Tag Archive for: ATA

Best & Brightest Trucking Industry Leaders Named to New ATA Program

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American Trucking Associations has announced the formation of a new leadership education and engagement program, leading up to its annual ATA Management Conference & Exhibition in October.

Called LEAD ATA, the new program is designed to educate and engage future leaders from within the US Trucking industry. Initially, 17 trucking executives from all over the country have been accepted as the inaugural class of the LEAD ATA program, These executives were chosen for their combination of strong leadership skills, keen insights and enthusiasm for the trucking industry.

The LEAD ATA offers these trucking executives a chance to inform and educate their colleagues and industry workers on the many regulatory and legislative processes that affect the U.S. trucking industry. In addition, these leaders will show how the ATA plays a key part in shaping legislation and regulations, and what ATA tools are available to other industry executives.

This first class includes trucking leaders aged 23 – 49, from 12 different states and working at fleets both small and large. The initial group of trucking industry leaders is:

  • Larry Barnes, Greenbush Logistics Inc.; Trucking_Calhoun
  • Doug Bennett,  US AutoLogistics LLC;
  • Brent Bois, Calhoun Truck Lines;
  • Chad Brueck, CRST International Inc.;
  • Tim Chrulski, Garner Trucking Inc.;
  • Michael Clifford, Ventura Transfer Company;
  • Chris Cooper, Boyd Bros. Transportation;
  • Charlie DeLacey, Kenan Advantage Group;
  • Casey Diaz, Charles Diaz Trucking Inc.;
  • Stephanie Fisher, YRC Worldwide Inc.;
  • Robert Haag, Perfect Transportation LLC;
  • Rick Hoyle, Trimac Transportation;
  • Dustin Koehl, Total Transportation of Mississippi LLC;
  • Robert Loya, California Cartage Company;
  • Chelsea Pottle, Pottle’s Transportation;
  • Jason Tempalski, FedEx Ground and
  • Martin Tewari, Con-way Truckload

LEAD ATA’s first session will take place this October at ATA’s annual Management Conference and Exhibition at the Marriott World Center in Orlando, FL.

Learning at the ATA Management Conference Oct 19-23

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Calhoun Truck Lines executives look to gain more insights into trucking trends, driver growth, natural gas trends and more at the upcoming annual ATA Management Conference and Exhibition 2013, taking place October 19-23 in Orlando, FL.

ATA-Management-ConferenceThe American Trucking Association’s Management Conference & Exhibition is definitely one of the calendar highlights for the U.S. trucking industry. It’s probably the most popular gathering of trucking industry colleagues and executives from across the US. We at Calhoun Truck Lines shared in the excitement and challenges of the industry at the 2012 conference.

Last year’s conference had large numbers of attendees who learned about trucking initiatives, shared in substantive policy discussions, took part in technology learning exercises, experienced great networking and enjoyed evening entertainment.

Here’s what in store at this year’s ATA:

Three General Sessions:
● State of the Industry keynote address by ATA’s President & CEO, Bill Graves
● All About the Driver; and
● The Highway Funding Crisis: Finding Solutions in the Age of Budget Deficits

In addition, there will be 12 educational sessions focused on intermodal trucking solutions and aiming to solve trucking’s biggest challenges and their solutions. Session tracks include: Government Regulation & Your Bottom Line; Trucking Technology & Natural Gas; Advocacy Toolbox; and Legal Issues.

Three Luncheons featuring:
● An “All Eyes on the Economy” panel (moderated by Fox News’ Stuart Varney)
● Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor, will speak to America’s Promise in Uncertain Times.
● A fun lunch in the exhibit hall will round out the program.
● Networking opportunities galore!

Watch ATA President and CEO Bill Graves describe below what’s in store for attendees to the conference:

From everyone at Calhoun Truck Lines, we hope to see you there!

Setback for Truckers? FMCSA Denies ATA Request for Extra 3-Months’ Time

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Has there been another setback to Calhoun Truck Lines and the rest of the still economically challenged U.S. trucking industry? Only time will tell. Interstate shipping firms learned recently that their request for an extra three months’ time before a new trucking hours-of-service rules take effect was rejected by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Apparently, the FMCSA does not believe ATA has demonstrated good reason to delay compliance, and that the FMCSA is not willing “to sacrifice what may be several months of public safety benefits from the timely implementation of the rule.”   interstate shipping Calhoun Truck Lines

The American Trucking Association had asked the FMCSA a month ago to delay the start of updated hours-of-service regulations. But like the US Senate and House Republicans, it seems like trucking’s main bodies have a hard time agreeing as well.

Trucking Info wrote: “In response to a late January letter from ATA president Bill Graves, FMCSA Chief Counsel T.F. Scott Darling III on Feb. 22 denied a request to delay compliance with the new rules from a scheduled July 1 start date until three months after a federal court issues its decision on challenges to hours of service that ATA and other groups have filed.“

The Hours of Service of Drivers Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2011. The Final Rule’s effective date is February 27, 2012, and the compliance date of selected provisions is July 1, 2013. More info is at the FMCSA Hours-of-Service page.

The final rule, according to the FMCSA, required truck drivers who maximized their weekly work hours to take at least two nights’ rest when their 24-hour body clock demands sleep the most – from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. This rest requirement is part of the rule’s “34-hour restart” provision that allows drivers to restart the clock on their work week by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. The final rule allows drivers to use the restart provision only once during a seven-day period.

“I’m not sure how this ruling will affect capacity over the next twelve months,” said Brent Bois, President of Calhoun Truck Lines, a leading Midwestern intermodal trucking company. “It seems as if our government may take care of that problem with the unresolved “sequester” deadline just days away. However, our elected official’s inability to resolve these issues will have a negative impact on our economy for the remainder of 2013 and will mitigate any truck capacity issues this year.”

“The real issue resides with training drivers and enforcement agencies,” continued Bois. “The likelihood of inconsistent enforcement and unwarranted violations will increase and have a negative affect on the trucking community. This will not help add drivers to the industry and could have a much larger impact on capacity in the long run.”

Top Truck Drivers in the U.S. named to America’s Road Team

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One of the essential and crucial parts of a professional truck driver’s job is to drive safely. Making America’s highways safer for all who travel them is a paramount concern for many of us in the industry, and especially to the American Trucking Association.  

Because of this, the American Trucking Association (ATA) names a new team of professional truck drivers every two years to an elite team of drivers called America’s Road Team. The new group of 19 drivers was named as the 2013-2014 America’s Road Team this week by the ATA.  

A salute to the America’s Road Team Captains from Calhoun Truck Lines! We value and appreciate the way in which you all represent our industry and congratulate all of you for the success you’ve had behind the wheel.  

All of these drivers share common characteristics when it comes to safety on the road. They share millions of miles without any accidents, according to Transport Topics. Not only do they have clean driving records, but they all have strong trucking industry expertise, good communication skills, solid community service and lifetime safety records.   America’s Road team will spend the next few years carrying out the ATA’s message of driver safety in various outreach and events aimed at the motoring public.   

“America’s Road Team represents the best our industry has to offer:  pride, professionalism and dedication to making our highways safer for all who travel them,” ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said in the ATA press release. “Today as we honor our newest captains, I want to congratulate not just these fine individuals, but all those hardworking drivers who strive every day to deliver America’s most essential goods safely and efficiently.”  

Representing America’s 3-million-plus professional drivers, the team serves as an example of the professional dedication and teamwork needed to deliver America’s freight safely and on time, Graves added.  

At Calhoun Truck Lines, we are proud of all these drivers and their ability to move freight safely and swiftly across the country. Calhoun Truck Lines’ operational facilities at our five Midwest trucking facilities are fully equipped to handle your intermodal trucking needs, for whatever freight assignments you might have. We deliver a level of service that consistently meets our customers’ expectations by providing a professional working environment for our employees, and maintaining a safe truck fleet.

ATA Management Conference Wrap-Up

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The American Trucking Associate Management Conference is now over, and the Calhoun Truck Lines team is back home and back to work. We met great new contacts, partners, suppliers, regulatory contacts and others. We saw new truck makes and models on the show floor, as well as a slew of other tools for truckers.  

The panels on the state of the trucking industry economy were probably the best attended I’ve seen. The welfare of our industry is closely tied to the growth of the economy, job certainty and other economic indicators. No wonder the hall was packed.  

The panelists suggested strongly that Congress really has to start working together to reinvigorate the economy and help keep trucking moving along on in 2013. Fears of the fiscal cliff becoming real are growing.  

Even if the fiscal cliff is averted, uncertainty will be a factor in dampening growth, said one of the panelists, Gregory Daco, senior economist at IHS Global Insight, who predicted that GDP growth next year will be slightly less than two percent. Other financial analysts are hoping that results of the presidential elections will start to shift a turn for the better in 2013.  

Commercial Carrier Journal also reported on ATA chief economist Bob Costello’s talk. Costello told the crowd that capacity and demand would remain fairly level because of driver shortages and high replacement costs for new equipment. In other words, truckers are not likely to be investing in new equipment until the economy improves. However, truckers need to be alert to any positive economic news in order to not get caught short being unable to manage any freight increases.  

A representative from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation also gave an overview on trucking safety and highway investment. TT News wrote that a new national freight strategic plan is required in three years, and that the plan will be developed with states and private transportation stakeholders.  

The conference came to a winning conclusion with a dinner and entertainment for the attendees on Wednesday night and entertainment provided by classic rockers The Doobie Brothers. it was a fun event for many in attendance.  

Industry managers are now back at their home base and likely looking to start pushing forward with ideas, plans and strategies to lift their respective freight businesses. Calhoun Truck Lines is especially interested in growing demand for freight within the Midwest operations. Let’s hope Congress can start to work productively in 2013 to help all of us on our way.

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