Listed below are most popular news stories about trucking industry.
The new patented Minimizer Tire Mask system reduces masking and cleanup time by 90%. Now, even the oldest wheels can look brand new. The Minimizer Tire Mask system is designed to eliminate the need to tape and paper mask your wheels when painting the rims, making prep and cleanup a breeze. The tire mask kit protects tires from primer and paint overspray when painting rims.
The hours-of-service rules that went into place in 2013 hurt trucking companies economically. The HOS rules reduced fleet productivity by 3% to 5%, and drivers lost between $1.6 billion to $3.9 billion in wages as a result of the legislation. Rates rose as capacity tightened, but not enough to offset the operational losses. A recent study by the American Transportation Research Institute now suggests that the rules might have also had a negative impact on safety.
Even with diesel prices dropping, fuel is still one of the largest expenses for carriers. The better you’re able to control that cost, the more profitable your business will be. One of the easiest ways to manage fuel costs is using a fuel card rather than relying on a corporate credit card or cash for diesel purchases.
Understand how their vehicles will operate within their business application, including driver needs and skills, delivery schedules and routes, terrain, and a host of other factors. This means asking a lot of questions about your fleet — a list that constantly changes with every new piece of technology.
To begin, the medical standards have not changed as a result of this rule, nor has the training/certification of the medical professionals that perform the exam as required under the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME). Only the recordkeeping surrounding the medical exam was updated.
Since last summer, many shippers have been diverting a portion of their cargo from the West Coast, particularly the combined Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, to less crowded berths on the Gulf Coast and East Coast, preferring ships that travel from Asia through the Panama or Suez Canals.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public comment on its potential development of a program that would take into consideration a motor carrier’s “proactive voluntary implementation of state-of-the-art best practices and technologies” when evaluating the company’s safety program.
For an owner-operator on contract with a distributor that pays for each delivery — rather than by the hour — taking longer to do any given job means a smaller paycheck at the end of the month.
