<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Intermodal Insurance Company</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.intermodalinsco.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com</link>
	<description>A Unique Insurance Opportunity</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:01:09 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Industry Seeks Relief from FMCSA Policy in Crashes When Truckers Are Not at Fault</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/17/industry-seeks-relief-from-fmcsa-policy-in-crashes-when-truckers-are-not-at-fault/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=industry-seeks-relief-from-fmcsa-policy-in-crashes-when-truckers-are-not-at-fault</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/17/industry-seeks-relief-from-fmcsa-policy-in-crashes-when-truckers-are-not-at-fault/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:01:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Crashes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FMCSA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Safety]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2341</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Michele Fuetsch, Staff Reporter, Transport Topics Royce Brooks, an experienced tank truck driver, was hauling gasoline to Lockhart, Texas, south of Austin, when a BMW driver blew through a stop sign and a flashing red light. The car hit the tanker truck with such force that Texas State Police said the rig went into a ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #888888;"><em>By Michele Fuetsch, Staff Reporter, Transport Topics</em></span></p>
<p>Royce Brooks, an experienced tank truck driver, was hauling gasoline to Lockhart, Texas, south of Austin, when a BMW driver blew through a stop sign and a flashing red light.</p>
<p>The car hit the tanker truck with such force that Texas State Police said the rig went into a ditch, spun around, flipped and burst into flames, killing Brooks, 41.</p>
<p>The driver of the BMW in the March 28 crash has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, under the federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, the crash will be posted on the public CSA website as a fatal accident for the carrier, Johnson Oil Co. of Gonzales, Texas, also known as Cinco J Inc.</p>
<p>Missing from the posting will be anything that says the carrier and Brooks were blameless, a stark example of a situation that has the trucking industry crying foul.</p>
<p>“It is very unfair,” said Michael Burke, Johnson’s transportation manager. “That poor guy didn’t know what hit him,” Burke said of Brooks, whom he hired last year.</p>
<p>When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration unveiled the CSA crash website in 2010, the agency promised to add a feature that would tell viewers whether or not a crash was the carrier’s fault.</p>
<p>While some crashes are the fault of a carrier or its driver, others clearly are not, and the trucking industry wants FMCSA to state on the website when a crash was unavoidable for the trucker.</p>
<p>As late as December, FMCSA was still saying it would add such a crash accountability system, but in March, Administrator Anne Ferro pulled back, saying the agency needed to rethink its plan.</p>
<p>“For all we know, this . . . could last months, could last years, and that’s part of the frustration and part of the noise level that’s going on in the industry,” said David Osiecki, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for American Trucking Associations.</p>
<p>“And let’s guess who the first person is who’s going to look at this,” said attorney Kurt Rozelsky, who represents trucking firms. “Oh, a plaintiff’s lawyer. Gee, that’s a shock.”</p>
<p>And because the crash information is put on the Web by a federal agency, viewers will assume the information is reliable, said Rozelsky, of Smith Moore Leatherwood in Greenville, S.C.</p>
<p>In addition to attorneys, insurance companies, news media, competitors and shippers are looking at the crash postings, said John Conley, president of the National Tank Truck Carriers.</p>
<p>“The carrier has absolutely no defense, other than trying to explain if the shipper or somebody calls,” Conley said.</p>
<p>The postings are painful when crashes are demonstrably not their fault, carriers said.</p>
<p>“It just bothers you so much,” said Jeff Armstrong, president of Specialized Rail Service Inc., a Utah intermodal carrier with a fatal and injury crash posted on the website without explanation that the truck driver was blameless.</p>
<p>“This poor driver, my guy, he’s the nicest guy in the world and he gets hit with this,” said Armstrong.</p>
<p>That crash occurred in January on Interstate 84 in Idaho when a woman fell asleep at the wheel of a car that crossed the median, flipped and flew into the rig, killing the auto driver and injuring her husband and two children.</p>
<p>“As it was midair, flipping, [the car] struck the side of the trailer, so it didn’t even hit the tractor,” Idaho State Police Lt. Kevin Haight told Transport Topics.</p>
<p>“There’s absolutely nothing that truck driver could have done,” Haight said. “Crashes like that should not go on a trucking company’s record.”</p>
<p>To make matters more painful for Armstrong and his driver, the website posting on the crash says a citation was issued. Haight said the posting is incorrect and that police did not issue a citation.</p>
<p>FMCSA told Transport Topics that the error will be corrected, but as of May 9, that correction had not been made.</p>
<p>Armstrong can only wonder whether shippers, seeing the fatal-injury accident on the website with no explanation as to who was at fault, are taking their business elsewhere.</p>
<p>“You never know,” he said. “They could just say, ‘Well, we better not use these guys,’ and we would never know.”</p>
<p>Some fatal crashes have received widespread news coverage showing the carriers involved were not at fault. Still, the crash website will list only “fatal” or “injury” or both under the carriers’ names.</p>
<p>A case in point is a Jan. 14 crash, also on I-84 in Idaho, in which an 18-year-old college student died. State Police said she was driving 80 miles an hour when she slammed into a slow-moving tanker truck hauling a load of molasses up a steep grade.</p>
<p>“It was at night . . . the truck had its flashers on, and that’s a straight, clear roadway,” State Police Lt. Sheldon Kelley told TT. “And she ran right into the back of the truck, so she’s distracted by something.”</p>
<p>Police checked her phone re-cords and found the young woman had been texting. Her stricken parents went on national television</p>
<p>to decry texting while driving and, in tearful testimony, they persuaded Idaho lawmakers to ban the practice.</p>
<p>The same agricultural carrier involved in that crash was hit again the following month — this time by a 28-year-old woman cited for “inattentive or careless” driving for ignoring a stop sign.</p>
<p>The Feb. 26 crash is on the CSA website as an injury incident for the hauler but, again, without assessing blame.</p>
<p>“They need to fix that because we clearly said who was to blame,” said the Idaho police lieutenant, Haight. “She’s identified as at fault by us when she’s cited.”</p>
<p>In an April 1 crash that reaped considerable publicity in southern Louisiana, a teenage boy drove through a stop sign into an 18-wheel flatbed truck, killing himself and his female passenger.</p>
<p>Louisiana State Police said that they are waiting for a toxicology report on the teen driver but, regardless of the finding, two fatals will be posted on the website for the carrier.</p>
<p>The same rules also dictated that two fatals be posted on the website for a large national freight company whose truck was hit head-on in Tennessee in February by an SUV whose now-dead driver was going the wrong way on a divided highway.</p>
<p>The Tennessee Highway Patrol report said the truck was propelled across the median and hit a second truck traveling in the opposite direction. The driver of the second truck was killed.</p>
<p>That means the dead truck driver’s employer also will have a fatal crash posted on the website, said ATA’s Osiecki.</p>
<p>Even a suicide — witnessed last year by Mississippi State Police troopers — is posted on the CSA website as a fatal crash for a Louisiana carrier.</p>
<p>That crash occurred when troopers were arresting three people for being under the influence and for having drugs in their car, and one of the three said he wanted to die and ran onto Interstate 55 into the path of a truck.</p>
<p>“The truck driver absolutely did everything he could to avoid the guy,” Cpl. Joey Miller of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said. “The truck driver felt horrible.”</p>
<p>The trucking industry is arguing that in crashes where carriers are incontrovertibly not at fault, CSA should be able to determine blame quickly and post that on the website without a complicated investigative process.</p>
<p>“These are clear-cut, and they can be dealt with in the short term,” Osiecki said.</p>
<p>Ferro and FMCSA, however, were persuaded to put the crash accountability plan on hold by interest groups that press for greater restrictions and reporting requirements for the trucking industry.</p>
<p>Henry Jasny, vice president and general counsel for one group, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, told TT that he challenged FMCSA’s crash accountability plan because it was flawed in two ways.</p>
<p>Under the plan, only carriers and drivers, not others involved in the crash, would have been able to initiate a challenge to FMCSA’s fault determination, Jasny said. And he also took issue with FMCSA’s reliance only on police accident reports.</p>
<p>“You have to rely on other [evidence] in addition to the police accident report, and you may have to allow the other side to weigh in, as well,” Jasny said.</p>
<p>FMCSA said in a statement about the crash website that to ensure the “sharpest possible picture” of commercial truck and bus companies that pose risk on the roads, the agency is “committed to maintaining the fairest and most consistent process possible for evaluating the over 100,000 truck and bus crashes that occur each year.”</p>
<p>To reach that goal, the statement said, “FMCSA is . . . studying several critical issues, including the uniformity and consistency of police accident records; the process for making final crash determinations; and the best ways of soliciting public input.”</p>
<p><em><span style="color: #888888;">Source: <a href="http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=29330&amp;t=Industry-Seeks-Relief-from-FMCSA-Policy-in-Crashes-When-Truckers-Are-Not-at-Fault"><span style="color: #888888;">http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=29330&amp;t=Industry-Seeks-Relief-from-FMCSA-Policy-in-Crashes-When-Truckers-Are-Not-at-Fault</span></a></span></em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/17/industry-seeks-relief-from-fmcsa-policy-in-crashes-when-truckers-are-not-at-fault/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Mahoney Group Aligns with CargoNet to Battle Cargo Theft</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/09/the-mahoney-group-aligns-with-cargonet-to-battle-cargo-theft/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-mahoney-group-aligns-with-cargonet-to-battle-cargo-theft</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/09/the-mahoney-group-aligns-with-cargonet-to-battle-cargo-theft/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2012 20:37:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cargo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trucking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2335</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Casa Grande, AZ – May 2, 2012 – The Mahoney Group, today announced an alliance with CargoNet, which will assist their Motor Truck Cargo (MTC) insurance policyholders in protecting their trucks, trailers and the cargo they haul from theft. Through this relationship, The Mahoney Group will provide CargoNet membership at a preferred price to their ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Casa Grande, AZ – May 2, 2012 – The Mahoney Group, today announced an alliance with CargoNet, which will assist their Motor Truck Cargo (MTC) insurance policyholders in protecting their trucks, trailers and the cargo they haul from theft.</p>
<p>Through this relationship, The Mahoney Group will provide CargoNet membership at a preferred price to their policy holders. Additionally, as the National Program Administrator for the Intermodal Contractors Association of North American (ICANA), The Mahoney Group is working to facilitate CargoNet membership for all ICANA members.</p>
<p>“Cargo theft is a serious national problem for the trucking industry, commented Glen Nelson, CEO of the Mahoney Group. “The Mahoney Group seeks to bring innovative responses to the problems of our clients. The CargoNet alliance of shippers, truckers, insurance companies, along with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, provides our customers with greatly enhanced protection against theft, and much improved odds of recovery when a theft does occur” , Nelson said.</p>
<p>“We are pleased to be working directly with The Mahoney Group to help their policyholders secure their assets while in-transit,” said Garry Rivell, vice president of insurance services at CargoNet. “Ensuring that their MTC policyholders utilize CargoNet’s theft prevention and recovery services brings the industry one step closer to solving this country’s growing cargo theft problem.”</p>
<p>For more information regarding The Mahoney Group’s relationship with CargoNet, please contact our office at 323-722-0812 or info@mahoneygroup.com, or visit www.mahoneygroup.com.</p>
<p>The Mahoney Group, founded in 1921, has grown to be one of the 50 largest insurance agencies in the United States. The Mahoney Group Transportation Division acts as the National Program Manager for the Intermodal Insurance Program, a collaborative effort of ProSIght Specialty Insurance Group and the Intermodal Insurance Company. The Intermodal Insurance program serves the needs of the intermodal industry at ports and rail heads nationwide.</p>
<p><strong><em><span style="color: #888888;">About CargoNet</span></em></strong><br />
<em><span style="color: #888888;"> A division of ISO’s Crime Analytics unit, CargoNet helps prevent cargo theft and increases recovery rates through secure and controlled information sharing between theft victims, their business partners, and law enforcement. CargoNet is centered on a national database and information-sharing system managed by crime analysts and subject-matter experts. CargoNet applies an integrated, layered approach that exploits the weakness of cargo thieves at multiple points and includes integrated databases, a theft alert system, task force and investigations support, a tractor/trailer theft deterrence program, the TruckStopWatch® program, driver education and incentives, secondary-market monitoring and interdictions, crime trend analysis and loss control services, and training and education. More information on CargoNet can be found at www.cargonet.com.</span></em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/09/the-mahoney-group-aligns-with-cargonet-to-battle-cargo-theft/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Temp Agencies Supply A Service, Not Compliance</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/08/temp-agencies-supply-a-service-not-compliance/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=temp-agencies-supply-a-service-not-compliance</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/08/temp-agencies-supply-a-service-not-compliance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2012 22:22:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Trucking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2329</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One matter that all DOT regulated motor carriers must be fully aware of is their responsibility for regulatory compliance when using “temp drivers.” The fact that motor carriers are issued US DOT numbers makes them responsible for compliance with the regulations, regardless of who is paying the driver behind the wheel of a CMV (commercial ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One matter that all DOT regulated motor carriers must be fully aware of is their responsibility for regulatory compliance when using “temp drivers.” The fact that motor carriers are issued US DOT numbers makes them responsible for compliance with the regulations, regardless of who is paying the driver behind the wheel of a CMV (commercial motor vehicle). Compliance always rests with the motor carrier.</p>
<p>This is the case, for example, when an FMCSA investigator checks a carrier’s driver qualification (DQ) file and DOT drug and alcohol testing documentation. A temp agency, or staffing service, can assist the motor carrier in creating ― and even storing ― contents of these files. However, it still remains the responsibility of the carrier to qualify the driver and create the DQ file and to properly administer all DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements.</p>
<p>In the case of DQ files, an exception is available in ï¿½391.63 for drivers assigned to more than one carrier over a period of 7 consecutive days. Even at that, the first carrier to use the “multiple employer driver” must fully qualify the driver by creating a DQ file. One must also note that this exception does not apply to a driver who is working for just one motor carrier for a period of 7 (or more) consecutive days. In this case, the carrier would be responsible for creating the DQ file. Some documents, such as a current medical card, or a road test certificate that is not over 3 years old (see ï¿½391.33 for details covering this regulation), could be used. All other documents would need to be created from the ground up.</p>
<p>The DOT drug and alcohol testing program is also the responsibility of the motor carrier, including pre-employment, random, and post-accident testing. Safety Performance History for a new driver must be in compliance with ï¿½40.25 and ï¿½391.23. It is entirely possible for a multiple-employer driver to be part of many drug and alcohol testing programs, especially if this type of employment occurred over a 3-year period. That being the case, the carrier is responsible for contacting all DOT-regulated former employers who used the temp driver during those past three years.</p>
<p>Most temp agencies and staffing services are not regulated by the DOT and therefore are not subject to the regulations of the transportation industry. They supply a service to motor carriers. It is up to the motor carrier to determine how to utilize their services as the responsibility for regulatory compliance always remains with the motor carrier.</p>
<p>Source: J.J. Keller&#8217;s FleetMentor</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/08/temp-agencies-supply-a-service-not-compliance/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>NLRB Certifies Vote for Teamsters Union to Represent L.A. Drayage Driver Unit</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/04/nlrb-certifies-vote-for-teamsters-union-to-represent-l-a-drayage-driver-unit/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=nlrb-certifies-vote-for-teamsters-union-to-represent-l-a-drayage-driver-unit</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/04/nlrb-certifies-vote-for-teamsters-union-to-represent-l-a-drayage-driver-unit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 May 2012 14:09:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Drayage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Port of Long Beach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Port of Los Angeles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Truckers' Rights]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2324</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Transport Topics Staff, Transport Topics The National Labor Relations Board on April 20 certified the Teamsters union as the bargaining agent for port truckers who are employed by Toll Global Forwarding Holdings in Los Angeles. Confirmation of the 46-15 vote by drivers in favor of unionization was provided by the federal agency that oversees ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #888888;"><em>By Transport Topics Staff, Transport Topics</em></span></p>
<p><strong></strong>The National Labor Relations Board on April 20 certified the Teamsters union as the bargaining agent for port truckers who are employed by Toll Global Forwarding Holdings in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Confirmation of the 46-15 vote by drivers in favor of unionization was provided by the federal agency that oversees trucking union elections to Transport Topics by e-mail.</p>
<p>The vote is the first sign of success in the union’s long-standing effort to unionize drayage workers. The union began its port driver organizing campaign nearly four years ago, claiming 88% of port truck drivers on the West Coast were independent contractors who should be entitled to union representation.</p>
<p>By law, independent contractors are not employees and therefore cannot be organized, a situation that the union challenged in Los Angeles by supporting efforts by port officials and the city’s mayor to require that port truck drivers be classified as employees.</p>
<p>Curtis Whalen, executive director of American Trucking Associations’ Intermodal Motor Carrier Conference, told TT the recent vote was not a precedent-setting event.</p>
<p>“The drivers that voted to unionize were, in fact, employees who can under current law be organized,” he said.</p>
<p>“Toll Brothers had some apparent operational issues — no restrooms for drivers, etc. — which caused employee unrest,” Whalen said.</p>
<p>Union spokesman Galen Munroe didn’t respond to requests for comment. Neither did Toll Global Forwarding offices in the Los Angeles area or corporate headquarters in Melbourne, Australia.</p>
<p>“These first-rate truck drivers decided to form their union after being treated as second-class citizens under third-world working conditions for too long,” Teamsters Vice President Fred Potter, who is port division director, said in a statement.</p>
<p>The union vote was the latest development in the controversy over the employee/contractor status of port truckers.</p>
<p>“The issue ATA is concerned about is attempts to organize port trucking by mandating that port drivers be considered employees, not independent owner-operators, as they are now,” Whalen said.</p>
<p>That issue arose in the port trucking arena after Los Angeles inserted the employee status requirement in its Clean Truck program, a move that would make it possible for unions to represent workers. Los Angeles’ move banned owner-operators, who currently can’t be unionized, from pickups and deliveries at the biggest U.S. port.</p>
<p>In response, ATA sued in 2008, contending that the port had no power to mandate the employee status for those workers.</p>
<p>A U.S. Appeals Court in September backed ATA’s position and overturned a lower court ruling that favored the port’s stance, which was backed by the Teamsters (10-3, p. 1).</p>
<p>Some of the issues raised in the case still may reach the U.S. Supreme Court.</p>
<p>The trucking group has asked the nation’s highest court to review aspects of the lower court ruling, such as the port’s contention that it had the power to regulate workers’ status because the agency is a “market participant.”</p>
<p><em><span style="color: #888888;">Source: <a href="http://www.ttnews.com/articles/petemplate.aspx?storyid=29236"><span style="color: #888888;">http://www.ttnews.com/articles/petemplate.aspx?storyid=29236</span></a></span></em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/04/nlrb-certifies-vote-for-teamsters-union-to-represent-l-a-drayage-driver-unit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ferro Says FMCSA Is Determined to Weed Out Bad Drivers, Carriers</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/04/ferro-says-fmcsa-is-determined-to-weed-out-bad-drivers-carriers/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=ferro-says-fmcsa-is-determined-to-weed-out-bad-drivers-carriers</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/04/ferro-says-fmcsa-is-determined-to-weed-out-bad-drivers-carriers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 May 2012 14:07:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[FMCSA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Safety]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2321</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Eric Miller, Staff Reporter, Transport Topics BELLEVUE, Wash. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is continuing to develop new tools to weed out bad drivers and motor carriers, the nation’s top trucking regulator told a group of law enforcement officials and inspectors meeting here. In a speech suggesting a re-energized, get-tough regulatory stance, Anne ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #888888;"><em>By Eric Miller, Staff Reporter, Transport Topics</em></span></p>
<p><strong></strong>BELLEVUE, Wash. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is continuing to develop new tools to weed out bad drivers and motor carriers, the nation’s top trucking regulator told a group of law enforcement officials and inspectors meeting here.</p>
<p>In a speech suggesting a re-energized, get-tough regulatory stance, Anne Ferro, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, touted the agency’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program; its new hours-of-service rule; and several other new programs and upcoming rules as tools that will reduce crashes.</p>
<p>“We are absolutely committed — with all of you — to ensure that North America is, in fact, the safest place to travel in the world,” Ferro said. “And we’re going to get there and only because of the commitment that’s in this room.”</p>
<p>Ferro spoke April 24 at a session of the 7th Annual FMCSA/Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program Leadership Meeting and 2012 Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Workshop.</p>
<p>Ferro’s regulatory update speech paralleled some comments made in conference sessions a day earlier in which two top FMCSA enforcement officials outlined the agency’s top priorities for this year.</p>
<p>Ferro cited three examples of the agency’s efforts to get high-risk drivers and carriers off the highways.</p>
<p>First, she said a plan to propose a drug and alcohol clearinghouse by early 2013 will be an essential tool for employers to avoid hiring drivers who may have had a positive drug or alcohol test.</p>
<p>The planned rule would give carriers the knowledge to hire only the “best and most qualified drivers,” she said.</p>
<p>Likewise, the agency’s pre-employment screening program already is ensuring that carriers have the tools to avoid hiring unqualified drivers, and the agency’s “imminent hazard” authority is helping to rid the highways of high-risk drivers and carriers, she said.</p>
<p>The imminent-hazard regulation allows FMCSA to shut down a carrier and take it to civil court when the company’s continued operation would “present a substantial likelihood that death, serious illness, severe personal injury or a substantial endangerment to health, property or the environment.”</p>
<p>“We’re making sure we’re getting the bad actors off the road, giving them a chance to either rehabilitate, improve or just stay off the road altogether,” Ferro said.</p>
<p>She also outlined the provisions contained in the agency’s new hours-of-service rule and its plan to issue a new supplemental rule requiring all interstate carriers to have electronic logging devices on their trucks.</p>
<p>An appeals court rejected the agency’s earlier final EOBR rule because it did not ensure the device would not be used to harass drivers.</p>
<p>“The next phase for the agency is to press ahead with the current EOBR
<div class="notice">
<div class="message_box_content"></div>
<div class="clearboth"></div>
</div>
<p> with modifications, based on what we learn about harassment from the listening sessions and from some additional research that we’ll be conducting,” Ferro said. “We’ll also incorporate technical standards, and we’ll incorporate a third piece, which is the supporting documents required once an EOBR mandate is in place.”</p>
<p>Ferro also said the agency has been following and working on sleep-apnea guidance recommendations from FMCSA’s Medical Review Board and its Federal Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee. The two committees earlier this year sent the agency recommended guidance that the medical community could use to identify and treat drivers with obstructive sleep apnea.</p>
<p>However, she said FMCSA “last week had an ‘oops’ ” on April 20, when it mistakenly published a proposed sleep apnea rule.</p>
<p>“We are working on those recommendations, and last week, with a clerical error, they actually got published,” Ferro said. “For those who didn’t see it, we did pull that back. It’s not ready for prime time, but we do expect to publish that guidance later this year and give everybody plenty of time to comment on it.”</p>
<p>In addition, a new medical examiners certification rule issued earlier this month will require that physicians who perform driver physical exams must be trained, tested, certified and entered into FMCSA’s registry, effective in 2014.</p>
<p>“The registry will be fully open to testing establishments to get themselves registered this summer and for medical examiners to begin their registration process after they’ve had their training and done their testing by August,” Ferro said.</p>
<p><em><span style="color: #888888;">Source: <a href="http://www.ttnews.com/articles/petemplate.aspx?storyid=29235"><span style="color: #888888;">http://www.ttnews.com/articles/petemplate.aspx?storyid=29235</span></a></span></em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/04/ferro-says-fmcsa-is-determined-to-weed-out-bad-drivers-carriers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Trucking Association Warns Of Nearly $7 Diesel</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/01/trucking-association-warns-of-nearly-7-diesel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=trucking-association-warns-of-nearly-7-diesel</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/01/trucking-association-warns-of-nearly-7-diesel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 18:44:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diesel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trucking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2315</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Deborah Whistler, FleetOwner.com California clean fuel directives will drive up diesel prices at the pump to around $6.69/gal. and put California’s truckers at a significant competitive disadvantage to trucks based in other states,according to a study just released by the California Trucking Assn. (CTA). The study, “The Impact of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard &#38; Cap-and-Trade Programs ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #888888;"><em>By Deborah Whistler, FleetOwner.com</em></span></p>
<p>California clean fuel directives will drive up diesel prices at the pump to around $6.69/gal. and put California’s truckers at a significant competitive disadvantage to trucks based in other states,according to a study just released by the California Trucking Assn. (CTA).</p>
<p>The study, “The Impact of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard &amp; Cap-and-Trade Programs on California Retail Diesel Prices,” prepared by Bethesda, Md.-based consultants Stonebridge Associates Inc., examined the effect of California’s new low-carbon fuel and cap-and-trade emissions initiatives on the state&#8217;s retail diesel future.</p>
<p>By 2020, the two programs combined could increase the price of diesel fuel by $2.22/gal., the report said. That would represent more than a 50% increase in the price of diesel and a shocking $6.69/gal. at the pump. The average price difference between California and neighboring states would be $2.33gal., when accounting for taxes.</p>
<p>“These higher California-only diesel costs will create a substantial cost bubble around California where inside the bubble diesel prices will be significantly higher than in the rest of the country,” the study noted.</p>
<p>The study points out that a California-only diesel price will put California’s transportation sector at a significant competitive disadvantage. “These cost disadvantages will allow out-of-state companies to effortlessly strip away the California industry’s commercial transportation business along the state’s central I-5 and US 99 trade corridors,” the study said.</p>
<p>Out-of-state trucking companies will avoid the impact of more expensive California diesel by fueling as much as possible in bordering states like Nevada and Arizona, the study said, pointing out that trucks based outside the state already use computer-based devices that help avoid California diesel costs by telling drivers when and how much to fuel in California.</p>
<p>“This cost-avoidance capability in combination with two 200-gal. fuel tanks gives newer out-of-state trucks a 3,200-mi. range and would place California-based logistics companies at a marked disadvantage,” the study said. It would also allow out-of-state companies to readily strip away key commercial transportation business along the state’s central I-5 and U.S. 99 trade corridors.</p>
<p>“CTA is supportive of the production and use of alternative fuels, but the cost gap between CARB’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the diesel fuel that the other 49 states will continue to use is unacceptable,” said Scott Blevins, president of Mountain Valley Express and 2012 CTA president. “This is a serious setback for any business dependent on diesel fuel for its operations.</p>
<p>“State regulators need to step down from their ivory tower and understand the impact of these unfair policies on California truckers,” Blevins added. CARB’s “blind pursuit” of such policies will drive many California-based trucking companies out of state or out of business.</p>
<p>The report said such diesel price increases will cast an even wider net affecting food, fuel, clothing and other essential services transported by trucks.</p>
<p>The study also pointed out ARB’s lack of response, to date, to concerns voiced by its Advisory Panel during its recently completed LCFS program review.</p>
<p>“The likely availability, or capacity to use, the necessary alternative fuels within the program’s remaining 9-year time frame is quite low,” the study said, “yet that key fact is not reflected in ARB’s public analyses of the program.”</p>
<p>“ARB’s staff analyses propose compliance scenarios that are highly unrealistic, put forth price forecasts that deliberately underestimate likely program costs by underestimating alternative fuels costs, constructively misinterpret the requirements and over-estimate the costs of the federal RFS2 alternative fuels program, and summarily dismiss concerns about the LCFS program’s infeasibility as merely a matter of opinion,” the study concluded.</p>
<div></div>
<div><em><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #888888;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Source: <a href="http://fleetowner.com/fuel/trucking-association-warns-nearly-7-diesel-0"><span style="color: #888888; text-decoration: underline;">http://fleetowner.com/fuel/trucking-association-warns-nearly-7-diesel-0</span></a></span></span></em></div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/05/01/trucking-association-warns-of-nearly-7-diesel/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Struggles Continue for the Trucking Industry in 2012</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/30/struggles-continue-for-the-trucking-industry-in-2012/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=struggles-continue-for-the-trucking-industry-in-2012</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/30/struggles-continue-for-the-trucking-industry-in-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:33:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trucking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2312</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Trucking Industry struggles look to continue in 2012. The American Trucking Association recently stated that the industry is expected to haul more freight than last year, but the pace of growth would most likely be slower than in 2010 and 2011. &#8220;March tonnage, and the first quarter overall, was reflective of an economy that ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p id="">The Trucking Industry struggles look to continue in 2012. The American Trucking Association recently stated that the industry is expected to haul more freight than last year, but the pace of growth would most likely be slower than in 2010 and 2011. &#8220;March tonnage, and the first quarter overall, was reflective of an economy that is growing, but growing moderately,&#8221; ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a release. &#8220;The pace of freight definitely slowed from the torrid pace in late 2011.&#8221; Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Trucking Industry and provides equity research on YRC Worldwide, Inc.  and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.</p>
<p id="">Access to the full company reports can be found at:</p>
<p id="">www.FiveStarEquities.com/YRCW</p>
<p id="">www.FiveStarEquities.com/JBHT</p>
<p id="">The ATA last week reported that the Truck Tonnage Index rose 0.2 percent in March, a decline from the 0.5 percent in February. The index when compared with March 2011 rose 2.7 percent, which makes it the smallest year-over-year-increase since December 2009. According to Costello economic indicators show tonnage will increase going forward but not at the pace of the past two years (5.8 percent). &#8220;Expect tonnage overall this year to be up at a more moderate rate, perhaps less than 3%, which is more in-line with normal growth,&#8221; stated Costello.</p>
<p id="">Five Star Equities releases regular market updates on the Trucking Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at www.FiveStarEquities.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.</p>
<p id="">YRC Worldwide, a U.S. trucking company who avoided bankruptcy in 2009, has appealed for leniency from its lenders. The company wishes to alter terms of a loan agreement made last year so they may able to fulfill the financial requirements. If YRC cannot work out a deal and fail to meet requirements, its lenders could force the company to speed up payment of its debts.</p>
<p id="">J.B. Hunt Transport Services provides transportation and delivery services in the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico. Their Board of Directors recently declared a quarterly dividend on its common stock of $.14 per common share, payable to stockholders of record on May 11, 2012. The dividend will be paid on May 25, 2012.</p>
<p id="">Five Star Equities provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. Five Star Equities has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned companies. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at:</p>
<p id="">www.FiveStarEquities.com/disclaimer</p>
<p><em><span style="color: #888888;">Source: <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/struggles-continue-for-the-trucking-industry-in-2012-2012-04-30"><span style="color: #888888;">http://www.marketwatch.com/story/struggles-continue-for-the-trucking-industry-in-2012-2012-04-30</span></a></span></em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/30/struggles-continue-for-the-trucking-industry-in-2012/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Port of Los Angeles Adopts Five-Year Strategic Plan</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/26/port-of-los-angeles-adopts-five-year-strategic-plan/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=port-of-los-angeles-adopts-five-year-strategic-plan</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/26/port-of-los-angeles-adopts-five-year-strategic-plan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:59:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Drayage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Port of Los Angeles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ports]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2309</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Los Angeles Harbor Commission unanimously adopted a five-year strategic plan for the Port of Los Angeles for 2012-2017. The plan focuses on three key result areas, or KRAs &#8211; competitive operations, strong relationships and financial strength. It maps out the Port&#8217;s priorities, objectives and various initiatives for developing infrastructure, enhancing overall competitiveness, growing market ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Los Angeles Harbor Commission unanimously adopted a five-year strategic plan for the Port of Los Angeles for 2012-2017. The plan focuses on three key result areas, or KRAs &#8211; competitive operations, strong relationships and financial strength. It maps out the Port&#8217;s priorities, objectives and various initiatives for developing infrastructure, enhancing overall competitiveness, growing market share, optimizing land use, advancing maritime technologies and sustainability efforts, and maintaining the Port&#8217;s top ranking as the nation&#8217;s trade gateway to the Pacific Rim.</p>
<p>&#8220;This plan is a blueprint for responsible growth and job creation that will guide us toward maintaining our competitive advantage as the nation&#8217;s premier trade gateway,&#8221; said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. &#8220;It is this kind of strategic thinking that helped the Port become one of the nation&#8217;s leading economic engines, and meeting the strategic plan&#8217;s objectives will ensure our future success.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;This strategic plan will ensure that the Port remains competitive over the coming years and proactively meets the challenges of a new era of international trade,&#8221; said Harbor Commission President Cindy Miscikowski.</p>
<p>&#8220;Changing economic tides will require new and innovative approaches and a forward-thinking game plan,&#8221; said Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D. &#8220;This newly adopted strategic roadmap provides a clear path to assure the Port&#8217;s future success in the global marketplace.&#8221;</p>
<p>As the Port faces increasing competitive challenges in the coming years, the plan&#8217;s &#8220;competitive operations&#8221; component includes initiatives focused on developing and maintaining a world-class infrastructure; retaining and growing market share; advancing technology and sustainability, as well as optimizing land use.</p>
<p>Similarly, as part of its focus on building &#8220;strong relationships,&#8221; the Port will undertake a number of initiatives to increase stakeholder and community awareness and support, and to create a positive workplace culture. The plan&#8217;s &#8220;financial strength&#8221; initiatives will center on enhancing cash flow, improving financial reporting and audits, and diversifying and maximizing grant funding.</p>
<p>The strategic planning process began in March 2011 and builds on the previous 2006-2011 Five-Year Strategic Plan. In addition to input from a multi-division Port Strategic Plan Task Force, Harbor Commissioners also provided input and feedback on various drafts of the Plan, as did Port staff, constituents, customers and labor representatives. Metrics to measure the Port&#8217;s performance and success in implementing the initiatives are also in included in the plan.</p>
<p>The strategic plan will undergo continuous evolution and performance measurement over the next five years and an annual assessment and re-evaluation to ensure relevance prior to the start of the annual budget process. An organizational performance dashboard will be used to measure progress towards implementing the initiatives.</p>
<p><em><span style="color: #888888;">Source: <a href="http://www.seaportspr.com/viewportnews.cgi?newsletter_id=202&amp;article_id=6001"><span style="color: #888888;">http://www.seaportspr.com/viewportnews.cgi?newsletter_id=202&amp;article_id=6001</span></a></span></em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/26/port-of-los-angeles-adopts-five-year-strategic-plan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>U.S. Containerized Exports Jump 9.6% in February</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/26/u-s-containerized-exports-jump-9-6-in-february/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=u-s-containerized-exports-jump-9-6-in-february</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/26/u-s-containerized-exports-jump-9-6-in-february/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:16:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Intermodal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2304</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After 1.9% growth in January, U.S. containerized exports leapt forward again in February, rising 9.6% year-over-year and 4% from the previous month. The total February volume was 1,014,176 TEUs, led by strong gains in paper and paperboard, building materials and refrigerated foods, and boosted by the depreciation of the U.S. dollar. In terms of TEUs, ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After 1.9% growth in January, U.S. containerized exports leapt forward again in February, rising 9.6% year-over-year and 4% from the previous month. The total February volume was 1,014,176 TEUs, led by strong gains in paper and paperboard, building materials and refrigerated foods, and boosted by the depreciation of the U.S. dollar.</p>
<p><a href="http://pierstransportation.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/us-containerized-exports-february-2012.jpg"><img title="US-Containerized-Exports-February-2012" src="http://pierstransportation.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/us-containerized-exports-february-2012.jpg?w=450&amp;h=246" alt=" U.S. Containerized Exports Jump 9.6% in February" width="450" height="246" /></a></p>
<p>In terms of TEUs, paper and paperboard showed the greatest gains, but building materials grew by 280% over January, and frozen fish jumped 157%. Fabrics (including raw cotton) continue to decline, down 15% or 6,375 TEUs.</p>
<p>“The foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar against a broad basket of currencies was down on January 31 by 2% over the value of December 30, 2011,” said Mario O. Moreno, economist for <em><a href="http://www.joc.com/">The Journal of Commerce</a></em><strong>/</strong><a href="http://www.piers.com/">PIERS</a>. “Manufacturing activity in China has been in contraction for four consecutive months, yet U.S. exports of key raw materials such as paper &amp; paper board and raw cotton increased sharply, suggesting factory output will rebound soon.”</p>
<p>Northeast Asia held its position as the top destination for U.S. containerized exports, showing 12% Y-o-Y growth to 459,713 TEUs, which represents 45.3% of total export volume. Exports to the Caribbean climbed an impressive 49% and shipments to North Europe surprised with a rebound of 19%. Mediterranean volumes, however, fell 18%.</p>
<p>To learn more about the details behind each of these shipments visit<a href="http://www.piers.com/">www.piers.com</a>.</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;"><em>Source: <a href="http://pierstransportation.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/u-s-containerized-exports-jump-9-6-in-february/"><span style="color: #888888;">http://pierstransportation.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/u-s-containerized-exports-jump-9-6-in-february/</span></a></em></span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/26/u-s-containerized-exports-jump-9-6-in-february/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>EPA Announces $20 Million for Clean Diesel Grants</title>
		<link>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/23/epa-announces-20-million-for-clean-diesel-grants/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=epa-announces-20-million-for-clean-diesel-grants</link>
		<comments>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/23/epa-announces-20-million-for-clean-diesel-grants/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:33:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>intermodalinsco</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Clean Air]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EPA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trucking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.intermodalinsco.com/?p=2299</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced $20 million in grant funding for projects aimed at reducing pollution from diesel vehicles. These grants, available through the Diesel Emission Reduction Program, enable owners of diesel vehicles to make investments to modernize their vehicles, EPA said. States, tribes, local governments and non-profits are eligible to apply ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced $20 million in grant funding for projects aimed at reducing pollution from diesel vehicles.</p>
<p>These grants, available through the Diesel Emission Reduction Program, enable owners of diesel vehicles to make investments to modernize their vehicles, EPA said.</p>
<p>States, tribes, local governments and non-profits are eligible to apply for the grants. The deadline for grant proposals is June 4.</p>
<p>Additional funds of about $9 million will be available through direct state allocations, EPA said.</p>
<p><em><span style="color: #888888;">Source: <a href="http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=29187&amp;t=EPA-Announces-%2420-Million-for-Clean-Diesel-Grants"><span style="color: #888888;">http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=29187&amp;t=EPA-Announces-%2420-Million-for-Clean-Diesel-Grants</span></a></span></em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.intermodalinsco.com/2012/04/23/epa-announces-20-million-for-clean-diesel-grants/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

