Feb 01, 2017 • Community

Best Fleet to Drive For

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) announced the 2017 Best Fleet to Drive For. Did yours make the list?

2017 Best Fleet to Drive For

(List is in alphabetical order)

Bison Transport – Winnipeg, MB (Canada)
Boyle Transportation – Billerica, MA
Central Oregon Trucking Company, Inc. – Redmond, OR
Challenger Motor Freight Inc. – Cambridge, ON (Canada)
Fremont Contract Carriers, Inc. – Fremont, NE
FTC Transportation, Inc. – Oklahoma City, OK
Garner Trucking, Inc. – Findlay, OH
Grand Island Express, Inc. – Grand Island, NE
Halvor Lines, Inc. – Superior, WI
Interstate Distributor Co. – Tacoma, WA
Kriska Holdings Ltd. – Prescott, ON (Canada)
Landstar System, Inc. – Jacksonville, FL
Maverick Transportation, LLC – North Litte Rock, AR
Motor Carrier Service, LLC – Northwood, OH
Nussbaum Transportation – Hudson, IL
ONE For Freight – Milton, ON (Canada)
Prime Inc. – Springfield, MO
Smokey Point Distribution – Arlington, VA
TLD Logistics Services, Inc. – Knoxville, TN
TransPro Freight Systems Ltd. – Milton, ON (Canada)

Qualifications to Be Considered for 2017 Best Fleets to Drive For

To be considered, a fleet must have 10 or more trucks and receive a nomination from at least one company driver or owner-operator and have “exemplary work environments” for truck drivers and various employees. CarriersEdge conducted interviews with representatives from fleets human resources department regarding “corporate direction, policies, and programs” according to TCA.

Fleets were judged on a points system with categories:

Total compensation
Health benefits
Pension plan
Professional development opportunities
Career path/advancement opportunities

Fremont Contract Carriers, Grand Island Express, Landstar System and Motor Carrier Service received the distinct honor of making the Best Fleets list for five or more times while FTC Transportation and Halvor Lines made the list for a fifth consecutive year. Five of the fleets on the list are based in Canada.

“These companies represent the best of the best in truckload. As industry innovators, they bring fresh ideas that not only create a desirable workplace for employees, but also propel trucking to exciting new terrains,” said TCA President John Lyboldt.

The winning fleets will be announced at TCA’s Annual Convention, March 26–29, 2017, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville.

Nov 28, 2020 • Carriers

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Approves Plan [p]President Donald Trump and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are focused on building what they refer to as a "21st-century infrastructure for America." Will issues addressing the [a href="https://app.appsflyer.com/com.sixdays.truckerpath?pid=Social Facebook"]trucking industry[/a] be considered?[/p] [h2]President Trump's Infrastructure Plan[/h2] [p]During his campaign, President Trump promised a $1 trillion plan to improve infrastructure. He has also outlined a project called the "Priority List: Emergency National Security Projects." President Trump's infrastructure plan is focused on rebuilding American roads, highways and railways while creating approximately 24,000 jobs over a 10-year span. In relation to truck drivers, [b]highways and bridges are proposed to be granted approximately $21.5 billion in funding for improvements and make up nearly 21 percent of jobs created within the plan.[/b][/p] [img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2017/01/TrumpInfrastructureProjects-Mobile-2.jpg" alt=""] [p][i]Breakdown of President Trump’s proposed $140 billion infrastructure improvement plan.[/i][/p] [h2]Senate Democrats $1 Trillion Infrastructure Plan[/h2] [p]Last week, Senate Democrats introduced a $1 trillion [a href="http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3/a/3a637d02-3dcd-4c21-8477-c9911f7fb94c/DD33CA340E4E7E4ED69C704ED09092EC.a-blueprint-to-rebuild-america-s-infrastructure.pdf"]infrastructure plan[/a] that included $10 billion for [b]TIGER Grants[/b] to invest in limiting transportation congestion and create projects with a focus on freight bottlenecks and shorter commutes.[/p] [h2]TIGER Grant Impact on Truck Parking[/h2] [p]In 2015, the USDOT issued $25 million in TIGER Grant funding for the Regional Truck Parking Information and Management Systems. The grant was issued for eight states including, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.[/p] [p]However, the USDOT was only able to fund [b]five percent[/b] of the amount requested by the states to complete proposals in the TIGER Grant program.[/p] [p]Currently, it is unclear what proposed infrastructure plan and the details associated with said plan will be passed.[/p] [h2]Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Oversight Plan[/h2] [p][i]Bill Shuster (R-PA),Chairman of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.[/i][/p] [p]The committee has launched a [a href="http://transport.house.gov/building21/"]#buidling21[/a] campaign on social media focused on bringing awareness to its plan to rebuilt America – highlighting an infrastructure made for the 21st century. “Thanks to the hard work of our members, our committee has built a record of success over the last four years moving large, complex pieces of legislation to improve our transportation networks and our infrastructure,” said Shuster (R-PA). “This Congress, we have more work to do, and a golden opportunity to build a 21st-century infrastructure for America.”[/p] [video id="v3zZbhRLT3M"] [p]The Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, headed by Lloyd Smucker (R-PA),will focus its responsibilities on three specific implementations:[/p] [p][b]1. FAST Act Implementation[/b][/p] [p]The Fixing America's Surface Surface Transportation Act signed on December 4, 2015, authorizes $305 billion for infrastructure reform for highways, public transportation and safety improvements through the fiscal year 2020.[/p] [p][b]2. Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act Implementation[/b][/p] [p]The subcommittee will also continue oversight of [b]MAP-21[/b] which includes the principles of:[/p] [ul] [li]Raising the bar to enter the industry and operate on American roads[/li] [li]Holding motor carrier and drivers to the highest safety standards[/li] [li]Removing the highest risk drivers, vehicles and carriers from American roads[/li] [/ul] [p][b]3. Monitor Highway Trust Fund (HTF) Revenue[/b][/p] [p]The federal highway and transportation programs are financed through taxes placed on fuel and products such as heavy-duty truck tires. The revenue gathered from these taxes fund the HTF and meet the needs of future transportation investments.[/p] [button-white href="http://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2017-01-31-115th_authorization_and_oversight_plan.pdf"]Oversight Plan[/button-white]

Jan 31, 2017

Worst Traffic Bottlenecks in America [p] Which locations landed on American Transportation Research Institutes [a href="https://app.appsflyer.com/com.sixdays.truckerpath?pid=Social Facebook"]top 100 worst traffic bottlenecks in America[/a]?[/p] [p]Bottlenecks, no not the Budweiser kind. Rather the worst traffic bottleneck that causes extreme delays can derail a truck drivers schedule. Let's take a look at the list of places where drivers are bound to be waiting in triaffic. [/p] [h2]1. Atlanta Spaghetti Junction[/h2] [p]Winner winner, spaghetti dinner! After analyzing over 600,000 heavy-duty trucks, the ATRI deemed the intersection of [b]Interstates 285 and 85 North in Atlanta[/b], known as the “Spaghetti Junction” is the most congested freight bottleneck in America.[/p] [ol] [li]Atlanta Spaghetti Junction[/li] [li]I-95 at State Route 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey[/li] [li]I-290 at I-90/94 in Chicago, Illinois [/li] [li]I-65 at I-64/71 in Louisville, Kentucky[/li] [li]I-71 at I-75 in Cincinnati, Ohio[/li] [li]SR 60 at SR 57 in Los Angeles, California[/li] [li]SR 18 at SR 167 in Auburn, Washington[/li] [li]I-45 at US 59 in Houston, Texas[/li] [li]I-75 at I-285 North in Atlanta, Georgia[/li] [li]I-5 at I-90 in Seattle, Washington[/li] [/ol] [giphy]<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/3o7qE3a5YpLpCdeq0U" width="480" height="269" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe>[/giphy] [h2]Which State Has the Worst Bottlenecks?[/h2] [p][b]Texas has the most bottleneck of any state[/b], with nine locations ranked among the top 50 worst. Washington has six locations in the top 50, California has five – primarily in the Los Angeles area, while Georgia has four.[/p] [h2]Which City Has the Worst Bottlenecks?[/h2] [p]Staying in the Lone Star state, the city with the worst bottleneck congestion is [b]Houston[/b]. Not only does Houston have three locations in the top 15, it has six in the top 40. Seattle is another city with major bottleneck traffic congestion with five locations on the top 100 list.[/p] [h2]Difference Between Traffic Jam and Bottleneck[/h2] [p]A bottleneck differs from a traffic jam because a bottleneck is caused by a road design or flaw in the timing of traffic lights. Bottleneck traffic can be limited if there is a proper redesign of the roadway, something that is extremely costly and time-consuming. The most common causes of bottlenecks are:[/p] [ul] [li]Traffic Interruption – the most common causation of bottleneck traffic that includes railway crossings, tolls, stop signs or traffic lights.[/li] [li]Lane Reduction – a merge caused by the reduction in the number of lanes.[/li] [li]Merging – specifically when two major highways intersect.[/li] [/ul] [p]American Trucking Association President Chris Spear sees the results of the ATRI study as an indication of infrastructure issues that the Trump Administration should address.[/p] [quote]“With President Trump expected to press for significant long-term infrastructure spending, this ATRI analysis should be a key guide for deciding what projects are worthy of funding,” Spear said. “Ensuring the safe and efficient movement of goods should be a national priority and this report draws attention to the places where our highway network needs improvement in order to meet that goal.”[/quote] [giphy]<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/2bgR8ybgyJU6Q" width="480" height="269" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe>[/giphy] [button-white href="http://atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2017-ATRI-Bottleneck-Brochure.pdf"]Full List[/button-white]

Jan 26, 2017 • Community