John G Smith
John G. Smith is Newcom Media's vice-president - editorial, and the editorial director of its trucking publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, and Transport Routier. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.
U.S. rentals get 90-day ELD waiver
WASHINGTON, DC – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued short-term rental trucks a 90-day waiver from mandated Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), lasting until April 19. Trucks rented for 30 days or less will be able to use paper logbooks to record Hours of Service until the waiver expires. Carriers cannot simply replace one rental vehicle with another one within the 30 days, and must also have a satisfactory safety rating. They also need to report any collisions involving these vehicles within five business days. The Truck Renting and Leasing Association had known since December that a waiver was forthcoming, and is telling affected truck operators to print out the notice and carry it in the cab during the waiver period. Once this waiver expires, those who rent trucks for eight days or less will continue to be exempted from the ELD mandate.
Do you know Canada’s top driver or O/O?
TORONTO, ON – The search is on for Today’s Trucking’s 2018 Highway Star of the Year – the honor reserved for Canada’s top driver or owner-operator. Nominations are now open for the award, which will be presented during the Truck World trade show that runs April 19-21 in Toronto. And there’s more than bragging rights at stake. The winner will receive:
Star Drivers: 50 top truckers in the movies
TORONTO, ON -- Action heroes. Comic relief. Horror movie villains. Hollywood has long loved the lore of truckers, giving us some memorable characters through the decades. And while they weren't all in classic movies, they made their mark in other ways. From the freaky to the supremely funny, here's our list of the 50 greatest truckers in movie history:
Block by Block: How blockchain will transform trucking
TORONTO, ON -- The business of moving freight generates a mountain of paperwork. Contracts establish rates and delivery requirements; bills of lading are signed and filed; invoices are generated to request the cheques that need to be issued and cashed. Blockchain – essentially a form of digital ledger -- promises to reshape how all these transactions take place.
NAFTA deal still in question
TORONTO, ON – The future of NAFTA remains uncertain as negotiators prepare for their latest round of meetings, this time in Montreal. Months into discussions, nobody even knows if U.S. President Donald Trump will decide to outright scrap the deal that governs every load of cross-border freight. With about 10 million trucks crossing between Canada and the U.S. each year, there is plenty of business at stake. A recent survey by Export Development Canada even found that 26% of exporters would shift their business to the U.S. if the agreement was revoked outright. Trade between the U.S. and Canada tripled between 1986 and 2017, Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association executive director Ruth Snowden observed, during a January 17 seminar hosted by the Fernandes Hearn law firm in Toronto. “If [NAFTA] goes, it could be very significant.”
Do you know Canada’s top driver or O/O?
TORONTO, ON – The search is on for Today’s Trucking’s 2018 Highway Star of the Year – the honor reserved for Canada’s top driver or owner-operator. Nominations are now open for the award, which will be presented during the Truck World trade show that runs April 19-21 in Toronto. And there’s more than bragging rights at stake with more than $15,000 in cash and prizes.
Launches planned for Work Truck Show
Four manufacturers have announced they will unveil new vehicles at this year’s Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. Chevrolet Commercial Vehicles will round out its commercial truck portfolio with Silverado 4500HD and 5500HD chassis cabs, Ford Commercial Vehicles will have a launch of its own, and International will debut what it’s touting as “the driver’s ultimate work truck.” Hino, meanwhile, will introduce a line of Class 7 and 8 trucks, to be powered by
