TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2022.06.18 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers, written by Vicki Simons for the week ending June 18, 2022.
We welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.
1. Regarding pay, tolls, taxes, excise tax, UCR fee, and inflation:
Pay
- Driver Inc. business model deprives workers of basic rights: O’Regan
Quote: “A four-point test determines whether someone is actually an independent contractor, covering control over work, the ownership of tools, the chance of profit and the risk of loss. Other signs of misclassified employees include company uniforms, decals on tractors, and whether drivers have to follow company policies and procedures.”
- Truck drivers lost $4.8 trillion through overtime rules
Quote: “Even though the FLSA guaranteed overtime pay to many workers, the same law has a motor carrier exemption, which says ‘any employee with respect to whom the Secretary of Transportation has the power to establish qualifications and maximum hours’ is not guaranteed overtime pay.”
The exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act, in my opinion, prevents truckers from being paid “fairly,” and needs to be updated.
If you agree, please contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators about this.
Tolls
- Closing Statements of RhodeWorks Tolling Trial
- E-ZPass V-toll notification bill advances in Pennsylvania Land Line Tolls
- Illinois Tollway launches hot weather patrols
- Indiana road tolls rising nearly 10% in July
- States Jacking Up Truck Tolls Despite Record-High Diesel, Inflation Costs
Taxes
- Connecticut will see a 9 cent diesel tax increase, state announces at deadline
- Connecticut’s tax on diesel fuel will increase beginning July 1st
- Feeling the pinch: Connecticut to raise diesel tax 9 cents on July 1
Excise tax
If you believe that the excise tax needs to be repealed, please contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators.
- Bipartisan legislation intro’d again to repeal excise tax on trucks
- Congress again eyes repeal of federal excise tax on trucks
- House Bill Would Repeal Federal Excise Tax
UCR fee
If you believe that action needs to be taken on the UCR fee, please contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators.
- FMCSA reopens comment period on UCR fee reduction proposal
- UCR comment period to reopen for 14 days
- UCR fees shouldn’t be used as ‘slush fund,’ OOIDA says
Inflation
- At Los Angeles Port, Biden vows to battle inflation as prices keep climbing
- Fed Hikes Rates 75 Basis Points, Intensifying Inflation Fight
2. Regarding accident, fatality, alcohol, and drugs:
Accident
- Police PIT maneuver cause chain reaction crash during pursuit
Although the article doesn’t define it, according to Wikipedia: “The PIT maneuver (pursuit intervention technique) or TVI (tactical vehicle intervention) is a pursuit tactic by which a pursuing car can force a fleeing car to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and stop.”
- Residents say truckers who strike local bridge “probably shouldn’t be driving the truck”
Here we go again… the bridge in question has a clearance of 10 foot, 9 inches tall.
Obviously, it is too short for a 13 foot, 6 inch high truck to go under.
Learn to use a truckers’ atlas to navigate yourself and do not rely on non-commercial motor vehicle-specific GPS units for low clearance information.
- Sheriff: Pile-up crash result of trucker adjusting his radio
Quote: “As he was messing with the radio, the driver failed to notice traffic stopped ahead for construction. The truck then crashed into a camper trailer being pulled by a pickup, causing both vehicles to jackknife and block the roadway. The pickup hauling a trailer and the semi truck then collided with an SUV.”
Actively work to reduce and eliminate distracted driving behaviors in your truck.
Fatality
We extend our condolences to the families of those who died.
- 1 dead after motorcycle collides with 18-wheeler
- 1 dead, 2 injured after 18-wheeler crashes into wreck scene on I-45
- Boston shipping terminal shut down after truck driver fatally struck by truck
- Child dies after SUV pulls into path of big rig
- Motorist dead after driver runs stop sign
- One dead after dump truck falls off Texas overpass
- Three dead in fiery two big rig crash on I-80 in Wyoming Friday morning
- Tractor-trailer driver dies in fiery crash on New Jersey Turnpike
Alcohol
Never, ever drink something alcoholic before you drive any vehicle. Period.
- Big rig operator who drove truck off overpass onto I-40 facing DWI charge
- Maine troopers say erratic truck driver’s BAC was four times the legal limit
- POLICE: Drunk trucker overturns on NY I-81 bridge
- POLICE: Trucker in intensive care after driving drunk down embankment
Drugs
Never, ever take or haul illegal drugs before you drive any vehicle. Period.
- Every single workplace’ affected by drug use: Snider-Adler
- Georgia inspector follows his nose to weigh station drug bust
3. Regarding fuel, oil, autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, idling, and emissions:
Fuel
- Big diesel futures drop to end the week
- Company planning major new diesel refinery in Nevada
- Cummins Leadership: Hydrogen Has Important Future Role in Trucking
- Diesel Crisis Likely to Stay Unfixed by Oil Refining Revival
- Diesel Hits New Record at $5.718 a Gallon
- Diesel prices: The loss of US refining capacity is making things worse
- Diesel thieves strike US
- Economy feeling effects of record fuel prices
- FreightWaves SONAR shows daily fluctuations in ULSD wholesale prices
- Gas Hits $5 a Gallon for First Time, According to AAA
- Gas tax holidays pursued in Pennsylvania
- Hydrogen-powered equipment deployed at Montreal port
- National diesel price average up slightly % % Land Line Fuel prices
- New DOE methodology yields small change in weekly benchmark diesel price
- No Diesel Shortages at TA, CEO Pertchik Says
- Oregon Alerts Portland-Area Truckers About Diesel Retrofit Law
- Pilot Diversifying into Industrial CNG, Hydrogen
- Weathering rising fuel costs requires team effort between shippers, carriers
- Weekly Fuel Report: June 14, 2022
- White House Weighs Fuel Export Limits as Pump Prices Surge
Oil
- Biden Tells US Oil Refiners Record Profits ‘Not Acceptable’
- Could Immediate Increases in U.S. Oil Production Create Jobs?
Autonomous vehicles
I most vigorously oppose the use of self-driving, autonomous, or driverless commercial motor vehicles on the same roads as the motoring pubic, but share these as a courtesy to help you stay informed.
- Autonomous vehicle bill advances in Pennsylvania
- Autonomous vehicle crash reports reveal little information
- TuSimple co-founder launches plan to build hydrogen-powered autonomous trucks
- Waymo tops NHTSA’s list for autonomous vehicle crashes
Electric vehicles
- Automakers Seek Lifting of EV Tax Credit Cap
- Blink Charging Acquires SemaConnect to Boost EV Infrastructure
- Effect of EVs on gas cars
- Electrifying Delivery Fleets Is One Solution to World’s Car Obesity Problem
- Nacarato Truck Center becomes Volvo Trucks first certified EV dealership in Tennessee
Idling
Emissions
4. Regarding inspections, operations, crossovers, business, insurance, and retention:
Inspections
If you keep yourself and your rig perpetually ready for an inspection at any time, you won’t be caught off-guard.
- Nebraska troopers held two day surprise inspection blitz in Sarpy County
- VIDEO: Georgia cop gives a truck driver a ‘rolling warning’ about his mud flaps
- West Virginia inspectors find more than 600 violations during Roadcheck
- What Truck Drivers Need to Know About Operation Safe Driver July 10-16
- Wyoming ‘Trooper in a Truck’ blitz results in dozens of citations
Operations
- VIDEO: Which driver is more in the wrong here?
The video does not state where this incident took place or what the speed limit is.
The driver of the red truck (recording video) is said to be going 56 mph, although I cannot see that verification on the video.
Supposedly, the video caption (which I never saw) said this, “The white truck took out to pass him on the end of passing lanes and the red truck would not let him.”
Well, if the passing lanes ended, that should have been the end of the attempt to pass.
If the driver of the red truck was doing the speed limit the entire time, then it follows that the driver of the white truck was speeding in order to try to pass.
It is reasonable — although certainly not required — for a driver going more slowly, to allow another driver driving faster to pass.
It is clearly illegal for anyone to pass on a double solid-yellow line!
The driver of the white truck attempted to force the driver of the red truck to either move over on the shoulder or slow down and allow the pass to complete — which is clearly a type of bullying on the road.
This type of behavior can lead to road rage.
It is only by the grace of God that no other vehicle was coming from the other direction because if there had been, the driver of the white truck could have been involved in a head-on accident!
Toward the end of the video, the driver of the red truck was seen going more quickly than the driver of the white truck, but I cannot tell if that is because both of them were climbing a hill and the white truck was heavier.
In my opinion, this video leaves out some crucial information.
While I appreciate that the driver of the white truck wanted to pass the driver of the red truck, it is never right to attempt illegal maneuvers to accomplish that.
How should this situation have been resolved?
If it was clear that the driver of the white truck would not have slowed down the driver of the red truck after a pass, it would have been kind for the driver of the red truck to slow down a little to let the driver of the white truck to pass.
Crossovers
- Wisconsin authorities use Facebook post to highlight who can, can’t use interstate crossovers
- WSP: Crash serves as reminder that not everyone can use highway crossovers
Business
- Is Trucking Business Success Just Luck?
- Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit to address key industry issues
Insurance
Retention
5. Regarding climate change, border, vax, and limiters:
Climate change
- Climate change is disrupting the trucking industry
According to a May 11, 2022, article entitled Environmental impact of battery-electric Class 8 trucks:
Quote from article
(second paragraph appears to be the image description and third paragraph appears to be the image explanation):
—–
The report found that while diesel trucks produce more CO2 emissions during operation, diesel far outshines both battery-electric and fuel-cell electric trucks in emissions associated with the vehicles’ production.CO2 emissions during vehicle production
Internal combustion engines are by far the lowest polluters during the vehicle production process. Mining for and producing the lithium-ion batteries required for battery-electric trucks drives up their CO2 emissions.
—–
Border
Vax
- Canada loosens vax requirements, but not for cross-border truckers
- Most COVID-19 vaccine requirements to end in Canada
Limiters
- FMCSA Could Look to Ontario on Speed Limiters
- Mandated Speed Limiters: Going Nowhere Fast [Commentary]
6. Regarding technology and drones:
Technology
- Emerging Standards Shield Trucks From Cyberattacks
- NexGen truck drivers crave technology, training and empathy
- NMFTA to take control of the Digital LTL Council
- Real-time visibility key to reducing supply chain volatility
- US report: Nearly 400 crashes of automated tech vehicles
Drones
- Amazon will start making drone deliveries in California later this year
- Wing wants to add public drone delivery zone in Virginia
7. Regarding economy, employment, and rates:
Economy
- ACT Research: Chances of recession ‘essentially 50/50’ | Spot rates tick down for vans, reefers
- ACT Research: US used trucks at beginning of end of sales cycle
- Cass Freight Index: Shipments bounce back in May as transportation costs dip
- Factory Output Surprises With First Decline in Four Months
- FreightTech investment now that the cheap money is gone
- May Classes 4-7 Retail Sales Drop Below 17,000
- May preliminary US trailer net orders gain against May 2021
- May Producer Prices Soared 10.8% as Energy Prices Jumped
- May Retail Sales Post Drop as Auto Purchases Plunge
- May Trailer Orders at Year’s Low
- Order lead times plummet as inventories grow and demand uncertainty soars
- Trailer manufacturers keep the brakes on new orders
- Trailer orders flat in May: FTR
- Used truck auction prices plunge as freight market cool
- Used truck prices softening: Ritchie Bros.
Employment
- Can Strong Job Growth in Trucking Continue?
- Large layoffs hit logistics tech companies Stord and FarEye
Rates
- Freight demand succumbs to headwinds as spot rates continue to slide
- One operator’s success resisting rate-cutting efforts
8. Regarding weather and fire:
Weather
- Excessive heat rolls east, bakes much of central, eastern US
- Record flooding creates statewide emergency in Montana
- Surviving the summer as a small fleet
Fire
9. Regarding trains, truckers, and trucking industry:
Trains
Truckers
Trucking industry
10. Regarding ports, supply chain, recall, risk, and roads:
Ports
- Exports bound for Port of Shanghai impacted by city’s weekend quarantine
- Georgia Ports Authority sets all-time trade record in May
- Georgia ports reach all-time record in May
- Port Houston awards $429M in dredging contracts to widen channel
- Port truck drivers at XPO/STG facilities can unionize
- Vancouver port to require post-2006 trucks beginning Sept. 15
- West Coast Ports Strike Unlikely Even if No Deal Is Reached by July
Supply chain
- Chain.io nabs $11M in quest to create frictionless supply chain
- CTA highlights steps to address ‘urgent’ supply chain challenges
- Firms Leverage Innovations to Manage Supply Chain
- Retail: Supply chain expert explains why numbers are actually still strong
- South Korea trucker strike could strain global supply chains even more
- Tampon shortage latest impact of supply chain issues
Recall
- Daimler Trucks issues two separate recalls addressing steering issue
- More than 100,000 trucks part of recall for defect that could cause loss of steering control
- More than 100,000 trucks recalled for potential steering gear problem
- Over 100,000 heavy trucks recalled after steering failure reports
- Recall issued on steering part used in many heavy-duty trucks
- Volvo VN trucks added to Bendix subsidiary steering gear recall
Risk
Roads
- Briefly: Arizona restricts trucks to right lane on part of I-10
- Expect travel disruptions on I-5 in Tacoma next week
- Governor Pritzker: Major roadwork project ‘restoring and transforming Illinois’
- I-71 in Ohio partially shut down for truck fire
- Major Louisiana bridge in consideration for highway safety corridor
- Mitch Landrieu Defends Repair Over Building New Roads
- Months of weekend tunnel closures are on tap for Boston
- Ohio, Kentucky Apply for Grant for New Bridge
- Permanent repairs to start soon on B.C.’s Coquihalla, Hwy. 1
- Work kicks off on $141M project to improve I-55 in Memphis
11. Regarding parking, Ocean Shipping Reform Act, innovation, and last mile:
Parking
- Truck parking bill finds new life with surge in co-sponsors
- Two I-5 rest areas in Washington closed this week
- Two I-79 rest areas in western Pennsylvania closed for repairs
- Two Pennsylvania rest areas temporarily shuttered for construction
Ocean Shipping Reform Act
According to one of the articles below, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear was quoted as saying:
“This bill provides important tools to address unjustified and illegal fees collected from American truckers by the ocean shipping cartel — fees that have contributed to the shipping lines raking in $150 billion in profits just last year. Those fees hurt American motor carriers and consumers, helping to drive record inflation.”
Do you agree or disagree?
Please share your thoughts with us through the form below. Thanks!
- Biden to sign ocean shipping reform bill after Congress approves legislation
- Bill targets trucking demurrage, detention fees at U.S. ports
- Congress passes Ocean Shipping Reform Act
- Congress Sends Ocean Shipping Reform Act to Biden
- Drilling Deep: Collapsing volumes of ocean freight
- Passage of Ocean Shipping Reform Act lauded as key step to improving U.S. supply chain
- Viewpoint: Congress passes ocean shipping reform
Innovation
Last mile
- Check Call with Fillogic: The final-mile sprint
- Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS) to File for Bankruptcy
- Electric Last Mile Solutions files for bankruptcy liquidation
- EV Startup Electric Last Mile Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
- Retailers look to parcel lockers to trim last-mile costs
12. Regarding awards:
Thanks to those who helped out their fellow human being in a time of need:
- Canadian trucker honored for helping driver of truck that rolled
- OOIDA life member honored as Highway Angel
- Tanisaki, Singh named Highway Angels
- Trucker uses his rig to protect motorist in I-440 accident
- WATCH: Trucker helps out stalled biker chick
We look forward to seeing who will be nominated for and then win various contests.
- Citizen Driver nominations are due by end of June Land Line
- Deadline approaches for nominations in Citizen Driver Award contest
We applaud truckers who were recognized for their skills:
- FedEx Freight wins major awards at New York driving competition
- Walmart driver wins Indiana Motor Truck Association championship
My husband Mike and I wish you — and all professional truck drivers — safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.
Return from TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2022.06.18 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.
