A.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 9
This Morning's Headlines:
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Truckers Resume Work After Union Vote
Harbor truckers in Baltimore voted to end their strike and become affiliated with the International Longshoreman's Association. However, since the truckers are owner-operators, they cannot have ordinary union representation.Bill Dickens, a local owner-operator and the founder of the truckers' group the United Container and Rail Haulers Association, last week put the amount of cargo-volume reduction at Dundalk, Seagirt, and Locust Point marine terminals at 90 percent. Ray Feldmann of the Maryland Port Administration says shipments at Dundalk and Seagirt were up to about 1,100 Tuesday.
Maurice Byan of the Steamship Trade Association says he would rather the truckers "work within the [existing] system and mechanisms" for addressing problems, such as the port's intermodal council. He says the association and trucking firms "have had ongoing discussions" about the truckers' complaints.
Dickens says the truckers will meet Saturday to discuss how long to keep working. He says the organization movement has spread to ports on the South Atlantic and job actions could happen at Atlantic ports north of Baltimore as well. He thinks truckers at different ports must work together so ocean carriers will not just divert ships to ports where truckers are working. Journal of Commerce (09/09/99) P. 16; Watson, Rip
Two Indicted in License Scheme
The owner of a driving school, and a former truck safety officer were indicted in Chicago by a federal grand jury for the alleged sale of commercial driver license certifications. Tony Chan, the owner of the trucking school, and David Jans have been charged with bribery, extortion, and conspiracy. Jans is not a state employee, but was cleared by the secretary of state's office to certify truckers. Jans certified hundreds of drivers who now must re-take their qualifying exams, according to reports in the Chicago Tribune. ABC NewsWire (09/09/99)Lautenberg Says 'Let 'em Pass'
At a Tuesday press conference, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) said the Jersey state police should be able to allow free passage through New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway toll booths when it will alleviate bad congestion. "When traffic backups turn to mile-long parking lots, the turnpike's got to give," he said. Land Line Magazine Online (09/08/99); Soendker, SandiCleveland Express Trucking Inc.
Twenty-eight year trucking veteran John Schuller is the new Vice President of Operations at Cleveland Express Trucking. He spent the past 11 years at Nationsway Transport Services. Cleveland Plain Dealer Online (09/08/99)Calif. County May Limit Big Rigs on Streets
In response to complaints by residents along Sacramento's Hazel, Sunrise, and Watt streets, the County Board of Supervisors has asked the transportation division to draft an ordinance banning trucks from those roads. Residents say trucks are using those streets to travel between Highway 50 and Interstate 80.California Vehicle Code states that trucks longer than 65 feet and more than 80,000 pounds should only use certain county roads. The Vehicle Code gives local jurisdictions power to restrict the routes of trucks heavier than 14,000 pounds from unincorporated residential and subdivision areas, and county code assigns that work to the public works director.
At present, restrictions only apply to two-lane roads in residential neighborhoods, and some question whether applying further restrictions to major thoroughfares would stand a legal contest. The county counsel and the transportation division says it would include the California Highway Patrol and the California Trucking Association in discussions about the proposed restrictions. Sacramento Bee Online (09/08/99); Lindelof, Bill
Yellow Freight Narrows Field in Agency Review
In an effort to reposition itself as a customer-oriented business and compete with parcel carriers, Yellow Freight System said in June it would review its $10 million marketing account. Its previous agency, NKH&W, quit after the June announcement.
ellow, with its review consultant Select Resources International, has now cut the field of possible agencies down to five: Campbell-Ewald, DDB, DMB&B, DraftWorldwide, and Valentine McCormick Ligibel. Advertising Age's Business Marketing (09/99) Vol. 84, No. 9; P. 8
Sales-Minded, Service-Driven
NorthCenter Foodservice is the 1999 recipient of the Great Distributor Organization award from ID magazine. NorthCenter uses routing systems and on-board computers to keep the lines open between routers, warehouse managers and customer-service workers.The company encourages open communication, including a Driver Council and Accident Investigation Committee consisting of NorthCenter truck drivers. Through word of mouth, the company has attained a reputation for providing a good working environment to truckers. As a result, it has little difficulty recruiting new drivers.
Additionally, the company fills driver slots by running its own free five- to six-week trucking school for employees. Some truckers move up further into sales and management positions.
For 10 years, the company has given pay incentives to truckers for backhauls. Thus, truckers are motivated to use sales skills with customers. The company gives awards to good truckers, and the Driver of the Year receives an engraved clock and can pick any new truck. Lately, the company has started to give dedicated trucks for each trucker.
The company divides truckers into local workers, shuttle/backhaul drivers, and dedicated truckers that work New England from the depot in Portsmouth, N.H. NorthCenter and Nabisco recently started load consolidation, allowing the company to give just-in-time service.
It is also putting into place an inbound management system from PFG. The company uses CADEC computers in the trucks and the Roadnet routing program. Truckers have some responsibility for product safety and quality, including checking the temperature of refrigerated foods. ID (09/99) Vol. 35, No. 9; P. 66
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