Knight Transportation Buys Abilene Motor Express

Abilene Motor Express is a Richmond, Va.-based carrier with nearly 400 trucks that operates throughout the U.S. and Canada. Photo via Abilene Motor Express

Knight Transportation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Knight-Swift Holdings, has acquired all of the assets of Abilene Motor Express and related entities, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Abilene Motor Express is a Richmond, Virginia-based carrier with nearly 400 trucks that operates throughout the U.S. and Canada. The SEC filing states that it brings in approximately $100 million in annual revenues.

The company serves the long-haul, over-the-road truckload market and offers regional operations, dedicated contract carriage, and sole/single source transporting services in dry and temperature controlled applications. Knight-Swift said in a securities filing that the business has an operating ratio in the low 90s."

This is the first acquisition for the company since Knight and Swift merged in 2017, bringing together two of trucking's largest players. The combined company operates around 23,000 tractors and 77,000 trailers.

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The Battle for Diesel Technicians

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the trucking industry will need an estimated 67,000 new technicians and 75,000 diesel engine specialists by 2022. Photo: Ryder

On any given day, in any given year, Penske Truck Leasing has a truck maintenance workforce of 8,100. In 2017, the company added 2,200 diesel techs to accommodate growth, and the Pennsylvania-headquartered firm is expecting to add 2,500 more for the same reason in 2018. As of today, the company has 800 openings for diesel techs in the United States, Canada and parts of Mexico — a combination of new hires and open positions due to retirements and turnover.

This is the face of the diesel technician shortage in 2018, and it's only going to get worse, predicts Gregg Mangione, senior vice president of maintenance for Penske.

His prediction echoes that of the American Transportation Research Institute's Top Industry Issues report, released in October 2017. Though the industry has trained much of its focus on the shortage of qualified truck drivers, another shortfall exists — the industry needs more diesel technicians. Though this issue ranked last among the 13 challenges identified in the ATRI report, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trucking will require an estimated 67,000 new technicians as well as 75,000 new diesel engine specialists by 2022.

Mangione says the issue has been building for the better part of a decade, even before trucking emerged from the impacts of the Great Recession. He attributes the growing need for technicians — at least in part — to the increasing complexity of heavy-duty trucks to meet ever-more stringent diesel emission requirements. Jay Duca, diesel technology instructor at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin, agrees. Beyond the technology needed to meet emissions mandates, he says, today's trucks also often have high-tech systems for collision avoidance, lane deviation, smart ...Read the rest of this story

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Service Accused of Coercing Fleets into Paying Fake Fees Agrees to Settle

The operators of an online registration service for motor carriers has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that they impersonated and falsely claimed affiliation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and other government agencies.

The accused allegedly took more than $19 million from small trucking businesses by creating the false impression that they were affiliated with U.S. DOT, the UCR system, or another government agency.

The two were accused of deceiving small trucking businesses into paying them for federal and state motor carrier registrations.

Under the settlement order, the defendants are banned from misrepresenting affiliation with any government entity and from using consumer billing information to obtain payments without expressed consent.

They must also adequately disclose that they are a private third-party service provider and any fees associated with their services. The order imposes a $900,000 judgment that must be paid within one day.

James P. Lamb and Uliana Bogash were accused of violating the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence ACT while operating under the company names DOTAuthority.com and DOTFIlings.com, Excelsior Enterprises International, and JPL Enterprises International.

Certain trucking companies that must register annually with the Unified Carrier Registration system can register through the official UCR website or the official website of their state. Lamb and Bogash are accused of taking more than $19 million from thousands of small businesses by creating the false impression that they were affiliated with U.S. DOT, the UCR system, or another government agency.

Through allegedly misleading robocalls, emails, and text messages they would send false warnings to the fleets that they could be subjected to civil penalties, fines, or law enforcement actions unless they registered with one of their sites instead of through official government websites.

They were also accused of obscuring the total amount charged, which ranged from $25 to ...Read the rest of this story

Uber Suspends Self-Driving Tests After Vehicle Kills Pedestrian

Photo via Diablanco/Wikipedia.

Uber has shelved its self-driving vehicle program after one of its test vehicles struck and killed a female pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz. The accident marks the first known death of a pedestrian hit by an autonomous vehicle on public roads, reports the New York Times.

Following the incident, Uber suspended testing of its autonomous cars in Tempe, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Toronto.

The deceased woman, who has not yet been publicly identified, was crossing the street outside a designated crosswalk at approximately 10 p.m. on March 18 when the accident occurred, reports USA Today. She died on March 19.

As is standard practice when testing autonomous vehicles, the Uber car was in autonomous drive mode, but there was a human safety driver behind the wheel when it hit the woman, according to reports. There were no passengers in the vehicle.

Uber issued a statement that the company is "fully cooperating with local authorities."

Ironically, proponents of self-driving cars claim the technology can help to greatly reduce the number of traffic-related pedestrian deaths. The Tempe incident may fuel concerns of activists who believe that the technology that allows the cars to sense their surroundings is not yet safe enough for roll-out on real world roads and highways, reports USA Today.

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