Photos: Exploring Ritchie Bros.' giant equipment auction

Tennessee Tech Disavows Maligned Glider Kit Study Pending Review

Tennessee Tech's president has sent a letter to the EPA urging that it not to use the university's glider kit environmental impact study pending an investigation into the validy of its results. Photo: Tom Berg

The president of Tennessee Technical University, Philip Oldham, has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to withhold any use or reference to a controversial study ithe university conducted on the environmental impact of glider kit vehicles until it has fully investigated the validity of the study's results.

The study, titled “Environmental & Economic Study of Glider Kit Assemblers,” came under fire after it was revealed that Fitzgerald Glider Kits funded the research, which was used to counter restrictions on glider kiit mnaufacturing put in plce by the Obama administration. According to a report by The Washington Post, Fitzgerald paid about $70,000 to finance the study and later agreed to build a new academic research center for TTU.

In a Feb. 19 letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt obtained by the New York Times, Oldham writes that “knowledgeable experts within the University have questioned the methodology and accuracy of the report,” and that the university would be pursuing a peer review of the study to assure its validity. He also sent the same letter to Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) and to Tommy Fitzgerald, owner of Fitzgerald Glider Kits.

Oldham was under pressure by TTU's faculty to disavow the report and a letter that was sent to Rep. Black who used the information to fight the glider kit restrictions in Congress. The faculty said that the study damaged the university's reputation and integrity.

A memo from the interim dean of TTU's College of Engineering Darrell Hoy further detailed the allegations of misconduct in research pertaining to the glider kit study, which are being subjected to peer review. The ...Read the rest of this story

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Spot Market Van, Reefer Rates Cool as Flatbeds Rise Again

National average spot van and refrigerated truckload rates fell during the week ending Feb. 17 but remain well ahead of last year's levels, according to DAT Solutions and its network of load boards.

The van rate fell 2 cents to $2.15 per mile and reefers dipped 5 cents to $2.45 per mile compared to the previous week. It was the sixth week in a row that the van rate has declined, a normal trend for this time of year. The average is still higher than at any point in 2017.

Volumes are also higher than they were a month ago. The number of available loads increased 1.5% and while trucks increased 1.1%. Load-to-truck ratios shifted slightly:

• Van: 7.2 available loads per truck, down 2%
• Flatbed: 64.2 loads per truck, up 4%
• Reefers: 9.6 loads per truck, down 6%

In the van market, load posts were unchanged and truck posts rose 2%. With a few exceptions, prices were stable out of the major markets for van freight:

• Chicago, $2.68 per mile, down 3 cents
• Houston, $1.97 per mile, unchanged
• Dallas, $1.92 per mile, up 1 cent
• Memphis, $2.50 per mile, up 1 cent
• Atlanta, $2.32 per mile, unchanged
• Los Angeles, $2.17 per mile, down 4 cents

Reefer load posts fell 5% and truck posts edged up 1%. Prices are still unusually high year over year although the current average is 25 cents less than a month ago.

The average flatbed rate was $2.30 per mile, rising for the third straight week. Load posts increased 1% and truck posts fell 3%. Altogether, flatbed volumes have held steady since an uptick at the end of January.

All reported rates include fuel surcharges. The average national cost of diesel fuel during this time was at $3.06 per gallon, down 1% from the week before.

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