Panel of pros to address trucking's image

Meeting scrapes surface on system to clear ice, snow

In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photo: Public Domain

Heavy Duty Trucking is recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day by presenting some of the significant content of our editorial staff that has appeared recently in our daily newsletters.

Our editors not only put in hard work to publish our print magazine, but also put out great online content, all of which is written to help improve your fleet business as well as provide various thoughts on every aspect of the industry.

Whether it is our test drives, blogs, or feature articles, all of it is done in the hope that our readers will gain new and useful insights on trucking.

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The Not-So-New Capitol Hill Players…

Photo: Architect of the Capitol

While professional pundits and coffee klatschers still debate whether Donald Trump's election was an historic upset or merely inevitable, his tenure in the Oval Office will be markedly different—in tone, style and substance— than has been that of President Obama.

How the Trump Presidency ultimately pans out, of course, remains to be seen. But a key influence on how well the 45th President might succeed as an agent of change is as clear as the electoral-college vote— the GOP establishment still holds sway on Capitol Hill.

The Democratic Party gained only six House seats in 2016, giving the GOP a 241-194 majority.

In the Senate, only two seats were gained by Democrats. When you count the two Independent senators who caucus with the Democrats, the Republicans end up with a 52-48 edge. So, as of Inauguration Day, it will be the first time since 2011 that one party has occupied the White House and controlled both the House and Senate.

The newly seated 115th Congress (Jan. 2017 to Jan. 2019) is virtually a mirror image of the preceding body. That's reflected in the return of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and their chief lieutenants to their leadership posts.

Not surprisingly, then, key transportation leaders on Capitol Hill will again be taking up their prior committee and subcommittee chairmanships to play major roles in passing infrastructure spending bills, safety regulations and other legislation that may impact trucking specifically and U.S. business generally over the next four years.

Let's start with arguably the most prominent face of transportation in Congress, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA). He is again serving as Chairman of the pivotal Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The committee handles legislation affecting all modes of transportation and is also tasked with oversight ...Read the rest of this story

Commentary: Cutting to the Chase

Deborah Lockridge

“How much will it cost?”

At any press conference Tom Berg attends, you can count on that question being asked. If not that one, then another equally likely to make the OE or supplier representatives squirm.

“He has forever focused on digging for details he feels his readers need. He's a master at asking questions — sometimes prickly ones — that don't occur to most reporters,” says Doug Condra, former president of Newport Communications, at that time publishers of HDT, who hired Tom.

But it will soon be up to others to carry on that legacy. After nearly 40 years covering the trucking industry, Tom will retire as a full-time senior editor of HDT at the end of this month.

Tom worked in television news and public relations before becoming a trucking reporter and was editor of Road King and American Trucker before coming to work for HDT. He got his introduction to trucks working his way through Marquette University's College of Journalism by driving newspaper delivery trucks, graduating in 1965. He served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, and remains an active member of American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts in Westerville, Ohio. A founder of the Truck Writers of North America, he has been awarded 10 Jesse H. Neal honors for business journalism.

“Years ago, Tom brought our publications a strong background in both journalism and trucking,” Condra says. “His inquisitive nature, a penchant for accurate reporting and crisp, concise writing style quickly became his trademark.”

One of the people who was on the receiving end of some of those questions was Don Alles, a longtime PR professional for a major component manufacturer. “In many ways, Tom was both the conscience and subconscious of the trucking press corps,” he says. “He would ask the tough questions, like ‘how ...Read the rest of this story

Trucking in the 21st Century

The 21st century has long been seen as a time when technology — flying cars and tricorders, moon colonies and household robots — would change our lives. What is often overlooked is the fact that times of technological innovation also can spark disruption and upheaval in long-established industries and companies. It would seem the trucking industry has reached that point.

In its annual State of Logistics Report released last summer, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals observed that the transportation and logistics business is entering a new era. “Disruptive” forces such as the Internet of Things, big data, autonomous vehicles and robotics, and 3D printing, along with operational factors such as increasing regulations, driver shortages, increasing customer and shipper demands, and infrastructure constraints, “will evolve at breakneck speed and threaten to fundamentally change the rules of the game.”

Andrew McAfee, an MIT scientist who studies how technological progress changes business, the economy, and society, observes, “Technology is moving faster than just about anything else these days.” He says you can break the changes down into three main areas:

1. Sensors and electronic control units are now on nearly any piece of equipment. “It's getting very cheap to do that.”

2. Once you've equipped something with sensors or an ECU, it has the ability to provide data. “We finally have real artificial intelligence that can take all that data, see patterns in it, make predictions based on it, and provide another source of intelligence in addition to human beings.”

3. “We now have networks that go all around the world and connect human knowledge, artificial intelligence, and all of this smart equipment,” a phenomenon also known as the Internet of Things.

“The very freight trucks move in certain sectors is changing as new logistics models emerge and gain traction,” says Sandeep Kar, global VP of automotive ...Read the rest of this story

DOT Report Reveals $926 Billion Infrastructure Need

Photo: Evan Lockridge

The nation's highway and transit systems need to overcome a nearly trillion-dollar investment backlog, according to a new report on the state of America's transportation infrastructure commissioned by the Department of Transportation.

The report, 2015 Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges and Transit: Conditions and Performance, identified an $836-billion backlog of unmet capital investment needs for highways and bridges.

Conditions and Performance is a biennial report to Congress that provides information on the physical and operating characteristics of the highway, bridge and transit components of the nation's surface transportation system.

“We have an infrastructure system that is fundamental to the nation's economic health, and it needs greater attention and resources,” said Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. “Improving our nation's roads, bridges, and transit helps create jobs, connects communities and ensures that our nation is equipped for the future.”

Addressing the growing backlog while still meeting other needs over the next two decades will require $142.5 billion in combined transportation spending from state, federal and local governments.

In 2012, the most recent year for which the report's data was available, federal, state and local governments combined spent $105.2 billion on infrastructure– 35.5% less than what was needed to improve highways and bridges.

“The case for more investment in our nation's transportation system is clear,” said Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. “A strong transportation system will make businesses more productive and freight shippers safer and more efficient while improving America's quality of life.”

The report also indicates a $26.4-billion need per year to improve the condition of transit rail and bus systems. In 2012, total spending to preserve and expand transit systems was $17 billion. The report indicates that if spending were to remain at the $17-billion level, overall transit system conditions are expected to decline over the next 20 years. This would increase the transit system ...Read the rest of this story