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TMHA Winter Meeting One Week Away
Don't stuff yourself so full of turkey and football this Thanksgiving that you sleep through the fact that next week is the TMHA Winter Meeting!
This meeting is yet another event you do not want to miss! It will be held on Wednesday, December 3, and Thursday, December 4, at Jumer's Casino and Hotel in Rock Island, Ill.
Things will get kicked off on Wednesday night with a cocktail reception and dinner at Bass Street Chop House to welcome everyone to Rock Island. This night promises to be a relaxing evening and a great way to casually network with other TMHA members.
Shuttle transportation will be provided to and from the restaurant. The first shuttle will depart Jumer's at 5:30 p.m., with a second at approximately 5:45 p.m. The return shuttles will run at 9:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
The meeting will resume on Thursday with a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and then the membership meeting at 8:00. Immediately following the membership meeting, attendees will receive three presentations on economics and politics to carry them through the rest of the event.
If you have not already registered to attend this free member meeting, please use the link below to register.
Contact the TMHA office at (515) 244-5193 or [email protected] with questions.
TMHA Winter Meeting Flyer
TMHA Winter Meeting Online Registration
THANK YOU MEETING SPONSORS
 
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of Directors
President
Jon Coca
Diamond Transportation System, Inc.
First Vice President
Mike Connell
Bennett Motor Express
Past President
Jim Towery
Steelman Transportation
Clayton Fisk
Warren Transport
Dave Gallano
Gallano Trucking, Inc.
Jeremy Ihle
Ihle Transport, Inc.
Aaron Tennant
Tennant Truck Lines
TMHA Mission Statement
To provide an ongoing forum for education, networking and advocacy for flatbed, step-deck and lowboy (RGN) carriers that specialize in the transportation of machinery and machinery-related commodities throughout the United States and Canada.
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IRS Backs off Heavy Vehicle Use Tax E-file Rule
In a final regulation published in the Federal Register on October 29, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service has rescinded the requirement that anyone paying the federal heavy vehicle use tax for more than 24 vehicles must file and pay electronically.
IRS states in the introduction to the amended regulation that the change was made to reduce the burden on small businesses. In the future, IRS will accept paper filings of the HVUT Form 2290 for fleets of any size.
This should be a welcome change for many carriers, since the requirement for electronic filing meant that nearly all large filers for the HVUT had to use third-party services that assess filing fees to complete the return.
Source: Federal Register
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DOT Rules Coming
A Final Rule mandating the use of electronic logging devices by drivers and fleets is expected to be published September 30, 2015, meaning enforcement of the mandate would begin September 30, 2017.
The publication date is projection, included in the DOT's monthly regulatory update. The report also says a projected rule to mandate the use of speed limiters.
Still projected for publication this month is the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the minimum amount of liability insurance that motor carriers must have. The ANPRM will likely be simply a questionnaire for carriers that will be used as a data gathering tool for the agency and not a rule intended to raise the current minimum.
The DOT also projects that FMCSA's Safety Fitness Determination rule will be published in April as a NPRM. The rule, once final, will allow the FMCSA to use the data at its disposal to create absolute scores for carriers, which would be used to target them for intervention.
Source: Commercial Carriers Journal
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Economic Watch: Industrial Production Falls Despite Increased Manufacturing
Industrial production in the U.S. edged down 0.1 percent in October after having advanced 0.8 percent in September.
Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 0.3 of a percentage point in October to 78.9 percent, a rate that is 1.2 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2013.
In October, declines in consumer goods and materials were the largest contributors to the decrease in total industrial production.
Gains in the production business equipment which increased 0.6 percent and construction supplies offset some of the losses. The output of consumer goods moved down 0.2 percent, with decreases of more than 1 percent for automotive products and paper products and with a smaller decline for energy goods.
Source: Heavy Duty Trucking
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Will Expired Tax Credits Get Renewed in Lame-Duck Session?
Expired tax credits worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the trucking industry and fuel producers hang in the balance as Congress meets for a lame-duck session that could be contentious or productive. Tax credits that expired last December and have awaited renewal all year include those for buying new trucks, for producing biodiesel and for anyone who fills trucks with natural gas.
Come January, many senators and House members will not return, which is why the lame-duck session started with a scramble to get dozens of tax breaks renewed before the clock runs out on the old Congress.
A tax extender bill has sat idle in the Senate since spring, and if the extenders are not approved the result could be costly in terms of dollars and uncertainty for carriers and alternative-fuels producers. The bill easily won approval from the Finance Committee, but the measure was shelved when it became the target of partisan bickering.
Another important tax extender for trucking that expired in December was created during the recession to boost the nation's manufacturing sector and to help trucking with equipment replacements. Known as bonus depreciation, the incentive allowed carriers and other businesses to write off 100 percent of the cost of new equipment, including trucks, in the purchase year.
Meanwhile, the uncertainty with tax extenders has been costly for biodiesel producer. A $1 per gallon tax credit that expired in December helps underwrite production costs that are higher than those for diesel. Biodiesel producers are hopeful that even if Wyden's all-encompassing tax extender bill dies, the biodiesel production credit will be renewed in lame duck or early next year.
Source: Transport Topics
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IFTA Might Replace Decals with Electronic System
The International Fuel Tax Association said it is considering changing the organization's credentials for commercial vehicles to a digital form and possibly eliminating its longstanding decals.
The IFTA board of trustees has created a working group on electronic credentials to "determine if the current form of IFTA is still practical or whether a digital form lends itself to a more efficient tool for administering and enforcing motor-fuel taxes.
IFTA decals are distributed annually to carriers, and failure to display them is probable cause for stopping a truck and grounds for a fine.
Large fleets, especially, don't like the decals because putting hundreds or thousands of stickers on trucks and making sure they do not get bleached out by the sun or washed off during cleaning is a lot of work.
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FMCSA Publishes Updated Book on Truck Statistics
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has updated their Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics.
The guide highlights the FMCSA's role in collecting and analyzing crash data and statistics to support its mission of preventing commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
The guide is a valuable resource for the industry and those interested in motor carrier safety, regulations, and performance data.
Information in the guide includes: An overview of large trucks and buses; roadside inspections and violations data; compliance reviews; crash data; Data Quality information; information concerning grants; and FMCSA resources.
The guide can be viewed and downloaded at: www.fmcsa.dot.gov
Source: FMCSA Web Site
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ATRI Wants Input on Impacts of Detention Time
The American Transportation Research Institute is looking for input from the trucking industry on the impact of detention time on safety and productivity.
The survey seeks motor carrier input to evaluate the impact shippers and receivers may have on the industry's in these two critical areas. ATRI wants to qualify the impact of detention time on carrier and driver operations. This year, it collected input from more than 600 drivers on the issue.
To participate in the online survey, please visit www.atri-online.org. It will remain open through early January 2015.
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The Machinery Haulers Association
717 E. Court Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa
Phone: (515) 244-5193
Fax: (515) 244-2204
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