Latest Industry News Briefs Courtesy of PMTA
ATA Praises DOL
Opinion Letter on Sleeper Berth Time
Arlington, VA… American
Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear thanked the Department of
Labor for issuing an opinion clarifying that time spent in the sleeper berth
does not count as compensable time.
“ATA welcomes today’s opinion letter from DOL
Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton that concluded time spent
by a commercial driver in the sleeper berth does not count as compensable hours
under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, unless the driver is actually
performing work or on call.
“This opinion, which is consistent with
decades-old DOL regulations, the weight of judicial authority, and the long
understanding of the trucking industry, clears up confusion created by two
recent court decisions that called the compensability of sleeper berth time
into question.
“ATA commends Acting Secretary Pizzella and
Administrator Stanton for adopting a straightforward, plain-language reading of
the law, rather than the burdensome alternative interpretation embraced by
those outlier decisions.
“ATA also commends the Department for making
guidance like this available through opinion letters, which provide an
opportunity for stakeholders to better understand their compliance obligations
prospectively, rather than settling such matters only after the fact, through
costly and wasteful litigation.”
ATA Hails Release of Proposed Hours-of-Service Improvements
Arlington, VA… The American
Trucking Associations hailed proposed changes to the hours-of-service rules as
a way to improve safety on our nation’s highways while providing additional
flexibility for professional drivers.
“Secretary Chao and Administrator Martinez are
to be commended for their commitment to an open and data-driven process to
update the hours-of-service rules,” said ATA President and CEO Chris
Spear. “We look forward to studying and understanding how these proposed
changes will impact our industry so we can provide relevant data and
information to strengthen and support a good final rule that bolsters safety
and provides drivers needed flexibility.
The rule, released by the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration today, proposes several changes to
the hours-of-service rule, but maintains the regulation’s core principles.
“In the 15 years since the last major
revisions to the hours-of-service, we as an industry have learned a great deal
about how these rules impact our drivers,” said ATA Chairman Barry Pottle,
president of Pottle’s Transportation. “The valuable experience and data
we’ve gained over that time will make it easier to provide flexibility for
drivers to get additional rest and find parking while keeping our highways
safe.”
“ATA intends to fully review these proposed
changes so we can shape a strong rule for our drivers, our industry and the
motoring public,” Spear said.
ATA Praises Choice of Eugene Scalia as Labor Secretary Nominee
Arlington, VA… American
Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear praised President Trump’s
choice of Eugene Scalia as the nominee for Secretary of Labor.
“I have had the privilege of knowing Gene
Scalia for nearly two decades, and as former colleagues, know firsthand his
expansive breadth of experience with issues currently facing the 21st century
workforce and our nation’s economy,” Spear said. “Gene also has a deep
knowledge of and appreciation for the Department of Labor’s mission and
responsibilities.
“I have full confidence in Gene’s leadership,
and believe he is an inspired choice for Secretary of Labor by President Trump.
“We encourage the Senate to move quickly on
confirmation, and look forward to working with Gene Scalia as Secretary on
issues of importance to the trucking industry, including the critical issue of
workforce development.”
ATA Secures Significant Victory in Ongoing Tariffs Dispute
“Trucking and trade are synonymous and we are
happy with this most recent announcement by the United States Trade
Representative that these 53-foot domestic containers won’t be subject to
tariffs,” said ATA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for
International Trade Policy Bob Costello. “We explained that applying tariffs to
these containers would have a tremendous impact on the entire freight logistics
industry, and ultimately on U.S. consumers, so we are very pleased with the
decision.”
In June, ATA told the USTR
that the only two manufacturers of these kind of containers, used commonly in
intermodal transportation, were located in China, and as such, freight
transportation companies would have no choice but to pay the additional cost
because no domestic alternative existed.
“Because there are no U.S.-based makers of
these containers, we estimate the logistics industry would’ve paid an
additional $63 million in the first year, and nearly $750 million more over the
next decade for the equipment if these tariffs had not been rescinded,”
Costello said. “We appreciate Ambassador Lighthizer and the entire USTR for
their willingness listen to ATA on this critical issue and we look forward to
working with them to continue to advance U.S. trade interests and to grow our
economy.”
ATA Statement on
Highway Reauthorization Bill Release
“We thank Chairman Barrasso and Ranking Member
Carper for taking this important first step toward reauthorizing our nation's
surface transportation systems.
"The strength of
our economy relies on sound roads and bridges, as more than 70% of our nation's
goods travel by highway on the back of trucks. With the right investment, we
can stem America's deepening infrastructure crisis and instead achieve a 21st
century infrastructure worthy of the world's leading economy.
“We look forward to
working closely with this committee and the other relevant committees on a
legislative package that includes the long-term, sustainable funding that our
highway programs critically need."
Hoffa:
Proposed Hours Of Service Changes Would Put Road Safety At Risk
“While we continue to review these proposed
regulatory changes by the FMCSA, the Teamsters have serious concerns about what
we have seen thus far when it comes to these hours of service reforms.
“In an effort to increase so-called
‘flexibility’ for trucking companies, the FMCSA is abandoning safety and
allowing drivers to push themselves to the limit even further. Changes for
short-haul truckers, for example, would extend their days from 12 to 14 hours
on the job. That means a longer and more exhausting workday for tens of
thousands of American workers. The Teamsters are also concerned about language
changing the 30-minute rest break and the ability of drivers to press the pause
button on their hours of service clock.
“Trucking is already one of the nation’s most
dangerous jobs. We shouldn’t be sacrificing the health and safety of drivers
just to pad the profits of their big business bosses.”
Founded in 1903, the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women
throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter
@Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.
NATSO, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Thank Congressman
Brindisi for Commitment to Local Business
Alexandria, VA… NATSO member Love’s Travel Stops &
Country Stores today thanked U.S. Congressman Anthony Brindisi for visiting its
Binghamton, N.Y., location to learn about the critical role that travel plazas
play in local economies as well as to discuss issues of importance to the truck
stop and travel plaza industry.
During the visit, Congressman Brindisi, representing New
York’s 22nd District, spent time behind the counter interacting with store
employees, serving customers and meeting constituents. Congressman Brindisi
also toured the location to learn more about how the fuel retailer operates.
“We appreciate that Representative Brindisi took time to
visit our location and meet with our customers and our employees to learn more
about the fuel retailing industry and how we serve both the local community and
the nation’s professional truck drivers,” said Love’s Manager of Government
Affairs Tom Kirby. “Representative Brindisi was able to see first-hand our
commitment to the communities in which we operate. We commend Congressman
Brindisi for exhibiting a real understanding of how federal policy directly
affects the daily operations of our business, our employees and our customers.”
During the visit, Love’s officials emphasized the vital
role that travel stops play in helping people and goods move throughout our
country. In addition, the travel center industry serves local communities,
including playing an important role in providing access to healthy food options
for beneficiaries of the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP).
Thursday’s discussion also included the high
interchange fees that travel stops must pay every time a customer swipes a
credit or debit card as well as the need for Congress to extend the Biodiesel
Tax Credit. The biodiesel tax credit allows fuel retailers to sell
cleaner-burning biodiesel at a price that is cost competitive with diesel,
thereby lowering prices at the pump and encouraging the use of more
environmentally friendly fuels.
New Hours Rules Mean
Smarter, Safer Choices For Truckers OOIDA: “It’s about
freakin’ time.” Literally.
Washington, DC… A common
sense approach has finally been proposed by the federal government regarding
how long truck drivers work and drive. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers
Association thanks the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for
listening to truck drivers’ concerns and including provisions that make it
easier for them to avoid heavy traffic, bad weather and other less than ideal
situations.
“Truckers have families and want to get home
safely just like everyone else. They are the most knowledgeable, highway safety
advocates and the agency’s proposal, overall, recognizes that fact,” said Todd
Spencer, President of OOIDA.
The newly announced
proposed rulemaking includes expanding the short haul air-mile radius from 100
to 150 air miles, extending the short haul duty period from 12 to 14 hours,
modifying the 30-minute rest break to only apply after 8 hours driving, the
creation of an “adverse driving” provision, the ability to stop the 14-hour
clock, and options for drivers to split their time, commonly referred to as a
split sleeper berth provision.
“Over the past
decade, truck drivers have been more regulated than ever, and more compliant
than ever, and yet crashes are going up,” said Spencer. “We have pushed for
flexibility in hours of service regulations for years, long before the current
Administration. We do thank Administrator Ray Martinez for his commitment to
the issue and for listening to those that actually drive trucks for a living.”
The Association
points out that truckers are expected to comply with a litany of regulations
while meeting the needs of shippers and receivers that are often oblivious to
those rules. Reports on delays show that it’s common for drivers to wait 30-40
hours per week to be loaded or unloaded by customers.
“There may not be a
one-size fits all solution, but the proposed changes are a positive start since
truckers don’t have any control over their schedules or traffic conditions. For
too long and too often, they find themselves in unsafe circumstances because of
current, overly restrictive rules that decrease highway safety.”
“We thank our members for their participation
in the process and encourage them to remain proactive in making comments and
communicating with lawmakers on this and all issues that affect them,” added
Spencer.
The Owner-Operator
Independent Drivers Association is the largest, national trade association
representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and
professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more than 160,000
members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the
greater Kansas City, Mo. area.
Trucking Industry Revenues Top $796 Billion in 2018
Arlington, VA… The American Trucking Associations
released the latest edition of its annual data compendium – ATA American Trucking Trends 2019 – which
showed that the industry’s revenues jumped to $796.7 billion in 2018, up from
$700.1 billion the previous year.
“2018 was a year
of dynamic growth for the trucking industry,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob
Costello. “Trends is a simple, one-stop resource to see where our industry is
so executives and policymakers can make informed decisions about where it is
going.”
Among the other findings in Trends:
•In 2018, trucks
moved 11.49 billion tons of freight, 71.4% of the nation’s tonnage freight.
•Trucking’s
revenues accounted for 80.3% of the nation’s freight bill.
•Trade – especially
with Mexico and Canada – is very important to trucking. Trucks moved 67.4% of
surface freight between the U.S. and Canada – up 3.6% in 2018 – and 83.5% of
cross-border trade with Mexico, up 10.2% from the previous year.
•There are 7.8
million people employed in trucking-related jobs, up 100,000 from the previous
year. This includes 3.5 million professional drivers.
•Women make up 6.6%
of the industry’s drivers and minorities account for 40.4% of truckers.
•Most carriers are
small companies – 91.3% of fleets operate six or fewer trucks and 97.4% operate
20 or fewer.
“ATA believes good decisions are based on good data, and Trends is full of strong data, which is why it finds a home on the desks of elected officials, regulators and executives across the supply chain,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. The report is indispensable for use by trucking companies, industry suppliers, logistics providers, analysts, public policy decision makers and many others. ATA American Trucking Trends 2019 is available for sale now at ATA Business Solutions.