Trucking in Canada a Breeze Compared to Mexico

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO -- You might think that trucking in Canada is overregulated, but Mexican fleets might envy you, because the lack of regulation way to the south creates economic chaos in the country, according to what we heard at a press event organized by Daimler Trucks North America in Puerto Vallarta. Daimler invited three fleet executives to take part in a discussion panel where all questions were welcomed and candidly answered. The age of the fleets, unfair and illegal competition, diesel black market, waiting times and lack of good infrastructures are among the main problems according to panelists.

A Reminder That Oversize Loads Require Precautions

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Officials in the U.S. have issued a safety alert for those hauling oversize loads, but even if you never travel outside of Canada it's still some darn good advice to keep in mind.

U.S. Requiring Electronic Logging Devices in Two Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Thursday announced the adoption new regulations that will require the use of electronic logging devices (ELD) for truckers to keep track of their hours of service. The rules, which are set to be published on Dec. 16, will take effect two years afterwards and require Canadian and Mexican domiciled drivers to use the devices when operating on U.S. roadways. The regulations have a few exemptions that were not in the 2014 proposal, including excepting drivers who keep records of duty status in eight or fewer days out of every 30 working days; drivers in drive-away and tow-away operations and truckers operating vehicles older than model year 2000.

Canadian Spot Freight Volumes Decline Again

TORONTO, ON - A measure of Canada's spot freight market fell for the second consecutive month in November, according the latest reading of the TransCore Link Logistics Canadian Freight Index.

CTA: Canada Should Follow U.S. ELD Mandate

TORONTO, ON - Thursday's announcement of the final U.S. rule requiring the use of electronic logging devices (ELD) in late 2017, puts Canada "under the gun" to do the same thing, according to one group here at home, while reaction to the plan where it was born is mixed. The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) says the move by the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration removes any remaining argument for the Canadian governments not to move forward with a similar mandate in Canada.

Trucking Conditions Fall Ahead of Expected Improvement

BLOOMINGTON, IN -- The latest reading on business conditions for trucking south of the border shows a decline but the climate is expected to soon improve.

U.S. Proposes Tougher Truck Underride Guard Regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed new regulations that focus on upgrading its Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs) that address underride protection in light-vehicle crashes into the rear of trailers and semitrailers.

FMCSA May Require Truck Passengers be Belted

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Wednesday announced it is proposing a regulation requiring passengers riding in property-carrying commercial motor vehicles to use safety belts.

Port of Raymond to Remain Open Around the Clock

RAYMOND, MT -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) has reversed and earlier decision and will keep the Raymond, MT port of entry (POE) open 24 hours a day, rather than closing it in the overnight hours.

7 Key Trucking Items in New U.S. Highway Funding Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. - There are several items of importance to Canadian fleets and drivers who haul in United States in highway legislation passed by Congress and signed into law Friday by President Obama. Know as the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), it authorizes spending US$305 billion on highways and transit. But in trucking its likely better known for the special provisions that made into the new law - and those that didn't. Overall, the reaction from the various trucking groups, ranging from those representing fleets to drivers, has generally been positive. While many did not get everything they wanted in the new law, it marks the first time a federal highway funding bill longer than two years has been passed since 2005.

TransForce’s Transport America Acquires Optimal Freight

ETOBICOKE, ON and EAGAN, MN - A subsidiary of Canadian trucking giant TransForce Inc. has purchased a majority stake in a U.S. non-asset based truckload freight brokerage company.

Diesel Prices Decline for Third Straight Week

LONDON, ON and WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Average diesel prices in both Canada and the U.S. have turned lower for the third consecutive week as oil prices could possibly head even lower while one nation's crude exports have returned to its highest level in decades.

U.S. Rules Against Driver Coercion to Soon Take Effect

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced new regulations that will take effect on Jan. 29, 2016 that it believes will help further safeguard commercial truck and bus drivers from being compelled to violate federal safety regulations. The rules over so-called driver coercion, provides FMCSA with the authority to take enforcement action not only against motor carriers, but also against shippers, receivers, and transportation intermediaries. The regulations address three key areas concerning driver coercion: procedures for commercial truck and bus drivers to report incidents of coercion to the FMCSA, steps the agency could take when responding to such allegations, and penalties of up to US$16,000 that may be imposed on entities found to have coerced drivers.

Truckload Carriers Association Names New President

ALEXANDRIA, VA - The executive committee of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has gone outside of the trucking industry in its hunt for new leadership, hiring John Lyboldt as the group's new president.

A CSA Fix is in the Wind

There's hope these days that one of the worst examples of safety legislation ever devised in the U.S. will get a makeover in the next year or so. That may be optimistic, but with a multi-year highway bill now almost through the Washington meat grinder, the Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) program looks bound to change. One of the bill's many aims is one that would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to rework its mighty flawed reporting regime. Common sense, that oh-so-rare feature of regulatory reality, may yet prevail. And that would be a boon to the thousands of Canadian carriers, drivers, and owner-operators who use American highways. Like their south-of-the-border counterparts, they might just see an end to what can frequently be wildly unfair safety assessments based on flawed principles and weird math. If you don't want to wait, and I sure wouldn't, there's help at hand. It comes from Vigillo LLC, a data-mining company that offers fleet subscribers a rather sophisticated CSA analytics service. It's designed to aggregate, organize, and deliver complex carrier safety data in a scorecard format. More particularly, the help comes from a new and additional service called JUST, which will properly examine an accident submitted for review by subscriber carriers.