Hours rule suspended for Sandy relief effort

Trucks carrying emergency-related materials to and in states affected by Hurricane Sandy are exempt from the federal hours of service rules effective Monday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has said in a declaration.

The states included in the exemption are Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, MAssachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

“This declaration of emergency provides relief for commercial motor vehicles operations while providing these emergency materials and services to customers in the above mentioned states during the emergency. This exemption applies only to those operations providing direct assistance to the emergency relief effort. Direct assistance terminates when a driver or commercial motor vehicle is used in interstate commerce to transport cargo or provide services not destined for the emergency relief effort or when the motor carrier operation dispatches such driver or vehicle to another location to begin operations in furtherance of commerce,” the declaration reads.

The waiver will last until midnight of Nov. 13.

Diesel, Gasoline, Oil Prices Spike This Week

The average U.S. price of both diesel and gasoline rose this week, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Also, oil prices climbed for a fourth day this week.

The price of diesel rose 1.2 cents to $3.695 per gallon. The only region to experience a fall in prices was the Rocky Mountain region. Diesel prices are down 22.8 cents from one year ago.

Gasoline prices rose 1.6 cents to $3.427 per gallon. However, the Midwest, Rocky Mountain and West Coast less California regions all experienced price decreases. Gas prices are down 25.5 cents from this time last year.

Oil prices have risen four consecutive days this week in hopes that the Federal Reserve will take more steps to boost the economy, reports the Associated Press.

Benchmark U.S. crude on Monday rose $1.33 to end at $88.43 per barrel in New York, while Brent crude rose by $1.95 to finish at $103.37 per barrel in London.

The Federal Reserve is considering a new strategy to boost consumer spending, and analysts are anticipating that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak on this when he addresses Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. As consumers spend more and the economy strengthens, demand for oil is likely to rise.

For more information: www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel

Ohio Troopers Seek Driver Help in Stopping Crime

With the the Ohio State Highway Patrol's newly launched Truck Shield program, truck drivers can assist patrol by acting as extra sets of eyes and ears on the road.

Training for the program will be conducted by patrol officers statewide and consists of instruction on impaired driver detection, criminal patrol, homeland security and human trafficking.

The program was launched Memorial Day weekend, which is traditionally a dangerous period on Ohio roads, particularly for impaired driving crashes. Last Memorial Day holiday, five of the 14 people killed on Ohio roadways were involved in alcohol-related crashes.

"Once trained, these drivers have the ability to help law enforcement keep Ohio roadways safe, whether from impaired drivers or terrorist activity," says Colonel John Born, Patrol superintendent. "We are very excited to have the help of these drivers - not only Memorial Day weekend - but for years to come."

Trucking companies interested in receiving Truck Shield training should contact their local Ohio Patrol Post.

All drivers are encouraged to call #677 to report impaired drivers or drug activity.

For more information, go to http://statepatrol.ohio.gov/.

ReedTMS community service

ReedTMS has recently partnered with the Southeast Produce Council (SPC) to join their initiative to assist RAMP America, a non-profit organization which aids poverty-stricken families in the Appalachian region of the United States.

Martin County, located in rural Appalachia, is home to some of the most impoverished people in the United States and continues to face many challenges. Access to healthy food and economic opportunity is scarce. Moreover, the county’s isolation makes it difficult to access federal and other assistance programs: currently there are little to no human or social services available in the area.

RAMP works with the Martin County community to identify critical needs and create solutions focusing on nutrition, economic development, and emergency relief intervention, with a special focus on children and families. They also connect resources locally and nationally to address basic human needs where other resources are limited or inaccessible. For more information on RAMP, click here.

RAMP has partnered with the SPC to collect donations from their members and ReedTMS has joined the cause and will help with the efficient delivery of resources.

ReedTMS has pledged to send our drivers and pick up donated goods from various locations and deliver them to the Appalachian region on our trucks at no charge, and currently we have moved one load from the Washington, D.C. area to Martin County. We are all proud to be involved with such an honorable project and look forward to moving more loads in the future!

CVSA's Roadcheck 2012 Set for June 5-7, delays in service expected

About 10,000 federal, state, provincial and local truck and bus inspectors will fan out at more than 1,500 locations from June 5-7 across North America for the annual "Roadcheck" inspections on commercial vehicles.

During the 72-hour event, inspectors will conduct comprehensive North American Standard Level I Inspections, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance said Tuesday.

This year's focus will be on vehicle brake systems and preventing driver fatigue by conducting hours-of-service compliance checks, said CVSA, which represents law enforcement personnel who conduct truck safety inspections in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Maryland State Police will host the Roadcheck kickoff event to underscore the importance of comprehensive driver and vehicle safety inspections of trucks and buses and on enforcing safety belt use.

Read more here.

March Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Exceeds $85 Billion for First Time

There was so much arguing when they planned to comply with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that our country agreed to back in 1994. Would foreign truck drivers have to follow U.S. laws? Would the U.S. pay for electronic HOS devices on foreign trucks? Would foreign truck drivers be able to stay here forever? Would foreign drivers steal business that could be given to U.S. companies? There were and still are many unanswered questions. But the idea seems to be – the agreement was a good one.

Surface trade between the U.S. and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, Canada and Mexico, was 6.2% higher in March 2012 than in March 2011, totaling $85.8 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation. March 2012 was the highest month for NATFA trade value since collection of data began in 1994, exceeding $85 billion for the first time and topping the previous record of $80.8 billion in March 2011.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in March increased by 88.2% compared to March 2002, a period of 10 years. Imports in March were up 76.1% since March 2002, while exports were up 104.5%.

U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade in March 2012 both increased compared to March 2011 with U.S.-Canada trade reaching $50.1 billion, a 2.9% increase, and U.S.-Mexico trade reaching $35.7 billion, an 11.2% increase.

More exports are leaving giving the U.S. more money and we are able to import more goods thus reducing prices of goods in the U.S. Overall, the outlook is positive… only time will tell if the trend continues. Hopefully it does.

Read more here

Road condition update for drivers

I-70 Bridge to Detour Drivers During Summer and Next Year

For 12 months starting in November and for several weekends this summer, construction on Interstate 70's Blanchette Bridge over the Missouri River, between St. Louis and St. Charles, Mo., at mile marker 230, will detour westbound I-70 traffic. Due to the construction, commercial motor vehicle drivers are urged to take a detour, using I-270 and Mo. 370 as an alternate route.

Between now and November, smaller weekend projects will close multiple lanes of I-70 near the bridge. These weekends, the the Missouri Department of Transportation says, are a good opportunity for drivers to get used to the detour route. Although the detour adds five miles to the route, it is expected to shave several minutes off of travel time compared to driving through the narrow work zones.

That work is scheduled for the weekends of June 22-24, June 29-July 1 and July 21-23. The dates are subject to change due to weather or supply issues.

The weekend of July 13-25 on the east end of the bridge, two lanes of I-70 will close in each direction as crews build crossover lanes in the median. In early November, the crossover will be put to use as the current westbound bridge is closed.

To learn more about the project, go to www.modot.org/blanchettebridge. Drivers can sign up for MODOT email updates on the bridge project and detours.

A must read regarding the California CARB program

California trucking group slams CARB fuel policies

The California Trucking Association released a study that shows significant job losses directly attributable to the California Air Resources Board’s fuel policies. Goods movement and agriculture sectors especially will be hard hit if the policies are allowed to go into effect as currently designed, CTA says.

CTA says the report, titled “The Impact of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Cap-and-Trade Programs on California Retail Diesel Prices,” demonstrates the effect that CARB’s regulatory actions will have on the state’s retail diesel future, leading to a $6.69 per gallon price tag.

The Stonebridge Associates study finds that by 2020, CARB’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, in combination with the AB 32 Cap-and-Trade Program, could increase the price of diesel fuel by $2.22 per gallon; that would represent more than a 50 percent increase in the price of diesel fuel and $6.69 per gallon at the retail pump. The average price difference between California and neighboring states would be $2.33 per gallon when accounting for taxes.

According to the study, between 2015 and 2020, these higher “California-only” diesel fuel costs will cause a loss of nearly 617,000 jobs in the containerized import sector, $68.5 billion in lost state domestic product, $21.7 billion in lost income and $5.3 billion in lost state and local taxes. CTA says the study states that a “California-only” diesel will put California’s transportation sector at a significant competitive disadvantage.

“CTA is supportive of the production and use of alternative fuels, but the cost gap between CARB’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the diesel fuel that the other 49 states will continue to use is unacceptable,” says Scott Blevins, president of Mountain Valley Express and 2012 CTA president. “This is a serious setback for any business dependent on diesel fuel for its operations. State regulators need to step down from their ‘ivory tower’ and understand the impact of these unfair policies on California truckers. CARB’s blind pursuit of policies that will drive many California-based trucking companies out of state or out of business should be of great concern to all Californians.”

CTA says the report states the diesel fuel price increases will cast an even wider net, affecting food, fuel, clothing and other essential services transported by trucks. The report can be downloaded at http://caltrux.org/LCFS.

Story from truckersnew.com

Our promise to you

We strive to provide the highest quality service at all times. We are committed to a professionally handled transportation experience accomplished by understanding and delivering on expectations.

To keep in line with our service promise, here are a few things our drivers do to uphold the highest level of customer service possible:

·         Every time they disconnect, they sweep out the trailers to have it clean for the next load.

·         They notify dispatch if they’re going to be arriving late or if they’re experiencing a longer off load so we can get our customers involved.

·         Our drivers notify dispatch when leaving or arriving at the customer or cosignee in order to keep customers up-to-date on the location of their load.

·         They ensure the freight is secure before leaving the loading dock.

TMS Logistics consistently delivers superior, on-time performance as a result of building a strong dispatch team, operating well-maintained, late-model equipment, hiring quality drivers and fully utilizing technology.

More controversy over driver’s hours

First they complained about the proposed change. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was going to cut the amount of hours a driver could drive in a day from 11 to 10. There was uproar. Business owners nationwide claimed they wouldn’t be able to function. They’d have to hire more drivers, pay customers more money, miss delivery dates, etc. Then the ATA sued saying the referential agency who promoted an advantage to the change overstated the safety benefits of the new rule, and that the costs outweigh the claimed benefits. No one seemed to be happy about it. So the FMCSA axed the rule. The decided they wouldn’t make a change and leave the hours at 11. And guess what? More people are unhappy..

Highway safety groups along with two unidentified truck drivers filed suit seeking judicial review of the FMCSA. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen and the Truck Safety Coalition object to FMCSA not reducing the driving day to 10 hours from 11. They claim the FMCSA “had no data to support” increasing truck driving time to 11 hours in 2004, from the previous 10 . And so the debate continues back and forth. Where do you stand?

Read for the change here: http://www.truckersnews.com/groups-sue-over-hours-rule/

Read against the change here: http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=76087

8 reasons why gas will hit $5 a gallon this year

1. Strait of Hormuz

About 20 percent of the crude oil produced in the world is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has threatened to shut down shipping traffic through the Strait.

2. Iran

Because of the embargo against the nation due to nuclear weapons violations, the U.S. has pressured large oil importers such as Japan to act to isolate Iran by cutting their imports. Japan apparently has agreed to cut its Iranian crude imports by 20 percent. But as the world’s third largest oil importer, Japan indeed will have to get its oil somewhere other than Iran -- which will put more pressure on current production.

3. Refiners raising prices

Many large refineries are owned by public companies that do not have much appetite for posting ongoing losses. To avoid losses, refiners will have to increase gasoline prices

4. Other geopolitical risks

Problems in Nigeria the 14th largest producer of oil in the world, Venezuela the world’s 11th largest producer of crude and across Africa in Bahrain, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria and Yemen could cause rises in gas prices.

5. The EU may save itself

Deepening financial and economic trouble in Europe would drop demand for oil there. However, if leaders in the region can settle on mechanisms to protect nations with financial problems from default, national budgets will not be cut to extraordinarily low levels -- levels that would otherwise kill both consumer demand and business demand for oil.

6. U.S. economic recovery

Demand for oil-based products across the entire economy will pick up with any recovery.

7. Summer

In the U.S., summer vacation driving has historically boosted demand for gasoline.

8. Supply risk

In December 2011, OPEC members produced nearly 31 million barrels a day, cutting the cartel’s spare capacity capability from 3.18 million barrels per day to 2.85 million.

Read the full article here.

Tony the Tiger

Today I want to talk about an article I read about a Siberian-Bengal mix named Tony. Tony the tiger lives at a truck stop in Louisiana and has been an attraction there for passersby for years. The tiger has been there since his owner bottle fed him as a cub and now animal rights groups are trying to remove Tony from his home.  I have many different feelings about this. On the highest level, if the animal is in healthy condition and has an adequate living situation and the owner has him legally, then leave them be.

Should tigers be pets? Probably not. But the guy doesn’t have Tony running around his living room playing with his children calling him safe! He knows the pet is dangerous and treats him with respect. I think people are so quick to jump up and down for pets like this because they don’t see a tiger as a pet one should own at all because you can’t play with it and it can kill you… Well my pet jellyfish sits in that same category.

And for a tiger that has grown up in that environment, what difference does it make to him? He has no idea he lives at a truck stop. And if you move him to a sanctuary, how do you know he won’t miss his owner? As long as he lives in a suitable environment, to me, what difference does it make if people take pictures with him at a truck stop versus a zoo? Apparently “Truck Stop” is a dirty word and automatically means it’s completely unfit for pets. If Tony is healthy, I say let the man keep his cat.

Read the story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/truck-stop-tiger_n_1073640.html

Some Interstate Speed Limits May Increase

If you've ever driven on the interstate anywhere, you see huge semi-trucks. They are very large and most drivers have a hard time seeing around them. Personally, I don’t like to drive next to them at all and I will most certainly panic if I find myself in the center lane sandwiched between two of them. It’s not that I believe that truck drivers are poor drivers, I would just feel nervous in such a small car when compared to a 18-wheeler. I more than understand the importance of shipping freight all over the country and realize that these drivers have a very important job. But on the other hand, is it safe for anyone is they are zooming by other cars going 70 or 80 miles an hour?

Although I’ve never personally drive a vehicle that large, I can imagine it would be rather difficult to control a truck at higher speeds. Well, legislature in two Ohio counties feel they should increase the speed limit on I75 in Butler and Warren counties. They want to increase it to 70 mph from 65 mph. To me, this raises some safety questions. And even if semi-truck drivers agree with me and maintain their 65 mph speed, or if they have a truck that actually prevents them from driving faster, the other vehicles on the road will now most likely push the speed limit even more and travel 75 mph or even 80 mph. I think this is just a bad idea for everyone on the road. The article I read said accidents on Interstate 75 in Butler and Warren counties dropped from 1,052 in 2009 to 880 in 2010. Things are looking better! Why would someone want to risk the numbers jumping back up?? 65 mph is plenty fast to get where you’re trying to go while maintaining an certain amount of safety.

Read the full article here.