American Trucking Associations

Republicans push Biden to intervene if dockworkers strike

WASHINGTON — Republicans lawmakers are warning President Joe Biden to get more involved in the dispute between waterfront labor and container terminal operators at East Coast ports or risk a major supply chain disruption starting at the end of the month.

“Given the devastating economic consequences of a potential strike and the Administration’s lack of engagement to date, we urge you to give immediate attention to this matter, to aid in these negotiations, and find a reasonable resolution to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/republicans-push-biden-to-intervene-if-dockworkers-strike

ATA chief rips OOIDA stance on Biden independent contractor rule

Lewie Pugh of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association made only a few comments at his House of Representatives committee appearance July 24 about the Biden administration’s independent contractor (IC) rule. 

But they were enough to draw a strong rebuke from Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations. Spear took to ATA’s Transport Topics website last week to express his displeasure with OOIDA and the comments by Pugh, who is an executive vice president of OOIDA and inc...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ata-chief-rips-ooida-stance-on-biden-independent-contractor-rule

Covenant’s CDL exemption approved over trucker objections

WASHINGTON — Regulators have approved a new-driver exemption for Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Covenant Logistics despite safety concerns voiced by owner-operators and crash victim advocates.

The exemption allows a holder of a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) who has passed the skills test but not yet received an actual CDL document to drive a Covenant truck while accompanied by a CDL holder who chooses to be off duty in the sleeper berth.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/covenants-cdl-exemption-approved-over-trucker-objections

Truckers tell DEA they back Biden’s move to reclassify pot

WASHINGTON — Some truck drivers are urging the Biden administration to approve reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III drug, but employers that fear safety would decline and put trucking companies at risk are pushing back.

Only a fraction of the more than 20,000 comments filed so far in the rulemaking, published in May by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration, are from truck drivers. (The comment period ends July 22.) But so far, they overwhelmingly — and anonymously...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckers-tell-dea-they-back-bidens-move-to-reclassify-pot

House lawmakers introduce bill to combat freight fraud

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill to crack down on scam freight brokers and trucking companies is receiving rare, near-unanimous support from all sectors of the industry.

The Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act, introduced by Democratic Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s nonvoting delegate in the House, and Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., targets fraudulent actors in the household goods sector.

However, new, stricter registration requirements and enforcement provisions in the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/house-lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-combat-freight-fraud

Opposition grows to speedy electric truck transition

The Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, a generally upbeat event for battery electric, hydrogen and other emission-friendly technologies, takes place next week in Las Vegas amid a growing and widespread backlash to the regulation-driven transition to electric trucks.

Nearly every stakeholder — from the trucking industry and driver organizations to state attorneys general — is weighing in with dire estimates of crippling costs to a cyclical industry. Ryder System Inc. is the latest, dissecting...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/opposition-grows-to-speedy-electric-truck-transition

Scopelitis seminar delves into lease purchase deals, M&A, ESG and more

INDIANAPOLIS — The Scopelitis Transportation Law Seminar is a three-day parade of speakers and panels discussing everything from what states’ license plates fleets should seek to slap on their trucks to the treatment of owner-operators whose trucks leave the road for maintenance. The gathering examines hundreds of legal situations fleets might face.

Here are five takeaways from the multitude of subjects the seminar covered.

The growing focus on lease purchase agreements

The ongoing task force...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/scopelitis-seminar-delves-into-lease-purchase-deals-ma-esg-and-more

Trucking industry stakeholders square off over CDL test flexibility

WASHINGTON — Regulators received heavy opposition from truck owner-operators and safety advocates on a proposal aimed at making it easier to test and employ new drivers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed rule, “Increased Flexibility for Testing and for Drivers after Passing the Skills Test,” would loosen current CDL testing regulations by:

  • Allowing commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders who have passed the CDL skills test to operate a truck without having a CDL holder...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucking-industry-stakeholders-square-off-over-cdl-test-flexibility

FMCSA has rejected 34% of under-21 truck driver applications

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says only 113 motor carriers have applied for its under-21 truck driver apprenticeship program since the agency began accepting applications in July 2022, a dismal sign for an initiative that had been expected to recruit up to 1,000 carriers and 3,000 drivers.

The data, included in a fiscal year 2022 report submitted to Congress last week by FMCSA, also revealed that as of February 2024, FMCSA has rejected 34% – or 38 of the 113...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-has-rejected-34-of-under-21-truck-driver-applications

Industry study pegs electric truck grid buildout at $1 trillion

WASHINGTON — Companies representing all segments of the trucking industry are warning of a staggering $1 trillion price tag that they claim sets up a roadblock to the Biden administration’s push to decarbonize the industry.

A study released on Tuesday commissioned by the Clean Freight Coalition (CFC), whose members include the American Trucking Associations, LTL carriers, truck dealers and truck stop operators, concluded that commercial trucking would have to invest more than $620 billion in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/industry-study-pegs-electric-truck-grid-buildout-at-1-trillion

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