CMCA Safety Banquet Was a Wonderful Evening of Celebration

On April 5, CMCA held its Annual Safety Awards Banquet for safety milestones during 2012.  This event has grown in importance every year and this latest celebration was no exception.  The enthusiastic industry support for the awards banquet is a indicator of the robust health of the Colorado Trucking industry.

Here are some award highlights.  Winner pictures to be posted soon.

President’s Trophy – R + L Carriers
Grand Trophy – Groendyke Transport
Workplace Safety Award – Denney Transport
Safety Supervisor of the Year – Jon Petersen, Transervice Logistics
Driver of the Year (mileage) – George Cady,
Mile Hi Foods
Driver of the Year (hourly) – Kenny Myers,
Shamrock Foods

Banquet & Award Sponsors

AFLAC
Apex Transportation
BELFOR Environmental Services
Denney Transport
Domenico Transportation
Ecos Environmental Services
Flood and Peterson
Great West Casualty Company
Pinnacol Assurance
R + L Carriers
Sage Technical Services
WalMart Transportation
Western Towing & Recovery

A PDF file of the winners is available here.

2013 Colorado Truck Driving Championships Fast Approaching

June 1 is the date for the annual truck driving championships competitions.  The event will be held at the Adams County Fairgrounds. Registration is now open and CMCA is also looking for event sponsors in various categories as well as volunteers to help run the operation.  Visit our TDC page for complete details and forms for the event.

Survey Reflects Greater Use of Elogs, Increased Attention by Carriers and Shippers on CSA Scores

Results from Transport  Capital  Partners’ (TCP) First Quarter 2013 Business Expectations Survey found that the percentage of carriers utilizing electronic logs (elogs) on all their trucks increased dramatically in just three quarters: from twenty-five percent in May 2012 to thirty-five percent of carriers in February 2013. Two-thirds of responding carriers are already testing or utilizing elogs on their trucks and another ten percent of carriers are considering but have yet to make the transition. Seventy-one percent of smaller carriers are still not utilizing elogs, while forty-three percent of larger carriers have all their trucks on elogs. This may be reflective of larger truck lines having the financial resources to fund, train, and manage compliance, while the smaller carriers are postponing the expense until the deadline. “Carriers we have spoken with who have fully implemented elogs in their operations report improved CSA scores,” notes Steven Dutro, TCP partner. 

Carriers have also continued to undertake multiple efforts to improve their CSA scores over the last three years. The most common approach remains educating drivers, but sixty-four percent have also changed how they handle sub-performing drivers. Almost fifty-percent have changed their hiring standards, and/or have changed their incentive programs for clean inspections. “The industry continues to report adjusting to CSA, but in varying degrees and still with some controversy over reporting,” observes Richard Mikes, TCP partner. 

Carriers were also surveyed on the cost of CSA compliance and on the level of shippers’ concerns about CSA scores. Thirty-four percent of carriers believe the compliance cost is less than $500 per driver, while thirty-five percent believe compliance costs are between $501 and $1,000. Carriers report the number of shippers who are concerned about carrier CSA scores increased slightly, from seventy-nine percent to eighty-four percent since May of 2012.  Courtesy of Transport Capital.

Va. Governor Signs Measure on Fuel Tax
and End I-95 Toll Plan

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has signed a transportation bill that ends the 17.5-cent-per-gallon tax on diesel and gasoline, imposes taxes on wholesale fuel sales and prohibits tolls on Interstate 95 without legislative approval.

McDonnell’s press secretary Jeff Caldwell said that, with passage of the transportation funding measure, the governor would withdraw the application the state has before the Federal Highway Administration for permission to toll I-95.

The bill McDonnell signed would take effect July 1 and institute a wholesale tax on fuel distributers of 6% for diesel and 3.5% for gasoline. The measure also boosts the state’s sales tax to 5.3% from 5% and increases the vehicle sales tax to 4% from 3% to help pay for transportation improvements.  Courtesy of Transport Topics.