The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine who runs a truck fleet out of Wisconsin. Like many of you, he’s had a hard time finding drivers during this economic upswing, despite the fact that his fleet pays well, invests in high-end equipment and technology and has an attractive benefits package.
Mexican motor carriers will soon be able to apply for authority to operate in the U.S. beyond the commercial border zone, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Jan. 9. The move brings the U.S. into more complete compliance with the requirements of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Department of Transportation says.
Random drug testing rates for trucking company employees in safety sensitive positions, like truck drivers, will continue at 50 percent in the coming year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Dec. 31.
Enforcers in the annual week-long inspection spree held in September placed 2,162 trucks — 16.2 percent of the vehicles inspected — out of service, according to numbers released Jan. 5 by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
Kenworth Truck Company celebrated its historic one millionth truck produced in the company’s 91 years during a special ceremony before Christmas at Kenworth’s assembly plant in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Penske Logistics filed Jan. 6 a petition asking the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a decision made by a federal appeals’ court earlier this year, in which it was ruled that carriers must grant truck drivers in California paid meal and rest breaks.
Class 8 orders in December topped 40,000 for the third consecutive month, according to preliminary numbers released this week, pushing 2014’s total Class 8 order number to its highest since 2004 and its second highest on the books. Â
2015 should be an active year for federal legislation and regulations.  A highway funding bill is a top legislative priority and with the legislative gridlock of the past two years broken by the Fall election, hopefully a permanent funding bill will be produced.  As always, expect the bill to be used as a vehicle for addressing […]
The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General released a report Dec. 29 with two key conclusions about the 2011-2014 cross-border pilot program with Mexico: FMCSA’s work on the program complied with Congressional requirements, but the program had so few Mexican carrier participants that the data produced is insufficient.
