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Freight Gets Its Due at House Hearing June 27, 2013 By Oliver Patton, TruckingInfo.com There’s no shortage of ideas for ways to improve the national freight network. A House panel researching the issue yesterday got a list, long, broad and mostly familiar, of what transportation providers would like to see in a federal freight policy. The Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation was assembled by Reps. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., and Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., to gather perspectives on freight

TruckingInfo.com An expectation of capacity tightening comes as carriers report how they will respond to new HOS regulations taking effect on July 1. The way their shippers work to minimize the impact of these changes will also affect this lowering utilization. A new Business Expectation Survey from the consulting firm, Transport Capital Partners, shows almost 40% of carriers expect utilization to lower more than 5%, just over 38% expect under a 5% change, only 3% expect no impact and al

The Trucker News Services 6/28/2013 Matt Slovak, a driver for Don Hummer Trucking, has been named the May 2013 Trucker Buddy of the Month following his nomination by Denise Cross, a third-grade teacher at Lincoln Irving School in Moline, Ill., and her class. Slovak has been a long-time Trucker Buddy and Boy Scout leader as well as being awarded the Gary King Memorial Show Truck Winner at the 2012 Iowa 80 Jamboree. In the nomination, Cross praised Slovak’s involvement and interaction with h

Elevating Grain David Weiner - KSAL.com Ethan runs cards from the truck driver's to the Scoular office employee's while the trucks sit on a scale to be weighed. “It’ll be probably one of the biggest harvest’s we’ve ever seen,” Tom King a merchandiser for the Scoular grain elevators said. King has worked for 12 years at Scoular and has been around grain elevators his whole life. According to King, the weather has been perfect for harvesting, especially after the long drought that has been p

Tuesday’s harvest activity in the region was similar to Monday according to the staff at Midland Marketing’s downtown Hays location. Brian Witt, Midland Marketing, Hays, hands a load ticket to a driver from Wasinger Farms. They took in about 5-6,000 bushels with an average moisture of 10 and test weights primarily in the 60s. Their Yocemento location reported receiving about 80 loads of wheat with test weights on average in the 60s. The Golden Belt elevator in Ellis told Hays Post the

New Set of Skills Required by 3PLs to Assess and Manage New Risk Elements; Shippers Need to Share Detailed Information Early On SCDigest Editorial Staff Evidence is mounting that shippers are asking their 3PLs to take on more supply chain risks contractually, a potentially major inflection point in logistics outsourcing. Risk management of course is a sort of "megatrend" in supply chain management right now, with seemingly every company looking to reduce its risk exposure. Risk managem

by CHRIS BRAGG A union-backed bill with major consequences for New York's trucking industry is unexpectedly set to breeze through both houses of the Legislature Friday, the final day of the 2013 session, labor officials said. The legislation aims to correct a situation spotlighted by the Drum Major Institute, a progressive think tank, which calculated that 18% of truck drivers in New York—about 29,000 of them—are full-time employees "misclassified" by their employers as independent contract

UNION MILLS, Ind. June 24, 2013 (AP) An explosion Monday inside a grain elevator killed a worker at a sprawling northwestern Indiana farm co-op, authorities said. The cause of the blast at the Union Mills Co-op remained unknown Monday evening several hours after the blast. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firms and Explosives and the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration were among the agencies sending investigators to the scene. It wasn't clear where the victim, Jam

By Lauren Donovan ROSS - Plains Trucking, of Ross, has been cited for violating nine safety standards in an incident that killed a 19-year-old worker and injured another March 27. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it will fine the company $28,000 and put the company in its severe violator enforcement program. The program deals with recalcitrant employers that willfully and repeatedly endanger workers, and subjects the company to inspections when there's reason to be

By BILL ARCHER Bluefield Daily Telegraph When I drove for Ohio Fast Freight, the company’s Chicago terminal that was located in Dalton, Ill., could force drivers to take a load, even if it was way out of the range as to where the driver wanted to go and carried a bad rate and weight. There was a lot of turnover then, so seniority didn’t mean much even though we were in the Teamsters union. The pecking order for loading freight out of Chicago was based on a first-come, first load-out basis, b

by Chris Bahn Positive results for drug use have kept more than 3,200 prospective drivers — including 1,700 who used cocaine and 71 who used cocaine in combination with opiates, heroin or amphetamines — from getting behind the wheel for J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. since May 2006. While the pre-employment drug screening results might have kept those drivers off the J.B. Hunt payroll, they were not prohibited from climbing into the cab of an 18-wheeler elsewhere. All they had to do was

Scribner, Neb. Firefighters from at least three departments battle a fire at Scribner Grain in eastern Nebraska. The fire was reported shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday. Someone called authorities to report smoke coming from the facility along U.S. Highway 275 on the south edge of downtown Scribner. "It sure looks like a total loss," said Brent Kelly the nephew of the owner of Scribner Grain. "We were thankful we had heard there were no injuries and no fatalities." Local fire crews fought the

TruckingInfo.com A new Transport Capital Partners survey shows better expectations among trucking company executives when it comes to rates and freight volume. Credit: TCP TCP says this breaks a three-year trend of lowering expectations for volume growth in the second quarter. More carriers expect volumes for the second quarter to hold steady. Opinions diverge between larger carriers, those with over $25 million in revenues, and smaller carriers. In both groups, 50% expect volumes wi

A Salina man was taken to Salina Regional Health Center Friday afternoon after one of his arms was caught in a conveyor belt at Scoular Grain Terminal, a grain elevator at 3339 E. Country Club. Kelly Ravenstein, 52, was being treated Friday afternoon, and no report was available on his condition, said John Berggren, hospital spokesman. Paramedics went to the elevator after the injury was reported at 1:30 p.m., said Capt. Brian Shea of the Saline County Sheriff's Office. Shea said Ravens

By CCJ Staff The Shippers Conditions Index, produced monthly by FTR Associates, improved some in April from March, but is still in a “less-than-deal environment for shippers,” says FTR. There are no serious capacity issues yet, says FTR, and rates could continue to move up slowly. However, FTR forecasts that rates will accelerate significantly as the changing hours-of-service rules take effect July 1. The reading in April was -6.9. Anything lower than zero means the factors are such f

By LYNDON FINNEY The Trucker Staff 6/21/2013 WASHINGTON — The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is — in trucking terms — using the 11th hour of allowable opinion time to tell the commercial vehicle industry whether or not it will be able to operate under the Hours of Service rules that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will begin enforcing July 1. The court Friday once again did not issue its long-awaited opinion on the petition for review of the new

TheTruckersReport.com The CEO of a now defunct HazMat hauler in Texas called Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services (PACES) has acknowledged his part in causing the poisoning death of two of his drivers. The CEO, Matthew Bowman, plead guilty to violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act and making a false statement. According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Bowman was in charge of directing and approving all PACES operations including “the disposal of hydr

By HEATHER JOHNSON hjohnson@nptelegraph.com | 0 comments New technology is changing the way farming is done in Lincoln County. The advent of devices such as the iPhone and iPad are putting important resources at the fingertips of producers and saving them valuable time in the process. "We've been using the applications for the iPad for the last two or three years and the ones for the iPhones for probably four to five years," said Dave Colvin, a farmer from North Platte. He said they come in

June 19, 2013 By Oliver Patton TruckingInfo.com Considering the implosion that occurred in the wake of the go-go years before 2007, the current condition of slow economic growth has a certain appeal. “Other than the Great Depression, no other financial or economic event has created the level of upheaval and economic restructuring as the Great Recession has between 2007 and 2009,” writes Rosalyn Wilson in her annual State of Logistics Report. In that period, households lost close to h

OSHA is working with the Ohio State University to promote safe practices in grain handling. Jun. 19, 2013Sandy Smith It’s been described as being caught in quicksand and it happens just as quickly. Five seconds. That is how quickly a worker can become engulfed in flowing grain and be unable to get out. Sixty seconds. That is how quickly a worker can be completely submerged in flowing grain. More than half of all grain engulfments result in death by suffocation. In 2010, at least 26 U.S

By Brad Petrishen/Daily News staff The MetroWest Daily News SOUTHBOROUGH — A 13 1/2–foot-tall box truck lost a battle with the 11-foot-tall bridge next to the River Street MBTA station Tuesday. “They completely took the top off the box truck. It is now a convertible box truck,” a police officer confirmed over emergency radio communications at about 10 a.m. after a report of a crash at the bridge. The truck, which belongs to Encore Party Rental of Hudson, is 13-feet-6-inches high, accordi

Canadian man ID’d in fatal crash By Dave Anderson Monadnock Ledger-Transcript Wednesday, June 19, 2013 A Canadian truck driver who died on June 12 after his tractor-trailer unit rolled over on Route 202 in Bennington was a regular visitor to New England Forest Products in Greenfield, where he had picked up a load of lumber shortly before the accident. “He was down here about once a week,” said Debby Buxton, co-owner of the Greenfield business, about Julien Gonthier, 53, of St. Adalb

Posted Jun 20, 2013 By Jennifer McIntosh EMC news -In a bid to draw attention for his private members bill, Fairness is a Two-Way Street, Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Jack MacLaren and a group of supporters shut down a lane of traffic on the Champlain Bridge June 13. The act - if it becomes law - would make construction projects on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River off limits to Quebec-based firms. A similar law was enacted by the Harris government in 1999 but was repealed by the

The Trucker News Services 6/18/2013 WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Tuesday ordered Commerce City-Colo.-based E & K Trucking Inc. to immediately cease its trucking operations, declaring the company to be an imminent hazard to public safety. The agency said E & K Trucking operates a small fleet of trucks that primarily haul construction scrap and debris. The company was discovered to still be operating unsafe vehicles in direct violation of an order issued by FM

By JACOB TIERNEY TIMES STAFF WRITER WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013 ARTICLE OPTIONS A A NORWOOD — A judge has ruled that Norwood truckers will be able to keep using village roads despite a posted weight limit, at least for now. The defendant, G. Michael Knowlton, was issued a summons in January for driving his heavy salt trucks on village roads despite a posted 8-ton limit. The case went to trial in Canton Town Court on May 16, the climax of an argument between Mr. Knowlton and village offici

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - Two helicopters have been requested to help save two people from a crash in Horry County Monday afternoon. According to a tweet from the Horry County Fire Rescue Twitter account, a grain truck overturned on Good Luck Road, entrapping two people inside. Two helicopters were requested to transport those people to hospital facilities once they are evacuated from the grain truck. The owner of the grain truck and Double R Farms told our news crew on the scene that t

(Reuters) - U.S. agribusiness Cargill Inc said on Monday it is acquiring the grain storage and fertilizer business of Northstar Grain LLC, based in southwestern Michigan. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. This is Cargill's third investment in a North American grain company in the past three weeks. The deal, expected to be completed by the end of June, includes 4.5 million bushels of storage space for corn, soybeans and wheat. Norfolk Southern railroad services the site, providin

By Jeff Natalie-Lees, jnatalie-lees@aberdeennews.com 11:55 p.m. CDT, June 17, 2013 Redfield— Farmers often don't think about the rules governing grain-buying transactions, but since Anderson Seed Company went out of business in 2012, there has been a greater need to learn about them, say South Dakota Farmers Union officials. Speakers from the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission and North Dakota Public Service Commission talked about grain transaction rules at a meeting in Redfield

MISSION, Kan. - Mission police suspect all of the rain Saturday caused a sinkhole to open up and swallow a semi-truck. The tractor trailer fell a few feet down into the hole in the parking lot of the Mission West Plaza off of Martway Street. Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/state/kansas/sinkhole-swallows-cab-of-semi-truck#ixzz2WUYGelP0 View Original Article

Gary Gerew Assistant Editor- Albuquerque Business First New rules that will reduce the number of hours drivers can be on the road are forcing trucking companies to scramble even more. According to CNN, a shortage of drivers already exists, but as of July 1, federal regulations will limit truckers to driving no more than 70 hours within seven days. Currently, they are allowed to drive 82 hours within that time period. Trucking companies have already been facing a labor shortage for years.

By Greg Fulton THE COLORADO STATESMAN Recent statistics reflect that over 90 percent of the trucking companies in Colorado are made up of businesses that have 20 or less employees. Very few of these companies have a staff attorney, regulatory director, or tax specialist. Yet because of the increasing complex web of laws and regulations in our state and country, almost all of these companies at one time during the year will need to retain the services of one of these specialists. An owner of

Published on 17 June 2013 A US trucker has clocked up 1.7 million miles over 25 years without being involved in an accident. According to somebody who works out silly statistics, this is the equivalent of making seven trips to the moon! Ed O’Mara – who is of Irish descent - was honoured recently by his employer, Con-way Freight in Romulus, Michigan. He took it all in his stride and pointed out that his exemplary record doesn’t surprise him: “I wasn't surprised (about being acciden

By Michael Brown, Posted: Jun 14, 2013 01:37 PM | Last Updated: Jun 14, 2013 01:36 PM EAST GWILLIMBURY, ON — “It’s trying to convince those dumbasses at the post office that they’ve got [the mail] and you haven’t,” Dick Mahoney says. Mahoney, the owner of RBM Carriers based in East Gwillimbury, ON, had been waiting for eight cheques, totaling $34,000, since December, 2011. They arrived Tuesday. And the ordeal, an exasperated Mahoney told TodaysTrucking.com, has taught him some valu

Connecticut motorists might think they have it bad on July 1 when a state fuel tax jumps nearly 4 cents per gallon, but the state's trucking industry is bracing for a fuel tax increase of that size -- for the third year in a row. The state Department of Revenue Services announced Wednesday the diesel fuel tax will climb 3.7 cents per gallon July 1, from 51.2 cents to 54.9 cents. Connecticut already has the highest diesel tax rate in the nation. Couple this latest hike with previous July in

The Trucker News Services 6/14/2013 WASHINGTON — Forty two percent of the dollar settlements paid by trucking companies to motorists injured in accidents may exceed the federal government’s minimum insurance requirement for trucking companies, according to a study conducted recently by the Alliance for Driver Safety and Security Inc. (Trucking Alliance). The alliance is a coalition of trucking companies including Maverick Transportation, Knight Transportation, J.B. Hunt, Dupré, Boyle Trans

Trucker Dustin Lund delivered potatoes in Minneapolis Thursday morning. The drive from Wisconsin took a little more than three hours -- and every hour counts. "You take a look over at your logbook and find out you're not, you're not necessarily on," described Lund, "and you might have to stop a little bit sooner than what you expected." Right now truckers like Lund can drive a maximum of 82 hours per week, but because of new regulations set to kick-in July 1, the new max will be 70. "We

By BONNIE BARRON BEAUMONT, Texas (CN) - A federal judge accepted the guilty plea from the former CEO of a defunct chemical company whose actions led to an employee's death. Matthew Bowman had been indicted in July 2012 for exposing his employees to dangerous amounts of hydrogen sulfide while serving as CEO, president and majority owner of Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services (PACES), in Port Arthur, Texas. Prosecutors said Bowman's actions caused the deaths of truck dr

By KATIE SCHWENDEMAN - Staff Writer (kschwendeman@mojonews.com) , Morning Journal News - See more at: http://www.morningjournalnews.com/page/content.detail/id/547476/Trucking-executives-guilty-of-bank-fraud.html?nav=5006#sthash.99kMt13Q.dpuf COLUMBIANA - Two local business executives are awaiting criminal sentencing for their involvement in a $3.6 million check kiting scheme. - See more at: http://www.morningjournalnews.com/page/content.detail/id/547476/Trucking-executives-guilty-of-bank-frau

By Associated Press PEORIA — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued an Illinois trucking company for allegedly violating the religious rights of two former employees. The Peoria Journal Star reports (http://bit.ly/14Yoj0v ) the lawsuit filed May 29 alleges Star Transport, Inc. fired two Muslim truck drivers for refusing to deliver alcohol in 2009. The lawsuit contends the company failed to provide the men "with a reasonable accommodation and by terminating them because o

By Jacquielynn Floyd jfloyd@dallasnews.com Barring any dramatic complications, the Texas Transportation Commission is expected to approve new stretches of Dallas’ most heaviest-traveled freeways as “no trucks in the left lane” zones in the next few weeks. This is a good thing, because an earlier study of lane restrictions on area freeways showed that separating trucks and passenger cars reduces wrecks, improves traffic flow, and even improves air quality. This isn’t entirely a matter o

ACADIANA BUREAU June 12, 2013 0 COMMENTS LAFAYETTE — A superintendent working on a piece of equipment at Cargill Salt in Breaux Bridge died in an industrial accident Saturday evening, a Cargill official said. Cargill spokesman Mark Klein said Tuesday that Steve Rodrigue, a longtime employee, was found about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The St. Martin Parish Coroner’s Office, in a preliminary report, listed the cause of death as electrocution, Klein said. Rodrigue, whose age was not availabl

The driver of an oversize load that triggered an Interstate 5 bridge collapse told investigators that he felt “crowded” by a passing vehicle and moved closer to the side of the bridge that had less clearance, says a preliminary federal report released Tuesday. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The driver of an oversize load that triggered an Interstate 5 bridge collapse told investigators that he felt “crowded” by a passing vehicle and moved closer to the side of the bridge that had less clearance, says

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP Susan Kohn Ross USA For years, companies and service providers have arranged transportation and not given a second thought to the relevant regulatory scheme for property brokers. While the obligation to qualify as a property broker has been on the books since at least 1988, in the absence of enforcement, many parties provide the service of arranging transportation for compensation, but are not property brokers. That is all about to change when the MAP-21 regu

James Jaillet Mike Card put it bluntly last week at the Great West Fleet Executive Conference in Las Vegas: The costs of complying with regulations in the trucking industry is smothering owner-operators and small fleet owners. Card is the chairman of the American Trucking Associations, and he aimed pointedly at the over-reregulation of the trucking industry as a dagger to trucking’s “first generation,” as he calls it, referring to owner-operators and small fleet owners who were able to get

Todd Dills Truck drivers, as we know, have a unique perspective on the on-highway behaviors of the motoring public, a point hammered home over the weekend by Con-way Freight’s Tom Clark, writing as a guest blogger at New Jersey-based website NJ.com, which aggregates news from several local newspapers. The reason is in some ways simple, akin to Shaquille O’Neal’s advantages over his hoops counterparts of lesser stature. “Their vantage point allows them to take in America’s landscape from anoth

5 Ways to Succeed or Fail as an Owner-Operator Your relationship with the carrier or customer is an important factor in determining your ultimate success or failure, but your part in succeeding can't be understated. June 2013, TruckingInfo.com - WebXclusive By Jim Park Sometimes owner-operators are their own worst enemy. They too often do things to undermine their business – like budgeting based on the best of times, not year-long averages. Or they switch carriers to one promising m

This Editorial appears in the June 10 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. The announcement of the roster of the National Freight Advisory Committee provides a reason to be guardedly optimistic the nation is prepared to make tough decisions regarding our transportation needs. Of the 47 people named by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, three were trucking executives: Randy Mullett of Con-way Inc., Jack Holmes of UPS Freight and Paul Kelly of the intermodal di

Dow Jones Newswires 06/09/2013 @ 9:52pm Marubeni Corp. (8002.TO) said Monday that it will not be purchasing grain merchant Gavilon Holdings LLC's energy business under its multi-billion dollar acquisition of the company. The Japanese trading house said that under the revised purchase plan sellers will now receive approximately $2.6 billion in cash and will retain Gavilon's energy business. "Marubeni has received necessary approvals from all relevant competition authorities. The Chinese com

Freight Rail Rates Increased More Than Trucking Rates http://www.truckinginfo.com/ TopNews Freight Rail Rates Increased More Than Trucking Rates New research shows that freight rail rates have skyrocketed over the past decade following dramatic consolidation in the railroad industry. The conclusion is based on research conducted by Escalation Consultants on behalf of the American Chemistry Council. It was released after ACC urged the Surface Transportation Board to take action on re

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/ Even if you’ve never heard of Joseph Volpe, you’ve probably heard of people like him. Volpe was known as the “Trucker Spy” and would drive around the nation’s highways with video cameras hoping to find truck drivers with unsafe driving habits. His “company,” Third Eye Highway Safety, would then send a copy of the video to the driver’s trucking company who would pay him for exclusive rights to keep the video from being released to the public. Essentially, it a

By Dennis Smith | 0 comments In the old days, it was the large grain companies that specialized in keeping secrets vital to their business. Remember the era of the “great grain robbery” that occurred in the mid 1970s? I believe it was 1974 when one of the large grain companies negotiated a huge wheat export sale to Russia. The deal was kept under wraps until after wheat harvest, when after most producers had harvested and sold their grain. The announcement and the fact that it had been kept

Changes mean fewer runs, lower costs The provincial government recently approved new trucking regulations, and people in the lumber industry are excited about the changes. The quad axle — a fourth set of tires on a trailer — has been allowed on roads in other parts of Canada, and is now permitted in Newfoundland and Labrador. Kevin Sexton, with Sexton Lumber in Bloomfield, says the new rule means their trucks will be able to handle five to six extra tonnes per load, trimming the company

(Thomson Reuters ONE via COMTEX) -- Oslo (2013-06-05): The Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) has approved Yara's acquisition of Bunge's fertilizer business in Brazil, allowing Yara to proceed with completing the USD 750 million transaction and integration process. "This regulatory approval marks the start of an exciting new phase in Brazil for Yara. Brazil has significant growth prospects for both the agricultural sector in general and the fertilizer industry, and Y

By Jeff Crissey A recent study by the Alliance for Driver Safety and Security showed that 42 percent of dollar settlements paid by trucking companies to injured motorists are above the minimum insurance requirement of $750,000. The study, which tracked 8,692 settlements from 2005 to 2011, also showed carriers insured to $1 million faced liability exposure of 37.5 percent, while carriers with $4 million of insurance coverage only had exposures of 17.7 percent. Under Congressional mandat

Finalists include a logger, a hog hauler and a cancer survivor. All prove that women can handle non-traditional jobs - and look good doing them. By Overdrive Published: Tuesday, Jun. 4, 2013 - 12:30 pm TUSCALOOSA, Ala., June 4, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to choosing a career, truck driving doesn't top the list for many women. In fact, women represent less than 7 percent of the nation's 3 million truck drivers. That's unfortunate, says Maggie Stone, a finalist in Overdrive's Most Be