The Nation

SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking Radio, channel 146, is offering an exclusive free-to-air channel for professional truck drivers on the front lines, through Sunday, May 31. Road Dog Trucking Radio can be heard wherever truckers tune in — on SiriusXM radios, on the SiriusXM app and at home on a variety of connected devices and speakers. This channel is now available to subscribers nationwide and to everyone — including anyone who is not already a SiriusXM subscriber — as part of SiriusXM’s free streaming access period through May 31. For more information and to start listening, visit siriusxm.com/streamfree. For a listing of channel hosts and schedules visit siriusxm.com/roaddogtrucking.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — To help the public show appreciation to the trucking industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illinois Department of Transportation will coordinate with groups that want to provide free food to truckers. Events that meet and follow specific safety requirements will be held at select IDOT weigh stations throughout the state. “We are proud to offer our assistance in saying thank you to truckers and giving them some encouragement in their travels,” said Omer Osman, the state’s acting transportation secretary. “All of us owe these men and women our gratitude for keeping the nation’s supply chain moving, making sure food is winding up in our homes, and getting medical supplies and equipment to the people that need them most.” The events will be held only at weigh stations, with a maximum time limit of three hours for each event. Illinois Department of Public Health criteria for handling food and other safety guidelines, which can be viewed by clicking here, must be followed at all times. Events will not be held at rest areas. Scheduling will be coordinated by IDOT and the Illinois State Police. Requests by organizations wishing to distribute food must be received at least five days in advance. The following weigh stations will be available between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: Interstate 55 southbound at Williamsville in Sangamon County; Interstate 57 northbound and southbound at Marion in Williamson County; Interstate 64 eastbound at O’Fallon in St. Clair County; Interstate 70 westbound at Marshall in Marshall County; Interstate 74 eastbound and westbound at Moline in Henry County; Interstate 80 eastbound and westbound at East Moline in Rock Island County; and Interstate 70 eastbound at Brownstown in Fayette County. For more information or to schedule a group’s involvement, contact Keith Donovan, weight enforcement engineer, at [email protected] or 217-299-0934. Photo courtesy of the Illinois Department of Transportation.

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) has extended the weight-limit waiver for commercial trucks assisting in COVID-19 relief efforts through May 31 or the end of the statewide stay-at-home order. The waiver allows commercial vehicles traveling on the state’s public highways to have a gross weight of 88,000 pounds. Shawn Wilson, secretary of the state’s DOTD, announced the extension of the waiver on April 30, citing the continued spread of COVID-19 cases in Louisiana. According to the Louisiana Department of Health, at the time of this writing, the state has a total of 29,673 reported cases and 1,991 deaths related to COVID-19. Commercial truck drivers should be aware that the weight exemption does not apply to bridges and other structures that have posted weight limits. In addition, the waiver does not apply to commercial vehicles that are not operating in support of COVID-19 support efforts or to vehicles traveling on interstate highways or non-state-maintained highways. To view the waiver extension, click here.  

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Independent musician and truck driver Tony Justice has been selected as the second person to be inducted into the inaugural class of the Howes Hall of Fame for 2020. “It is just a huge honor,” Justice said. “Something I never would have dreamed about or thought about. It brings a positive light on the industry that we have gathered that much support. It is a really big honor.” According to a press release from Howes, Justice has sold more than 100,000 albums in the past nine years — in addition to averaging more than 2,500 miles per week as a professional truck driver for the past 20 years. Justice said a lot of his inspiration for his music has come from being on the road. “I probably do 90 percent of my writing on the road, because I spend a lot of hours on the road,” Justice said. “You see a lot of good things and good people driving across America and crossing the Rocky Mountains. There is so much to see out there. There is a lot inspiration.” When Justice is not on the road, he is recording his music. He is currently working on his fifth album for the independent label he owns. He said trying to juggle trucking and music can be pretty challenging at times. “I’ve been writing songs and playing music since 1991. I enjoy the creativity side of it such as the writing and putting the stories out there of what we go through on the road,” he said. “We started putting music to it, and it was something I wanted to record. To watch it come to life is something I have really enjoyed, and the performing side of it is a lot of fun as well — those are the two highlights.” Justice has performed all over the country, including venues in South Dakota; Louisville, Kentucky; Las Vegas; Texas; Atlanta; and Charlotte, North Carolina. He said he also played clubs for nine years on the east coast. “We just felt like (Tony) was such an inspiration and ridiculously hard-working,” said Erika Howes, vice president of business development for Howes. “He makes music about the industry and he is hands-on with everything he does. “He cares about people and he interacts with his fans, and listens to their story. He is a really down-to-earth guy, especially with his fellow drivers. He entertains and encourages people. He is so proud to represent America’s blue-collar working class,” she continued. “He embodies what we wanted to represent in the hall of fame.” Justice is a company driver for Everhart Transport Inc. out of Greenville, Tennessee. He said he has been fortunate that a lot of the company’s customers are considered “necessities.” “His songs are about this industry and what we represent,” Howes said. “He is hands-on with his own label. It is such a unique story that we found to be really interesting and inspiring.” Justice has been around trucking his whole life. When he was growing up in eastern Kentucky, he said, his dad had three trucks. Justice and his siblings would service the trucks and wash them on the weekends. He said he can never remember a time where trucks were not a part of his life. “I am still driving full time,” he said. “I like to tell people, ‘I haven’t quit my day job.’ I’m still putting up with it because I enjoy doing it. I have a great support group at home.” Justice said that right now his biggest challenge is trying to take care of his mom, Sharon, and his wife, Misty. Misty had breast cancer last year but is currently in remission. “My mom lives with me, and my biggest challenge is that I don’t bring anything (contagious) home,” Justice said. “I’m taking a lot of extra measures. We are used to going into stores and buying drinks or food, but now we have to get everything stocked in the truck and stay in my ‘bubble.’ I have to distance myself from things I normally do. It is a change from normal.” The Howes Hall of Fame is part of the company’s 100th anniversary. According to a press release, the Hall of Fame “serves as a platform for Howes to thank and acknowledge all the great work that has, and does, go on in the trucking and agricultural industries.” For more information, visit the website at www.howesproducts.com/HOF. Ellen Voie, president and CEO of the Women in Trucking Association, was the first inductee announced. A third inductee will be announced next month. “We started the hall of fame this year, and going forward we are hoping to induct a few people once or twice a year,” Howes said. “This year we sourced out people with the representation that we are looking for, but next year, we will open up nominations to the public. “We don’t want it all be about us,” she said. “We are looking to recognize the trucking and farming industry for their contribution and what they have done to keep the industry going.”

SAN PEDRO, Calif. — On the other side of the country from Washington D.C., southern California truckers held a protest echoing the concerns of other owner-operators from coast to coast regarding low freight rates. While the protests in Washington D.C. aimed to physically garner the attention of the federal government and the White House, one of the southern California event’s organizers, owner-operator Miguel Ramirez said this protest was a part of a nationwide effort to call attention the low rates truckers are being offered from brokers for hauling essential goods. “We are joining a national movement, and it is taking place from the east coast to the west coast as we speak,” Rameriz said, noting that he feels the rating system that determines how much a load pays should be changed or at the very least, analyzed. “We know it is not going to happen overnight, but we want a change in the pricing and ratings systems, and we just want to bring awareness to the general public,” Rameriz said. Gio Marz, another of the event’s organizers, echoed the sentiment that the southern California protest aims to be a “peaceful, slow roll for unity.” He said this legal and peaceful demonstration, which was assembled at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California, will join another convoy coming from Fontana, California. The two groups combined have the potential to number more than 300 trucks, Marz said. Additionally, Marz said he and the participants see this protest as a way to show they are standing in solidarity with other truckers across the country who have selected May Day (May 1, 2020) for their symbolic ‘mayday’ distress call. “We want to bring awareness from politicians, to governors, to big corporations, to the everyday consumer,” Marz said. “If you have essential goods on your shelves at your house, it is because, most likely, the truckers brought it to you.” The planned protest at the port drew more than 60 trucks that lined up, blew their air horns and began a slow drive to Los Angeles City Hall, where they will be joined by the second convoy. Marz also noted that right now, truck drivers are risking their well-being to deliver goods throughout the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other event organizers, who delivered an address in a mixture of English and Spanish, said, “The place is here, and the time is now,” to recognize the importance of truck drivers and their efforts in carrying the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a risk. Every single time we leave our house, we are at risk,” Marz said. “We’re on the front lines, and we are not getting paid what we deserve. Eighty percent of the truck port drivers [here in LA] are owner-operators like myself. If the rates for the loads are coming down, it does not make sense for us to keep running our trucks businesswise. Today the mission is for us to just unite across the board as truckers and say ‘no’ to cheap freight.” Marz said his message to brokers is to “stop being greedy,” but he also acknowledges that customers can deal directly with carriers instead of utilizing brokers, which would allow many owner-operators to eliminate another step in the logistics of the supply chain. The group offered T-shirts commemorating the event for free in exchange for donations that will be used to help pay the fines of other drivers who have received citations during other freight-rate-related protests in the area.

Today’s the day. May Day. Or “mayday,” as protest organizers who have adopted the well-known international radio distress signal, have labeled May 1, 2020. Demonstrations have begun in Washington D.C. and in Chicago. In Washington, dozens of trucks are parked along Constitution Avenue, within view of the White House, blowing their air horns in unity with the cause. Reporters from several local television stations have covered the event, broadcasting coverage of the parked trucks and crescendo of air horns. Interviews with organizers and participants have been observed on sidewalks near the demonstration. Homemade banners proclaiming “Make trucking great again” hang from commercial motor vehicles, and American flags are everywhere. In Chicago, more trucks gathered at a Northbrook truck stop in preparation for a Chicago protest. Social-media venues have been flooded with photos, videos and comments supporting the demonstrating drivers. Protests were also scheduled in Houston, Phoenix and Los Angeles. All three cities saw “slow roll” protests last week, and organizers have promised to return for today’s “mayday” demonstration. Organizers are hoping to raise awareness of issues faced by small-business truckers, most of whom own their trucks. The most-expressed complaint is low freight rates, usually accompanied by complaints that brokers are paying truckers too little, keeping excessive amounts of the revenue paid to them by shippers. Other complaints are that drivers don’t have access to masks, gloves and sanitizer despite being categorized as essential workers; that the government hasn’t done enough to ensure adequate available food and parking; and that government regulations, especially the requirement for Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), are overbearing and counterproductive. While it’s true that demonstrations can draw the attention of government, press and public, the publicity generated isn’t always positive. In some ways, these protests can harm the public’s perception of the protesters, in this case, truck drivers — and the trucking industry as a whole — at a time when help is needed. Protests that interfere with traffic, either by blocking lanes or “slow rolling,” can incite public annoyance and anger. There are also safety issues to consider as motorists are impeded by the parade of protesting truckers. Another issue is effectiveness. It seems that every year brings another protest or work stoppage that results in minimal actual change. Whether the public feels the issues faced by truckers this year are more serious than those in past years remains to be seen. There’s also the argument that at least some of the protesting truckers are suffering pain that is, at least in part, self-inflicted. Often, small-business truckers treat settlement checks as personal pay rather than business revenue, living from check to check just as employees of businesses sometimes do. Trucking businesses that don’t set aside revenue for maintenance, repairs, taxes and other expenses are vulnerable no matter how large or small. It’s a sad reality that many drivers who work hard and are excellent drivers are not quite as skilled at managing their businesses. Many owner-operators are one major repair, accident or cargo claim away from insolvency. Vehicle selection can be problematic too. Large carriers replace their trucks regularly, keeping a close eye on maintenance costs and replacing equipment as the costs are expected to rise. Owner-operators, for the most part, purchase used, older equipment that is less expensive to buy but more likely to suffer expensive mechanical problems. While the cost of repairs can hit the budget hard, the owner also loses revenue that could have been earned while the truck was in the shop, exacerbating the problem. How the trucks are equipped also matters. Owner-operators often want bigger engines, heavier components, larger sleepers and more chrome — features that well-run carriers eschew for economic reasons. The result is that big-name carriers can accept lower freight rates, helping drive down the average for everyone. Owner-operators can experience difficulty in contracting with regular customers because many of those customers prefer to deal with a few large carriers that can handle all of their freight rather than hundreds — or even thousands — of individual truckers. Most of the larger carriers have customers they contract with for set rates. The owner-operators who depend entirely on the spot market, where rates are much more volatile, can struggle when the rates decline. Those who depend on the spot market often find loads on Internet load boards, resulting in each operator dealing with a variety of brokers without developing a solid business relationship with any of them. One way truckers can help themselves is with a regulation that’s already in place. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations part 371.3 governs records that must be kept by freight brokers. For each brokered load, that record must show from whom the load was obtained, the carrier it was brokered to, the services provided by the broker, and the amount of compensation the broker received. The requirement in 371.3(c) is one that few owner-operators take advantage of. It states, “Each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review the record of the transaction required to be kept by these rules.” Truckers who believe a broker has retained excessive amounts of the load revenue can verify their suspicions by simply asking to see the record, which must be provided upon request. Since that record also includes compensation for nonbrokerage services, such as detention pay or performance penalties, the owner-operator can review those numbers, too. Since brokers must receive the authority to operate from the FMCSA just as carriers do, truckers have an avenue to submit complaints for brokers who don’t comply. A common complaint is that some brokers will “blackball” carriers who ask to see this information. That’s a legitimate concern for owner-operators who can’t afford to lose a source of loads. That’s one reason that OOIDA, according to media spokesperson Norita Taylor, supports the requirement for brokers to provide electronic records to the carrier as soon as the haul is complete, negating the obligation of the carrier to ask for them. “The cost of trucking is a little more transparent than the broker’s cost,” said Jeff Hopper, vice president and chief marketing officer for DAT. Requiring the broker to provide the information required in the regulations would undoubtedly increase the transparency of the broker’s business. Finally, there’s the power of simply saying, “No.” Brokers and shippers will always attempt to find the carrier who will accept the lowest rate, because it’s in their financial interest to do so. When rates are down and more truckers are looking for a load, negotiating becomes more difficult. And it’s true that some owner-operators will accept loads in order to keep cash, however little of it, flowing into their business. Some may accept a low-payload because the delivery positions them for a better one, a bigger-picture view that can be beneficial. There’s no question, however, that when no one accepts a low rate, that rate will rise. Growers, distributors and manufactures don’t profit by keeping their products. In any business, difficult economic times call for the best possible management practices. Owner-operators who know exactly what it costs to run their businesses and who remain acutely aware of which loads help them achieve their financial goals are the most likely to survive. [Photo courtesy of Rebecca Doty via Facebook]

SOCIAL HILL, Ark. — Truckers stopping at Arkansas’ Social Hill rest area along Interstate 40 received free protective masks Thursday, April 30. The masks were distributed by officers from the Arkansas Highway Police division of the Arkansas Department of Transportation. “We have individuals from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Arkansas Highway Police and the Arkansas Trucking Association all out here trying to get PPE (personal protective equipment) to commercial truck drivers, making sure that they have masks, hand sanitizer and things that they need to keep them healthy while they’re out working,” said Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association. The Arkansas Highway Police received protective masks to distribute to truck drivers as part of a coordinated effort by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide one million masks to truckers around the nation. “We’re part of a massive effort to issue right at one million masks to commercial truck drivers traveling the nation’s highways. Last Friday Arkansas Highway Police received 100,000 of the one million masks. We’ve started handing them out at all of our weigh station facilities as well as sites such as this rest area,” said Jay Thompson, chief of the Arkansas Highway Police. “We’ve issued probably close to 30,000 of them.” Randy Ort, deputy director and chief operating officer for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, said mask-distribution efforts in the state will be ongoing. “We’re handing out these masks at all weigh stations around the state,” he said. “We’re not really planning events. It’s about getting the truckers the masks that they need. I think as we’ve all learned through this event, it’s very important to keep our economy going. Yes, public health is extremely important, but it’s also important to keep the economy going. And one of the biggest parts to keeping the economy going is keeping commerce moving. We at ArDOT are very happy to be doing our part to keep that part of the economy going.” In another effort to help the nation’s truck drivers as they deliver essential goods during the COVID-19 crisis, the state’s DOT granted permits to food-truck operators to provide food for truckers at some Arkansas rest areas. “We are happy to be a part of this effort to support the commercial transportation industry in Arkansas,” said Lorie Tudor, director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation. “This emergency has truly opened the eyes of many about how important the role of a truck driver is to this country.”