The Trucker News Staff

RICHMOND, Va. — Winter weather is here, and many across the nation are already dealing with icy roads, snowbanks and pileups. Departments of transportation are gearing up for a busy few months ahead. Following is a quick rundown of several states’ plans to deal with winter this season. Additionally, click here to review our winter-preparedness article, which ran back in September. And to stay on top of winter weather, click here for the National Weather Service’s forecast site. VIRGINIA The Department of Transportation has earmarked $211 million to fund winter operations. The agency said it has more than 2,500 Virginia DOT employees and additional contractors on call for snow removal operations statewide, with more than 10,800 pieces of snow-removal equipment – including trucks, front loaders, and motor graders – at the ready. Virginia also has more than 706,000 tons of salt, sand and treated abrasives and more than 2.4 million gallons of liquid calcium chloride – an additive to salt for deicing – and salt brine on hand. “Virginia motorists can be confident in [our] preparedness for our winter weather season,” said Kevin Gregg, Virginia DOT’s chief of maintenance and operations, in a statement. “We learned new processes last year due to the pandemic and a heavy snow season,” he added. “Those experiences, along with our continued training, have equipped us to handle the snow and ice that may impact the 128,000 lane miles of roadway we maintain across the Commonwealth.” KENTUCKY The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has doubled its fleet of tow plows, which can clear two lanes at once, from four to eight this year. KYTC – which said it has 1,365 state-owned and contracted snowplow trucks ready to winter weather – is basing two of its tow plows in Frankfort as part of a “strike force” that can be dispatched to lend support to crews in different regions statewide during major weather events. “Within the past 12 months we endured our first snow and ice season in the midst of a health pandemic and tackled back-to-back severe winter events this year that blanketed roads with sheets of ice and debris,” noted KYTC Secretary Jim Gray in a statement. “While the severity and frequency of weather events stands to be unknown, we are doing our best with the resources we have to keep critical state routes passable so citizens and commerce can keep moving,” he added. KYTC has also stockpiled over 300,000 tons of salt, one million gallons of brine for anti-icing efforts and 875,000 gallons of calcium chloride ahead of the 2021-2022 winter season. To enhance its winter weather response efforts, the Illinois Department of Transportation recently debuted an improved winter road conditions map on its popular “Getting Around Illinois” website. “Illinois winters are notorious for changing quickly and drastically, sometimes over just a few miles,” said Omer Osman, secretary of the Illinois DOT, in a statement. “These improvements to ‘Getting Around Illinois’ will give travelers information that’s more reliable and more local.” Instead of continuing to display conditions by county, the revamped map will show how weather events are affecting roads under the jurisdictions of the more than 120 snow-and-ice team sections that work out of Illinois DOT facilities throughout the state. The agency said its snowplow drivers out in the field would also relay road condition information through a cloud-based system. NEBRASKA The Nebraska Department of Transportation – together with the Nebraska State Patrol and the National Weather Service – has updated the state’s Nebraska 511 service with integrated weather information, updated icons and an improved user interface, among other new features. “Winter is often a long season in Nebraska, bringing cold temperatures, snow, and, at times, dangerous wind,” said John Selmer, Nebraska DOT’s director. “(We are) proud to partner with the Nebraska State Patrol and the National Weather Service to be as prepared as possible when winter weather strikes to keep roadways open, and when necessary, close them for the safety of the traveling public and our teammates,” he added. “The work we do, together with the information provided in our 511 service helps keep motorists moving while providing the best information possible for decision making,” Selmer said. COLORADO The Colorado Department of Transportation has launched a “Winter Driving in the Wild” educational video series for motorists to awareness of the laws, preparations and resources for safe and efficient winter driving. The series includes videos about the state’s passenger vehicle traction law, tire and snowplow safety, winter preparedness tips and a guide for winter driving resources. The agency noted it plans to issue new editions of the series throughout the 2021-2022 winter season. “Motorists who are unprepared for winter road conditions create dangerous situations for themselves and everyone on the road, not to mention the extended delays we see from spinouts, slideoffs and crashes,” said Andrew Hogle, Colorado DOT’s public information officer. “We’re excited to launch the ‘Winter Driving in the Wild’ series to share these crucial messages and have some fun with Colorado drivers at the same time,” he added. The videos can be seen by clicking here. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Journal contributed to this report.  

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Georgia Ports Authority agreed Monday to accelerate a $150 million expansion at the Port of Savannah in response to a surge in cargo volumes that has cramped its container yard and kept ships waiting at sea. The state agency’s governing board approved a plan to increase by 25% Savannah’s capacity for cargo containers by June. The new space for storing containers waiting to be loaded onto ships, trucks or trains will cover roughly 150 acres (60 hectares), said Griff Lynch, the port authority’s executive director. He said more than a third of that new capacity should be ready by January and the port ultimately will be capable of handling 1.6 million additional cargo containers per year. “It was in our long-range plan, but we’re expediting it,” Lynch said. “None of this was planned for this year or next year.” Like other U.S. seaports, the Port of Savannah has scrambled to work through traffic jams caused by record volumes of shipping containers piling up as the economy rebounds from the pandemic. Savannah has the nation’s fourth-busiest port for cargo shipped in containers. The giant metal boxes are used to transport a wide range of goods from consumer electronics to frozen chickens. The surge caused Savannah’s port to see its busiest month ever in October, when the number of container units of imports and exports crossing its docks exceeded 500,000 for the first time. The port handled a record 5.3 million container units in the 2021 fiscal year that ended June 30. Officials have been using inland sites to temporarily store cargo and free up space at Savannah’s container terminal. The port authority was authorized by the federal government to use $8 million in leftover grant money to set up four such “pop up” container yards in different areas of the state. Lynch said efforts to reduce the backlog are paying off. The Savannah port had about 67,000 containers at its terminal Monday, he said, compared to roughly 85,000 in September. And the 13 ships anchored off the coast waiting to enter the port was about half the peak number months ago. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” Lynch said. “We think this will continue on up through the first quarter of 2022 at least.” The $150 million container yard expansion covers not only converting undeveloped land for container storage but also equipment. The board Monday agreed to spend $24.4 million on new electric-powered cranes to lift and move containers in that new space

WASHINGTON — More than a dozen transportation industry associations across the nation are asking the federal government to authorize use of COVID-19 relief funds to help alleviate ongoing supply chain issues. Nineteen agencies sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Nov. 29, writing: “We request relief for government agencies and businesses who have and continue to face unprecedented pandemic-induced supply chain delays and shortages that may undercut the anticipated benefits of the IIJA (the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act).” The letter noted that private companies and government agencies are reporting both shortages of and increased prices on manufactured steel, steel and plastic piping, paint, concrete materials, and many other items – with cost increases ranging from 15 percent to a doubling or tripling on some items like manufactured steel. “Lead times for procurement and delivery of many of these materials has dramatically increased as well, and prospects for the coming year are worse,” the letter stated. Additionally, the American Traffic Safety Services Association found in a recent poll of its members that 64 percent are “either unsure or pessimistic” about their ability to meet their customers’ needs for roadway safety projects due to material shortages. And some 60 percent believe material shortages will continue for at least seven more months and likely for more than a year. The letter stated one solution to those issues would be for Treasury to “clarify” the use by state and local governments of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds from the $1.9 American Rescue Plan (ARPA) passed in March to mitigate the effects of supply chain delays on material shortages and price increases. “The ARPA states that these funds should be used to ‘mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus [COVID-19] disease.’ Since the pandemic is clearly the driving force behind these supply chain delays and shortages, we believe it is clear that such utilization of the funding would fall within congressional intent of the legislation,” the letter stated. “Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Department of the Treasury update its ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document and regulations for ARP funds, clarifying that recipient governments can use them to mitigate the effects of supply chain delays and shortages, such as for material price increases and the effects they are having on project costs.” The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) co-signed a March 28 letter with 35 other transportation organizations to Yellen in May along a similar tact for “clear guidance and flexibility” regarding the use of ARP funds to support transportation infrastructure projects.      

LANSING, Mich. – State police agencies from four states will join forces this week for a campaign to crack down on highway safety along Interstate 94. Dubbed “Eyes on 94,” the initiative aims to reduce commercial vehicle crashes, according to the Michigan State Police (MSP). “This enforcement effort is a great example of the commitment by the MSP, Indiana State Police, Illinois State Police, and the Ohio Highway Patrol to reach our common goal of increasing traffic safety and reducing crashes,” said Capt. Michael Krumm, commander of the MSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division. “We hope to increase awareness by being visible on the I-94 freeway, which is prone to weather-related crashes involving interstate commercial vehicle drivers this time of year.” The operation will begin Monday and end Friday. Police said they will be looking for violations such as improper passing, speeding, improper lane use, distracted driving and driver following the car in front of them too closely.  

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared Rapid City, South Dakota-based Hall Trucking to be an imminent hazard to public safety and has ordered the carrier to immediately cease all interstate and intrastate operations. The federal order, which was served Nov.19, further specified that the company owner and truck driver, Clayton Hall, who holds a South Dakota-issued commercial driver’s license (CDL), be immediately ordered out-of-service, prohibiting him from operating any commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce. According to an FMCSA news release issued Friday, an FMCSA investigation found Hall Trucking to be “egregiously noncompliant with multiple federal safety regulations, including: controlled substances and alcohol use and testing; commercial driver’s license standards; qualification of drivers and; driving of CMVs.” In June 2020, owner/driver Hall tested positive for amphetamines and was notified that, as required by federal safety regulations, he was prohibited from operating a CMV until such time he successfully completed the statutorily required return-to-duty process overseen by a Substance Abuse Professional.  Hall’s drug test result was also reported to FMCSA’s CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Despite the disqualification, Hall continued to operate a CMV on at least 20 occasions, including at least three interstate trips in October 2021. FMCSA investigators further discovered that a Hall Trucking employee driver did not have a current medical examiner’s certificate required by federal regulation for interstate commercial operations.  Additionally, the individual possessed an “intrastate only” CDL, which did not allow him to legally operate a CMV outside South Dakota state boundaries.  Despite these prohibitions, the individual, on at least three occasions in 2021, was dispatched by Hall on commercial interstate trucking trips. FMCSA’s imminent hazard out-of-service order states that Hall Trucking’s “,..complete disregard for the [federal safety regulations] substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death for its drivers and the motoring public if its operations are not discontinued immediately.” Failing to comply with the provisions of the federal imminent hazard order may result in civil penalties of up to $28,142 for each violation. Hall Trucking may also be assessed civil penalties of not less than $11,256 for providing transportation in interstate commerce without operating authority registration, and up to $15,876 for operating a CMV in interstate commerce without USDOT Number registration. Knowing and/or willful violations may result in criminal penalties.

ARLINGTON, Va. – It should come as no surprise that company drivers and owner-operators/independent contractors ranked income as highly important in a new study from the American Trucking Research Institute (ATRI). In fact, it came second only to job security. And in terms of income satisfaction, 68.9% of company drivers and 80.1% of owner-operators/independent contractors said they were very satisfied/satisfied with their income. ATRI said its research includes data from more than 2,000 professional truck drivers, of whom more than two-thirds are owner-operators/independent contractors. The analysis also examined the various compensation models used with company drivers and owner-operators/independent contractors and driver satisfaction levels with each. More than 50% of owner-operators/independent contractors in ATRI’s dataset reported net incomes of over $75,000 in the previous year, while nearly 70 percent of company drivers indicated their annual wages fell in the $50,000 to $100,000 range. A large percentage of owner-operators/independent contractors expected they would experience significant decreases in their job satisfaction (73.0%) and annual income (68.3%) if they were reclassified as a company driver. “ATRI’s analysis validates what we know to be true with our professional truck drivers – those who choose to be owner/operators are often motivated by the desire to be in charge of their schedule and work environment,” said Eric Fuller, president & CEO of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. “Understanding what motivates our company drivers and owner/operators allows us to better tailor offerings as we continue to focus on recruitment and retention.” In addition to examining the differences between company drivers and owner-operators/independent contractors, ATRI’s analysis also offers insight into the different motivating factors for female truck drivers versus their male counterparts. To access the full report, click here.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking tough questions to major companies about why the supply chain is so clogged. The agency has ordered nine large retailers, wholesalers and consumer goods suppliers to “provide detailed information that will help the FTC shed light on the causes behind ongoing supply chain disruptions and how these disruptions are causing serious and ongoing hardships for consumers and harming competition in the U.S. economy,” according to an FTC news release. The orders are being sent to Walmart Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Kroger Co., C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., McLane Co, Inc. Procter & Gamble Co., Tyson Foods, Inc. and Kraft Heinz Co. The companies will have 45 days from the date they received the order to respond. “Supply chain disruptions are upending the provision and delivery of a wide array of goods, ranging from computer chips and medicines to meat and lumber,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said. “I am hopeful the FTC’s new … study will shed light on market conditions and business practices that may have worsened these disruptions or led to asymmetric effects. The FTC has a long history of pursuing market studies to deepen our understanding of economic conditions and business conduct, and we should continue to make nimble and timely use of these information-gathering tools and authorities.” In addition to better understanding the reasons behind the disruptions, the study will examine whether supply chain disruptions are leading to specific bottlenecks, shortages, anticompetitive practices or contributing to rising consumer prices, the news release stated. The orders require the companies to detail the primary factors disrupting their ability to obtain, transport and distribute their products; the impact these disruptions are having in terms of delayed and canceled orders, increased costs and prices; the products, suppliers and inputs most affected; and the steps the companies are taking to alleviate disruptions; and how they allocate products among their stores when they are in short supply. The FTC is also requiring the companies to provide internal documents regarding the supply chain disruptions, including strategies related to supply chains; pricing; marketing and promotions; costs, profit margins and sales volumes; selection of suppliers and brands; and market shares. In addition, the agency is soliciting voluntary comments from retailers, consumer goods suppliers, wholesalers, and consumers regarding their views on how supply chain issues are affecting competition in consumer goods markets. These comments provide an opportunity for market participants to surface additional issues and examples of how supply chain disruptions are affecting competition. Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturing activity grew at a faster pace in November with producers trying to keep up with demand amid ongoing supply shortages and delays. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Wednesday that its index of manufacturing activity rose to a reading of 61.1 in November, just above September’s 60.8. Any reading above 50 indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing sector has recorded 18 straight months of growth going back to spring of 2020 when the pandemic broke. Sub-categories of new orders, production and employment all grew at a faster pace in November, though many respondents commented that they are still struggling to hire, despite some modest progress over the past three months. ISM’s report said that 86% of the employment comments related to hiring, with 51% of those respondents saying they are struggling to fill positions, an increase from October. Businesses are also struggling to keep their inventories stocked due to elevated demand. ISM’s customer’s inventories index registered a reading of 25.1 in November, the 62nd straight month that it’s been what is considered too low. While it’s not good for stores to have sparse or empty shelves, it will likely spur more production ahead to remedy that situation, the ISM report said. Prices are still elevated, but retreated somewhat in November to a reading of 82.4 from 85.7 in October. Thirteen of the 15 manufacturing categories reported growth last month, led by apparel and furniture. The only two that contracted were printing and primary metals. ISM said the broad sentiment of its panel remained strongly optimistic, but they “remain focused on the importance of improving supply chain issues to respond to ongoing high levels of demand,” said Timothy R. Fiore, head of ISM’s manufacturing survey committee.