Trucking News

When GPS first came out, truckers didn’t seem to want to have much to do with it. It wasn’t necessary, and they already knew where they were going.

They’re finding, though, that they can save money by using the GPS because it gives them the best, fastest, and shortest routes. They can save on time, and – most importantly in this economy – they can save on fuel.

Shipping demands are getting tighter, too, and most of the people who place orders for something want it yesterday, or at least right now. The faster it gets there in good condition and without a problem, the more money overall that the trucker usually makes.

With that in mind the cost of the GPS is not that much and pays for itself in short order. It’s a voice to rely on when the weather’s bad or you take a wrong turn, and if it saves you time and money as well, it’s a winning combination for any trucker.

There has been a lot of copper theft, lately! Why? Copper is now worth big bucks and many people feel it is worth the price of theft – so much so that individuals are stealing copper from all sorts of places: schools, construction sites and switching stations for power companies. They are striping the wires and selling it any way they can, trying to make extra money.

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A new bill that is being sought after in the Senate would provide a tax credit for truckers and trucking companies that buy their commercial vehicles with specific safety features included. The maximum tax credit per year would be $3,500 per vehicle and $350,000 per taxpayer.
These safety features would help to reduce crashes and fatalities on the roads according to the Large Truck Crash Causation Study done by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. They would aid in collision avoidance, lane departure warning, stability control and brake stroke monitoring.

This bill was introduced into the Senate just before the August recess and it is completely backed by not only the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance but also the FMCSA and the National Transportation Safety Board. A push is being made now to provide as much support as possible for this bill when the Senate is back in session and the bill is voted on.

Truck drivers do a lot more work than most people realize. They have to pay closer attention than people who drive smaller vehicles, and they work long hours, and they don’t always get paid well or get home to see their families on special occasions or get to see their son’s little league games.

Mostly, they do what they do for a paycheck, and because they enjoy it, but also so people can walk into their local stores and get the things that they want and need. And they add up miles.

Will Farver, a trucker for 17 years, has racked up over two million of them. He was recently honored by his employer, D.M. Bowman, with the company’s Million Miler Award for the second time.

He’s also earned the company’s Highway Angel Award for pulling a grandmother and two children out of a car that had been in a wreck and appeared to be about to catch fire. He wasn’t trying to be heroic – he just knew that the family in that car could have just as easily been his own.

He was doing what he thought anyone else would have done, and when he was finished he went back to driving. It’s his job. It’s what he does. The beauty of it all is that the company he works for sees it and appreciates it.

It’s no secret that the economy is struggling right now, and truckers are feeling it, too. One of the largest companies, Werner, reported a second quarter loss, sending their shares lower as well. The good news for the company – and perhaps other trucking companies that may follow its lead – is that there are ways to help reduce expenditures even in these tight financial times.

An increasing popular way that Werner has done this is to reduce how many miles are not billable. Other helpful decisions have come from reducing the amount of idling time and installing auxiliary units for power, as well as raising the percentage of aerodynamics trucks that are being used, because they get better mileage.

That doesn’t mean that Werner is completely out of the woods, as all trucking companies are fighting the rising fuel prices, but it does mean that the company might not see as much of a downturn next quarter. That can help its share price rise and help the company continue to keep its for-hire carrier prices as low as possible.

The longer it can keep its prices low, the longer Werner can continue to operate at a high volume. If the carrier is forced to raise its prices too high, companies that use it now will switch and Werner’s profits will continue to decline, which is something that no one wants to see happen.