It's pretty safe to say that no one is happy with the Hours of Service proposal. Neither side likes the fact that FMCSA "waffled" on the driving hours. Reducing driving hours has been a key concern of Public Citizen, the group that's been the main force behind the court challenges.... Read More

This post was written by Bill Kistner for Duff Swain and Trincon Group.

Extensive research by Michigan State University has shown that traditional hiring methods only provide a 14% likelihood of a successful hire. This means that more than eight out of ten times you will not get the right person for the job. That gives you, if you are lucky, two good drivers out of the ten you hired.... Read More

That's what 37 year old Laura Leath will tell you, despite some challenges she has had to overcome. Laura recently completed her tractor-trailer training and earned her CDL at West Georgia Technical College in LaGrange, Georgia. She had a full time job offer from Fastenal Company before she'd completed the course.... Read More

"While I take inspiration from the past,
like most Americans, I live for the future."
Ronald Reagan

As I write this column, we are between Christmas and New Year's holidays. This is a good time of year to reflect back on 2010 and to plan for 2011. Trucking in 2010 emerged from the worst and longest recession (2006 to 2009) that most anyone can remember. 2010 was a year of recovery. 2011 will be even better.... Read More

"So, round and around and around we go,
Where the world's headed, nobody knows
Oh, Great Googamooga,
Can't you hear me talking to you,
Just a ball of confusion,
That's what the world is today, hey."
-The Temptations

Background

In 1995, Congress directed the Department of Transportation to establish new Hours of Service rules which had been in place unchanged since 1939. Since that time, confusion and uncertainty has been the status quo. In 2004, the DOT published new rules which were promptly subject to a legal challenge. After a reversal by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in August 2005, the DOT issued new rules limiting a driver's flexibility in use for the sleeper berth. Again in 2007, the rule was reversed by the courts on procedural grounds. In December, 2007 the DOT issued the rule addressing the procedural issues, which became final in November 2008. In March 2009, litigation again ensued and in October 2009, officials newly appointed by the Obama administration entered into a settlement agreement wherein the DOT agreed to reconsider and reissue the rules. As a result, in late 2010 the DOT issued a new proposed rule to be adopted, and no doubt followed by more litigation, in 2011.... Read More

Diesel fuel prices are going higher because the Department of Energy told us so last week. A few days after the DOE said diesel fuel prices were going higher, your oil friends and mine, OPEC, raised the 2011 oil demand forecast. Just a month ago, OPEC had said growth would be slow and $70-$80 would be the right price for a barrel of oil (making diesel fuel prices around $2.95 a gallon). OPEC has now changed their tune, saying the economy is growing much faster than they thought. Common sense would say no problem; they'll just produce more oil to keep fuel prices at around $2.95 a gallon.... Read More