FMCSA Clarifies How to Request a Non-Preventable Crash Data Review

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has clarified how carriers may go about requesting a data review of certain non-preventable crashes. Photo: FMCSA

Although the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration launched a demonstration program last summer that invited motor carriers to request a data review of certain non-preventable crashes, only now is the agency releasing “additional information to help submitters and other interested parties understand the demonstration program.”

The crash-preventability demo program began accepting requests for data review (RDRs) on August 1, 2017, for crashes that occurred on or after June 1, 2017. The agency proposed that a crash challenged through an RDR would be found “not preventable” when documentation submitted with the RDR established that the crash was, indeed, not preventable.

In its July 27, 2017 Federal Register notice announcing it would accept the RDRs, FMCSA said it would accept RDRs “to evaluate the preventability of certain categories of crashes” through its DataQs national data-correction system. More specifically, the agency proposed that a crash challenged through an RDR would be found “not preventable” when documentation submitted with the RDR established that the crash was, indeed, not preventable.

Now, per a notice published in the Federal Register for Feb. 7, the agency stated that over 2,500 RDRs have been submitted and that, “based on the experiences operating the program for the first few months,” the agency has identified areas of the program “requiring more instruction and details” including how to correctly submitting eligible crashes to the demonstration program; which specific types of crashes will be reviewed using the RDR process, and the importance of submitting all relevant evidence “in support of the preventability determination” being sought.

In addition to the all the details clarifying how to submit RDRs given within the latest Federal Register notice, the agency noted that additional information on ...Read the rest of this story

Earnings Watch: Better Profits for XPO, Forward Air, Echo Global Logistics

Most trucking companies so far this earnings reporting season are reporting big gains in profits in both the fourth quarter of last year as well as for all of 2017. This is due in large part to tax reform legislation, and numbers released Wednesday were no exception.

XPO Logistics Records $312 Million Profit

XPO Logistics Inc. reported revenue of $4.19 billion for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with $3.68 billion for the same period in 2016. Revenue increased year-over-year by $555.2 million, excluding fourth quarter 2016 revenue of $37.9 million from the North American truckload unit divested in October 2016.

Net income was $188.5 million for the quarter, $1.42 per share, compared with net income of $27.3 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company said it had $169.9 million in net tax benefit related to tax reform and other tax-related adjustments.

For the full year 2017, the company reported total revenue of $15.38 billion, compared with $14.62 billion for 2016. Revenue increased year-over-year by $1.19 billion, excluding 2016 revenue of $431.9 million from the North American truckload unit divested in October 2016.

Net income was $312.4 million, or $2.45 per share, compared with $63.1 million, or 53 cents per share for 2016.

"I'm pleased that we beat fourth quarter expectations for revenue, earnings per share, adjusted EBITDA, cash flow from operations and free cash flow,” said Bradley Jacobs, chairman and CEO. “We generated outsized organic revenue growth of 10.4%, led by gains in freight brokerage, last mile and contract logistics. A strong holiday peak played directly to our strengths in e-commerce.

He said in XPO's transportation segment, freight broker revenue increased by 33% while also increasing net revenue margin, both during the fourth quarter.

“Our North American less-than-truckload unit increased operating ...Read the rest of this story

CVSA Director Talks ELDs, Enforcement, and the Future

Mooney spoke about the disconnect between how trucking companies view some of the Alliance's enforcement and what the CVSA is actually trying to accomplish. Photo: CVSA

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Executive Director Collin Mooney gave a wide-ranging interview with Canadian trucking publication Today's Trucking, talking about how he views the organization's role in improving safety on our roads.

Mooney spoke about the disconnect between how trucking companies view some of the Alliance's enforcement and what the CVSA is actually trying to accomplish. He found that the rollout of the ELD mandate in December from an enforcement perspective has not gone completely according to plan.

“We are disappointed that our implementation process — our delay in implementing Out-of-Service conditions until April 1 — has been taken by many in the industry as the new implementation date. That wasn't the intent,” said Mooney. “I'm disappointed in the handful of people electing to install their ELDs so they meet the regulatory definition, but then still using paper. It's not meeting the regulatory intent.”

<img src="http://www.automotive-fleet.com/fc_images/news/m-collin-mooney-372x400.jpg" border="0" alt="

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance executive director Collin Mooney. Photo: CVSA

On the subject of Out of Service violations, Mooney reflected on how the kinds of violations found during inspections often point to larger problems with carriers and how they might be failing to enforce their own safety rules.

“If we're finding violations and documenting them at roadside, you have a failure within your annual inspection program, your preventive maintenance program, your driver trip inspection program,” he said. “Sometimes [truckers] rely on the roadside inspection program as their preventive maintenance program. We see that a lot, and that's not right. The carriers that invest in a preventive maintenance program are at a competitive disadvantage when you have motor carriers that do not.”

Mooney also discussed the influx of new technologies ...Read the rest of this story

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