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The federally funded enforcement effort starts next week.

Multiple law enforcement agencies in Kentucky will be kicking off a year-long driver-focused enforcement campaign.

The campaign is scheduled to start on October 1, 2019, and will target I-75 from the Ohio River in Covington to the I-275 interchange in Erlanger, Kentucky. The campaign will run through September 30, 2020.

Police say that the enhanced enforcement is meant to combat an “unacceptable high rate of crashes per year” on the interstate.

From the press release: “The region is experiencing substantial growth with the increased volume of global commercial businesses expanding their footprint near the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport. Too many people have been killed and injured in traffic crashes.”

Officers participating in the increased patrols will be on the lookout for aggressive or dangerous driving violations committed by both passenger and commercial vehicle drivers. These violations include speeding, unsafe lane changes, distracted driving, and following too closely.

“We receive numerous complaints about too many motorists and truckers on I-75 driving recklessly and/or too fast for conditions,” Covington Police Chief Rob Nader said. “We can reduce these complaints – and the accidents they cause – through enforcement. Through this program from the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, Covington Police will work with its sister agencies to make sure our families get to where they’re going safely.”

Officers with the Covington, Erlanger, Fort Mitchell, and Kenton County Police Departments will be teaming up with Kentucky State Police for the year-long effort.

The campaign is funded by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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Mexico’s national association of heavy duty truck and bus manufacturers (ANPACT), reported the manufacture of commercial trucks grew 6% in July, producing 20,006 units, when compared against 18,863 units in July 2018.

Exports of trucks also increased 11.2% in July, with Mexican manufacturers sending 18,140 units abroad. For the first seven months of 2019, export of Mexican-made trucks increased 26.12%, compared to 2018.

Truck and bus makers with major plants in Mexico include Navistar International, Kenworth, Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Volkswagen, Volvo and Daimler. Officials with ANPACT said more than 95% of truck exports are destined for the United States and Canada.

“Motor transport is a strategic sector in Mexico – it generates more than 2 million jobs and contributes more than 6% of gross domestic product,” according to a statement from Miguel Elizalde, president of Mexico City-based ANPACT, the country’s truck and bus manufacturing chamber.

During the first seven months of the year, 124,220 heavy-duty vehicles were manufactured, an increase of 30.47% compared to the 95,209 units produced during the same period last year, according to ANPACT.

Officials with ANPACT said 2019 is shaping up to be the best year for exports of Mexican-made trucks since 2015, when 117,239 units were produced.

Elizalde said while exports of Mexican-made trucks remain positive, Mexico’s domestic truck market is faltering.

“Although the accumulated figures are favorable, the production figures – have begun to be affected by the drop in sales in the domestic market,” Elizalde said in a release.

Domestic sales of heavy-duty commercial trucks during August fell 61.2% to 1,668 units, compared with 4,301 units sold during August 2018, according to ANPACT.

“The fall of the local market is mainly due to uncertainty regarding the availability of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD), which is inhibiting the growth of domestic fleets,” Elizalde added.

In July, the Mexican government implemented a new rule requiring pumping stations to sell ULSD. However, distribution of ULSD to gas stations has been slow as Pemex – Mexico’s state-run oil company – continues producing high-sulfur diesel.

Another part of the new country-wide law requires  truck manufacturers to only import, make and sell ULSD-run trucks starting in January 2021. However, according to a study from ANPACT, 20% of the pumping stations in Mexico still do not have ULSD.

“There are regions where the fuel is nowhere to be found,” Elizalde said according to a report from Reuters.

Elizalde said the government needs to extend the period where trucks may still use Euro VI and EPA07, the current fuel standards in Mexico.

Truck and bus makers “would need 18-24 months to prepare factories, distribution chains, stores and sales forces for the change,” Elizalde said.

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In the first half of this year there more than twice as many trucking cessations than all last year, and the size of companies has more than tripled

There’s a conundrum in the trucking industry that has leading executives asking themselves, “If the economy is so good, how come so many trucking companies are going out of business?”

It’s a great question. Approximately 640 carriers went out of business in the first half of 2019, up from 175 for the same period last year and more than double the total number of trucking cessations all last year, according to Broughton Capital, a St. Louis-based transportation research firm that closely tracks the industry’s economic well-being.

Those failures this year removed 2,075 total trucks from the market place. The average fleet size of those carriers closing was 30. By comparison, there were 310 trucking bankruptcies or closings all of last year, with an average fleet size of nine trucks.

“The number of companies going out of business has gone up and size of fleets gone up as well,” said Donald Broughton, who compiled that data and closely follows the trucking industry.

In other words, in the first half of this year there more than twice as many trucking cessations than all last year, and the size of companies has more than tripled.

The list of significant closings began suddenly on Feb. 12 when 101-year-old LTL giant New England Motor Freight suddenly closed its doors. NEMF was part of the Shevell Group of 10 trucking and logistics units that also included Eastern Freightways, a major TL carrier. All told, NEMF controlled 1,472 trucks.

That was fallowed by Youngstown, Ohio-based Falcon Transport, which closed on April 27 taking 585 trucks out of service. Smaller companies such as Falcon Transport, Williams Trucking, ALA Trucking, LME, Starlite Trucking, Terrill Transportation, Carney Trucking and HVH Transportation followed, shuttering their doors by Labor Day.

“I expect more of same,” Broughton told LM. “As long as spot prices are weak, I suspect current issues to contain.’

The sudden drop in spot market prices for truckload services is the key to understanding this year’s failures, Broughton and other trucking experts explained.

“Last year pricing power was extraordinarily strong for the trucking industry,” Broughton said.

But that surge in spot TL rates has ended. Spot rates are off approximately 26 percent from a year ago, according to DAT Trendlines, which analyzes spot market rates historically.

“In truckload, it depends entirely on what carriers did with pricing and how they reacted to market conditions in 2018,” Broughton explained. “If they paid down debt, invested in making their fleets more fuel efficient and in information technology, they’ll do fine. If they played spot market, then they have some real issues.

"It’s a tale of two cities,” Broughton added.

President Donald Trump’s tariff war with China and his disputes with Mexico have also been factors in trucking bankruptcies.

“It is uncertainty over China and drops in volume and velocity of cross-border trade as well,” Broughton explained.

Before a trade skirmish with Mexico in the spring, it often took U.S.-domiciled trucks 15 minutes or less to clear a load into Mexico at Laredo, Texas, or other major crossing points. That same route can now take a day or longer as Mexicans have retaliated against Trump over comments made regarding his border wall and immigration.

“The delays are better than they were earlier this year, but they’re still not clearing trucks fast enough. “So it’s both the volume of cross-border trade and its velocity that have been affected.”

More than 80 percent of Mexican exports come from the United States, and more than 70 percent of Mexican imports come from this year. “Yes, we’re their largest customers. But we’re also the largest source they have,” Broughton said.

The trade war with China also may be playing a factor, though it’s more difficult to assess, experts said. But because trucking is so intertwined with world trade, they say it would be silly to assume the increase in China tariffs is not having some effect on the economic well-being of the trucking industry.

“You hurt your own customers, you hurt your own economy as well,” Broughton said.

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ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. for-hire truck tonnage remained volatile in August, dropping 3.2% on the heels of a 6.2% gain in July, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index was up 4.1% year-over-year and year-to-date was 4.3% stronger than the same period in 2018.

“The large swings continued in August, but the good news is the trend line is still up,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. “While there is concern over economic growth, truck tonnage shows that it is unlikely that the economy is slipping into a recession. It is important to note that ATA’s tonnage data is dominated by contract freight, which is performing significantly better than the plunge in spot market freight this year.”

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The most efficient and effective idle-reduction solutions entail a combination of complementary technologies.

A 10% annual reduction in idling is worth about 1% in fuel economy. That translates into about $500 to $700 annually at $3/gallon fuel prices and 100,000 miles/year. But given today’s driver shortage, fleets can’t just tell drivers not to idle their trucks during their mandated rest periods.

Drivers expect to be comfortable in their trucks and to be able to use things like microwave ovens, refrigerators, computers, gaming systems — all the comforts of home. However, federal, state and local ordinances prohibit idling for long periods of time, and idling can add wear and tear to the engine. This means fleets have to find other ways to make sure drivers are comfortable while resting.

As Mike Jeffress, vice president of maintenance at Maverick Transportation LLC, told us, “I don't think anyone wants to idle just to be idling; they do it because we have to provide those creature comforts.”

Our recent Confidence Report on idle-reduction technologies found that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to idle reduction. The good news is that fleets can choose from a number of technologies to meet their idle-reduction goals. Fleets need to weigh the benefits and challenges of each of the technologies to determine which technology makes sense for their specific operation.

The report found that the most efficient and effective idle-reduction solutions entail a combination of complementary technologies. The right combination will depend on a fleet’s routes, fuel costs, the climate in their area of operation, shop costs, maintenance costs, training methods, driver support, fleet policies, etc.

We found that the industry is having the most success by choosing one of four anchor technologies and then adding other technologies that best complement or support the anchor.

Here is what fleets told us works best:

• Driver controls + fuel-operated heater
• Diesel APU + fuel-operated heater
• Battery HVAC + fuel-operated heater
• Automatic engine start/stop system

Using these technologies along with things like setting electronic engine parameters, pre-cooling the truck prior to stopping for the day, adding extra insulation, parking in the shade, using bunk curtains, etc. means a 20% reduction in idle is not out of the question.

Use our idle-reduction report to help you choose the technologies that make the most sense for you.

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