Freight Carriers and Owner Operators May Experience Environmental and Emmission Standard Regulations in the Near Future (if the EPA and DOT have their way)

By: Brad Hollister | Freight Access, Inc. (http://www.freightaccess.com) CLICKING HERE. or CLICKING HERE

Later this week, the FMCSA together with dept . of transportation will undoubtedly be meeting to continue a rule making session trying to get medium and also heavy duty vehicles and tractors environmental standards being placed into law. This issue of gasoline proficiency has unquestionably been controversial. A number of proceedings occurred in attempts to push regulation regulating freight truck fuel performance for tractor makers; to take effect for tractor versions built between 2014-2018. On-lookers and the ones near to the situation believe that final regulation may be in position prior to the end of 2011.

The fuel consumption along with emissions quantities currently being taken into consideration are based on President Obama's dedicated initiatives to change the transportation industry's specifications. Even while much disagreement has taken place, the agencies writing the legislation assure trucking executives that they are implementing prevailing technologies in legislation and also believe medium level trucks as well as heavy duty tractors can certainly Increase their gas mileage by ten to twenty percent. Regulators from the Us Epa along with the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are the organizations assigned in order to manage this reform.

The earliest open public hearing occurred on November 15 following a notice of 600 plus page draft of recommended regulation which had been published on October 25th. The upcoming hearing will be slated for November 18th in Cambridge, Massachusetts in which the board may administer oral arguments around the 600 page legislation as well as the investigation of National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's ecological impact study which can be the foundation of the breakthrough for the suggested guidelines.

Once notice of the planned regulation is technically written and published to the Federal government Register, the environmental Protection Agency along with National Highway Transportation Safety Administration must begin a 60 day time period where the public can make remarks, as part of the public process. Currently, the new legislation is targeted at implementation of existing technologies such as focusing on speed limiters, anti-idling technology, aerodynamics, and use of lighter materials. The legislation being discussed is targeted to affect heavy duty pickups, vans, vocational vehicles, as well as combination tractors... in model years starting as early as 2014.

Needless to say, many in the industry are concerned the implementation of further restriction can devastate an already fragile transportation business. The domestic United states Transportation business has been under extreme stress due to new legislation. Industry leaders believe that these added technologies will significantly increase not only the costs of operation but the expenses of purchasing new equipment in the future. Numerous small carriers and Owner Operators will no longer be able to afford new trucks and thus will be forced to keep older equipment as well as fleets on the highways much longer under the new legislation; while law makers argue the increased expenses of these technologies far outweigh the benefits as well as operational savings throughout the life of the truck.

The federal Administration officials point out that the benefits of technology could deliver savings of up to $74,000 per truck; far out-pacing the increase in costs. The regulatory authorities think environmental programs will improve the truck driver's earnings along with improvement in environmental impact. Numerous producers such as Ford, Navistar and others joined the truck Manufacturers Association and Engine Manufacturers Associations are in favor of implementation of the new standards. These groups providing comments strongly urged the Epa and FHTSA to be practical regarding implementation of new standards.

Kyle Treadway, chairman of the American Truck Dealers Division of the National Automobile Dealers Association strongly encouraged these agencies to be realistic while considering the implementation of suggested requirements. Mr. Treadway focused his remarks on practical implantation, suggesting the new legislation be realistic, affordable, and technologically feasible. He went on to say that if any of the three criteria is not met, Mr. Treadway believes that truckers will not purchase new vehicles which may considerably damage truck lots. Low-rolling-resistance tires were also under attack, as it was suggested that the Epa and NHTSA investigate these technologies completely to ensure that the added effectiveness are not endangering the traction each tire can achieve.

View Full Article Here: http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/11/transportation-market-to-face-further-restrictions/

QUESTION: A question for the shipping community...What are your plans for qualifying carriers under CSA?

Good question. The wording of your question is interesting because it covers a broad spectrum I'd like to break down & clarify. CSA 2010 will have larger impact on the Transportation Professionals than the Supply Chain Professionals. LET ME EXPLAIN:

I have several friends (Long Term Clients) managing Fortune 100 Supply Chains (and smaller of course) who have not even heard of the CSA 2010 initiative. I have been asking all of them what they are doing to prepare for carrier enforcement. What I believe is happening in terms of preparation for Supply Chain Professionals (Manufacturers / Distribution Companies), is quite the opposite of what professionals on the Logistics/Transportation side are experiencing. Supply Chain professionals are looking at the new regulations from the perspective that the Federal Government is now accepting a role in their quality control procedures by monitoring carriers and intervening non-compliant carriers.

I see there are two folks who posted excellent comments (from Transcore) related to this question. The tools Transcore is offering however, are targeted primarily to Logistics/Transportation professionals who make up the majority of Transcore's client base as Transcore has very little penetration in the direct Shipper market. The solutions introduced by Transcore are directed more at Logistics / Transportation Professionals who would certainly open themselves up to liability by hiring companies outside of compliance guidelines.

Direct Shippers & Distributors however (anecdotally of course) have far less interest in their degree of additional liability directly from tendering their own (or customers) freight. Many of these Supply Chain professionals already have quality & performance guidelines in place to restrict their carrier network to a finite number and do not feel as though further monitoring or program creation offers a palatable ROI due to current anemic resources staffing levels at this point in the economic cycle.

I just wanted to clarify the question and identify the stakeholders we are referring to in the 'Shipping Community' because the impact of the new regulation varies greatly from Stakeholder Type to Stakeholder Type. Shippers certainly will pay more for tightened capacity, while one could make the argument 3PL's actually will make MORE (since they often operate on margin and freight pricing will be higher) so long as these 3PL's have proper procedures in place to reduce liability from hiring non-compliance carriers.

Good topic and great responses. It is entertaining to see that this Industry has continued to live up to its Opportunistic Nature. There seems to be THE REPORT or THE SOFTWARE that you need to 'survive CSA 2010' in every other email. The truth of the matter is that the direct impact of CSA 2010 varies from company to company, while the indirect impact increases prices for all across the board (and potential profits also as identified above for 3PL).

Thank you;

Brad Hollister
http://www.freightaccess.com

Less Than 20% of Carriers Have Taken Steps to Comply with CSA 2010 Requirements

http://blog.freightaccess.com/?p=221

Important change is on the horizon for the Transportation Industry and it would seem as though news of the impact is falling on deaf ears. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has documented a modest number of the 500,000 active trucking companies have logged onto the CSA 2010 web page to find their own profiles. The FMCSA has strongly encouraged helping drivers and firms fully understand the consequences of the latest legislation as well as the significance of overseeing their overall performance. FMCSA administrators have been stunned that just over 2% of all motor carriers have actually logged in to find out their own rating and also make sure that they are in compliance with the rapidly nearing policies.

Lots of people in the community from Owner Operators, Consultants, and Carriers, to Freight Brokers, 3PL's and Shippers have considered CSA 2010 Regulation as a "GAME CHANGER" pertaining to the trucking industry. The news coverage of the brand new regulation continues to be wide-spread and has been the issue of numerous heated discussions. There has been numerous charged discussions the industry and the FMCSA and Congress. Regardless of the pleas of several in the industry, Federal Officials have concluded that the large number of companies whom have not logged on is a direct outcome of many carrier's focus on daily operations which will do not enable them to concentrate on the rapidly nearing regulation.

The new Safety effort may begin in December and may continue to be implemented throughout most of 2011. Federal, State, and Local Officials may continue to prepare and improve the new system. December will be a very busy month for the staff members of the FMCSA. The Agency's objective for December 2010 is to make the CSA information readily available to truckers and also open to the general public. In addition to making material obtainable, the FMCSA will certainly commence giving notification to trucking companies whose data does not match current compliance requirements and finding trucking comapies which will probably be given field inspections.

Maybe the greatest problem of the project is that the FMCSA however does not have published specifications regarding precisely how the agency will certainly determine safety fitness. The FMCSA will issue a proposal for exactly how it decides to determine safety strength during the first half of the year. The Physical fitness standards is a essential component of the CSA Regulation which in turn serves to separate the Compliance Review from a carrier's safety rating and attach the standards to the monthly performance data from the new Safety Management System.

The FMCSA understands that a good deal of concern exists in the driver and carrier communities. The FMCSA is not thinking about a public driver scorecard or rating/ranking of any sort. The Agency went on to further explain it is not planning to issue mass driver suspensions and the Agency will not be looking at plans to stop or reduce trucker's potential to drive based on actual attributes such as weight, body mass index or neck size.

Even though the FMCSA is definitely not restricting drivers based on actual physical fitness, there are significant reasons why companies need to pay attention to their standing in the new system. Presently there are generally numerous risks carriers encounter when and if their own fleets slip outside of government guidelines, while the FMCSA is being rolled out:

In addition to Federal Regulations, the actual risks of having inadequate CSA scores according to their rankings.

Risk # 1) Shipper's Carrier selection. If a Carrier's ratings are jeopardized a Shipper, Manufacturer, Freight Broker or 3PL could possibly route their business to another carrier with more suitable compliance scores. It is important to understand the importance of properly serving their Customers with superb service and compliance with federal regulation.

Risk #2) Accessibility of Reasonable Insurance Premiums. Insurance companies routinely evaluate safety and compliance rankings as a foundation for determining carrier insurance premiums. After December's availability of the new CSA legislation, it seems insurance companies will make use of these ratings as the benchmark for selecting rates. Non-compliance with these standards may eventually result in increased premiums or shortage of available premiums all together.

Risk #3) Claims payouts. Carriers with inadequate compliance scores normally pay greater Claims settlement values largely because the additional care and safety taken with much more successful operations produces reduced claims rates.

Risk # 4) Poor Driver Environment. Good truckers will continue to seek companies with increased CSA Scores since those companies with higher emphasis paid on better ratings will certainly be more sought out by Shippers.

Risk #5) Possible FMCSA Intervention. Skirting the line of conformity will continuously place your company at risk of intervention or shut down by the FMCSA. This will certainly cause employees and clients a like to feel less assured about your ability to produce solutions for their needs and in your company's service overall.

Preliminary data suggest that virtually 20% of all truckers on the road tend to be in danger of a FMCSA Intervention directly into their operations. The new formula for evaluating safety compliance under the new regulation has discovered that more than 1/5 of the carriers analyzed are very likely to get 'unsatisfactory' results; especially in the Fatigued Driver Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories. This sample of 60,000 carriers pointed out that the smallest fleets with less than five trucks saw risk of intervention grow from 10 to 15 percent, while the largest fleets with greater than 500 power units saw their risks decrease to 42 percent.

Driver stress and fatigue continued to be the greatest cause for concern, even though vehicle maintenance, as well as unsafe Driving were also seriously problematic categories. The crash indicator and unsafe driving BASICS diminished across the board particularly among large fleets. Looking at of preliminary Safety Improvement Categories started August 16, 2010. The CSA 2010 Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICS) are:

1. Driving Unsafely.
2. Driving Outside of Driving
3. Driver Health & Fitness
4. Driver Chemical Abuse
5. Maintenance of Vehicle
6. Cargo Regulation Violations
7. Crash Statistics

Carriers due date to examine their safety performance data and also deal with any inappropriate conduct that can lead to accidents and fatalities on our roadways is on Dec 5, the national roll out of CSA2010.

View Full Article Here: http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/11/carriers-slow-to-respond-to-csa-2010-requirements-as-deadline-rapidly-approaches-says-brad-hollister-of-freight-access-inc/

3PL Warehouse Operator Denies Truckers Access to Safe Shelter During Tornado

Execs at Smucker’s, Exel promise to do much better by drivers

Quite a few Truck Drivers countrywide have grown to be outraged over the treatment of fellow truck drivers who had been not allowed in to a Cincinnati, OH warehouse overseen by Excel Transportation. On October 26, 2010, storm sirens sounded as wind gusts topped eighty miles per hour, leaving truck drivers lacking cover from the 100-year weather event. Company spokes people from Excel Transportation and J.M. Smucker Company have assured drivers and freight corporations they will equally do much more in order to give protection to truckers as well as personnel whenever severe weather threatens the well-being of professionals at or around a facility.

A Wisconsin-based driver named Duane Soderstrom ended up being not granted safe entry into the J.M. Smucker Company owned storage facility during the tornado sirens. A security guard declined Mr. Soderstrom entry and also demanded he go back to his tractor until the storm was over and that Mr. Soderstrom would be advised as soon as he was allowed to get into the facility once once more.

Maribeth Baderstcher, Executive for the J.M. Smucker Company conveyed her overwhelming disappointment with regard to the way that truckers had been treated at the premises and also assured the public that future procedures would increase basic safety of all personnel for future instances. Ms. Baderstcher went on to point out that the safety expectations for individuals while on the J.M. Smucker premises was not really attained and acknowledged the significance of promoting a safe climate for all, in the course of not only extreme conditions but all occasions in which a person's safety is jeopardized.

All individuals involved in this potentially dangerous circumstance in Cincinnati appear to acknowledge partial responsibility. The Lease-Operator of the facility (Excel Transportation) has discovered mis-communication as a important cause of the situation stating that the contracted security workforce appeared to be plainly performing responsibilities to the written requirements of the agreement rather than taking good judgment into consideration while making important safety judgements. Lynn Andersen, Executive of Communications apologized to the driver operators for the procedures implemented, and the danger these procedures may have prompted to the basic safety and wellness of all involved.

Both firms have made plans to extend their apologies directly to the drivers. The tactical problem as identified by Ms. Andersen was that safety procedures for personnel during emergency situations were not extended to all individuals on-site at the moment, but instead merely staff and personnel of Excel and or J.M. Smucker Corporation. Ms. Andersen reassured truck drivers that all security personnel and facilities management would extend emergency procedures to take care of all personnel, individuals, and truck driver on property during emergencies and disasters.

Regardless of the action taken by management, the Fruit company left drivers with a bad taste in their mouths. Mr. Soderstrom mentioned this event topped any adverse treatment he has experienced in more than 25 years on the road. He had been extremely thankful a tornado did not indeed touch down close to the facility and that no one was injured in the course of adverse conditions. Mr. Soderstrom feared what could have transpired to the stranded drivers had conditions worsened and even now stays bitter at the lack of regard for the stranded drivers.

The events of October 26, 2010 must serve as a excellent reminder to all of us in the industry that we as fellow inhabitants of earth need to reach out a hand to those in need. This event reminds us that we must apply common sense whenever interpreting procedures as well as continue to keep in mind the basic safety of others throughout all emergency situations.

By Brad Hollister
Freight Access, Inc.

Full Article Here: http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/11/truck-drivers-safety-engangered-during-tornado-by-corporate-supply-chain-red-tape/

World' First Freight Marketplace www.freightaccess.com Set to Launch says Hollister

CHICAGO, IL:
August 31, 2010

Freight technology provider Freight Access, Inc. announced their company is nearing the anticipated discharge of the world's very first freight marketplace. The software engineering provider happens to be in exploration and development for more than two years to develop a platform for all stakeholders in the freight, cargo, transportation, trucking and logistics industry. Brad Hollister, the company's co-founder and Director of Business Development said "As a transportation executive who has a broad range of industry experience, we have identified the elements on the industry which cause problems for the stakeholders. We have focused on developing a suite of low cost solutions to help fellow transportation professionals have access to real time data to make informed and sound business decisions."

Freight Access, Inc. (http://www.freightaccess.com) has chosen to focus on exploring the difficulties of the freight industry from multiple perspectives as well as integrated solutions to all of them into a innovative and highly awaited tool for only $11 per month. Freight Access, Inc. touts its vision of truly helping the lives of transportation professionals as a result of making daily operations improved, enabling dispatchers and traffic managers to make better use of company resources and select only valuable transportation partners and reducing risk while seeking fresh freight partners.

Hollister stated "There are a lot of mis-conceptions in the industry pertaining to reducing transportation costs. Most former freight and carrier executives elect to take a position as a third party logistics provider or supply chain consultant, who are ready to teach shippers and manufacturers how to reduce transportation costs. The problem is these freight professionals themselves do not understand the forces the market plays on the freight industry, as they have come from a single carrier who focused on getting freight and adjusting pricing up and down to attract new shippers. These former LTL (less than truckload) and truckload vice presidents typically come and offer to take a freight profile, a company benchmark, and then send out a request for pricing with all carriers to get a 'bid' from all of them. The largest pricing requests I have seen include 150 or more carriers and take months to analyze. A seriously antiquated approach, which provides seriously limited results. The approach at www.freightaccess.com is different. Let's do this for every shipment. Let's get a new Request for Pricing for every single shipment sent out. This way carriers and owner operators win by filling empty trucks and shippers are able to benefit by filling empty capacity in real time."

Freight Access, Inc. has recognized a pattern in the freight industry throughout carriers during the previous market cycle. Quite a few Owner Operators have recognized that finding freight which pays for itself to transport is actually very difficult, consequently often times these independent truck drivers find themselves working for just one or several third party logistics firms or even national carriers. These ltl carriers or truckload carriers have got a primary interest in lowering the actual amount of money the drivers are getting paid so that their profits increase and frequently owner operators discover the actual amount they are actually being paid for a shipment is slightly able to cover costs of driving. Furthermore, many third party logistics firms have sprung up which are not paying drivers within tolerable terms, if at all in some instances.

The freight industry continues to be craving the low cost tools provided by Freight Access.com for some time. Steve Obregon, Owner Operator from Obregon Trucking in Wisconsin is a strong supporter of Freight Access's platform. "I've looked at what they're doing and can't wait to get going on it. I am sick of sitting for days for one of my brokers to call me with a load. I constantly call them to say you got one yet, you got one yet? It will so nice to find a load before I even get to the place and also to look about if I'm making or losing money on it."

Freight Access, Inc.'s freight marketplace technologies is at present finishing beta testing. If you're interested in becoming a beta tester, contact Freight Access, Inc. by calling 312-450-3020 or by emailing a request (with "BETA TESTER REQUEST" in the subject line of your email) to marketing@freightaccess.com.

http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/08/freight-access-com-freight-marketplace-set-to-be-unvieled/

Cheap Freight Prices Leave Marketplace as Capacity Tightens and Shipments Increase for LTL Carriers

Frozen Food Express Industries (Dallas located refrigerated truck food carrier with truckload, less than truckload freight, and third party logistics solutions) released their financial outcomes for the second quarter of 2010. Frozen Food Express is truly a top nationwide leading temperature controlled truckload and less than truckload carrier in the domestic United States. The main focus of the carrier is to haul temperature controlled along with frozen perishables for the health care, confectionary, and food markets. The carrier also operates a third party logistics (3pl) division so as to exceed demands of shippers as well as other freight brokerage customers.

The Company's CEO suggested the carrier had put a higher focus on service excellence and asset utilization. Mr. Stubbs believes that the focus on preservation of moneymaking clients will improve margins in truckload and increase tonnage and shipment count on the less than truckload (LTL) division as well. A combination of an exodus of competitors and reduction in available capacity has improved the freight transportation and logistics marketplace. These types of economic elements permitted Frozen Food Express to lower their pre-tax loss by more than 41%.

Even with revenue only slightly up 9%, the use of existing equipment, increase in pricing, and lack of competition permitted for these enhanced final results. Regarding the previous six months however, the operating revenue had dropped even more than 3%. Tractor productiveness (measured by revenue per truck per week) was additionally up by a lot more than 4% during the quarter as the market has appeared in order to turn in the favor of the freight carrier. In 2009 Frozen Food Express mentioned they had made the decision to park a portion of their particular existing tractors until finally the marketplace came back. Now the carrier appears to be putting all of them back into operation as the industry continues to recover.

Shippers have in addition been prepared to react to the freight marketplace additionally. Carrier management say they have found a willingness on part of the shippers and logistics firms to adjust pricing in order to reflect the tightening marketplace. Truck Drivers returning to work will certainly aid the transportation industry returning to profitability as freight prices advance off of historically low levels. A lot of freight carriers have put into practice cost-saving techniques, as losses throughout the last number of years have been growing. Throughout second quarter of 2010, the majority of carriers have seen much better results from a combination of a positive freight pricing environment and results of these carrier cost saving techniques.

Frozen Food Express says a significant component of its success through these turbulent economic times have been the employees loyalty to the company and willingness to look for new efficiencies in virtually all phases of the operation. The carrier continues to possess a good cash position devoid of financial obligations outside of its credit agreement. Frozen Food Express possesses almost seven million dollars in cash, 83 million in investor equity and simply no outstanding debt. While the carrier is in a solid position to weather out the economic climate, the management is dedicated on continuing to manage its assets utilization as well as seek out even more operational efficiencies.

It seems freight carriers have regained a foothold in the transpiration industry. Several Carriers and third party logistics firms have reported far better than expected earnings and narrowed losses due to tightening capacity and lowered overhead. An economic recovery inside the freight industry definitely appears to be underway. Let's hope the momentum allows a continual economic recovery not only for freight and transportation, but also for the broader economy.

Full Story Here: http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/08/less_than_truckload_carriers_see_freight_marketplace_improving/
FULL STORY HERE

Air Freight Volume Spikes 38% in 2010 as Air Carriers and Freight Forwarders Back in Black.

Its difficult to disagree that 2010 has become a very difficult year pertaining to transportation, freight, cargo and logistics industries. The majority of carriers, steam lines, railways, and truckers had been confronted with diminished freight volume, slim profits, and nearly all have experienced hard lay offs. A single section of the marketplace has performed surprisingly well on the other hand: Air Freight.

Air Freight volumes have increased almost 40 percent through the first six months of 2010. Global freight trends have indicated that Air Freight, and Freight Forwarding have exploded at almost three times the rate of ocean forwarding (ship cargo) for the first half of 2010, to the satisfaction of nearly all air freight management. The majority of freight forwarders would welcome this steep increase in business after 2009 which in turn proved to be a year of reduction in shipping and freight tonnage.

Transport Intelligence has announced that Air Freight is up more than 38% during the first six months of 2010, even while Ocean Freight Forwarding is up a mere 13 percent. Although most would accept any kind of good move in volumes at this point, the actual point that Air Freight reported such significant advances relative to Ocean Cargo leaves the marketplace in a holding pattern when waiting in order to watch if freight distribution can return to a lot more traditional levels. Transport Intelligence believes the increase in all these trends followed by freight carriers and cargo shiplines decision to limit capacity will be certainly putting pressure on shippers and their third party logistics companies to pay greater costs of operations. Transport Intelligence's Report may be found here (http://blog.freightaccess.com/2010/08/annual-global-freight-forwarding-report-2010-from-t-i/).

The Annual Global Freight Forwarding Report written by Transport Intelligence noted an increase in volume for the transportation marketplace felt by freight carriers, which followed a 23 percent drop in 2009 from 2008 shipment volumes. It seems this unpredictability in volume has not been simple to accept for freight forwarders and cargo carriers. Just six months ago a lot of of these third party logistics providers and airlines were concerned about how to sustain operations at trim staff levels and now they are actually slammed with far more freight shipments than they may handle with existing resources.

The freight marketplace is anticipating a balancing time period back to more historical freight volumes as well as absence of such shipment volatility. Most manufacturers have forgone conventional supply chain inventory because of to a range of factors such as absence of accessible company capital. The absence of inventory helps to explain the spike in air freight traffic. It appears that inventories will come back to regular levels throughout the up coming few years. Transportation Intelligence believes it will require until 2013 to be able to come back to pre-2013 levels especially in Europe.

Improved Security of Freight Cargo poses minor problems during first week of enforcement.

This week, the federal regulations requiring 100 percent screening of air cargo moving upon passenger aircraft went into effect. The majority of Freight Forwarders experienced little if any effect, as a lot more than 95 percent report no troubles throughout this first week. A lot more than 709 surveys were sent to the Air Freight Association looking to gain feedback concerning the actual simplicity of integration. Simply five percent of participants noted major complications adhering to the new guidelines, which were not correlated to any particular airline nor any airport.

The transition came at a really excellent period for the air freight marketplace as August is usually a slower month for airlines and freight carriers. The AFA attributes this smooth transition to the educational efforts and preparedness procedures put forth by the AFA, federal government, and numerous freight forwarders to ensure integration has been done properly.

FULL STORY HERE



By Brad Hollister