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As you head into the last three months of your
chairmanship, what is on your agenda for continuing
to advance the value of the association to its
members?
We need to continue beating the drum on Hours of
Service reform, specifically the 14-hour clock problem
and flexible sleeper berth time because we want the new
regulation to make sense. Also, we must work Capitol Hill
to find support for our policy on increasing and indexing the
fuel tax as a way to fund infrastructure. We will continue to
develop the TPP program and offer programs on relevant
and current topics. As well, we are working on some new
programs for our annual convention in Las Vegas.
TCA and FreightWaves have entered into an exclusive
partnership that links the editorial and data science
teams at FreightWaves with the TCA Profitability
Program Index data and the growing Best Practice
Groups. How will this partnership benefit TCA members?
TCA now has a platform on which to present the data
that has been collected in the benchmarking program.
However, the data that is shared is only a few key points
that have been agreed upon between the two parties.
The TPP program collects a lot of data and now has a
professional level of presentation. I encourage readers to
visit the microsite at Truckload Indexes.com.
The association recently held its second annual
Bridging Border Barriers conference. Please share
highlights of the meeting.
Attendees heard from Commercial Vehicle Safety
Alliance representative Kerri Wirachowsky, TCA’s Dave
Heller and Ray Haight, and a panel of Canadian trucking
executives. Our Canadian members have a keen interest
in the regulatory happenings in the U.S. market. TCA has
had the advantage of having Rob Penner in the officers’
group for the last 10 years, and that Canadian influence
will be missed. So, I was on a recruiting mission, as well.
Kim Richardson helped create the event, and he is a great
advocate for the industry, TCA and the Canadian Trucking
Alliance. Canada has its own challenges, as well, with the
recent legalization of marijuana and a coming ELD rule.
Give us an update on the benchmarking program, how
members can become involved and why they should
do so.
We have recently opened new levels of participation. So,
if a carrier wants to take a look from 10,000 feet they can
see some data without divulging any of their own figures.
However, the best payback is when you get involved in one
of the groups and really take a deep look into your numbers
versus similar carriers. We have been holding seminars this
past year, and I can say firsthand that they have been a
success. Open dialogue amongst like-minded people results
in great information.
The American Transportation Research Institute in
October released its annual Top 10 trucking industry
concerns as rated by drivers and carrier executives. By
a considerable margin and for the second consecutive
year, the driver shortage was ranked as the No. 1 issue.
With the exception of the recent recession years,
finding and retaining drivers is a topic of discussion
in formal and informal gatherings of executives.
What is it going to take to end this crisis once and for
all?
Respect for the job, quality of life and pay. I think most
of us in this conversation understand the importance of the
driver. Without that person in the seat, the truck doesn’t
move, doesn’t generate revenue. But I still think there are
people out there that don’t respect that position. Quality of
life, home time and equipment reliability all contribute to a
positive experience behind the wheel. And pay — over the
past year or more I have seen a lot of carriers advertising
increases in their pay packages. Let’s face it, in a good
economic climate there are a lot of choices for someone
who wants to work. We need to make trucking attractive.
On the same survey, drivers ranked truck parking
as the No. 2 issue for the second straight year, but
carrier executives rated it No. 9, again for the second
straight year. How serious an issue is the lack of truck
parking in North America and why does it continue to
be an issue?
Truck parking will continue to be an issue until we see
some sleeper berth flexibility. The race against the 14-
hour clock has most everyone driving at the same time,
during the day. And once on that cycle it is hard to break
it. Most manufacturers ship and receive during the daytime
hours, so when you start your clock to accommodate their
schedule you get into the daytime cycle. That means your
clock runs out and does not allow for nighttime duty. So, all
these “daytimers” are looking for the same limited number
of parking spots and trying to park for the evening. So,
drivers are cutting their day short just to make sure they
have a safe place to stop for the evening. A lot of people
don’t realize that drivers cannot park at most shippers or
receivers, and even if they could, the neighborhood doesn’t
want them or is not safe for them. A driver will not get
quality sleep if he or she is not in a safe environment.
28 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2018-19