Commerce Express Weekly Road Map: September 20th, 2022
Keeping you informed on the latest news/insights in our industry.
Commerce Express Blog
This year from May 17th-19th, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) program, International Roadcheck, took place from May 17th through May 19th – with a focus on wheel ends.
Trucking Update
- After receiving recent requests for more explanations regarding exemptions from the trucking hours-of-service rules, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is attempting to clarify the policy on those rules. After a little less than three months after receiving applications to be exempt from those rules, the FMCSA then published notices in the Federal Register and began a 30-day comment period regarding those applications, Freightwaves reports. Some experts say that this is a good measure by the FMCSA, even if they don’t grant the exemptions it serves as a good open comment period, where many topics can be discussed and debated by those in the industry.
- Legal battles are continuing as fleets continue to prepare for the California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) enforcement. This Assembly Bill has been in effect for two and a half months now, and as some experts note, every day that you’re not in some form of compliance is another day of exposure. In addition to the AB5 ruling, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) laws will take effect starting on January 1st, in hopes for the state to move closer to a zero-emission future.
- Shipper requests for truckload capacity, otherwise known as outbound tender volumes, rose sixteen percent over the average level in August this past week out of the Ontario market in Southern California, Freightwaves reports.
- Cargo theft activity saw an influx over Labor Day weekend, as loaded trailers and trucks sat idle for an extended period of time. Since Labor Day is around the start of holiday shipping season and football season, Transport Topics notes that freight volumes tend to be up. Typically, California, Texas and Georgia see the largest rate of cargo theft activity over Labor Day.
FAQ: Is truck parking getting any better?
It’s hard to say if truck parking is truly getting better but recently, the U.S. DOT has granted a little over $36 million to projects in Florida and Tennessee that will focus on addressing the shortcomings of truck parking in those states.
Rail Update
- Starting from September 19th to September 25th Rail Safety Week takes place! This week focuses on drawing the public’s attention on the need for rail safety education, which can save lives through educating and empowering the public on the dos and don’ts around tracks and trains. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), ninety-five percent of rail-related deaths involve drivers going through grade crossings or a person on the tracks, with safe driver and pedestrian behavior a lot of those incidents are preventable.
- The U.S. Department of Transportation has selected twenty-six projects to share $1.5 billion in Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grants, with nine of them going towards rail/intermodal, Railway Age reports. The priority for these projects is based on their ability to deliver national or regional economic benefits. Many of the areas that received funding were rural areas, in an effort to address historic underinvestment in those communities, Railway Age reports.
- For the week ending on September 14th, 2022, the total U.S. weekly rail traffic was at 464,261 carloads and intermodal units, which is down 0.9 percent compared to the same time last year – the Association of American Railroads reports. To break that down a little bit further, carloads for that week were 223,384 – which is down a mere 0.2 percent, compared to the same time last year. While weekly intermodal volume was 240,877 containers and trailers – down 1.7 percent compared to 2021, data shows.
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