IC_01-18_OnlinEdition

CONTENTS 

JANUARY 2018 • VOLUME 21 • ISSUE 1 

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 

Interesting things 

to know: 

Tax Tips 

IC NEWS 

Page 12 

Martin Weissburg 

To Take Helm 

Of Mack Trucks 

Page 22 

PRODUCT PROFILE 

Tesla Unveils 

Electric Tractor 

s t a f f 

General Manager Megan Hicks 

Sales Manager Jerry Critser 

Creative Director Chad Singleton 

Administrative Staff Tammy Borrelli 

Charlene Abernathy 

Editor Sean O'Connell 

Advertising Account Executives 

Sean Hayes 

1.256.405.4017 

seanh@htwoservices.com 

John Hicks 

1.770.418.9789 

johnh@targetmediapartners.com 

Meg Larcinese 

1.678.325.1025 

megl@targetmediapartners.com 

Greg McClendon 

1.678.325.1023 

gregmc@targetmediapartners.com 

Carol Trujillo 

1.213.221.9993 

CarolT@targetmediapartners.com 

Page 36 

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BUSINESS 

SOLUTIONS 

INTERESTING 

THINGS TO KNOW 

By Shasta 

D. May 

Happy New Year! It’s that time again to 

start compiling the information you will need 

to have your 2017 income tax return prepared. 

Here are some common questions asked at tax 

time about what tax information you will need 

to get together. 

What is the best way to get my expenses 

ready to do my taxes? 

Separate all your business expenses by category 

such as fuel, maintenance, repairs, tires, 

insurance, telephone, tools, supplies, etc. Your 

expenses will come from your settlements, bank 

statements, cash payments, credit card charges 

and equipment contracts. Since most of you use 

the per diem meal allowance, you will need to 

count your days away from home working from 

your logs to get a total for the year. This total 

will be used to calculate your meal deduction. 

If you use your personal vehicle for business 

(picking up truck parts, business banking, 

picking up supplies) you can write-off business 

miles but you must know total miles put on 

vehicle for the year and of the total miles how 

many miles were for business. 

I bought a new truck last year. What do you 

need for my taxes? 

You will need a copy of the purchase agreement 

on the new equipment and information on 

the sale of any equipment sold, if applicable. 

What other documentation might I need to 

gather? 

• Escrow statements for the purchase, sale or 

refinance of property. 

• Confirmations from charities for donations. 

• Indicate the amount and date of any estimated 

taxes paid. 

• If taking home office deduction, square footage 

of home and square footage of office space, 

in addition to breakdown of annual utility bills. 

What other deductions should I look for? 

You should be aware of the following items; 

mortgage interest, property taxes, interest and 

dividend income, income from sales of stock 

and rental property information. Remember, if 

you sold stock, you will need to know when it 

was originally purchased, how much you paid 

for it, and the date and amount of sale. If you 

sold a property, you will need to know date 

acquired, its cost, and the cost of any improvements 

over the years. 

You want to make sure you compile and save 

all documentation (statements, settlements, 

receipts, contracts) for everything that appears 

12 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR 2018 www.TruckDriverMagazines.com

BUSINESS 

SOLUTIONS 

on your tax return in the event of an audit. 

Usually tax preparers send out an income tax 

organizer or worksheet 

to their clients to make 

the information gathering 

process easier. If 

you did not receive a 

tax organizer from your 

tax preparer you are 

welcome to call us and 

get one free of charge. 

We recommend using a tax organizer from a tax 

preparer who specializes in the trucking industry. 

What are some of the most common 

forgotten deductions? 

Remember that all expenses in connection 

with creating your income and operating your 

truck are usually deductible. Remember small 

items add up and are always worth tracking. 

1. Access Fees: Internet Service, Qual 

comm, Satellite 

2. Administrative Fees: Bank Account 

Charges, ATM fees, Check Reorder Fees 

3. Annual Credit Card Fees 

4. Association Dues 

5. Bedding for sleeper 

6. ComData/ComCheck Fees 

7. Computer Software/Software Support 

8. Cleaning Supplies: Windex, Paper 

Towels 

9. Fax Fees 

10. Interest (equipment loans/business loans/ 

business credit cards) 

11. Office Supplies (paperclips, envelopes, 

folders, etc.) 

12. Postage and Delivery Fees 

13. Safety Gear (gloves, work boots) 

14. Security Costs 

15. Trucking/Business Related Subscriptions 

16. Weather Gear 

17. XM Radio 

This article has been presented by MBA Tax 

& Bookkeeping Service, a company proud 

to provide Corporate/LLC filings, income tax, 

bookkeeping and IRS problem resolution 

services to truckers in states. If you would 

like additional information or have questions, 

calls are always welcome. Contact us at 

(888) 407-1669 or visit our website at www. 

mbataxhelp.com. 

This article is provided for informational purposes 

only and is not intended as legal or tax 

advice. Each individual business situation is 

different and the information contained herein 

is meant for general information purposes 

only. Specific tax and legal recommendations 

can only be made after an individual 

has consulted his or her qualified tax or legal 

professional. 

14 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR 2018 www.TruckDriverMagazines.com

NEWS 

Independent Contractor 

January 2018 

Employers Add 228K 

Jobs, For-Hire Trucking 

Increases By 1,800 

U.S. employers added a robust 228,000 

jobs in November, a sign of the job market’s 

enduring strength in its ninth year of economic 

recovery. 

The unemployment rate remained at a 

17-year low of 4.1 percent, the Labor Department 

reported. 

For hire trucking added 1,800 jobs, according 

to Labor Department data. 

The 

economy is 

expanding 

at a healthy 

pace, and in 

many cases 

employers 

are scrambling 

to 

hire enough 

qualified workers. Over the past six months, 

economic growth has exceeded an annual 

rate of 3 percent, the first time that’s happened 

since 2014. Consumer confidence has 

reached its highest level since 2000. 

Still, solid hiring and a low unemployment 

rate have yet to accelerate wages, which 

rose 2.5 percent in November compared with 

a year earlier. The last time unemployment 

was this low, average wages were growing at 

a 4 percent annual rate. 

Highway Transport 

Named Carrier of the Year 

Highway Transport was awarded “Carrier 

of the Year” at the recent Dow Carrier 

Conference in Midland, MI. This award is 

presented to a carrier who achieves the following: 

• High level of service greater than or 

equal to 98% on-time delivery 

• Great Safety Performance 

• High Tender Acceptance 

• Best Customer Service/ 

Responsiveness to Dow 

• Network Complexity 

• RESPONSIBLE CARE Certified 

• Competitive Pricing 

The Dow Carrier Conference was held 

October 5th near Dow headquarters in 

Midland, Michigan. Here is a comprehensive 

list of all awards presented to Highway 

Transport: 

Silver Safety Award - No serious or 

moderate carrier caused transportation 

incidents, and no more than one carrier 

caused minor or event severity incident/10,000 

shipments. 

Road Sustainability Award (2nd Place) 

Emergency Response - for Hurricane 

Harvey 

Carrier of the Year 

Vice Chairman Greg Watkins says, “Most 

of the time you will hear every tanker trucking 

company repeat the phrase, ‘safety is the 

most important thing,’ and this holds true at 

Highway Transport…from the driver room 

to the tank wash to my office at corporate 

headquarters. But here is what distinguishes 

Highway Transport from other carriers. 

We have a reputation for embracing each 

22 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR 2018 HUNDREDS OF JOBS www.TruckJobSeekers.com


NEWS 

employee like family. Drivers are told from 

the start ‘We want you to work as safely as 

possible, because we want to get you home to 

your family.’” 

“Driver’s don’t leave us,” adds Marshall 

Franklin, Highway Transport President & 

CFO, “Even though we have stricter, more 

stringent safety policies than most, we have a 

low employee turnover. Our focus on family 

ties directly into our culture of safety.” 

Martin Weissburg To 

Take Helm Of Mack 

Trucks June 1 

Martin Weissburg, currently president of 

Volvo Construction Equipment, will become 

president of Mack Trucks effective June 1, 

2018, in which capacity he will continue to 

be a member of the executive board for the 

Volvo Group. 

Mack Trucks is one of two OEMs under 

the Volvo Group, the other being Volvo. 

Weissburg was born in 1962, and has 

served as president of Volvo Construction 

Equipment since 2014. 



NEWS 

Courtsey: Volvo Group 

Martin Weissburg 

He joined the Volvo 

Group in 2005 as president 

of Volvo Financial Services Americas, and 

in 2010 became global president of Volvo 

Financial Services. 

He will be headquartered in Greensboro. 

Weissburg will succeed Dennis 

Slagle, who has led the company 

since 2008. 

Effective June 1, 2018, Slagle 

will remain with the Volvo Group as 

a special projects leader reporting to 

Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO. 

“Thanks to Denny 

Slagle’s leadership, 

the Volvo Group’s 

North American truck 

business has substantially 

improved its 

profitability and competitiveness, 

and is 

strongly positioned for 

the future,” Lundstedt said. “In Marty Weissburg, 

Mack Trucks will have another proven 

leader who is passionate about realizing the 

full potential of this great truck brand.” 


PRODUCT 

PROFILE 

Tesla Unveils Electric Tractor 

After more 

than a decade of 

making cars and 

SUVs — and, 

more recently, 

solar panels — 

Tesla Inc. wants 

to electrify a 

new type of vehicle: big trucks. 

The company unveiled its new 

electric semitractor-trailer near its 

design center in Hawthorne, California. 

CEO Elon Musk said the semi is capable 

of traveling 500 miles on an electric charge 

— even with a full 80,000-pound load — and 

will cost less than a diesel semi considering 

fuel savings, lower maintenance and other 

factors. Musk said customers can put down a 

$5,000 deposit for the semi now and production 

will begin in 2019. 

“We’re confident that this is 

a product that’s better in every 

way from a feature standpoint,” 

Musk told a crowd of Tesla fans 

gathered for the unveiling. Musk 

didn’t reveal the semi’s price. 

The truck will have Tesla’s 

Autopilot system, which can 

maintain a set speed and slow 

down automatically in traffic. It 

also has a system that automatically 

keeps the vehicle in its lane. 

Musk said several Tesla semis 

will be able to travel in a convoy, autonomously 

following each other. 

Musk said Tesla plans a worldwide network 

of solar-powered “megachargers” that 

could get the trucks back up to 400 miles of 

range after charging for only 30 minutes. 


PRODUCT 

PROFILE 

The move fits with 

Musk’s stated goal for 

the company of accelerating 

the shift to 

sustainable transportation. 

Trucks account 

for nearly a quarter of 

transportation-related 

greenhouse gas emissions 

in the U.S., according 

to government statistics. 

But the semi also piles on more chaos at 

the Palo Alto, California-based company. 

Tesla is way behind on production of the 

Model 3, a new lowercost 

sedan, with some 

customers facing waits 

of 18 months or more. 

It’s also ramping up production 

of solar panels 

after buying Solar City 

Corp. last year. Tesla 

is working on a pickup 

truck and a lower-cost 

SUV and negotiating a new factory in China. 

Meanwhile, the company posted a record 

quarterly loss of $619 million in its most 

recent quarter. 



ADVERTISER 

INDEX 

COMPANY PAGE COMPANY PAGE 

Admiral Merchants ................. 13, 33 

Atlas World group .....................27 

Baggett Transportation............... 18, 41 

BCT ................................42 

Cargill Logistics .................... 23, 47 

Carrier Logistics, LLC....................6 

CRST Malone...................... 16, 45 

EM Way Inc.. .........................38 

Fed EX Custom Critical ............... 5, 28 

Hurricane Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 30 

Landstar ......................... 20, 48 

McCollister's ...................... 10, 37 

Mercer Transportation ..................25 

Miller Truck Lines .....................26 

New Waverly .................. 2-3, 34-35 

Page Trucking ..................... 29, 46 

Progressive Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

RTI..................................9 

Sherwin-Williams.................... 7, 31 

Skyview Transportation .............. 11, 32 

Stageline Express .....................19 

Star Freight ....................... 15, 39 

Tran Stewart ...................... 17, 43 

Truck Job Seekers. ....................40 

Turquoise Trucking. ....................42 

UPS Freight ..........................21

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