Trump Administration Supports Apprenticeship Program Expansion

U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta speaking at ATA's Management Conference & Exhibition. Photo: Deborah Lockridge

ORLANDO – The Trump Administration will make it easier for groups such as the American Trucking Associations and the trucking industry to put in place apprentice programs to cross the job skills gap and help address driver and technician shortages, said U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta at ATA's Management Conference & Exhibition.

“American companies have 6.1 million job openings today,” Acosta said. “That's a record high, almost the highest since we started keeping these statistics. There were 247,000 in transportation and warehousing as of this month's report. Job creators want to hire. And Americans want to work, with nearly 7 million individuals looking for jobs. Job seekers need different skills to fill the open jobs. This is frequently referred to as the skills gap.”

One solution, he said, and one the Trump administration is pushing, is rapid expansion of apprenticeship programs. The administration is creating something called “industry recognized apprenticeships.” The U.S. Department of Labor Task Force on Apprenticeship.

“Apprentices earn skills for which there is actual demand,” Acosta said. “You're educated in something for which there are jobs open. Second they earn while they learn, lessening the burden of student debt. Third, apprentices gain expertise from the real experts in the field.”

Yet apprenticeships are vastly underutilized, Acosta noted, making up only 0.3% of American workers – and the average age is 28, meaning workers are only finding out about these opportunities mid-career.

“By rapidly expanding apprenticeship opportunities, we can create new career pathways, especially for students, for young Americans looking for jobs,” Acosta said.

Expanding apprenticeships across all industries is a priority for the Trump administration, he said, and an executive order created a new model of industry-recognized apprenticeships. The Department of Labor will bring together trade and ...Read the rest of this story

Navistar to Raise Truck Prices by up to 2%

Photo: International Truck

Citing rising commodity prices, Navistar has announced that it will raise truck prices by up to 2% in the coming year.

That marginal increase will be offset by the overall value that new model trucks provide to customers, said Michael Cancelliere, president trucks and parts, during a media briefing at the American Trucking Associations annual meeting.

“We continually improve our own productivity, but there is a point when suppliers raise costs to us that we can't just absorb 100% of it,” he said. “We still have to be competitive. It's a competitive industry.”

The price changes will vary by model, depending on the level of content in the different trucks.

“If you can get better fuel economy on a daily basis over a three-, four-, five-year period, I'm sure that's worth well in excess of the increase,” Cancelliere said. Every day of downtime is also valued at about $1,000 on the low side, not counting intangible costs such as dissatisfied drivers and shippers. Reliable trucks and effective service networks make a difference there.

The market itself also appears to offer a growing demand for new trucks.

Overall, Class 6 and 7 truck orders are up 14.3% year over year as of August, while heavy vehicle demand was up 39%, and the demand for trucks in severe service applications was up 25.5%, Cancelliere said. Navistar's share of the medium-duty and Class 8 market has increased 1.4 points year over year, he added.

Economic growth accelerated in the second and third quarter, Cancelliere said, projecting that North America's market for Class 6, 7, and 8 vehicles will continue to rise.

“Right now (with) the truckload carriers, freight is strong, capacity is tight, rates are up,” he said of the current economic environment and strong orders for sleepers.

Last week, Navistar secured a US $200 million order from US Xpress, ...Read the rest of this story

Some ELD relief for vehicle rentals

SleepSafe Drivers names Vigillo founder to Board of Directors

ATA president: Time for ELD fighting is over

Eyes on the road; Hands on the wheel; Driver control of information flow

Some ELD relief for vehicle rentals