The Trucker News Staff

NASHVILLE — The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Board of Directors has elected Harold Sumerford Jr., CEO of J&M Tank Lines Inc. in Birmingham, Alabama, as their 77th chairman. “This couldn’t be a better time to be not just a member of ATA, but chairman of the board,” Sumerford said. “I’m honored and humbled to be chosen by my fellow members to represent ATA and the trucking industry at this critical time.” Sumerford, who was elected on Oct. 26, succeeds Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, president and CEO of Garner Trucking, as chairman. “Harold is the consummate professional, and a tremendous ambassador for our industry,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “His story — working in the family business until he ran the family business — could not be more representative of what trucking is all about. I’m looking forward to working more closely with him as chairman and want to congratulate him on this honor.” Sumerford has been deeply involved in the trucking industry and is a past chairman of ATA Federation members the Georgia Motor Truck Association and the National Tank Truck Carriers, according to an ATA news release. In addition, he and J&M have been longtime members and supporters of the American Transportation Research Institute and the Truckload Carriers Association, in addition to the Georgia Motor Trucking Association and the National Tank Truck Carriers. Under Sumerford’s leadership, J&M Tank Lines has won numerous state and national safety awards and an ATA Mike Russell Trucking Image Award for the company’s work during the pandemic, the news release stated. The board also elected Dan Van Alstine, president and COO of Ruan Transportation Management Systems in Des Moines, Iowa, as ATA first vice chairman, and Andrew Boyle, co-president of Boyle Transportation in Billerica, Massachusetts, ATA second vice chairman. In addition, the board named Darren Hawkins, CEO of YRC Worldwide Inc. in Overland Park, Kansas, and Dennis Dellinger, president and CEO of Cargo Transporters in Hickory, North Carolina, as ATA vice chairmen. The board also re-elected John M. Smith, chairman of Admiralty Holdings Inc., as secretary and John A. Smith, president and CEO of FedEx Freight, as treasurer.    

PHOENIX — U.S. 60 has reopened to traffic in Arizona between Superior and Miami after an extended closure due to delays removing a section of the old Pinto Creek Bridge. According to a news release from the Arizona Department of Transportation, an additional full closure has been scheduled between 9 a.m. and noon on Wednesday, Oct. 27. During the closure, all eastbound vehicles will be redirected at State Route 177 in Superior, and all westbound vehicles will be redirected at the west end of Miami. Traffic will not be allowed to queue at the closure locations. Motorists with a destination between SR 177 and Top-of-the-World west of Pinto Creek or between Miami and Pinto Valley Mine Road east of Pinto Creek will be allowed to pass; however, no vehicles will be allowed between Top-of-the-World and Pinto Valley Mine Road. Traffic will be detoured to SR 177 in Superior and SR 77 in Globe. The detour includes a 10% grade and will significantly increase travel time. Motorists should proceed with caution, slow down, watch for equipment, and follow the directions of flaggers and law enforcement.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Port of Buffalo seized 2,554 pounds of marijuana in a commercial shipment on Oct. 20. According to a CBP news release, officers assigned to the Peace Bridge selected a commercial shipment that was manifested as “bathroom vanities” for additional examination. The truck and trailer underwent a non-intrusive inspection, which revealed anomalies in the trailer, prompting it to be sent to the commercial vehicle inspection area. “CBP officers then performed a physical inspection of the shipment and discovered vacuum-sealed marijuana packages secreted within the pallet-shipment-boxes,” the news release stated. “A thorough inventory of the shipment resulted in the seizure of 2,302 packages of marijuana that field-tested positive for the properties of marijuana. CBP officers determined the seizure of marijuana has an estimated street value of $5 million.” The seizure is currently under investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Criminal organizations continue to attempt to exploit the border for their personal gain, however the skills, training and dedication of our officers have once again halted their plan.” said Acting Buffalo Port Director John Madsen. “I am proud of the persistent efforts of our resilient workforce in securing the border ensuring these narcotics were prevented from entering our country.” Matthew Scarpino, acting special agent in charge of HSI Buffalo, said the HSI “is committed with CBP to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs smuggled into the United States. Through the HSI Border Enforcement Security Task Force, HSI will continue to investigate these significant seizures, with our Canadian law enforcement partners, to combat the transnational criminal networks that threaten our international region.”

FLORISTON, Calif. — CAL FIRE’s Nevada Yuba Placer Unit fought an 18-wheeler blaze Sunday along Interstate 80. According to a CAL FIRE Facebook post, the truck’s cab was engulfed in flames while hanging off the overpass. The occupants made it out uninjured. CAL FIRE reported that there was active fuel leak from the rig; however, “firefighters’ quick action prevented entry into the Truckee River.”

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO — The Colorado Springs Fire Department is investigating a Monday morning fire that destroyed 12 semi-trailers at a Goodwill Industries warehouse. The trailers were full of donations that were waiting to be sorted. No injuries were reported, and the building was not damaged. A cause for the fire was not released, although fire officials said they received tips that someone suspicious was seen in the area before the blaze.    

ARLINGTON, Va. – In response to the humanitarian crisis following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the American Trucking Associations delivered for hundreds of refugees being re-settled in the United States. In August, when many Afghan refugees were first taken to the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia, for quarantine and processing, area residents began dropping off donations of clothing, diapers and other staples, according to an ATA news release. “When those refugees were relocated to U.S. military bases, ATA stepped in to get those dontations from member company Interstate Van Lines, which managed collection and storage of the items, to where they were needed,” the news release stated. “We heard the call and saw a need and were happy to respond,” said Nate McCarty, a professional driver with ABF Freight and an America’s Road Team Captain, who drove ATA’s image truck and Louisa Swain trailer from Northern Virginia to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin with 24 pallets of donations. “These people had been through so much, so if we could make things just a little bit easier for the, it was just something we had to do,” said Jeff Payne, a professional driver with Yellow Corp., who moved 24 pallets of donated goods to Camp Atterbury in Indiana, in ATA’s Workforce Heroes truck. ATA, through its members and through the Trucking Cares Foundation and Trucking Moves America Forward, makes numerous charity moves like these two annually. “Trucking is always first to respond when people are in need,” said ATA Executive Vice President Elisabeth Barna. “Whether it is drivers like Nate and Jeff delivering for these refugees, or the countless drivers who respond to natural disasters every year, this is the kind of commitment to service we expect from our professional heroes.”

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Port of Savannah achieved its busiest September ever, moving 472,000 20-foot equivalent container units, which is up 14.5%, according to a news release. Port officials reported that the Garden City Terminal has seen steady improvement in the speed of cargo moving from dock to destination. “Our team is doing a great job, handling an immense volume of cargo every day,” Griff Lynch, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, said. “I’d also like to extend our appreciation to our many customers who are working in lockstep with us to move cargo more quickly and work vessels with greater efficiency.” Partnering with importers to clear long-dwelling containers, the Port of Savannah has achieved a 55% reduction in the number of import boxes that have been on Garden City Terminal for longer than four weeks, the news release stated. The average dwell time for import containers is now 11 days, while exports average seven days. GPA has also adjusted its container receiving window to provide greater predictability for export customers. Total cargo for September reached 3.3 million tons, up 250,000 or 8%. Truck traffic remains fluid at Garden City Terminal, where single container moves over the past month averaged 38 minutes and dual import-export moves 60 minutes. The port’s truck gates are averaging 70,000 moves per week, counting both import and export cargo, while intermodal containers take less than two days to move from vessel offload to departing rail. To help address current and future needs, Georgia Ports will soon roll out two major capacity enhancements: completion of the Mason Mega Rail Terminal and Phase I of the Peak Capacity project. With the Mason Mega Rail Terminal fully operational by the end of October, the Port of Savannah’s annual rail capacity will be 2 million TEUs per year. The Port of Savannah is averaging less than two days from vessel offload to departing train, and rail providers Norfolk Southern and CSX have untapped capacity to destinations such as Atlanta, Memphis, Tennessee, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Birmingham, Alabama. “GPA is encouraging port customers to transfer containers from truck to rail in order to expedite cargo and reduce carbon emissions. The authority is also making more room for on-terminal container storage,” the news release stated. GPA’s other project soon to be commissioned is Peak Capacity, Phase I. This project, more than 80% complete, will come online in December with three new rubber-tired gantry crane rows providing an additional 300,000 TEUs of annual capacity. Phase II will add a fourth RTG row and additional empty container space by the spring of 2022. The entire project will add 800,000 TEUs of annual capacity. GPA is currently investing $700 million in projects to expand berth capacity and to add 1 million TEUs of yard capacity. By next spring, additional projects will bring the total capacity increase to 2 million TEUs. Other infrastructure projects in the works include: Garden City West Phase I, a new 25-acre chassis yard. Notice to proceed on construction goes out Monday. The chassis yard is set to open in March 2022. Garden City West Phase II, a 92-acre container yard, goes before the GPA Board for consideration in March. Will add 750,000 TEUs of annual container space in 2023. Berth 1 Expansion: 17% complete. The project, slated to come online in 2023, will allow Savannah to simultaneously serve four 16,000-TEU vessels, and three additional ships. Ship-to-Shore Crane order: First four, 15% complete; second four, 5% complete. Eight new ship-to-shore cranes will arrive in 2023, bringing Garden City Terminal’s total fleet to 38. Savannah Harbor Expansion Project: 93% complete. With a high-tide depth of 54 feet, the deeper harbor will allow vessels in the 16,000+ TEU range to take on heavier loads with fewer tidal restrictions. With another five feet of channel depth, departing vessels will be able to take on 1,000 additional export containers, which will speed American-made goods to market. Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 496,700 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $29 billion in income, $122 billion in revenue and $3.4 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy. The Port of Savannah handled 9.3% of total U.S. containerized cargo volume and 10.5% of all U.S. containerized exports in fiscal year 2020.      

LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley truck driving school owner has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after defrauding the United States Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $4 million. Emmit Marshall, 53, of Woodland Hills, was sentenced on Oct. 5 by United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson. He pleaded guilty in July 2019 to five counts of wire fraud According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Marshall was also ordered to pay $4.1 million in restitution. At the hearing, Wilson called Marshall’s actions “a very serious fraud on the government,” which involved “calculated, criminal acts that cannot be condoned.” Marshall is the owner and president of the Chatsworth-based Alliance School of Trucking (AST). Marshall and a co-defendant, AST Vice President Robert Waggoner, 57, of Canyon Country, recruited eligible veterans to take trucking classes paid under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. AST was certified to offer classes under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, including a 160-hour Tractor Trailer & Safety class and a 600-hour Select Driver Development Program. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the VA paid tuition and fees directly to the school at which veterans were enrolled. The VA also paid a housing allowance to veterans enrolled full-time in an approved program, and, in some cases, the VA paid for books and supplies for veterans’ benefit. From July 2011 to April 2015, Marshall and Waggoner convinced more than 100 veterans to participate by telling them they were entitled to VA education benefits, even if they did not attend classes, the U.S. attorney’s office reported. Despite not taking classes, the veterans who agreed to join the scheme accepted education benefits for housing while AST collected the benefits for tuition, resulting in a total loss to the VA of at least $4.1 million. In addition, Marshall resorted to occasionally using veterans’ personal information to sign them up for benefits, forging signatures, sometimes without the veterans’ permission. Finally, in an attempt to obfuscate the overall scheme and the forgeries of student enrollment paperwork, Marshall directed the veteran-students to lie to VA investigators and ordered the destruction of AST paperwork by co-schemers. “[Marshall] profited most from this conduct, pocketing nearly $1 million himself, which he used for jewelry, a cruise, a trip to Hawaii, property taxes on his Woodland Hills residence, purchase of a Ford F-150 and purchase of semi-tractor trailers for a new business,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. Waggoner pleaded guilty on February 24 to five counts of wire fraud and will be sentenced later.

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A 23-year-old California woman walked away from a horrific accident on Wednesday night after crashing into the rear of a big rig’s trailer. According to a Facebook post by the California Highway Patrol’s Santa Ana Area, the woman, whose name wasn’t given, was traveling more than 100 miles per hour on State Highway 91 when she veered to the right and struck the semi. Her car spun out of control, then hit the center divider. “After the collision, the female got out of her car, uninjured, and began to walk westbound in eastbound lanes,” the CHP post stated. “Officers arrived on scene, located the driver, and subsequently placed her under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol (with a BAC three times the legal limit).” No injuries were reported.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department is keeping a close eye on traffic in the city’s Wilmington neighborhood after a shipping container fell from a moving truck onto a parked vehicle, pancaking it. No injuries were reported. The incident comes as hundreds of trucks are entering and exiting the port to help ease the backlog of goods. Dozens of cargo ships are anchored off the coast waiting to unload at the clogged port. Many residents around the port have put up signs re-directing truck traffic around their neighborhood streets. “The trucks should not be going through the residential street and we need to put a stop to that getting a truck route,” Valerie Contreras of the Wilmington Neighborhood Council told CBSLA. “Also, there are too many trucks coming to Wilmington meaning there are too many storage yards and facilities and we need to make sure is regulated.”