Variety of groups pan proposed HOS rule

Reviews are in on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed hours-of-service rule, and from shippers to law enforcement agencies, organizations are panning the agency’s proposal:...

PHMSA extending wetlines comment period for 30 days

PHMSA granted requests from American Trucking Assoications, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, National Tank Truck Carriers, and Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association for an extension of the wetlines comment period...

US rigid bulk packaging demand expected to hit $6.7 billion in 2015

Demand for rigid bulk packaging in the United States is projected to advance 4.3% per year to $6.7 billion in 2015. ...

Kinder Morgan announces acquisition, joint venture

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP announced an acquisition and formation of a crude oil joint venture with Deeprock Energy Resources LLC and Mercuria Energy Trading Inc in Cushing OK....

OTL-UPT presents professionalism awards

Five members of Oklahoma Tank Lines/United Petroleum Transports (OTL-UPT) were nominated for the Oklahoma Trucking Association 2010 Driver of the Year award with John Hill from Tulsa receiving the award, according to Greg Price, OTL-UPT president and chief executive officer....

Trucking Conditions Index rises in January

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index, as reported in the March 2011 Trucking Update, rose to 9.1 in January from a December reading of 7.1....

Preliminary Class 8 net orders stay strong

A preliminary reading of heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicle net orders for North American markets totaled 24,300 units in February 2011, according to ACT Research Co. ...

Oiltanking acquires Panama companies

The Oiltanking Group has acquired 100% of the shares of Colon Oil and Service SA (COASSA) and Colon Port Terminal SA (CPT). These companies will be renamed Oiltanking Colon SA and will be managed and operated by Oiltanking. ...

Bipartisan group calls for abandoning
proposed hours-of-service rule changes

A bipartisan group of US congressmen and senators have called on the Obama Administration to abandon its hours-of-service proposal and retain the current, effective safety rules....

ATA urges Obama Administration
to open access to energy assets

With world events showing the importance of energy independence, the American Trucking Associations called on the Obama Administration to stop blocking access to US-held energy assets....

ATA Asks PHMSA to Block Roadside Hazmat Package Inspections

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) asked the Obama administration to prevent the opening and inspection of hazardous materials shipments along the roadside, unless it is believed the shipment poses an imminent danger or does not comply with the hazardous materials regulations...

Canadian Freight Index sets January high

TransCore’s Canadian Freight Index recorded the highest load volumes ever posted in the month of January; volumes exceeded the previous record set during the upsurge in 2008 by 4%. ...

CEI blasts proposed hours-of-service rule

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed a new hours-of-service (HOS) rule for commercial motor vehicle drivers. The rule would increase restrictions on the number of hours that truckers and other commercial drivers can work. One proposed change currently being debated is a drop in the maximum driving hours within driving windows from 11 hours to 10....

SETA reintroduction would let states
raise Interstate weight limits for trucks

The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP), a group of more than 180 shippers and associations dedicated to responsibly increasing federal weight limits on Interstate highways, announced that federal truck weight reform known as the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (SETA) has been reintroduced in the US House of Representatives by Reps Mike Michaud (D-ME) and Jean Schmidt (R-OH) as HR 763. ...

Truckload freight volume remains steady

After a dramatic increase in van and reefer freight the week of February 7, truckload activity on TransCore’s DAT Network of load boards showed more modest growth the week of February 14 with overall truck capacity inching up 0.4% and freight volume increasing 3.7%. ...

Magellan acquires full interest in venture

Magellan Midstream Partners LP has acquired the remaining interest in a joint venture for construction of 4.25 million barrels of crude oil storage in Cushing OK from private investors who had been partial owners. ...

Ohio trucking company president says congestion is choking economy

Keith Tuttle, president of Motor Carrier Services Inc, Northwood OH, told the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that congestion is choking the nation’s supply chain and economy....

ATIS, TPMS field-test results
examined in TMC roundtable

During the Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) annual meeting recently, Al Cohn, director–new market development and engineering support for Pressure Systems International (PSI), organized and moderated a roundtable discussion focusing on tire inflation pressure technologies as part of the S.2 Tire and Wheel Study Group....

ATA supports proposed ban on use
of hand-held mobile phones by drivers

The American Trucking Associations announced its support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed prohibition on the use of hand-held mobile phones, though it urged the agency to allow the use of hands-free devices, citing agency research demonstrating the net safety benefits of such devices. ...

Blackmer SMVP pumps provide sealless
design advantages in liquid terminal usage

Blackmer has announced that its SMVP Series sliding vane pumps have been designed to combine proven sliding-vane technology with a sealless magnetic coupling to optimize product containment when handling expensive, hazardous, or hard-to-seal fluids, such as those found in liquid terminal applications....

Researcher contends FMCSA misused his work to support HOS changes

A prominent researcher who worked directly on the primary scientific studies that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration used to support its proposed changes to the current hours-of-service (HOS) rules said the agency misapplied those studies’ findings....

US-Mexico cross-border trucking agreement commended by ATA

The American Trucking Associations said it supports the announcement of an agreement in principle between the governments of the United States and Mexico to implement the long-delayed cross-border trucking provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement....

PHMSA extends comment period on ASME Section XII

Companies and individuals are getting more time to comment on the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration proposal to let the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors write federal cargo tank regulations in the future. The comment period has been extended from March 23 to May 23...

Dana, SIFCO reach steer axle agreement

Dana Holding Corporation has taken action to become a full-service provider of driveline systems in the growing South American commercial vehicle business....

Canadian biodiesel mandate draws opposite reactions from CTA, CRFA

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is challenging government claims that its members stand to reduce their carbon footprint in any significant manner through a biodiesel mandate announced February 10 by Minister of the Environment Peter Kent and Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz....