Dealerships will be getting more maintenance business from North America’s truck fleets, at least in the short to medium term, thanks largely to their continued development of skilled technicians, according to Kumar Saha, an industry analyst with Frost and Sullivan’s Automotive & Transportation practice. Continue Reading

A quarterly survey of fleets conducted by Transport Capital Partners (TCP) indicates that rising health care costs are increasing fiscal pressure on their bottom lines as well as complicating efforts to recruit drivers and independent contractors. Continue Reading

All the practical implications of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (now Public Law 111-353) are not yet spelled out when it comes to the trucking industry. What is clear, however, is that the new law, if it withstands post-enactment efforts by opponents still seeking revisions and/or financing cuts, will further tighten federal control over the transportation of food – from equipment and procedures to traceability and accountability. Continue Reading

As of January 3, 2012, commercial truck or bus drivers will face civil penalties of up to $2,750, per violation, for using handheld cell phones while operating a vehicle. The new rule, announced in November by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, will include a maximum penalty of $11,000 for companies that permit this behavior. Continue Reading

The turnover rate for truckload drivers at large fleets rose to 89% in the third quarter of 2011, the fourth straight quarterly increase, according to the American Trucking Assns. (ATA). The rising rate is an indication of increased demand and competition for drivers said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. Continue Reading

Among alternative power solutions, hybrid technology is the favorite to be the leader in the global marketplace among medium-heavy commercial truck and buses by 2020, but its shortfalls, particularly financial, will remain. A new study by Frost & Sullivan, a global research firm, says that hybrids will quickly eclipse even more expensive technologies like compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The leading providers of these hybrids are projected to be North America–where some nearly 50 percent of the projected 300,000-plus electric buses and vehicles on the Continue Reading

Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night, assures the U.S. Postal Service creed, will prevent your mail from being delivered. These days, the government agency could add a few more challenges they must overcome, such as neither aging vehicles nor fledgling finances. A new Government Accountability Report finds that refurbishing or replacing the USPS delivery fleet would cost in the billions of dollars, which it doesn’t have, leaving it no choice but to pay thousands per vehicle to maintain them. The report noted that most of these costs went to unscheduled Continue Reading

Despite the positive numbers from FTR Associates about Class 8 truck sales, uncertainty in the industry still lingers, causing some fleets to weigh new engine technologies and even the early signs of a driver shortage affect their buying decisions, according to the most recent Fleet Sentiment Report from CK Commercial Vehicle Research. Orders are being driven by increases in freight volume, replacement of aging equipment, ordering units for evaluation of new engine technology. Some fleets are considering adding used equipment, even as a rising percentage, 50 percent up from 27.5 percent in the first Continue Reading

About 8 percent of the 650,000 carriers the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is tracking will receive warning letters in the next two months, according to agency. That makes for a total of about 50,000 letters warning carriers that their performance merited “alert” status by falling below acceptable levels on at least one of CSA’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, or BASICs. Those BASICs, such as unsafe or fatigued driving, form the statistical heart of CSA’s safety meas-urement system, which assigns a percentage ranking on each BASIC and Continue Reading

Truckers can expect to see more roadside inspections after the implementation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA 2010) model later this year. The model is ultimately aimed at reducing crash risks, and according to the safety specialist at Penske Truck Leasing and former South Carolina state transportation police officer, fleets will be challenged to completely rethink their safety management practices. Under this new model, carriers will bear the most responsibility for all safety components because their drivers will be Continue Reading