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including this year’s Mid-America Trucking Show, the Federal Motor<br />
Carrier Safety Administration’s Truck Safety Summit, and more, have<br />
been postponed or canceled.<br />
In addition, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) rescheduled<br />
its annual International Roadcheck, a high-volume inspection and regulatory<br />
enforcement event, from early May to later in the year. Roadside<br />
safety inspections and traffic enforcement will continue on a daily basis.<br />
EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY A CONCERN<br />
While the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) recommend frequent<br />
hand-washing and the sanitization of frequently touched surfaces<br />
to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, truck drivers face unique challenges<br />
in keeping their traveling workspaces (aka their trucks) spotless,<br />
especially in light of the nation’s shortage of sanitizing wipes and liquid.<br />
“We have issued an allowance for [drivers] to be able to stop and<br />
purchase wipes and hand sanitizers and those kinds of things, if they<br />
can find it. We’ve also issued those products and have them available at<br />
our terminals for our driving associates,” Ward noted, adding that D.M.<br />
Bowman has taken additional measures to educate all team members,<br />
as well as their families and the community as a whole, on the CDC’s<br />
guidelines to help curb the spread of COVID-19.<br />
In addition to a handout that outlines CDC guidance, the company has<br />
created an instructional YouTube video and mailed information to team<br />
members’ homes.<br />
MEETING BASIC NEEDS<br />
Many drivers have reported difficulty in gaining access to truck-stop<br />
amenities such as packaged food and water, restrooms, and showers, and<br />
some states have closed some or all rest areas, adding to the problem.<br />
While the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO), an<br />
organization that represents truck stops and travel plazas, has urged its<br />
members to continue to provide services for truck drivers and other essential<br />
personnel, many carriers are taking steps to ensure drivers have<br />
food and water readily available.<br />
“We’ve sourced out 80 full truckloads of provisions and have those scattered<br />
across 23 different terminals in the Knight/Swift world, and that’s<br />
enabled our drivers to come in and grab food products that are easily consumed<br />
in the truck,” shared Jackson. “We’ve also got truckloads of bottled<br />
water and other beverages just to support them, so they don’t have to go<br />
into any crowded spaces to try and find them on their own.”<br />
In addition, the Federal Highway Administration has published a notice<br />
that allows states to issue permits for food trucks to operate at rest<br />
areas, offering drivers additional options for prepared food.<br />
ECONOMIC WOES<br />
While the demand for necessities remains high, ensuring that many<br />
drivers and carriers remain busy, carriers across the nation have seen a<br />
change in freight volume as businesses deemed “nonessential” – those<br />
that don’t provide groceries, utilities, or health or financial support –<br />
abruptly slowed or ceased the manufacture, transport and sale of many<br />
products. The resulting loss of freight has resulted in layoffs for a few<br />
North American carriers.<br />
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a<br />
$2 trillion program signed into law by President Donald Trump, includes<br />
small-business-lending programs to help businesses with less than 500<br />
employees maintain payrolls and other expenses. Larger employers are<br />
eligible for assistance through loans, loan guarantees, and investments<br />
through Federal Reserve lending programs. The CARES Act also includes<br />
an Employee Retention Credit to businesses whose operations<br />
are partially or fully suspended due to the COVID-19 crisis or whose<br />
gross receipts decline by more than 50%.<br />
According to statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on<br />
April 3, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in March (7.1 million<br />
people unemployed), a jump of 0.9% from February and the largest<br />
jump in unemployment since 1975. The report also notes that employment<br />
in wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information,<br />
and financial activities saw only a small change during March.<br />
TRUMP CALLS ON INDUSTRY LEADERS<br />
On April 14, President Trump called on leaders from various industries,<br />
ranging from agriculture to health care, real estate, and sports,<br />
as well as transportation, to form Great American Economic Revival<br />
Industry Groups. These nonpartisan groups are designed to help put<br />
the nation on the road to economic recovery when restrictions due to<br />
COVID-19 are lifted.<br />
TCA PROVIDES COVID-19 RESPONSE RESOURCES<br />
On March 17, TCA launched a resource page, truckload.org/resourcesfor-covid-19,<br />
to help keep Association members informed during the<br />
global COVID-19 crisis. The resource page is updated daily to provide<br />
the most up-to-date information possible. TCA also provides daily<br />
e-newsletters to keep membership abreast of pertinent news.<br />
“TCA, much like our partners in government, remains committed to<br />
the well-being of our members, our employees, and the trucking community<br />
as a whole,” stated TCA President John Lyboldt.<br />
In addition, TCA Chairman Dennis Dellinger shared words of inspiration<br />
and encouragement with Association members in a letter dated March 19.<br />
“Like health care workers and the producers of life-sustaining goods,<br />
trucking is an essential service. This pandemic is unlike anything we’ve<br />
encountered before. This time it’s different,” said Dellinger.<br />
Dellinger encouraged TCA members to ask for help when needed –<br />
even if that help is from a competitor – and to help ensure the health and<br />
safety of their employees.<br />
“In order to see our way through this challenging time, the nation<br />
requires the trucking community to sacrifice and stretch ourselves,” he<br />
continued. “We are facing a common enemy. … You’re the leader. It is<br />
not dramatic to state that you are now a wartime leader.<br />
“You are going to feel overwhelmed at times. Your people need you<br />
more than ever,” Dellinger exhorted business leaders. “Being a calm<br />
and decisive leader during these times, with honest feedback, is what<br />
they need, and it’s what the industry needs. Be that leader.”<br />
Opposite page: Megan Lyndberg thanks truckers during a free lunch giveaway Tuesday, March 31, 2020, at a rest area along I-10 in Sacaton, Arizona. The Arizona Trucking Association<br />
gave away 500 lunches to truck drivers in appreciation for delivering medical supplies, food, and other necessities during the COVID-19 outbreak Above: Truck driver Camilo<br />
Diaz of Miami wears a mask after parking his rig at the Flying J Truck Stop during the outbreak of the new coronavirus in mid-April, in Aurora, Colorado.<br />
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 13