I've been reviewing materials from last week's inaugural, biennial, North American Commercial Vehicle Show. Clearly, the overriding theme of announcements from many companies was that electrification of commercial vehicles is going mainstream.
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...Read the rest of this storyPhoto: Help Inc.
">Photo: Help Inc.
">Whether you're a trucking fleet executive, safety director, company driver or an owner-operator, if your safety scores aren't where you would like them to be, you're probably not getting bypass green lights as often as you wish. But there is a solution – and it's nearly as close as your backyard.
Commercial vehicle enforcement agencies, especially at the state level, say they are often readily available to help trucking operations improve their level of safety, with real-world advice from the men and women who enforce the rules and regulations every day.
We talked to one current truck safety officer as well as two former ones, who suggested a number of ways truck fleets and owner-operators can work with law enforcement to find out what they need to do to improve safety.
1. Join Your State Trucking Association and Attend Its EventsEvery state has a trucking or motor carrier association and most, if not all, have at least one or two major events each year, attended by not only people in trucking, but also frequently by those in commercial enforcement. In many cases, these events focus on truck and driver safety.
Greg Kindle, a former major with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said his agency frequently sent officers to events hosted by the Missouri Trucking Association. He's now a regional director for Help Inc., the non-profit parent of PrePass, overseeing PrePass operations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
“We made ourselves available to the trucking industry if they had questions about what they needed to do to improve their fleet safety,” Kindle said.
According to HELP Inc. regional director Jennifer Brown, who spent more than a decade as a lieutenant with the Arizona Department of Transportation's Enforcement and Compliance Division, this can also include attending state truck driving championships and fleet safety ...Read the rest of this story
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...Read the rest of this storyIf you're a fleet manager, your equipment's performance is directly connected to the success of your business.
Many of the fleet customers we talk with understand the importance of proper, routine equipment maintenance. In fact, many of them know their equipment's OEM-recommended engine oil change intervals or have them within an arm's reach at the shop.
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...Read the rest of this storyU.S.-NAFTA freight value percent change from previous year, July 2017. Graphic: U.S. DOT
">U.S.-NAFTA freight value percent change from previous year, July 2017. Graphic: U.S. DOT
">Trucking along with the other four major freight modes moved more cargo by value with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico in July when compared to a year ago, according to new Transportation Department figures.
The 6.5% overall rise from July 2016 is the ninth consecutive month in which the year-over-year value in current dollars of U.S.-NAFTA freight increased from the same month of the previous year, but it also marked the slowest improvement since April.
The value of commodities moved by truck increased 4%, less than the 24% gain by vessel, the 23.1% improvement by pipeline, and slightly higher than the 4.4% gain by rail. However, it was better than air, which rose just 2.3%
The large percentage increase in the value of goods moving by vessel and pipeline was due in part to an increase in the volume of mineral fuel imports, according to the report.
Trucks carried 63.2% of U.S.-NAFTA freight and continued to be the most utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners. They accounted for $28.9 billion of the $47.6 billion of imports, or 60.7%, and $27.5 billion of the $41.6 billion of exports, or 66.2%.
Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.1% of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel, 7.1%; pipeline, 5.6%; and air, 3.9%. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 84% of the total value of U.S.-NAFTA freight flows.
U.S. Canada Freight Advances 5.6%From July 2016 to July 2017, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows increased by 5.6% to $44.8 billion as the value of freight on four major modes increased from a year earlier. The value of freight carried on vessel increased by 29.7%, pipeline by 26.7%, rail by 4.7%, and ...Read the rest of this story
New York City-based MetTel will offer a mobile workforce solution called Fleet Management Solutions to help companies and municipal governments connect their workforce and vehicle fleet assets to the internet.
The telematics product enables organizations to send, receive, retrieve, and store information about vehicles, telecommunication devices, and employees through MetTel's network of 650 carriers in more than 170 countries. The system allows iPhones and other devices or workforce apps to connect to the network.
"As transportation functions become digitized, MetTel Fleet will ensure your fleet assets and mobile workers aren't just isolated dots on a map," said Ryan Crandell, director of MetTel Fleet Management. "We have the power to connect the dots and activate your mobile workforce as one cohesive, productive and efficient unit that drives the business forward."
The telematics platform provides six core areas of focus, including a Software as a Service (SaaS)-based management portal, mobile worker apps, mobile management apps, remote camera, dispatch and route planning, and motor carrier services.
A national transportation company has already adopted MetTel's Fleet Management Solutions to deliver more packages with fewer resources in less time, according to the company. The product also helps the company automate, monitor and manage regulatory and compliance needs, including ELD, HOS, IFTA, DVIR and FMCSA regulations.
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...Read the rest of this storyA Senate panel has excluded commercial trucks from legislation it approved on Oct. 4 to assist the development and deployment of autonomous cars.
Unanimous passage by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation sends the AV Start Act (S. 1885) to the full Senate. Similar legislation that also excludes vehicles over 10,000 lbs. was passed by the House of Representatives last month.
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