TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2023.01.07 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending January 7, 2023, written by Vicki Simons.
Happy New Year!
We welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.
1. Regarding 2022 and predictions:
2022
These articles look back over the year we just completed.
- Daily Infographic: The largest trucking companies that went bankrupt in 2022 freight recession
- Daily Infographic: The most-read FreightWaves stories of 2022
- The most-read FreightWaves stories of 2022
Predictions
And these articles look ahead to the year we’ve just begun.
- 3 Truck Trends to Watch for in 2023
- As 2023 looms, here’s one last look at trucking’s top stories of 2022
- Counting concerns: Trucking industry’s top worries include fuel prices, driver shortage
- DOL’s proposed independent contractor definition would turn clock back to 2020
- DTNA boss calls strong Class 8 market in ’23
- Economic soothsayers don’t agree on 2023 outlook for trucking industry
- Is 2023 already a train wreck? – WTT
- Lightning eMotors launches online Fleet Planner solution
- New government regulations coming in 2023: The gifts that keep on giving
- Real-time visibility: New year, same lean strategy
- Set New Year’s resolutions with safety in mind
- Worker classification: DOL’s proposal would turn clock back to 2020
2. Regarding fuel, fuel economy, and fuel efficiency:
By way of background, according to this article:
- Fuel economy means “miles per gallon”; and
- Fuel efficiency means “how efficiently a vehicle uses fuel”.
So as you see those two headings below in this section, now you’ll understand the difference. 🙂
Fuel
- AAA retail diesel average now $4.679 Fuel prices
- Average US diesel prices see slight increase, preventing 8 straight weeks of declines
- Benchmark diesel price reverses, rises for first time in 7 weeks
- Colonial Shuts Key Fuel Line to New York Harbor After Spill
- Increase of 4.6¢ Halts Diesel’s Seven-Week Decline Streak
- Weekly Fuel Report: January 03, 2023
Fuel economy
For full disclosure, I completely disagree with autonomous, self-driving, and driverless commercial motor vehicles being operated on the same roads as the motoring public.
Fuel efficiency
3. Regarding electric vehicles, emissions, and autonomous vehicles:
Electric vehicles
- EV Tax Credit Rulings Please Some Automakers, Exclude Others
- First Heavy-Duty Electric Truck Delivered to LAX
- Mercedes to Build Its Own EV Charging Network
Emissions
- Diesel dominoes: More states pushing drastic emissions regs, but at what cost?
- EPA eyes more strict particulate matter regulation
- EPA moves to toughen standards for soot pollution on top of Clean Trucks Plan
- More states are pushing drastic emissions regs — but at what cost?
Autonomous vehicles
As I’ve written many, many times, I am completely opposed to the operation of commercial motor vehicles that are self-driving, driverless, or “autonomous” on the same roads as the motoring public.
But I share information like this article to help you stay current with the topic.
Quotes from this article include:
- “Maintaining the status quo on any technology is ultimately self-defeating.”
- “Automating trucking is inevitable.”
- “The downside of automation is that it fundamentally devalues humans.”
- “Automating trucking basically says that a truck driver can be replaced by a machine, that the work is largely repetitive and does not require human inspiration or intelligence. Those that drive for a living probably would disagree with that assumption.”
- “The nature of automating industries is that expensive, higher skilled labor is replaceable by machines, and lower skilled, less costly labor. When you think through that a bit, project out to the far future. If all the jobs are automated, who has sufficient employment income to afford to buy the products being produced in automated factories and delivered by automated transportation?”
That last bullet point is interesting because I mentioned that same point under the “Supply chain” part of my trucking commentary from last week.
4. Regarding accidents and fatalities:
Accidents
Please review the articles in this section to see if there’s anything you can learn so as not to be involved in a similar accident yourself.
- No injuries reported after semi truck crashes over concrete barrier
- Police release body cam video from bizarre Indiana Toll Road semi truck crash scene
- Tractor-trailer leaves interstate, lands on RR tracks & is hit by train
- Trucker’s dash cam captures big rig crash into snowbank near Yuba Pass
- Train hits tractor-trailer in Kentucky
- Mississippi bridge collapses while truck is on it
- Trucks burn ferociously after collision involving driver pulled over to check load
Fatalities
We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of those who died.
There’s one article in the section just below about a flatbedder who died after slipping off his trailer; this is the same kind of accident that Mike had back in 2012, but which he survived and from which he completely recovered.
Please practice safety on every side.
If your trucking company is putting your safety at risk, require that they eliminate or greatly reduce that risk.
Or find a job where your safety is highly valued!
- FedEx big rig driver dies in Dallas crash
- Flatbedder dead after slipping off trailer at steel facility
- One dead after semi truck crashes into second turning rig
- Truck driver killed after ‘vaulting the semi into a ditch embankment’ in Kansas
- Trucker run over while walking “in the lane of travel”
5. Regarding banned, fines, and tickets:
Banned
Penalties listed in the first article in this section include: $1,000, $1,800, and “$42,450 per violation,” so please be on your guard.
- California bans 230,000 trucks — what’s next?
- California Rule Could Toss 70,000 Diesel Trucks Off Registration Rolls
- Truck and Bus Regulation bans trucks older than 2010
Fines
- Fines for violations of federal regulations increased by DOT
- FMCSA ups the fines for trucking regulation violations
See the 2023 FMCSA fines here.
Tickets
- These States Write the Most Speeding Tickets & Penalize Truck Drivers
- Ticket quotas targeted by Oklahoma Senate bill State
6. Regarding economy, employment, scam, road rage, and violence:
Economy
These are some of the most recent articles regarding the economy from the trucking industry’s perspective.
- ACT Research: Preliminary Class 8 net tractor orders see healthy December
- Auto Sales Fell 8% in 2022 Amid Supply Chain Struggles
- Canada-U.S. border saw $35B in October truck shipments
- Class 8 orders close 2022 on strong note
- Class 8 Orders Fall but Build Slots Remain Full
- Cross-border freight increases slightly in October
- December Class 8 Orders Add to Short String of Year-Over-Year Gains
- Freight markets stir after holiday slumber
- Fresh Fragility in Global Trade Set to Be Revealed in 2023
- Locus sees major opportunities in Mexico’s e-commerce marketplace
- Manufacturing Contracts in December for Second Straight Month
- Parcel carriers made good on peak delivery commitments, ShipMatrix says
- Spot freight market meets expectations in final week of ’22
- Top 10 container lines: How did rankings change during boom?
- Used Class 8 Prices on Edge of Cliff, ACT Reports
Employment
Please be aware that market forces change all of the time.
- December jobs report shows signs of sputtering in truck transportation industry
- Driver Poll: Are you looking for a new job in January?
- Hiring Stays Brisk as Employers Add 223,000 Jobs
- Labor Data Surprises as Job Market Runs Hotter Than Forecast
Scam
Watch out for this kind of thing.
- OOIDA warning of new texting scam targeting truck drivers
- OOIDA warns of potential U.S. DOT text scam
Road rage
Do not do this!
Violence
We totally disagree with using violence in non-self-defense situations.
- Truck driver accused of murdering locksmith rather than paying him allowed to go home to his family
- Truck driver arrested after pulling gun on co-driver during dispute at truck stop
- Truck driver charged with homicide by vehicle in 2021 school bus crash that killed two
7. Regarding brokers, recalls, repairs, returns, and IFTA:
Brokers
- FMCSA Goes After Unscrupulous Brokers With Proposed Rules
- FMCSA proposes changes to broker financial responsibility regs
- FMCSA proposes changes to broker financial responsibility regs
- FMCSA proposes rule to crack down on ‘unscrupulous business practices’ by freight brokers
- FMCSA proposes tougher rules for truck broker financial backing
- FMCSA proposes update to broker requirements
- FMCSA proposing new rules to govern freight brokers’ financial practices
Recalls
- Over 2,500 Peterbilt 579s recalled because of hood mirror issue
- Peterbilt recalling 2,500 trucks over mirror issue
Repairs
Returns
IFTA
8. Regarding ELDs, technology, and speed limiters:
ELDs
Articles in this section are about truckers in the USA and/or Canada.
- Canada ELD mandate enforced in most provinces
- Canada’s ELD Enforcement Now in Effect
- Canadian cops are now ticketing truckers for ELD Mandate violations
- ELD tracking changes the game for real-time visibility
- Federal ELD mandate now enforced in most areas of Canada
- FMCSA’s stats show disturbing trend since ELD mandate
- Individual provinces differ in approaches to ELD penalties
- New book considers the impact of electronic logging devices on drivers
Technology
- A look back on bar codes for bills of lading
- Breaking down Walmart’s 2022 in drone delivery
- Online grocery firms merge to form Stor.ai, a Relationshop company
- Ryder’s COOP program puts idle trucks to work
I never was able to find out what “COOP” stands for regarding Ryder’s “COOP program”.
If you know what that stands for, please comment through the form below.
Thanks.
Speed limiters
- Speed limit differential elimination pursued in Indiana State
- Speed limiters among topics on FMCSA regulatory agenda
9. Regarding operations and securement:
Operations
- 6 trip planning tips for a smoother journey
- VIDEO: Overconfidence or brake failure?
- ‘We know who you are’ — Truck with raised box takes down highway sign
The second article in this section has a video that shows a trucker out-of-control.
Please don’t duplicate the kinds of action in the second and third articles in this section!
Securement
Yikes!
Please make sure that you know how many tie-downs are required for your load and then use them.
Please don’t risk losing your load and potentially killing someone.
10. Regarding HOS, parking, roads, and tolls:
HOS
- Colorado issues waiver for fuel haulers
- New York waiver pertains to fuel haulers, rock salt stockpiles
- Wyoming Issues Waiver For Truckers Hauling Propane
Parking
- Brooklyn residents call trucks parked on street a “quality of life issue”
- Drivers at a loss over new law that prevents truck parking at their own homes
- Georgia city latest to ban truck parking at homes
Roads
Tolls
- Bestpass, Drivewyze collaborating on toll processing as part of ‘driver experience’
- Drivewyze Partners With Bestpass to Better Align Tolling, Bypass Services
- Drivewyze, Bestpass Partner to Help Fleets Control Toll Costs
- PA Turnpike toll increases 5% on Jan. 8
- Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls to increase 5%
11. Regarding top trucks and truck parts:
Top trucks
Truck parts
12. Regarding recognition:
Although every truck driver should be able to stop his/her vehicle in time during situations similiar to this, we recognize the trucker for saving the life of the person in the road!
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: 2023.01.07 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.
