This is the TDMST Weekly Round-Up of news affecting professional truck drivers, written by Vicki Simons for the week ending October 16, 2021.
We welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.
1. Regarding supply chain and ports:
There are a lot of moving parts going on in the U.S. economy right now, including the supply chain, containers, ports, employment, vaxxine requirements under the guise of law, etc.
Just remember that as long as there are people who need things, there will always be a need to transport those things from the manufacturers to the people (perhaps through a number of steps).
The Creator of the universe gave you a number of body systems to help you stay well and healthy. Over the centuries, mankind has figured out how to use natural products and certain common sense actions to maintain vibrant health.
Beware of — and I dare say, avoid — potentially toxic substances and procedures that can irreversibly alter or destroy your health.
Supply chain
- A $1.7 Trillion Financing Gap Is Making Supply Shortages Worse
- Biden and Democrats Accused of Exploiting Supply Chain Crisis to Push ‘Socialist Agenda’
- Biden: 24/7 Operations to Help Supply Chain
- Fixing Supply Chain Won’t Be Easy, Experts Say
- How did we get here? Why supply chains are so wrecked
- How do we fix the supply chain mess?
- Improve supply chain by fixing pay, detention time, truckers say
- President Biden Says Trucking Companies Must ‘Step Up’ Amid Supply Chain Woes
- ‘Shortage of Truck Drivers’ NOT to Blame For Worsening Supply Chain Crisis, Group Argues
- SoCal Port Program To Unclog Supply Chains Bogged Down in Minutia
- Supply chain hurdles not high enough to thwart J.B. Hunt’s Q3 beat
- Supply chain plan must also address detention, OOIDA says
- Trucking Execs Warn of ‘Supply Chain Disaster’ Due to New U.S. Cross-Border Vax Mandate
- TrusTrace to expand supply chain sustainability tracking with $6M Series A
- Walmart, FedEx, and UPS commit to 24/7 operations to address supply chain bottlenecks, White House says
Ports
- All Hands On Deck’ at Seattle, Tacoma Ports
- Biden to meet with ports, labor on supply chain bottlenecks
- Biden tries to tame inflation with plan to move backlog of goods
- Can port congestion be fixed?
- China port congestion falls sharply, trans-Pacific shipping rates retreat
- Containership Jam in SE Asia Worst Since April
- Crunch Time at Southern California Ports
- How fast can LA clear out its ships?
- Intermodal haulers fight off a ‘system collapse’ at ports
- Port of Charleston importing more consumer goods ‘than ever before’
- Port of L.A. to Shift to 24/7 Operations
- The White House’s sprint to fix port problems
- Video shows a mind-boggling number of shipping containers piled up at port amid supply chain crisis
- Viewpoint: Here’s the truth behind the 24/7 port operations pledge
- Will Biden’s 24/7 Port Plan Alleviate Supply Chain Problems?
2. Regarding shipping and economy:
Shipping
Economy
- Carriers hold pricing power after sluggish start to Q4
- Class 8 Sales Drop 10.4% in September
- E-commerce, elevated inventories to keep warehouse demand hot, Prologis head says
- Frustrated Freight Hauling Industry Results in Fewer North American Class 8 Truck Orders
- FTR’s Trucking Conditions back on the rise in August
- Halloween has gone online: E-commerce sales to reach nearly $3B in 2021
- Higher rates lead to improved trucking conditions
- September Medium-Duty Sales Flat at Almost 20,000
- Trailer orders ramp up in September, pushing existing bookings into 2022
- Trailer orders spike 130% as some OEMs begin taking ’22 orders
- Wholesale Prices Rose Record 8.6% Over 12 Months
3. Regarding AB5, lawsuit, testing, and licenses:
AB5
Lawsuit
- Jury Quickly Returns Guilty Verdict on 27 Counts For Trucker Charged in Deadly I-70 Crash
- UPS truck driver escapes $27 million judgment … for now
Testing
- OOIDA to FMCSA: Provide relief for drug testing disruptions
- Truckers facing ‘significant challenges and frustration’ finding drug and alcohol testing services, group warns
- Truckers warn federal regulators of drug-testing bottlenecks
Licenses
4. Regarding debt and COVID-19:
Debt
No one can continue to expand the use of credit and debt forever.
Sooner or later, the chickens will come home to roost.
COVID-19
Remember that so-called “mandates” are not the same thing as “law.”
I recently learned from a document from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that monies to be disbursed under the “American Rescue Plan Act” includes this requirement:
Recipient also agrees to comply with all other applicable federal statutes, regulations, and executive orders, and Recipient shall provide for such compliance by other parties in any agreements it enters into with other parties relating to this award.
If you have qualified for ARPA funds, be aware that so-called “Executive Orders” are not the law, that they may be a moving target, and may include procedures that will harm human health and help to destroy the economy.
If I were listed as a potential recipient and I learned about this requirement, I would refuse the money or return it.
Remember regarding government-issued money:
“With the shekels come the shackles.”
- 3 Canadian drivers claim dismissal for following Uber’s COVID guidelines
- ATA’s Spear questions vaccine mandate
- Cross-border truck drivers to face vaccine mandate
- Cross-border truckers must be fully vaccinated by January 2022, feds say
- Daily Infographic: COVID-19 Pandemic drops 2020 household spending on transportation by nearly 14%
- OSHA COVID-19 vaccine rule goes to White House
- OSHA sends vaccine mandate rule to White House
- Texas governor bans employee vaccine mandates
- Texas order reflects growing GOP vaccine mandates hostility
- Trucking and the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
- Trucking Industry Groups Ready For Battle as Biden’s Vaccine Mandates Near
- Unemployment Claims Fall to Lowest in Pandemic
- US to reopen land borders for fully vaccinated
5. Regarding drugs, smuggling, illegal, and hitchhiker:
Drugs
Never agree to haul illegal drugs, no matter how much you’ve been promised.
- $16.5 million in meth seized from big rig at Texas border crossing
- Border Officials Seize Nearly $18M in Narcotics From Three Big Rigs Arriving From Mexico
- FMCSA Determined To Crack Down On Truckers Who Abuse Drugs & Alcohol
- More than 400 packages of meth seized from semi trailer
- Ohio truck driver sentenced to 26 years for DUI wrong-way fatal crash
- State Licensing Offices and the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse: What Fleets Need to Know About the New Rule
Smuggling
Never, ever haul human beings as if they were cargo!
- Truck driver sentenced in illegal migrant transport case
- Trucker imprisoned after attempting to flee federal checkpoint with 108 migrants in trailer
Illegal
If people loved their neighbors as they loved themselves, this kind of thing would not happen.
Hitchhiker
What is the solution for this?
If truckers put a sign on their truck to alert the trucker if there is a hitchhiker, this may be a set-up for armed robbery.
It seems to me that the only solution is a multi-camera dash cam set up where the driver can — from his/her truck cab — literally see all the way around his/her rig.
- Teen dies after hitching a ride on a moving 18 wheeler in Texas, police say
- Texas teen dies after jumping from big rig
6. Regarding accident, inspections, safety, staged, and hazmat:
Accident
Please review the kinds of accidents listed below so that you are not involved in the same situations.
- Driver pinned by own rig in furniture warehouse accident
- Oregon troopers share stunning semi crash photos to remind drivers to obey no passing zones
- Surveillance video leads to arrest of driver who fled scene after striking pedestrian
- Trucker issued ‘careless driving’ summons for car-hauler crash that sent vehicles flying
- Trucker Who Was High and Over Allowable Hours at Time of Deadly Crash is Headed to Prison
- VIDEO: Spool rolls out of semi trailer and into traffic
Inspections
Always be ready for inspection and you’ll never be caught off-guard.
- 2,700 Violations Reported in CVSA’s Surprise Hazmat/Dangerous Goods Inspection Blitz
- 2,714 violations discovered during surprise five day hazmat/dangerous goods inspection blitz
- CVSA Releases 2021 Brake Safety Week Results – CVSA — Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
- CVSA safe driver week nets thousands of violations
- Hazmat enforcement blitz tallies 2,700 violations over five days
- Joint police effort leads to hundreds of violation tickets
- Truckers Targeted During CVSA Operation Safe Driver Week Get Fewer Tickets Than Car Drivers
Safety
- CDL manual not proof of higher standard for truckers, federal court rules
- Not just lip service on safety
Staged
- 28th Conspirator Convicted in Staged Accidents
- Operation Sideswipe’ convictions rise to 28 with new guilty plea
Hazmat
7. Regarding electric vehicles, fuel, and autonomous vehicles:
Electric vehicles
- Aluminum can make better electric vehicles
- Freightliner’s battery electric fleets reach 1M miles
- Penske First U.S. Fleet to Run International eMV Series
- Volvo: Take the Leap in Electrification
Fuel
- Biden Aides Meet on Rising Fuel Prices
- Crude Closes Above $80 With Energy Crisis Boosting Demand
- Cummins Brings 15L Natural Gas Engine to North America
- Diesel prices continue surge with 18-cent jump in last two weeks
- Diesel Prices Spike
- Diesel Surges 10.9¢ to $3.586 a Gallon
- DOE/EIA diesel price rose this much only twice the past decade
- Federal energy outlook forecasts a rebound, but not until 2022
- Flatbed hauler PGT Trucking intends to lease 100 Nikola fuel cell trucks
- Hydrogen players lay groundwork for fueling-speed parity with diesel
- Nikola, TC Energy to Develop Large-Scale Clean Hydrogen Hubs
- Spiking Diesel Fuel Costs Show No Sign Of Slowing
- Weekly Fuel Report: October 12, 2021
Autonomous vehicles
I totally oppose autonomous, self-driving or driverless trucks — especially commercial motor vehicles that share the roads with the motoring public.
However, I share these articles as a courtesy to keep you informed.
- Cummins Working to Integrate with Automated Driving Systems
- Embark Partner Carriers Reserve 14,000 Autonomous Trucks
- Embark Trucks tallies 14,200 prelaunch reservations for driverless software
- First Tesla semi charger spotted at Nevada facility
- How much do Waymo Via’s autonomous trucks benefit from driverless cars?
- Legislators, industry leaders agree collaboration key to driverless vehicle adoption
- Perrone Robotics, Roush Partner on Autonomous Tech
8. Regarding emissions, maintenance, and predictions:
Emissions
Maintenance
Predictions
- Owner-operators’ 2021 business performance thus far, and outlook
- White Paper: Predictions for Trucking in 2022
9. Regarding insurance, last mile, parking, and quotas:
Insurance
Last mile
Parking
- Expect long-term closure of several I-5 rest areas, starting tomorrow
- Want safer truck parking? ‘Here’s all we have to do’
Quotas
10. Regarding pay, lottery, labor, employment, shortage, and status:
Pay
- How to approach guaranteed driver pay in a power-only system
- Nevada Trucking Association challenges prevailing wage determination
Lottery
Let’s hope the monies are spent wisely.
- Newlywed trucker wins $1 million with Kentucky Lottery ticket
- Trucker wins $100k lottery after splurging on $25 ticket
Labor
Employment
- Trucking company aims to give second chance to those with criminal records
- U.S. transportation sector unemployment falls
Shortage
Status
Article removed.
11. Regarding technology, tires, and weather:
Technology
- Roadside inspections go digital for better accuracy, speed
- Six ELDs Now Certified for Canada – Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs)
- Team DriveAway Launches Enhanced Digital Customer Experience
- Trimble’s ELD added to list of Transport Canada-approved devices
- Truckers strongly dislike the idea of driver-facing cameras in their cabs
- Two more ELD providers earn Canadian certification
Tires
- 6 Steps to Longer Steer Tire Mileage
- Heavy-Duty Truck Tire Manufacturers Continue To Increase Prices
Weather
- Wildfire rages in Southern California coastal mountains
- Wildfire shuts down highway in Southern California
- Winter is almost here and these truckers are the first to know about it
12. Regarding awards:
Congratulations to all of those who have been nominated for or have received an award for recognition or achievement!
- 3 finalists named in search for new truckers who are also veterans
- CFI Honors Jon Smith for Becoming Its First Driver to Surpass 5 Million Miles
- Goodyear Asks For 2020-2021 Highway Hero Award Nominations
- J.B. Hunt recognizes million-mile drivers
- Montana association honors top driver, carrier
- Murphy-Goodman Company Recognized for Reducing Collisions by 36%
- Nominate your Highway Hero at GoodyearTruckTires.com
- OOIDA’s decades of advocacy for truckers leads to Hall of Fame
- Owner-Operator Wins Cab Makeover From Transfix
- Search narrows for top rookie military veteran driver
- Tennessee taps veteran trucker as its driver of the year
- Texas trucker honored for helping woman at accident scene
- Three finalists named for military vet rookie trucker award
- Transition Trucking military vet award finalists named
My husband Mike and I wish you — and all professional truck drivers — safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.
Return from TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2021.10.16 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.
