Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/821508
12 commercial carrier journal | may 2017 JOURNAL NEWS • Tesla's electric semi-truck is expected to debut late this summer, cofounder Elon Musk announced via Twitter last month. Musk described the "Tesla Semi" as "seri- ously next level" technology that is being designed to reduce the cost of cargo transport "while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate." Musk also said that Tesla expects to unveil a pickup in 18 to 24 months. • The Georgia Department of Transportation offered $3.1 million in incentives to a contracting company to have Interstate 85 in downtown Atlanta reopened as early as May 21. The depart- ment previously had announced an "aggressive but attainable" date of June 15 to repair a 700-foot section of the roadway following a fire in GDOT's right of way underneath a bridge that caused it to collapse. The U.S. DOT previously had issued $10 million in emergency funds to help initiate repairs. • The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration increased its fine amounts based on inflation, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. A Final Rule published April 12 in theFederal Register made the higher fine amounts effective 10 days following the rule's publication. • The National Association of Small Trucking Companies reached an agreement with Help Inc. to offer the PrePassprogram's weigh station bypass and toll payment services as an option for bundled packages on NASTC's Management and Safety Program. The benefit also is offered through NASTC as a nonbundled program. • California legislators last month passed a bill to increase the excise tax on diesel fuel from 16 cents to 36 cents per gallon over 10 years to help fund a $52 billion infrastructure plan. The bill also increases the state sales tax on diesel from 9 per- cent to 13 percent. The state's gasoline tax also would increase from 28 cents to 40 cents per gallon during the same timeframe. The state is expecting to gen- erate $25.2 billion from the new tax rates, which would go into effect Nov. 1. • Schneider (CCJ Top 250, No. 8) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange April 6 under the SNDR ticker symbol. The Green Bay, Wis.- based company sold about $550 mil- INBRIEF 5/17 Trucking orgs back TWIC reform in the works in Congress T rucking organizations are pleased that Congress is considering a mea- sure to let truckers with Transportation Worker Identification Credentials receive hazardous materials endorsements with- out additional background checks. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, American Trucking Associations and National Tank Truck Carriers applauded the Surface Transportation and Maritime Security Act, reintroduced March 30. Committee chairman Sen. John Thune bill sponsored S. 763, which is similar to legislation the South Dakota Republican sponsored last September. Since 2002, the Transportation Security Administration has required TWIC for truckers and other workers seeking unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels. Truckers say undergoing separate but similar security threat assessments for the credential and HME results in duplicate fees without enhancing security. The legislation would require greater risk assessment for surface transporta- tion by TSA and also mandates formation of the Surface Transportation Advisory Committee to enhance communication with the agency and participation in policy and pending regulations. – Jill Dunn The National Tank Truck Carriers supports a bill that would allow TWIC holders to obtain their hazmat endorsement without the need for additional background checks. Trucking execs: Don't neglect infrastructure T rucking executives testified last month before a congressional subcommittee about the industry's need for greater invest- ment in the U.S. highway system. Mike Ducker, president and chief execu- tive officer of FedEx Freight (CCJ Top 250, No. 2), and Derek Leathers, president and CEO of Werner Enterprises (No. 11), testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security, part of the chamber's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. "Without improved surface infrastructure and wise policy decisions from Washington, FedEx and other companies cannot continue to help grow the U.S. economy and increase jobs," Ducker said. "The need for significant investment in our infrastructure has never been more critical." Both Ducker and Leathers told the panel that the United States must invest more in its roads and bridges so that the industry can move goods safely and efficiently. "Congress should concentrate investment in major freight bottlenecks and con- gestion that hamper the efficient movement of both freight and passenger travel," Leathers said. "The additional mileage and congestion combined with high freight demands and insufficient truck parking continues to cause needless added stress and frustration to our driver workforce." – CCJ Staff Trucking executives told a Senate panel that infrastructure improvements will help move goods safely and e ciently.