of the audit that requires carriers entering the program to "verify a controlled substances and alcohol testing program consistent with" federal regulations. They are the first two carriers to fail to complete the PASA since the program's inception in 2011. Ten Mexican carriers have completed the PASA successfully and have been granted U.S. operating authority by FMCSA. Transportes Mor SA de CV began its audit in May 2012 and completed it in September 2012. Adriana De Leon Amara started and ended the PASA on Nov. 27, 2012. – James Jaillet ing not forcing drivers to comply with hours-ofservice rules, disregarding driver qualifications and not cooperating with federal investigators. • Close to 70 percent of carriers are using electronic onboard recorders, according to a Transport Capital Partners survey; 35 percent of responding fleets already are using e-logs on all of their trucks, up from 25 percent in May 2012. Another 10 percent are considering using e-logs but haven't begun the transition yet, TCP said. • A U.S. Department of Labor judge ordered Cargo Express to pay a driver deemed wrongfully terminated $90,000 in back pay and punitive damages after he sued the carrier for firing him in retaliation for refusing to drive a truck that did not comply with safety standards. • The United States and Canada agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding to implement a pilot project in which truck cargo heading into the United States will be preinspected in Canada before crossing the border. • The U.S. Department of Energy is sticking to its forecast that the average price of a gallon of diesel fuel will drop this year and again next year, predicting in the most recent Short Term Energy Outlook – produced by DOE's Energy Information Administration – that diesel fuel will average $3.94 a gallon this year, a 3-cent drop from 2012's average price. 10 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL CCJ_0513_JOURNAL.indd 10 T Wabash CEO: Trailer demand could be longest, strongest in history T railer demand will remain well above replacement levels in 2013 and through 2016, Dick Giromini, chief executive officer of Wabash National, told attendees at Heavy Duty Dialogue, produced by the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association. "This period of demand we're in could be the strongest cycle, if not the longest cycle, in our history," Giromini said. Demand is being driven by an aging fleet, he said; the average trailer is a record 8½ years old. Regulations such as hours of service, Compliance Safety Accountability and those required by the California Air Resources Board also are pushing carriers to buy new equipment to improve safety and fuel economy. Giromini highlighted a number of technologies available to improve fuel economy, including trailer side skirts, low-rolling-resistance tires (dual and wide-base) and the trailer-mounted gap. "We're exploring every option available when it comes to aerodynamics," he said. Devices such as trailer boat tails and undertray systems also are being tested. Looking toward the future, Giromini pointed to variable ride height suspensions that vary trailer height while in motion. "The closer the trailer is to the ground, the less drag, and the better the fuel economy," he said. – Linda Longton | MAY 2013 4/25/13 3:28 PM