News

In an effort backed by the American Trucking Associations to block the Biden Administration’s final rule on independent contractor classification, Representative Kevin Kiley (R-California) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval today.
 
“More than 350,000 truckers choose to work as independent contractors because of the economic opportunity it creates and the flexibility it provides, enabling them to run their own business and choose their own hours and routes.  The Biden Administration’s IC rule eliminates this freedom and intentionally undermines the livelihoods of truckers and their families across the country by replacing a clear, straight-forward standard with a tangled mess that will weaken our supply chain,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. 
 
The trucking industry has relied on independent contractors since the inception of interstate trucking, and court decisions over the last nine decades have continually reaffirmed the legitimate role independent contractors play in the economy. That freedom of choice has been an enormous source of empowerment for women, minorities and immigrants pursuing the American Dream.
 
In 2021, DOL issued a rule supported by ATA clarifying the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act as it relates to independent contractors. The department’s new rule, which ATA has sharply criticized, replaces the 2021 standard with an opaque and deliberately confusing standard designed to fuel frivolous litigation and deny self-employed individuals the freedom of choice to work as independent contractors.  This week, ATA joined a broad coalition of organizations in filing a lawsuit challenging the rule.
 
The rule was crafted under the leadership of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, who has repeatedly failed to recognize the importance of independent contractors and implemented California’s disastrous AB5 as the head of the state’s labor and workforce development agency. The ATA remains staunchly opposed to Su’s nomination to serve as secretary of labor.

“Had Julie Su actually spoken with drivers – not just big labor bosses – she would know this firsthand,” Spear said. “The ATA stands firmly behind Representative Kiley and Senator Cassidy's effort to defeat this ill-advised rule, and we will continue to work alongside them and other Members of Congress to protect Americans’ right to earn a living in the way that they choose.”

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced two winners in the 40th anniversary Goodyear Highway Hero program. Since 1983, Goodyear has recognized commercial drivers who go above and beyond their regular duties to keep our highways safe by acting courageously for the good of others on roadways across the U.S. and Canada.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced the winners of the Goodyear Highway Hero Award. Winners highlight the important role truckers play in keeping our highways safe by going above and beyond to help those in need. Since 1983, Goodyear has been recognizing commercial drivers who go above and beyond their regular duties to keep our highways safe.

Timothy VanNostrand, an owner/operator of his own logging transport company from Northville, New York, was named a winner of this year’s Goodyear Highway Hero award. VanNostrand sprang into action and used his logging truck to block a suspect’s escape when a New York State Trooper traffic stop escalated into a shootout.

Elijah Ramos, a driver for Ryder System, Inc., from Victorville, California, was named a winner of this year’s Goodyear Highway Hero award. As he drove through a remote desert area, Ramos witnessed a crash and sprang into action, assessing the situation and comforting an injured woman until help arrived.

"In 2023, we asked for nominations of commercial drivers who went above and beyond to help others on the road," said Rich Cottrell, senior director, Commercial Marketing. "The stories submitted this year reinforced the important job that commercial drivers play in our everyday lives and illustrate in heroic ways the powerful impact professional drivers can have on the roads, individual lives and communities when they help others."

The grand prize winners and runners-up in this year's program faced different challenges in the course of their duty but, in a similar fashion, jumped in to help, regardless of danger or situation.

In June 2023, Timothy VanNostrand, an owner/operator of his own logging transport company from Northville, New York, turned hero. During a New York State Trooper traffic stop that escalated into a shootout, VanNostrand sprang into action. He used his logging truck to block the suspect's escape, preventing a potentially disastrous situation. In those intense 12 minutes, gunfire exchanged between the trooper and the assailant. The suspect fled into nearby woods, pursued by police. Thanks to VanNostrand's swift response, the impact was contained, sparing motorists and pedestrians. Reflecting on the incident, the member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) humbly stated, "I'm just grateful to have been in the right place at the right time and place to prevent the situation from being much, much worse, as my seemingly normal Friday route turned something that you only see on television."

In September 2023, Elijah Ramos, a driver for Ryder System, Inc., was on his morning route in Victorville, California. As he drove through a remote desert area, he witnessed an SUV lose control, cross multiple lanes of traffic and crash into a field. Ramos sprang into action, assessing the situation and promptly alerting his dispatcher. He stayed with the injured young woman until help arrived, ensuring a swift response in the isolated location. "Since it was such a remote area, it could have been a long time until help arrived," said Ramos. "I was glad to be there when it happened and to call for help quickly." Afterward, he went back to work and resumed his route.

After a nationwide call for entries, finalists were identified and reviewed by a panel of independent industry judges to help select VanNostrand and Ramos as the grand prize winners. They will receive prizes from Goodyear in recognition of their heroic actions. After review, two additional finalists will be recognized as runners-up and receive their own Goodyear prizes. The runners-up are:

Joshua Day, an ABF Freight driver from Potsdam, Ohio, sprang into action when a motorist's truck and camper spun out of control, flipped and landed on the side of a busy road. Day swiftly pulled over, assisted the injured driver and ensured their safety by moving them away from a hazardous propane leak until first responders arrived.

Russel Peasley, a Brakebush Transportation driver from Necedah, Wisconsin, witnessed a car veer off a busy interstate, flip and land in a field. He sprang into action, joining other drivers to lift the car and rescue the trapped driver. After freeing her, Peasley stayed by her side, providing comfort until emergency medical services arrived.

The Goodyear Highway Hero Award is one way Goodyear helps recognize the importance of the commercial trucking industry. As prize recipients, VanNostrand, Ramos, Day and Peasley join the exclusive group of past honorees celebrating professional drivers who act selflessly for the good of others on the highways throughout the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about the Highway Hero Award, view exclusive content and read up about former winners, visit www.goodyeartrucktires.com/newsroom/highway-heroes/.

About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs about 71,000 people and manufactures its products in 55 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

 Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) removed CI ELD LOGS, CN ELD,  KSK ELD, TT ELD 30, and TT ELD 1010 devices from the list of registered Electronic Logging Devices (ELD). FMCSA placed these ELDs on the Revoked Devices list due to the companies’ failure to meet the minimum requirements established in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A. The removals are effective February 28, 2024.

FMCSA will send an industry-wide email to inform motor carriers that all who use these revoked ELDs must take the following steps:

1. Discontinue using the revoked ELDs and revert to paper logs or logging software to record required hours of service data.
2. Replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs from the Registered Devices list before April 28, 2024.

Motor carriers have up to 60 days to replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs. If the ELD providers correct all identified deficiencies for their devices, FMCSA will place the ELDs back on the list of registered devices and inform the industry of the update.
During this time, safety officials are encouraged not to cite drivers using these revoked ELDs for 395.8(a)(1) – “No record of duty status” or 395.22(a) – “Failing to use a registered ELD.” Instead, safety officials should request the driver’s paper logs, logging software, or use the ELD display as a back-up method to review the hours of service data.

Beginning April 28, 2024, motor carriers who continue to use the revoked devices listed above will be considered as operating without an ELD. Safety officials who encounter a driver using a revoked device on or after April 28, 2024 should cite 395.8(a)(1), and place the driver out-of-service (OOS) in accordance with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance OOS Criteria.

FMCSA strongly encourages motor carriers to take the actions listed above now to avoid compliance issues in the event that the deficiencies are not addressed by the ELD providers.

For more information on ELDs, visit FMCSA’s ELD implementation website.

For Immediate Release:  February 27, 2024

Contact:  Jeanette Hoffman (908) 418-0859

NJ MOTOR TRUCK ASSOCIATION AND NJ FUEL MERCHANTS RESPOND 

TO MURPHY BUDGET TRANSPORTATION FUNDING:

“LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME DRIVERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES SHOULDN’T PAY MORE WHILE WEALTHIER EV OWNERS PAY NOTHING”

TRENTON — In response to Governor Murphy proposing the FY 2025 Budget today, Eric DeGesero, lobbyist for the NJ Motor Truck Association and Fuel Merchants Association of NJ released the following statement:

“In the next few months, the Governor and Legislature will make critical decisions regarding transportation that will have a dramatic economic impact on NJ businesses, consumers, and families as it relates to the Transportation Trust Fund and New Jersey Transit.

First, if the Murphy Administration is committed to living up to their own words of ‘stronger and fairer’, they need to ensure they don’t disproportionately hurt low and middle-income families and small businesses by raising the gas tax to reauthorize the TTF and not allow wealthier EV owners to continue to pay nothing to fund our roads and bridges.

In fact, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, EVs can be as much as 33% heavier than their gas counterparts. Therefore, EVs place a disproportionate amount of wear and tear on our roads and bridges.  Before asking low and middle-income drivers to pay more, it’s time EV owners contribute to the roads on which they drive.

We appreciate a recent proposal from seven South Jersey lawmakers, including Senators Burzichelli and Moriarty and Assemblywoman Katz, to implement an annual registration fee on electric cars to create recurring revenues for the state’s Transportation Trust Fund. In fact, if all registered EVs paid $300 per year, this would generate an additional $28.5 million annually, as of June 30, 2023.*

The TTF raises $2 billion annually from truckers and motorists for infrastructure projects. However, $760 million, or 38% of the total, goes to NJ Transit for capital expenditures.  And this isn’t all that truckers and motorists contribute to NJ Transit. 

In FY 2024 $440 million in NJ Turnpike Authority funds went to subsidize NJ Transit’s operations.  Those tolls are likely to increase 3% and published reports suggest that increase may be annual. With a big, and increasing, funding shortfall, some may suggest an increased contribution from truckers and motorists to fund NJ Transit. However, they already pay far beyond their fair share. Any TTF reauthorization cannot increase the amount of fuel taxes or toll revenue that is currently diverted to fund NJ Transit.

Finally, everything we buy gets to the store or our front door via a truck, sometimes multiple trucks. And at some point the things we buy wind up in a warehouse. The Governor is proposing a $1 fee on trucks that use warehouses. This one more fee that will be passed on to consumers. Why not a $1 fee on containers offloading at the port? How about a $1 check-out fee at the grocery store? In his speech the governor discussed the cost of things like groceries. Higher tolls and higher fees are passed on to consumers and result in higher costs, like for groceries.

The NJ Motor Truck Association and Fuel Merchants Association of NJ look forward to constructively engaging with the state’s leaders and other stakeholders to ensure that the policies enacted are fair and equitable for all.”

#####

* According to the Federal Highway Administration in 2022 the average NJ driver drove 12,263  miles per year. The average vehicle in 2021 got 21.55 miles per gallon (US Department of Transportation).  12,263 miles/21.55 mpg = 569 gallons. NJ Petroleum Gross Receipts & Motor Fuels Tax = 42.3 cents/gallon. 569 gallons x $0.423/gallon = $240.69. (rounded up to nearest $100) 95,097 EVs x $300/yr. = $28,529,100.

The American Transportation Research Institute today issued a request for motor carriers to participate in ATRI’s annual update to its Operational Costs of Trucking report.

ATRI’s Operational Costs of Trucking is one of the most trusted resources in the industry for benchmarking costs and operations.  ATRI collects data confidentially from for-hire motor carriers of all sectors, regions, and sizes – from 1-truck owner-operators to 10,000-truck fleets – to produce insights on key industry trends that guide decision-makers of all kinds.

Cost metrics requested by ATRI include driver pay, insurance premiums, and equipment lease or purchase payments.  Carriers and owner-operators can submit these costs for the year 2023 on a per-mile or per-hour basis with an easy-to-use online data entry form or an emailed PDF form.  Additional questions cover operational metrics such as the percentage of empty miles, dwell time per stop, and driver turnover.

All participating motor carriers receive a customized report that compares their fleet’s costs and operations to peer carriers of the same sector and size, as well as an advance copy of the full report.

“We contribute data to ATRI’s Operational Costs every year because its findings are indispensable to our operations,” said Jason Higginbotham, Ozark Motor Lines Chief Financial Officer.  “The customized peer-group analysis provides us an essential update on how our fleet performs, while the full report allows us to identify industry-wide trends and communicate them to our partners.”

For-hire motor carriers are encouraged to provide operational cost data to ATRI by Friday, April 26.  ATRI’s data collection form is available online here, along with a sample customized report and FAQ.  All confidential information is protected, and it is published only in anonymized, aggregate form.

ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501c3 not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.

A Final Rule issued today by the Federal Maritime Commission establishes new requirements for how common carriers and marine terminal operators (MTOs) must bill for demurrage and detention charges, providing clarity on who can be billed, within what timeframe, and the process for disputing bills.

A key provision of this rule determines that demurrage or detention invoices can only be issued to either: (1) the person for whose account the billing party provide ocean transportation or storage of cargo and who contracted with the billing party for the ocean transportation or storage of cargo; or (2) the “consignee,” defined as “the ultimate recipient of the cargo; the person to whom final delivery of the cargo is to be made”. Demurrage and detention bills cannot be issued to multiple parties simultaneously.

The rule also requires vessel-operating-common carriers (VOCCs) and MTOs to issue detention and demurrage invoices within 30 calendar days from when charges were last incurred. Non-vessel-operating common carriers must issue demurrage and detention invoices within 30 calendar days from the issuance date of the invoice they received.

Billed parties have at least 30 calendar days to make fee mitigation, refund, or waiver requests. If a timely filed request is made, the billing party must attempt to resolve the matter within 30 calendar days, unless both parties agree to a longer timeframe.

The new rule will advance the Commission’s goal of promoting supply chain fluidity by ensuring a clear connection between the failure to pick-up cargo or return equipment in a timely manner and the appropriate fee. The rule ensures that billed parties understand the demurrage or detention invoices they receive by requiring certain identifiable information be included by the billing party on the invoice. Failing to include any of the required information in a detention or demurrage invoice eliminates any obligation of the billed party to pay the applicable charge. Of course, if an invoice does comply, a charged party does have an obligation to pay charges billed. The new rule will provide relief to parties who should never have received a bill for detention or demurrage.

Most of the rule takes effect on May 26, 2024. The “Contents of Invoice” section 541.6 involves information collection and must be approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The Commission will announce the effective date of section 541.6 once approved.

Today, American Trucking Associations’ Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference hailed the Federal Maritime Commission decision upholding a previous ruling that ocean carriers violated federal law by requiring trucking companies to use specific intermodal chassis providers when moving containers.

“The FMC has now confirmed that the actions of these ocean carriers are a clear violation of federal law and must stop,” said IMCC Executive Director Jonathan Eisen. “IMCC and ATA have been fighting this conduct by foreign-owned ocean carriers for more than a decade, so this ruling has been a long time coming.”

IMCC filed its complaint against the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association, Consolidated Chassis Management and the world’s largest ocean carriers with the FMC in 2020, alleging, among other things, that they have denied motor carriers the ability to choose their provider when obtaining this essential equipment, leading to unjust and unreasonable prices for trucking companies. Yesterday’s action by the full FMC upholds the 2023 decision of an FMC administrative law judge that this conduct violated the Shipping Act. 

“With details to be finalized by the ALJ, hard-working American trucking companies will now be able to choose their chassis providers, rather than being taken advantage of by a cartel of overseas shipping lines,” Eisen said. “By affirming motor carriers’ right to chassis choice, the FMC has taken action to reduce supply chain delays and cut costs for motor carriers and consumers.”

Extreme winter weather has caused the Port Authority of NY/NJ ("PANYNJ") to close ALL five container terminals* for the entire day today. As a result, TRAC Intermodal will waive today's chassis rental fees, provided the chassis is returned to a TRAC Start/Stop location in the NY/NJ Metro area the first day any of the terminals reopens. 

There is no need to submit any documentation. The waiver of the daily rental fee will be applied as a credit to your invoice, subject to the following:

• The chassis must have been out-gated from a TRAC Start/Stop location in the NY/NJ Metro area at least one business day prior to the day the terminals are closed;
• The credit will be applied only with respect to each business day that PANYNJ closes all five terminals for the entire day (i.e., not a partial day);
• The credit will be for the day all five terminals are closed and will be in the amount of the daily rental charge that would otherwise accrue with respect to the day of closure;
• The credit will not accrue with respect to holidays or weekends; and
• The credit does not apply to chassis on-hire under term lease agreements.

*PANYNJ container terminals: Port Newark Container Terminal; Maher Terminals; APM Terminals; and Port Liberty New York & Bayonne Terminals. 

Thank you for your continued support of the TRAC Metro Pool.

New York

​**** ALL Commercial Travel restrictions cleared***

·      I-87 between exit 24 (Albany - Montreal - I-90 East - I-87 North) and the New York City Line - Major Deegan Expressway (I-87)

·      Berkshire Connector from the Thruway (I-87) mainline to the Massachusetts State Line (I-90)

·      New England Thruway (I-95) from the Bruckner Expressway (I-95) to the Connecticut State Line

·      Cross Westchester Expressway (I-287) from the Thruway (I-87) to the New England Thruway (I-95)

·     I-84 from Connecticut State Line and Pennsylvania State Line 

Pennsylvania 

​**** ALL Commercial Travel restrictions cleared***

**ACTIVE**

 

Connecticut

A travel ban for all tandem tractor trailers and empty tractor trailers is in effect on all limited access highways in Connecticut

ConnDOT: Crash (Jackknifed) on I-91 Southbound between Exits 23 and 22S. The right and center lanes are closed.

New Jersey

The commercial vehicle travel restriction active or the following highways in both directions: 

 

• I-78 (entire length) 

• I-80 (entire length)

• I-280 (entire length)

• I-287 (entire length)

• Route 440 (between I-287 to the Outer Bridge Crossing) 

• I-195 (entire length)

• I-295 (Pennsylvania border/Scudder Falls Bridge to Exit 60 at I-195) 

The commercial vehicle travel restriction applies to: • All tractor trailers (exceptions as listed in the Administrative Order) • Empty straight CDL-weighted trucks • Passenger vehicles pulling trailers • Recreational vehicles • Motorcycles.

Washington, D.C. – The American Transportation Research Institute today released its 13th annual list highlighting the most congested bottlenecks for trucks in America. The 2024 Top Truck Bottleneck List measures the level of truck-involved congestion at over 325 locations on the national highway system.  The analysis, based on an extensive database of freight truck GPS data, uses several customized software applications and analysis methods, along with terabytes of data from trucking operations to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location.  ATRI’s truck GPS data is also used to support numerous state and federal freight mobility initiatives.  The bottleneck locations detailed in this latest ATRI list represent the top 100 congested locations, although ATRI continuously monitors more than 325 freight-critical locations. For the sixth year in a row, the intersection of I-95 and SR 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey is once again the Number One freight bottleneck in the country.  The remaining Top 10 bottlenecks include:

2. Chicago: I-294 at I-290/I-88 3. Chicago: I-55 4. Houston: I-45 at I-69/US 59 5. Atlanta: I-285 at I-85 (North) 6. Atlanta: I-20 at I-285 (West)

7. Los Angeles: SR 60 at SR 57 8. Houston: I-10 at I-45 9. Atlanta: I-285 at SR 400 10. Nashville: I-24/I-40 at I-440 (East)

“Traffic congestion on our National Highway System inflicts an enormous cost on the supply chain and environment, adding $95 billion to the cost of freight transportation and generating 69 million metric tons of excess carbon emissions every year,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “The freight bottlenecks identified in this report provide an actionable blueprint for state and federal transportation officials on where to invest infrastructure funding most cost-effectively. Increasing freight efficiency should be a top priority for the U.S. DOT, and alleviating these bottlenecks would improve highway safety, protect the environment and support interstate commerce.” For access to the full report, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, please visit ATRI’s website here.  ATRI is also providing animations created with truck GPS data for select bottleneck locations, all available on the website.