ELDs Don’t Have to Be a Productivity Killer

It may turn out that the ELD mandate that hits in December will not have much further impact on driver productivity as so many fleets have already made adjustments to their operations.  Photos: iStockPhoto

You could argue that the federal mandate requiring the use of electronic logging devices for most trucks involved in interstate commerce could be the biggest shakeup the trucking industry has seen since President Jimmy Carter signed the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 37 years ago this month, which deregulated the interstate trucking industry.

Trucking companies large and small have expressed for quite some time their concerns that the ELDs to be required come December will cut productivity, meaning less revenues and profits. Yet while that may happen, especially for those waiting until the last minute to get on the ELD bandwagon, there are indications that negative productivity effects will be outweighed by other productivity gains fleets have made in recent years – and by other changes that can be made.

“My take on ELDs and productivity losses is that looking at the industry in total, you won't see much impact going forward,” says Chris Kemmer, consultant at CK Commercial Vehicle Research.

This spring, her firm conducted a fleet productivity survey of nearly 60 decision-makers from small, medium and large for-hire, private and municipal operations. She believes that for those required to add ELDs, there will certainly be some who lose productivity, at least in the beginning. However, Kemmer also found there have been so many other changes in trucking – improved vehicle performance, automated transmissions, and even shop management programs, for instance – that any loss of productivity from ELDs will be offset.

“There are so many other things that are counteracting that loss from ELDs, that, in my view, and it's only my opinion, that at the end of the day ...Read the rest of this story

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Earnings Watch: C.H. Robinson Earnings Fall 22.4% from Year Earlier

Multi-modal freight transportation services and third-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. reported its second quarter net income fell 22.4% from a year ago despite a 12.4% hike in total revenue.

Net income totaled $111.1 million, or 78 cents per share, during the period compared to $143.1 million, or $1 per share, a year earlier. Revenue totaled $3.71 billion compared to $3.3 billion for the second quarter of 2016.

“We were able to continue to achieve market share gains during the second quarter; however, our income and EPS (earnings per share) results were disappointing and finished below our expectations,” said John Wiehoff, chairman and CEO.

According to Wiehoff, the results were significantly affected by truckload margin compression as purchased transportation costs increased significantly during the quarter while much of the company's customer pricing is committed at relatively flat levels.

Part of the result was a drop of 22.2% in income from operations, totaling $181.8 million for the second quarter of the year.

The company's North American surface transportation (NAST) operation, which provides truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal services across the continent, saw total revenue increase 10.3% to $2.4 billion during the quarter as freight volume increased.

However, income from operations fell 23.2% to $140.3 million as NAST net revenues decreased 9.8% to $359.9 million in the second quarter of 2017, primarily from a decline in truckload net revenues.

The global forwarding segment saw total revenue increase 48.2% to $528.8 million while income from operations improved 23.6% to $27.7 million due to increases in business from its ocean freight, airfreight and customs brokerage services.

Robinson Fresh, which primarily includes the buying, selling, and marketing of fresh fruits, vegetables and other perishable items from around the world, reported revenue was flat at $657 million while income from operations fell by nearly 48% to $14.2 million as it saw operating expenses jump ...Read the rest of this story

Commentary: Finding a Good Fit When Selecting a Service Provider

Denise Rondini

It seems to be an age-old quandary for fleets: keep maintenance and repair in house, or outsource it. According to MacKay & Company surveys, fleets consistently say they want to outsource more of their maintenance and repair — yet year after year they do not do so.

For outsourcing to be successful the fleet has to find a provider that is a good fit for its operation. There is no quick formula you can use to find the perfect company, be it dealer, independent repair garage or truck stop, to outsource service work to.

However, there are some actions you can take that will get you close to finding the service provider(s) that will mesh best with your operation.

A good place to start is with a list of expectations of not only the types of work you need to have completed, but also things like the hours in which you want work performed, how often and in what manner you want to be communicated with during the repair process, and even what types of reports you expect once the repair is completed. For a complete list of questions to ask service providers, see this issue's cover story.

While checking on service providers online is a good way to narrow the field, a visit to the service provider's location is one of the best ways to determine if the company is a good fit for you. Another is talking to other customers of the shop that run equipment similar to yours.

Going to the shop gives you an idea of the culture of the service provider. If its culture is similar to yours, it is more likely they will do what it takes to meet your needs, especially in crunch times.

Joe Laux, CEO of River States Truck and Trailer, says you should ...Read the rest of this story

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U.S. rep looks to delay ELDs