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TMHA Board Election Ballot
Submit Your Vote Before March 30
The Board Development Committee -- comprised of Jim Towery, Jon Coca and Clayton Fisk -- recently reviewed, discussed and approved candidates for the TMHA Board of Directors, formally submitting the following ballot for election by the TMHA membership. Terms will run for two years beginning April 10, 2015.
Jon Coca
Diamond Transportation System
Mike Connell
Bennett Motor Express
Clayton Fisk
Warren Transport
Dave Gallano
Gallano Trucking
Jeremy Ihle
Ihle Transport
Heather Johnson
Landstar Transportation Logistics
Tom Witt
Roehl Transport
To submit your vote, please click on the link below for the 2015 TMHA Board Election Ballot. The deadline for voting is Monday, March 30, 2015.
Official results of the 2015 TMHA Board of Directors election will be distributed to the membership via e-mail no later than Friday, April 3. The gavel transfer and installation of the elected board members will take place during the TMHA Annual Meeting on Thursday, April 9, at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare in Chicago.
2015 TMHA Board of Directors Election Ballot
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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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Carriers Mostly Against FMCSA Insurance Increase Rule
More than 2,000 comments were submitted in the 90-day public feedback window allowed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's solicitation for input from trucking industry stakeholders and the public at-large on a potential rule to up the minimum amount of liability insurance trucking companies must legally carry.
Input received from trucking indicated the industry mostly disagrees with the FMCSA's report from April 2014 that stated the current minimum of $750,000 has not kept up with inflation. The biggest contention being an insurance increase is not necessary, especially given the impact it could have on premiums.
The majority of comments received overall were against raising the minimums. That included responses from lawyers, insurance industry stakeholders and members of the public who had been involved in or impacted by a truck-related crash.
The comment period was opened following the FMCSA's publishing of an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on November 26, 2014, that stated the agency would explore increasing insurance minimums for carriers.
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Economy Continues To Expand, But Truck Drivers Remain Scarce
The economy continued to expand across most of the country from early January to mid-February, but regions reported difficulty in filling openings for truck drivers, the Federal Reserve said.
The Cleveland, Richmond and Kansas City districts said they were seeing increased wage pressure due to difficulty in attracting and retaining truckers, the Fed said in its Beige Book report released March 4.
In Atlanta, trucking companies cited steady freight volume and year-over-year increases in tonnage. Ports in the district said bulk cargo, container traffic and automobile shipments increased significantly from a year ago, most likely due to West Coast port congestion.
Trucking firms in Dallas reported declining cargo volumes because of shipping disruptions at West Coast ports, while rail and small-parcel shipments increased in January.
Read more at www.machineryhaulers.org.
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Projected Publication Date For Final ELD Rule Moved Up
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a supplemental report restoring September 30 as the expected publication date of its final electronic logging device rule, moving it up from November 9.
FMCSA spokesman Duane DeBruyne said the supplemental report was issued to correct "a simple administrative error." The rule will be effective two years after its publication date.
The agency typically has published its "significant rulemaking report" once a month, and most often changes in projected dates are delays.
In February, the agency published its monthly report and moved the date from September 30 to November 9. It then issued the supplemental rulemaking report February 27, changing it back to September 30.
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Agenda Set for TMHA Annual Meeting in Chicago April 8-9
A tentative schedule has been established for The Machinery Haulers Association's upcoming annual meeting that will be held at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare on April 8-9.
The event will kickoff Wednesday, April 8, with a welcome reception and dinner at Carlucci Italian Restaurant. Shuttle transportation will be available to and from the restaurant from the hotel.
April 9 will include a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. with the membership meeting at 8:00 a.m. The formal installation of new board members, which will include the gavel transfer between presidents, will take place during the membership meeting. Immediately following the membership meeting will be three presentations from outstanding speakers:
9:30 a.m. --- David Ross, STIFEL Group
11:00 a.m. --- William Strauss, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
12:45 p.m. --- Greg Feary and Robert Henry, Scopelitis Law Firm
Entire details relating to the meeting, speakers and hotel accommodations (TMHA room block expires on March 18) can be found in the meeting promotion linked below.
2015 TMHA Annual Meeting Promotion
2015 TMHA Annual Meeting Online Registration Link
2015 TMHA Annual Meeting Online Hotel Reservation Link
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NHTSA to Debut New Distracted Driving Enforcement Campaign
In recognition of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has planned a number of activities in April, including its second national highly visible enforcement campaign for distracted driving: U Drive. U Text. U Pay.
From April 10-15, law enforcement personnel nationwide will be using a combination of traditional and innovative strategies to crack down on motorists who text and drive. The idea is to raise public awareness about the consequences of texting and driving. The idea being, "If you're texting, you're not driving."
According to the latest data from the NHTSA, there were 3,154 people killed nationwide and an estimated 424,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted driving in 2013. This represents a 6.7 percent decrease in the number of fatalities recorded in 2012.
The campaign is national in scope and will be a blitz supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Enforcement strategies will include: Roving police patrols; Spotters strategically located on local and state roadways; and Stationary police vehicles prominently placed around communities to observe and cite violators of the law.
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Senator Wants Congress to Reform FMCSA
Scott Darling, acting administrator of the FMCSA, testified before a Senate panel March 4 where lawmakers blasted the agency's handling of hours-of-service changes and CSA.
Saying it has ignored Congress, the Government Accountability Office and members of the trucking industry, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) leveled some harsh criticism at the FMCSA and called for reforming the agency.
Her remarks came during and after a hearing on Capitol Hill of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security, which she chairs.
The senior senator from Nebraska plans to introduce reform legislation to make FMCSA more inclusive of Congress and industry stakeholders and increase its transparency. Fischer also said she will author legislation to require the agency to conduct more robust and comprehensive cost benefit analyses of proposed regulations.
Read more at www.ccjdigital.com.
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GAO Says DOT Should Study State Permitting Processes
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Transportation study states' permitting practices for oversize and overweight truckloads, then pinpoint the best practices and share them.
"By conducting this type of research, [the Federal Highway Administration] would be better positioned to help states make sound decisions to improve safety and protect infrastructure," said a GAO report issued February 26.
The GAO said its look at permitting and its recommendations resulted from the 2013 incident in Washington state in which a truck carrying an oversize load clipped a strut on the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River, causing the span to collapse.
Three people were injured in the bridge collapse, and traffic in the important freight corridor was disrupted for nearly four weeks. The bridge was repaired at a cost of $8.5 million in federal-aid highway funds, the GAO said.
The federal government spends about $40 billion per year to help states maintain highways and bridges, the GAO said by way of explaining the government's stake in improving permitting processes in the states.
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