Trucking News - December 2008
Our news is provided as a courtesy Of OOIDA / Land Line Magazine
Used with permission. Unauthorized Use or Duplication Is Prohibited
Used with permission. Unauthorized Use or Duplication Is Prohibited
Struggling YRC, Teamsters strike ‘economic relief’ deal
12/02/2008 - 12:41:49 pm - The largest independent less-than-truckload company in the U.S. may very well get a bailout of another kind – one from the Teamsters. YRC Worldwide Inc. called on the ...
Missouri-based truckers in KC area may apply for anti-pollution money
12/02/2008 - 12:43:11 pm - Missouri-based truck owners in the Kansas City area can apply for a 40 percent reimbursement for APUs and other diesel emissions-reduction equipment. The Mid-America ...
Truckers to make presence felt on Maine toll hikes this week
12/02/2008 - 12:45:20 pm - Truckers are preparing to make their voices heard on the issue of proposed toll increases in Maine. The Maine Turnpike Authority recently floated a plan to increase ...
SPECIAL REPORT:Medical certificates now required in licensing process
12/02/2008 - 12:46:27 pm - Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 – The days of truckers telling state licensing agencies that their medical certifications are current are just about over because of a new regulation ...
New Jersey Assembly panel OKs bill to crack down on road rage
12/04/2008 - 2:05:24 pm - A bill in New Jersey intended to help curb road rage is one step closer to passage. Dubbed “Jessica’s Law,” the measure would make such offenses as tailgating and making ...
Pilgrim’s Pride files for bankruptcy
12/04/2008 - 2:05:56 pm - A mega chicken-processing company that many truckers haul for filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, Dec. 1. Pilgrim’s Pride, which is headquartered in ...
Tire makers feel recession
12/04/2008 - 2:06:25 pm - The people who make the tires for new trucks are feeling the effects of the recession. The Rubber Manufacturers Association reports it expects to see a 16 percent drop ...
Tolls increase 40 percent on New Jersey Turnpike, Parkway
12/04/2008 - 2:07:30 pm - A 40 percent toll increase took effect Monday, Dec. 1, on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway as part of a capital plan that includes funding a mass-transit ...
Iowa tests laser-guided snowplows
12/05/2008 - 3:27:27 pm - Iowa has joined a growing number of states that are trying out a new, high-tech method of plowing snow. They’re using a laser beam that projects a green dot about 60 feet ...
Kentucky bills would limit driver distractions
12/05/2008 - 3:28:23 pm - In preparation for the start of the upcoming regular session in Kentucky, lawmakers are prefiling legislation they are hopeful will wind its way through the statehouse. Two ...
Jury awards victim of Swift driver’s crash $23.5 million
12/05/2008 - 3:29:11 pm - A federal jury in Kansas recently awarded one trucker’s family more than $20 million for a 2006 accident caused by a Swift driver who tested positive for being under the ...
New Jersey bill would rely on speeders to pay for patrols
12/08/2008 - 11:37:51 am - With the end of the year approaching, time is running out on a bill in New Jersey that would tap drivers caught speeding to help offset the charge that small towns must pay ...
Shady broker serving 51-month sentence hasn’t paid restitution
12/08/2008 - 11:40:01 am - One former trucker was forced to sell off his fleet and close for business after being owed $103,812. In another case, a shipper had to pay some carriers a total of ...
Fed sees weak transportation activity
12/08/2008 - 11:40:31 am - The Federal Reserve Bank reported on Wednesday, Dec. 3, that the trucking business is expected to remain in a slump for at least the first three months of 2009. In its ...
YRC, Teamsters strike deal; more companies calling for relief
12/08/2008 - 11:41:19 am - The deal for relief from union agreements brokered between YRC and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters apparently paved the way for more companies to attempt deals with ...
Owner Operators Coalition of Virginia hires trucker as PR director
12/11/2008 - 11:35:44 am - A recently formed coalition of port truck drivers at Hampton Roads, VA, has promoted a truck driver to work full time on port issues. The Owner Operators Coalition of Virginia ...
Driver, foreign national sentenced for cocaine hauls
12/11/2008 - 11:36:53 am - Two men driving a commercial truck containing cocaine earlier this year were sentenced this month to serve several years each in prison. On April 18, two men were ...
Michigan bills for reducing gridlock, advising truckers of ‘frost laws’
12/11/2008 - 11:37:51 am - With time winding down on the legislative session in Michigan, there is a late push to pass bills intended to reduce gridlock caused by wrecks and to notify truckers about ...
Truckers hauled 9 billion tons in 2007
12/11/2008 - 11:38:24 am - If you are asked how much you hauled last year, just say 9 billion tons. You personally may not have hauled that much – but America’s truckers did. A new report from ...
Trucker’s generosity saves Christmas parade for Florida kids
12/11/2008 - 11:39:10 am - In Ocala, FL, 60 students from Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary School dressed up as elves and fairies for the annual Christmas parade through downtown. But the tractor that was ...
Has APU-maker IdleBuster been parked permanently?
12/11/2008 - 11:40:20 am - In early December, Steve Wolfe saw the words he’d been expecting to hear for months. OX Brands, parent company of the APU manufacturer IdleBuster, recently posted a ...
OOIDA’s Truckers for Troops Telethon: happening this week
12/11/2008 - 11:41:48 am - ’Twas the month before Christmas and throughout the land, truckers were hustling to give Santa a hand … Truckers are once again helping St. Nick during the ...
Trucker disabled by fertilizer exposure awarded $1.4 million
12/13/2008 - 8:23:06 pm - A jury awarded a former trucker from Oroville, CA, $1. 4 million after he was permanently disabled by exposure to a toxic chemical fertilizer. His lawyer says ...
Fuel tax hike sought in New Hampshire
12/13/2008 - 8:24:04 pm - Concern about how to fund road and bridge work has lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in New Hampshire looking into a fuel tax increase. The state’s ...
Werner brass get bonuses
12/13/2008 - 8:24:51 pm - The top executives at Omaha-based Werner Enterprises are getting some nice Christmas gifts this year. The Associated Press reported that the top four officers will ...
Volvo Trucks salutes drivers with a holiday dinner on Dec. 24
12/13/2008 - 8:25:49 pm - Plenty of drivers end up on the road over the holidays, rather than being with their families. Volvo Trucks North America is teaming up with Michelin and Flying J to ...
Michigan House approves ban on texting while driving
12/16/2008 - 11:46:09 am - A bill halfway through the Michigan statehouse is intended to limit driver distractions. The House voted 68-32 to advance a bill to the Senate that would prohibit ...
Truckers, others in Antelope Valley, CA, to fight truck parking ban
12/16/2008 - 11:47:54 am - Besides struggling to find work as the demand for freight continues to plummet, truckers in the Antelope Valley have been dealt another blow. Truckers there are being ...
Fuel prices drop 9.3 cents to average $2.422 nationwide
12/16/2008 - 11:52:58 am - While fuel prices continue to drop across the country – down another 9.3 cents to average $2.422 per gallon this past week – so has the demand for freight during these rocky ...
Volvo Trucks salutes drivers with a holiday dinner on Dec. 24
12/17/2008 - 10:16:37 am - Plenty of drivers end up on the road over the holidays, rather than being with their families. Volvo Trucks North America is teaming up with Michelin and Flying J to ...
Lawmaker wants to add tolls to I-70 in Missouri
12/17/2008 - 10:17:26 am - A Missouri state lawmaker renewed his effort to eliminate a couple of barriers prohibiting toll roads and bridges in the state. Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, filed ...
Truck parking limited in Indiana with six rest areas closing
12/17/2008 - 10:19:06 am - With Indiana facing an estimated budget shortfall of nearly $763 million in 2009, truckers needing to take a break may be left out in the cold – literally – as the state ...
Exxon boosts ULSD production
12/17/2008 - 10:19:55 am - Exxon Mobil Corp. officials plan to spend more than $1 billion over the next few years to increase its global production of ultra-low-sulfur diesel by about 10 percent. ...
Analyst predicts better days ahead
12/17/2008 - 10:21:00 am - Despite all the layoffs and cutbacks in most sectors of the economy, at least one trucking industry analyst predicts better days ahead. Noel Perry of FTR Associates ...
Trucker sentenced to 36 years for causing crash
12/19/2008 - 9:54:35 am - A jury sentenced a 37-year-old trucker on Monday, Dec. 15, to 36 years in prison following a fiery crash in 2005 that killed four people. The Miami Herald reported that ...
Volvo cutting jobs, production
12/19/2008 - 9:55:18 am - The world’s second-largest truck maker is cutting back on production and jobs. Volvo announced Tuesday, Dec. 16, that it’s stopping heavy truck production in Europe for up to ...
Arkansas bill would open roads to mini-trucks
12/19/2008 - 9:56:09 am - With the recent high cost of fuel forcing drivers to find ways to save money, consumers are looking for vehicles that are smaller and smaller. As a result, more truckers soon ...
OOIDA battling full-on push for longer, heavier trucks
12/19/2008 - 9:57:10 am - The once-dead issue of asking the feds to increasing truck size and weights is heating up in a full-blown battle on Capitol Hill with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers ...
FedEx to cut salaries, freeze hiring
12/21/2008 - 9:04:05 pm - Even though it recently posted a profit for the quarter, FedEx plans to take some fairly drastic steps to cut costs. Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and chief ...
Missouri bills include truck-related provisions
12/21/2008 - 9:05:14 pm - A leading lawmaker in the Missouri Senate has offered a bill for consideration during the upcoming session that includes several provisions of interest to truck drivers. Among ...
Texas bills pursue transportation money, tackle corridor plan
12/21/2008 - 9:09:47 pm - Confronted with a struggling transportation fund, lawmakers in Texas soon are expected to wage battle on various methods to help generate $14 billion for roads and bridges ...
Indiana bill would toughen driving rules
12/21/2008 - 9:12:56 pm - In hopes of making the state’s roadways safer, Indiana state lawmakers have filed legislation for the 2009 regular session that would toughen teen driving restrictions ...
Trucking industry companies announce layoffs, cutbacks and operating losses
12/24/2008 - 8:44:59 am - The Grinch sure is trying to steal Christmas. Ryder System Inc. says it’s cutting 3,100 jobs because of the slow economy. Reuters reported that the Miami-based ...
Volvo Trucks salutes drivers with a holiday dinner on Dec. 24
12/24/2008 - 8:45:39 am - Plenty of drivers end up on the road over the holidays, rather than being with their families. Volvo Trucks North America is teaming up with Michelin and Flying J to ...
Wisconsin coalition, OOIDA call for diesel grant funds
12/24/2008 - 8:46:36 am - The U.S. government has funded only $49 million of the $1 billion authorized for a national diesel emissions reduction program, and environmental groups and trucking ...
OOIDA members meet in Antelope Valley, CA, despite snowstorm
12/24/2008 - 8:47:48 am - Despite weather conditions that blanketed the Antelope Valley in California with the most snowfall ever recorded in the high desert, OOIDA members and other truckers turned ...
Truckers targeted in Dallas shootings
12/24/2008 - 8:48:42 am - One truck driver was shot to death and another injured when a gunman opened fire on motorists Monday on the LBJ Freeway in the Dallas area. The driver of a car was also ...
Mandatory speed limiters start Jan. 1 in Ontario, Quebec
12/30/2008 - 2:22:44 pm - If you are a trucker and you do business in or through the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, your truck will need to have a working speed limiter set at a maximum of ...
Fuel prices dip another 3.9 cents to average $2.327 nationwide
12/30/2008 - 2:24:42 pm - Now that fuel prices have dropped more than $1 per gallon from a year ago, plummeting freight rates and rocky economic conditions are now the biggest concerns of truckers. ...
Shooting death of trucker moves the community
12/30/2008 - 2:31:26 pm - The trucking community, a fraternity of brothers and sisters who move the nation`s freight, has been touched by the story of driver William Scott Miller of Frankfort, KY ...
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12/02/2008 - 12:41:49 pm - The largest independent less-than-truckload company in the U.S. may very well get a bailout of another kind – one from the Teamsters. YRC Worldwide Inc. called on the ...
Missouri-based truckers in KC area may apply for anti-pollution money
12/02/2008 - 12:43:11 pm - Missouri-based truck owners in the Kansas City area can apply for a 40 percent reimbursement for APUs and other diesel emissions-reduction equipment. The Mid-America ...
Truckers to make presence felt on Maine toll hikes this week
12/02/2008 - 12:45:20 pm - Truckers are preparing to make their voices heard on the issue of proposed toll increases in Maine. The Maine Turnpike Authority recently floated a plan to increase ...
SPECIAL REPORT:Medical certificates now required in licensing process
12/02/2008 - 12:46:27 pm - Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 – The days of truckers telling state licensing agencies that their medical certifications are current are just about over because of a new regulation ...
New Jersey Assembly panel OKs bill to crack down on road rage
12/04/2008 - 2:05:24 pm - A bill in New Jersey intended to help curb road rage is one step closer to passage. Dubbed “Jessica’s Law,” the measure would make such offenses as tailgating and making ...
Pilgrim’s Pride files for bankruptcy
12/04/2008 - 2:05:56 pm - A mega chicken-processing company that many truckers haul for filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, Dec. 1. Pilgrim’s Pride, which is headquartered in ...
Tire makers feel recession
12/04/2008 - 2:06:25 pm - The people who make the tires for new trucks are feeling the effects of the recession. The Rubber Manufacturers Association reports it expects to see a 16 percent drop ...
Tolls increase 40 percent on New Jersey Turnpike, Parkway
12/04/2008 - 2:07:30 pm - A 40 percent toll increase took effect Monday, Dec. 1, on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway as part of a capital plan that includes funding a mass-transit ...
Iowa tests laser-guided snowplows
12/05/2008 - 3:27:27 pm - Iowa has joined a growing number of states that are trying out a new, high-tech method of plowing snow. They’re using a laser beam that projects a green dot about 60 feet ...
Kentucky bills would limit driver distractions
12/05/2008 - 3:28:23 pm - In preparation for the start of the upcoming regular session in Kentucky, lawmakers are prefiling legislation they are hopeful will wind its way through the statehouse. Two ...
Jury awards victim of Swift driver’s crash $23.5 million
12/05/2008 - 3:29:11 pm - A federal jury in Kansas recently awarded one trucker’s family more than $20 million for a 2006 accident caused by a Swift driver who tested positive for being under the ...
New Jersey bill would rely on speeders to pay for patrols
12/08/2008 - 11:37:51 am - With the end of the year approaching, time is running out on a bill in New Jersey that would tap drivers caught speeding to help offset the charge that small towns must pay ...
Shady broker serving 51-month sentence hasn’t paid restitution
12/08/2008 - 11:40:01 am - One former trucker was forced to sell off his fleet and close for business after being owed $103,812. In another case, a shipper had to pay some carriers a total of ...
Fed sees weak transportation activity
12/08/2008 - 11:40:31 am - The Federal Reserve Bank reported on Wednesday, Dec. 3, that the trucking business is expected to remain in a slump for at least the first three months of 2009. In its ...
YRC, Teamsters strike deal; more companies calling for relief
12/08/2008 - 11:41:19 am - The deal for relief from union agreements brokered between YRC and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters apparently paved the way for more companies to attempt deals with ...
Owner Operators Coalition of Virginia hires trucker as PR director
12/11/2008 - 11:35:44 am - A recently formed coalition of port truck drivers at Hampton Roads, VA, has promoted a truck driver to work full time on port issues. The Owner Operators Coalition of Virginia ...
Driver, foreign national sentenced for cocaine hauls
12/11/2008 - 11:36:53 am - Two men driving a commercial truck containing cocaine earlier this year were sentenced this month to serve several years each in prison. On April 18, two men were ...
Michigan bills for reducing gridlock, advising truckers of ‘frost laws’
12/11/2008 - 11:37:51 am - With time winding down on the legislative session in Michigan, there is a late push to pass bills intended to reduce gridlock caused by wrecks and to notify truckers about ...
Truckers hauled 9 billion tons in 2007
12/11/2008 - 11:38:24 am - If you are asked how much you hauled last year, just say 9 billion tons. You personally may not have hauled that much – but America’s truckers did. A new report from ...
Trucker’s generosity saves Christmas parade for Florida kids
12/11/2008 - 11:39:10 am - In Ocala, FL, 60 students from Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary School dressed up as elves and fairies for the annual Christmas parade through downtown. But the tractor that was ...
Has APU-maker IdleBuster been parked permanently?
12/11/2008 - 11:40:20 am - In early December, Steve Wolfe saw the words he’d been expecting to hear for months. OX Brands, parent company of the APU manufacturer IdleBuster, recently posted a ...
OOIDA’s Truckers for Troops Telethon: happening this week
12/11/2008 - 11:41:48 am - ’Twas the month before Christmas and throughout the land, truckers were hustling to give Santa a hand … Truckers are once again helping St. Nick during the ...
Trucker disabled by fertilizer exposure awarded $1.4 million
12/13/2008 - 8:23:06 pm - A jury awarded a former trucker from Oroville, CA, $1. 4 million after he was permanently disabled by exposure to a toxic chemical fertilizer. His lawyer says ...
Fuel tax hike sought in New Hampshire
12/13/2008 - 8:24:04 pm - Concern about how to fund road and bridge work has lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in New Hampshire looking into a fuel tax increase. The state’s ...
Werner brass get bonuses
12/13/2008 - 8:24:51 pm - The top executives at Omaha-based Werner Enterprises are getting some nice Christmas gifts this year. The Associated Press reported that the top four officers will ...
Volvo Trucks salutes drivers with a holiday dinner on Dec. 24
12/13/2008 - 8:25:49 pm - Plenty of drivers end up on the road over the holidays, rather than being with their families. Volvo Trucks North America is teaming up with Michelin and Flying J to ...
Michigan House approves ban on texting while driving
12/16/2008 - 11:46:09 am - A bill halfway through the Michigan statehouse is intended to limit driver distractions. The House voted 68-32 to advance a bill to the Senate that would prohibit ...
Truckers, others in Antelope Valley, CA, to fight truck parking ban
12/16/2008 - 11:47:54 am - Besides struggling to find work as the demand for freight continues to plummet, truckers in the Antelope Valley have been dealt another blow. Truckers there are being ...
Fuel prices drop 9.3 cents to average $2.422 nationwide
12/16/2008 - 11:52:58 am - While fuel prices continue to drop across the country – down another 9.3 cents to average $2.422 per gallon this past week – so has the demand for freight during these rocky ...
Volvo Trucks salutes drivers with a holiday dinner on Dec. 24
12/17/2008 - 10:16:37 am - Plenty of drivers end up on the road over the holidays, rather than being with their families. Volvo Trucks North America is teaming up with Michelin and Flying J to ...
Lawmaker wants to add tolls to I-70 in Missouri
12/17/2008 - 10:17:26 am - A Missouri state lawmaker renewed his effort to eliminate a couple of barriers prohibiting toll roads and bridges in the state. Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, filed ...
Truck parking limited in Indiana with six rest areas closing
12/17/2008 - 10:19:06 am - With Indiana facing an estimated budget shortfall of nearly $763 million in 2009, truckers needing to take a break may be left out in the cold – literally – as the state ...
Exxon boosts ULSD production
12/17/2008 - 10:19:55 am - Exxon Mobil Corp. officials plan to spend more than $1 billion over the next few years to increase its global production of ultra-low-sulfur diesel by about 10 percent. ...
Analyst predicts better days ahead
12/17/2008 - 10:21:00 am - Despite all the layoffs and cutbacks in most sectors of the economy, at least one trucking industry analyst predicts better days ahead. Noel Perry of FTR Associates ...
Trucker sentenced to 36 years for causing crash
12/19/2008 - 9:54:35 am - A jury sentenced a 37-year-old trucker on Monday, Dec. 15, to 36 years in prison following a fiery crash in 2005 that killed four people. The Miami Herald reported that ...
Volvo cutting jobs, production
12/19/2008 - 9:55:18 am - The world’s second-largest truck maker is cutting back on production and jobs. Volvo announced Tuesday, Dec. 16, that it’s stopping heavy truck production in Europe for up to ...
Arkansas bill would open roads to mini-trucks
12/19/2008 - 9:56:09 am - With the recent high cost of fuel forcing drivers to find ways to save money, consumers are looking for vehicles that are smaller and smaller. As a result, more truckers soon ...
OOIDA battling full-on push for longer, heavier trucks
12/19/2008 - 9:57:10 am - The once-dead issue of asking the feds to increasing truck size and weights is heating up in a full-blown battle on Capitol Hill with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers ...
FedEx to cut salaries, freeze hiring
12/21/2008 - 9:04:05 pm - Even though it recently posted a profit for the quarter, FedEx plans to take some fairly drastic steps to cut costs. Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and chief ...
Missouri bills include truck-related provisions
12/21/2008 - 9:05:14 pm - A leading lawmaker in the Missouri Senate has offered a bill for consideration during the upcoming session that includes several provisions of interest to truck drivers. Among ...
Texas bills pursue transportation money, tackle corridor plan
12/21/2008 - 9:09:47 pm - Confronted with a struggling transportation fund, lawmakers in Texas soon are expected to wage battle on various methods to help generate $14 billion for roads and bridges ...
Indiana bill would toughen driving rules
12/21/2008 - 9:12:56 pm - In hopes of making the state’s roadways safer, Indiana state lawmakers have filed legislation for the 2009 regular session that would toughen teen driving restrictions ...
Trucking industry companies announce layoffs, cutbacks and operating losses
12/24/2008 - 8:44:59 am - The Grinch sure is trying to steal Christmas. Ryder System Inc. says it’s cutting 3,100 jobs because of the slow economy. Reuters reported that the Miami-based ...
Volvo Trucks salutes drivers with a holiday dinner on Dec. 24
12/24/2008 - 8:45:39 am - Plenty of drivers end up on the road over the holidays, rather than being with their families. Volvo Trucks North America is teaming up with Michelin and Flying J to ...
Wisconsin coalition, OOIDA call for diesel grant funds
12/24/2008 - 8:46:36 am - The U.S. government has funded only $49 million of the $1 billion authorized for a national diesel emissions reduction program, and environmental groups and trucking ...
OOIDA members meet in Antelope Valley, CA, despite snowstorm
12/24/2008 - 8:47:48 am - Despite weather conditions that blanketed the Antelope Valley in California with the most snowfall ever recorded in the high desert, OOIDA members and other truckers turned ...
Truckers targeted in Dallas shootings
12/24/2008 - 8:48:42 am - One truck driver was shot to death and another injured when a gunman opened fire on motorists Monday on the LBJ Freeway in the Dallas area. The driver of a car was also ...
Mandatory speed limiters start Jan. 1 in Ontario, Quebec
12/30/2008 - 2:22:44 pm - If you are a trucker and you do business in or through the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, your truck will need to have a working speed limiter set at a maximum of ...
Fuel prices dip another 3.9 cents to average $2.327 nationwide
12/30/2008 - 2:24:42 pm - Now that fuel prices have dropped more than $1 per gallon from a year ago, plummeting freight rates and rocky economic conditions are now the biggest concerns of truckers. ...
Shooting death of trucker moves the community
12/30/2008 - 2:31:26 pm - The trucking community, a fraternity of brothers and sisters who move the nation`s freight, has been touched by the story of driver William Scott Miller of Frankfort, KY ...
