The Senate transportation appropriations subcommittee on April 19 will consider a fiscal 2017 spending measure that is likely not to reflect the Obama administration’s funding priorities.
April 18, 2016GovernmentBusinessSafetyAutonomous
Capitol Agenda for the Week of April 19: Addition by Appropriations?
Trucking leaders have been pressing Congress to adopt a meal-and-rest-break proposal, as well as corrective language to an hours-of-service provision in a fiscal 2016 funding law. This week, Senate funding leaders might be listening. Here's the week ahead for trucking on Capitol Hill.
April 19, 2016BusinessTechnologyEquipmentSafetyGovernmentAutonomous
Cass Freight Index Dips 1.5% in March from 2015 Level
Cass Information Systems’ freight index, based primarily on trucking, dipped 1.5% in March on a year-over-year basis, but gained 1.4% from February of this year.
April 18, 2016Letters to the EditorBusinessGovernmentSafetyFuel
US Needs to Be Energy Independent
I read Transport Topics regarding Exxon Mobil’s recent shipment of its first tanker load of U.S. crude oil from Beaumont, Texas, to its refinery in Sicily, Italy. The article also indicated that a 40-year export ban had been lifted.
April 18, 2016PerspectiveBusinessSafetyGovernment
The ELD Mandate's Carrot and Stick
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration finally released the long-awaited electronic logging device mandate’s final rule in December. The rule states that motor carriers without a current solution in place now have until December 2017 to implement ELDs for any vehicle or combination of vehicles with an actual weight and/or Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 10,001 pounds or more. The rule is meant to improve compliance with hours-of-service safety rules.
April 18, 2016EditorialBusinessSafetyGovernment
Congressional Capacity
As expected, 2016 has been a slow year on Capitol Hill, especially when it comes to transportation.
April 18, 2016BusinessGovernmentSafetyAutonomous
Industry: Training Proposal to Worsen Driver Shortage
Many in the trucking industry say the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed entry-level driver training rule has the potential to exacerbate the nation’s driver shortage. The rule requires that students log at least 30 hours of behind-the-wheel training time.
April 18, 2016GovernmentBusinessTechnologyEquipment
ELD Mandate Poses Special Challenge for Truck Leasing, Rental Operations
As the trucking industry prepares for the federal electronic logging mandate, carriers and equipment providers are grappling with one of the murkier aspects of the regulation — how to use the technology in lease and rental vehicles.
April 18, 2016Government
Brokers Disappointed to Be Included in New Rule on Food Transportation
A few years ago, freight brokers asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to clarify whether they would be responsible parties when the agency published its final rule on the safe transport of food.
April 18, 2016Government
Tire Safety to Be Focus of CVSA Roadcheck
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 2016 International Roadcheck will take place June 7-9, with an emphasis on tire safety inspections.
April 18, 2016