Phillips Connect Technologies Names Bill Ellis Managing Director

William Ellis has been named the managing director of Phillips Connect Technologies, a division of Phillips Industries that specializes in plug and play connectivity.

Prior to joining Phillips Industries, Ellis was a partner at Keystone Transportation Solutions, a transportation service provider to international commodity traders on the Inland Port of Virginia. He received his bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University and an MBA in finance and accounting from Columbia. He also served in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant.

“In his new position, Bill will rely on his experience, his proven ability at cultivating and growing new relationships and his fit with Phillips philosophy of family values, hard work and listening to our customers,” said Rob Phillips, president and COO.

The Phillips Connect Technologies division's open platform is designed to work with sensor-driven components from several suppliers. The sensor data can be transmitted to the driver, fleet operations team or OEMs using various telematics options.

Related: Phillips Industries Names New Chiefs for Marketing and Trailer Sales

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Trucking and CSA Reform: The $64,000 Question

Photo: FMCSA

“That's the $64,000 question,” Steve Bryan replied when I asked him the other day whether having a supposedly pro-business administration in place will ensure reform of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability enforcement regime laid out by a new National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report will ultimately be implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

NAS last week publicly released its congressionally mandated report that provides a road map to reforming CSA. Boiled way down, the 132-page report calls for setting CSA scores via a methodology based on a wider pool of data (including driver compensation, vehicle miles traveled by state, and other factors) that would be phased in over two years to replace the current system.

By and large, trucking lobbyists swooned over the report— not surprising given the industry has long held that the existing Safety Measurement System used to ID commercial motor vehicle carriers at high risk for future crashes is highly defective. For example, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear said the report “confirmed much of what we have said about the program for some time. The program, while a valuable enforcement tool, has significant shortcomings that must be addressed, and we look forward to working with FMCSA to strengthen the program.”

Likewise, David Heller, vice president of Government Affairs, for the Truckload Carriers Association said the study “reaffirms what our industry has been saying all along, that there are inconsistencies with the Safety Measurement System. Safety-minded, forward-thinking carriers like the members of TCA should be able to stand behind their safety accomplishments, and being judged on those achievements, in an equitable manner, should be the basis of what CSA is all about.”

Now, as explained in a blog post by Avery Vise, president of compliance consultancy TransComply, FMCSA has four months—120 days— ...Read the rest of this story

Heartland Express Acquires Interstate Distributor Co.

Interstate Distributor Co., was acquired by Heartland Express for around $113 million. Photo via Interstate Distributor Facebook page

Truckload carrier Heartland Express has acquired 100% of the outstanding stock of Tacoma, Washington-based Interstate Distributor Co. from Saltchuk Resources, which bought IDC in 2011.

The acquisition was made for approximately $113 million, including $94 million in cash for equity, $23 million in assumed debt and $4 million of acquired cash. IDC's Tacoma headquarters and national terminal network overlap with existing Heartland locations and will be consolidated together over the near to medium term, according to Heartland.

“We are excited to add IDC's high-quality drivers, experienced personnel, and strong customer base to Heartland's operations,” said Michael Gerdin, chairman, president, and CEO of Heartland. “IDC is an excellent operational fit, as its terminal network has nearly direct overlap with our current locations. Heartland will gain significant additional traffic density in the West, and our stronger eastern network will improve service for IDC's customers in the East.”

IDC provides dry van truckload transportation services, primarily to the western and southeastern U.S., including local, regional, dedicated, and transcontinental services. The company's fleet consists of around 1,350 company tractors, 220 tractors run by independent contractors, and 4,700 trailers.

In each of the last three years, IDC was recognized as one of the top three safest fleets in America by the Truckload Carriers Association and has consistently been recognized as one of the Best Fleets to Drive For by CarriersEdge.

“Our first criterion is always safe and highly qualified professional truck drivers,” said Gerdin. “IDC has an experienced driver base with improving safety results over the past several years, and we are impressed by their culture."

Related: TCA Announces 2017 Best Fleets to Drive For

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Fleets Online: Merging pricing and performance

Company: Little Truck Solutions, Concord, NC

Operation: A privately owned and operated fleet of 55 cargo vans that serves the expedited and time-critical LTL/small shipment market

Created in 2002, Little Truck Solutions (LTS) focuses on an interesting niche in the freight business: LTL or smaller shipments, such as a 5-lb. box up to three pallets, where “agility” and “flexibility” in terms of delivery schedules are the critical factors.

read more

Hardware Report: Brake parts and linings

While there continues to be increased acceptance of air disc brake (ADB) systems in certain applications and operating environments, common concerns include parts identification and availability as well as serviceability of ADB components, noted Jeff Wittlinger, business unit director of wheel-end and braking systems at Hendrickson International.

“Numerous systems are available in the marketplace today, and they all use different air chambers, calipers and brake pads, which can make identifying and stocking parts a time-consuming task,” Wittlinger explained.

read more

Vocational Profile: Automating pays off

One of the largest temperature-controlled LTL operations in the U.S., Frozen Food Express (FFE), fields roughly 200 linehaul trucks to transport food between its 14 service centers, and about 700 trucks make more than 6,500 pickup and delivery stops each week.

read more

ArcBest Announces Space-Based Minimum Charges for LTL Shipments

Photo: ArcBest Freight

ArcBest announced it will apply space-based cubic minimum charges for less-than-truckload shipments, effective Aug. 1.

The Arkansas-based company, parent of ABF Freight and Panther Premium Logistics, said the minimum charges better reflect recent freight shipping trends, including the growth and shift toward bulkier shipments across the supply chain. Many shipping and logistics solutions also now include unique requirements, according to ArcBest.

“The logistics industry continues to change rapidly,” said Judy McReynolds, ArcBest chairman, president, and CEO. “We believe this initiative is the natural step for us to take now to ensure that the value we provide is appropriately reflected in the compensation we receive for our shipping and logistics services. We view this as a logical complement to the current weight-based pricing common in the LTL industry.”

Because of the rise of internet-based commerce, light weight but bulky shipments are becoming more common for carriers. These shipments take up a lot of space but don't weigh much, which is increasing the handling costs of the shipments for LTL carriers like ArcBest, according to a Journal of Commerce report.

Delivery companies such as UPS and FedEx have already implemented space-based charges for packages, increasing the price of bulky and lightweight freight. While this could increase costs for shippers, it may also encourage smarter packaging.

A new process will require customers to provide freight dimensions or have ArcBest calculate it for them, to determine applicable cubic minimum charges that will supplement weight-based metrics when appropriate. ArcBest already has dimensional data on more than 90% of the freight shipped through its asset-based network, according to the company.

To further capture shipment dimensions and validate shipment dimensions provided by customers, ArcBest will install static dimensioners at the majority of its distribution centers, expected to be in place by Aug. 1.

Related: How E-Commerce ...Read the rest of this story