July 17, 2000 3:45 PM, EDT

P.M. Executive Briefing - July 17

This Afternoon's Headlines:

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HOS Debate Gets Ongoing Play in National Media

CN Adds Trains To Better Compete With Trucks

Driver Shortage Has Some Companies Hiring Illegal Drivers

Schneider Spinoff Applauded By Industry Analysts

Speedco Truck Lube Adds Grows To Three Locations

Japan's Environmental Agency Wants To Crack Down On Diesel

HOS Debate Gets Ongoing Play in National Media

As the debate over the new hours-of-service regulations continues to heat up between federal officials and industry leaders, the item has increasingly been featured on the news and opinion pages of major daily newspapers in the United States.

Over the last two days, the Detroit News has published nine articles in a special report titled "Making big rigs safer." The report examines the driver shortage, fatigue and new technology issues, among others.

A recent Houston Chronicle article took a look at the issue, noting several truck-related accidents that were attributed to driver fatigue and examines both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the trucking industry's arguments regarding hours-of-service.

The debate has raged in the editorial pages also. Monday's Los Angeles Times included an editorial – "Fatigue And Trucks a Deadly Mix" – praising the proposed changes. And in the Washington Post, Motor Freight Carriers Association President Timothy Lynch disputed the Post's arguments and FMCSA Acting Deputy Administrator Clyde Hart supported the July 3. Lynch noted errors in the figures cited by the editorial and called for new regulations to be "workable, understandable and enforceable." Hart attacked the trucking industry as trying the "squelch debate on truck driver fatigue and the crashes that result from it." Jennifer Botchie, Transport Topics

CN Adds Trains To Better Compete With Trucks

The Canadian National Railway Co. tried to increase its competitive position with the trucking industry by adding four new domestic intermodal trains Monday that will serve hubs in Central and Atlantic Canada.

The new trains link Toronto, Montreal, Moncton and Halifax, and expedite pick-up and delivery times by as much as six hours.

"The redesign of CN's Atlantic Canada Domestic intermodal services offers shippers a competitive alternative to trucking lines to reach distant markets more effectively and gives them a anew way to control supply chain costs," said E. Hunter Harrison, CN's chief operating officer. Transport Topics

Driver Shortage Has Some Companies Hiring Illegal Drivers

With driver turnover at almost 100% for many in the trucking industry, some companies are hiring immigrants illegally, the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald recently reported.

Many companies are advertising in Polish or Spanish-language newspapers and recruiting among the immigrant population in an attempt to combat a shrinking labor market.

Which would be fine, except for the fact that many of these drivers cannot speak English, and some are even receiving commercial driver licenses illegally. Andrew Ryder, editor of Heavy Duty Trucking, told the World-Herald that some companies feed answers to the CDL tests to their applicants. Also mentioned was an ongoing FBI investigation, which recently resulted in the arrest of a driving instructor from a church-based group in Florida, who is accused of fixing CDL applications for non-English-speaking applicants.

The World-Herald article comes after another recent report from Australia of a New Zealand man facing charges of racketeering in a plan to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S. for a driver recruiting company. Transport Topics

Schneider Spinoff Applauded By Industry Analysts

The planned spin-off of Schneider Logistics is being praised by trucking industry analysts as a positive move by Schneider National, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article said.

Though the parent company is privately held – and will hold a majority interest in the spin-off – Schneider Logistics will go public, a move that analysts said could greatly increase revenue.

Schneider Logistics is currently just a part of Schneider National, and by spinning off separately should be able to take advantage of new technology like the Internet, as well as a growing Internet-related market, the article said. It also should help Schneider become a global force in logistics. Transport Topics

Speedco Truck Lube Adds Grows To Three Locations

Speedco Truck Lube, a commercial truck quick-lubrication service, recently announced the opening of two more service centers, in Council Bluffs, Iowa and Oklahoma City, Okla.

Speedco's drive-through centers offer 30-minute oil changes for trucks, as well as filter changes, refrigeration unit service, tractor and trailer chassis lubes, fifth wheel and wheel hub lubrication, transmission and differential fluid changes, anti-freeze/coolant top-offs and on-site oil analyses.

The company has service centers in 20 states. Equilon Enterprises LLC, a joint venture of U.S. Texaco Inc. and Shell Oil Co., is a majority owner in Speedco Truck Lube. Transport Topics

Japan's Environmental Agency Wants To Crack Down On Diesel

Japan's Central Environment Council has proposed legislation that would effectively ban the sale of diesel cars and medium trucks, the Asahi News Service reported Monday.

Trucking companies are concerned about the proposal, saying it would be financially stressful to replace their diesel trucks, the report said.

The more stringent emissions standards would effectively ban the sale of new diesel cars and medium trucks because of the technological difficulties in meeting the standards. Current vehicles would have to be replaced if they did not meet the new standards, and companies owning such vehicles would have to either restrict usage or purchase new vehicles that meet the regulations. The Environment Agency is considering a low-interest loan program to aid companies in replacing their current fleets if necessary, according to the article. Transport Topics