Trucking News

LiberalTrucker contributed this post for Masslogics Trucking News. The trucking industry is taking a beating not only from high prices of diesel but also from the environmentalists and health fanatics.

Trucks have been the backbone of the American transport industry. From the very beginning, trucks have played an important role in the transport of goods across the country. There are 1000’s of trucks on almost every highway in the nation. While essential and ubiquitous, they have also earned a less desireable reputation. They crowd the roads, congest the highways, are involved in accidents, and pollute the environment.

Trucks burn diesel fuel causing emission of dangerous particles which have health risks. In many parts if the country, these sulfur and nitrogen particles have been shown to worsen asthmatic attacks.

Before the Clean Air Act of 1970, the USA had no national emissions standards for either cars or trucks. With growing awareness of pollution from fuels, strict regulations, better engine technology, and reformulated gasoline were developed. These advances have significantly decreased the amount of pollution from vehicles over the last 3 decades. The EPA estimates that today’s automobile emits 75 – 90% less pollution for each mile driven than cars built before 1970.

The same goes for the newer heavy-duty trucks which have become more environmentally friendly. Today’s large trucks emit nearly 70% less nitrogen oxide and other particles compared to vehicles built in the 1980s.

However, there are still a fair number of older trucks still running around and the ARB has now taken significant steps to clean up the diesel churning trucks. Numerous regulations have been proposed to make it mandatory for trucks to clean up through retrofits or upgrading to newer vehicles

Hopefully, approving and executing regulations that will reduce diesel pollution from trucks will safeguard public health, meet federal air quality standards, and reduce cancer risks for everyone.

LiberalTrucker contributed this post for Masslogics Trucking News. The recent housing crises, floods, tornadoes and the war in Iraq have not really helped the American economy. Billions of dollars have already spent on the war in Iraq and there is no end in sight. Prices of food, water, electricity and gas have all gone up. Almost every State in the country is affected by this recession and there is no solution in sight. In the US many people think it is just the housing industry that has been affected but the trucking industry has taken just as big a hit. And this is just the first signs of trouble.

The price of diesel has gone up many folds in the past few years. Almost every trucker can confirm that there is a major slowdown in business and this has affected entire communities in the US.

Current estimates from the American Trucking Industry indicate that nearly 1000 small trucking firms go out of business every time diesel fuel prices push up more than a dime.

Profits are so thin that most small time truckers have very little margin to sustain the losses. This is partly because of the millions of truck drivers available and the administrative costs. So any small increase in the price of fuel makes it difficult for the small carriers to exist. Transmitting the higher costs of fuel to customers does not normally work as the customers usually go somewhere else, see Don’t Take that Load Part II

The larger trucking companies have some leeway and are able to maintain some profits by passing the costs to shippers who eventually pass the high costs to the average consumer. However, this has not also worked since most consumers have really cut down on spending.

The future of the trucking industry is not clear and appears bleak. Unless the government eases regulations and allows more refineries, there are many more businesses that will join the truckers.

LiberalTrucker contributed this post for Masslogics Trucking News.   “Bigger is Better” has always been an American motto. And now many trucking companies are asking Washington to allow them to have bigger trucks.

A coalition of truck drivers wants to ensure that a Bill can be reauthorized by Congress to allow for bigger trucks on the road at the end of next year. For the past several years, big trucks were banned from many of the highways in the country. Now, the truckers want to get permission from Congress to be able to drive their large vehicles in several states including Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Georgia and possibly Texas.

These States have been selected partly because of their economic benefits of having a seaport location or border crossing with either Canada or Mexico.

Owner operators believe that American drivers are at a major disadvantage compared to their Canadian and Mexican colleagues who can drive heavier trucks on six axles. Having access to the big trucks at the cross Border States like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, Texas and the Canadian border will bring the truckers on parity when it comes to the loads that they can carry over the border.

The truckers also claim that with the larger vehicles they will be able to reduce the size of their fleets which in turn could lead to lower overhead costs, less impact on the environment and decreased damage to the highways.

However, this does not sit well with many other Unions, esp. the Teamsters. Jim Hoffa the president of Teamsters Union says that having bigger trucks on the road is more dangerous and will completely ruin our already poor road infrastructure. He thinks the idea borders on insanity.

Not to be outdone, Joan Claybrook who is President of Parents Against Tired Truckers has urged Congress to simply ignore the demands of the certain truckers. She thinks that are clueless.

More than likely this demand by the truckers is going to fail, but one can never know.

One should note is that many studies have shown that larger trucks are more likely to have fatal accidents compare to their smaller counterparts. The DOT claims that the currently designed large trucks can be expected to experience a fatal crash of 11% higher than single trailer combinations- perhaps Congress should have this data before agreeing to any demands by the truckers.

Selecting trucking software to run your business can be a daunting task. There are lots of selections available to fit every kind of business model. With all of these choices to look at you must first narrow the field a bit. You need to determine if you want PC or Server based fleet management software that you load on your computer hardware, or web based software that you log into on the web. Here are some things to think about when making this important decision.

With PC or Server based software, the benefits are speed of execution, and age of development. PC based software tends to run faster because the functions are internal on your hardware. There are hundreds of companies that have been developing this type of software over the last decade so the programming is mature and fairly solid. However, there are drawbacks. This software must be purchased outright, and can often be expensive requiring annual updates, maintenance contracts, user fees, etc. The hardware that is required for some systems is also expensive, and requires maintenance. Not to mention that if this hardware (like the hard drive) crashes, your data could be lost forever. Many man-hours of labor must be dedicated to operating and managing the hardware.

Web based software is much newer as an available option. This is the clear next step in the trucking software world. Since high speed connections to the internet are more common, web based software has become more attractive. The speed is close to that of PC software, and the amount of functionality can be better depending on the packages you are comparing. Add that to the affordability of monthly subscriptions instead of buying the software up front, and you have a very powerful combination. To top it all off, data backups are done automatically and included in the subscription. You no longer have to worry about hardware upkeep, saving valuable man-hours of company time.

In summary, unless you are ready to shell out thousands or tens of thousands for your business software, you should consider web based packages first. They are easier to purchase, easier to maintain, and quite simply offer more bang for the buck. Before you make a decision, take the Masslogics free trial: Free Trucking Software.

Well, you might first ask yourself, “Should I hire more drivers?”  Not every trucking business is ready for expansion.  Having additional drivers means more management responsibility resting squarely on your shoulders.  Not only will you have to deal with keeping your customer happy, but keeping drivers happy.  Keeping drivers happy can be a full time job sometimes.  And if they aren’t happy, chances are they will not treat your customers very well.  You will also have the added liability of these drivers doing something wrong on your company’s behalf so you want to make sure that you don’t just hire any warm body to fill the seat.

Once you’ve decided to move forward and expand, you have a couple options.  You can either lease on other owner/operators under a contract that are paid with a 1099, or you can hire company employees that are paid with a W-2.  Depending on the size of your business, and administrative resources, either option has its advantages.  With 1099 contractors, you only have to pay them when they work, and you don’t have to worry about employee benefits such as health insurance and paid vacations.  Contractors also tend to be more reliable since their pay is dependent upon their reliability.  On the other hand, W-2 employees are more readily available, and are generally easier to keep happy as long as the benefits are present, but require more support with payroll.  My rule of thumb has always been this:  if you have enough business to afford new trucks and have office staff, then buy trucks and hire employees.  If you are smaller and would need to purchase used equipment to expand and have limited or no office staff, then use owner operators.  The fewer headaches you have, the better.