P.M. Executive Briefing - June 19

UPS to Provide Customers with Wireless Access to Services

UPS customers have been able to track UPS packages and find the nearest UPS drop-off location using Palm VII organizers since 1999. The Air2Web deal will soon give customers the added capability of calculating rates and finding transit-times for shipments on any digital wireless device, such as Web-enabled cell phones or two-way pagers. The expanded service will be rolled out domestically in September will be extended globally in 2001.

So. Calif. Air Quality Board Leaves Slight Opening For Diesel

The board's action came on June 16 as it passed its "fleet rules," requiring new vehicle purchases by public agencies to be those that run on "alternative fuels" such as natural gas. Although diesel-burning engines were not completely banned, Bob Sulnick, a leader of the "fleet rules" opposition, told the Riverside (Calif.) Press Enterprise the AQMD knows the emission standards set on diesel are too high for it to compete with natural gas.

Since an AQMD study identifying diesel soot as carcinogenic, the agency has taken a rigid stance against the fuel's use. Some environmentalists hope such action will force the diesel industry's hand, eventually getting cleaner burning fuels in long-haul trucks. The AQMD, however, has no jurisdiction to enact such a regulation on long-haul trucking. The trucking industry is currently debating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently proposed federal standards requiring a large reduction in diesel soot and emissions. Transport Topics staff

Ohio CDL Courses Criticized

The bill would allow trucker training as adult education only, and not for high school students, while an emergency provision will put the bill into effect as soon as the governor signs it; the typical bill does not go into effect until 90 days after the governor approves it.

One critic, state Rep. Charles Calvert (R-Medina), said he saw "no reason to compete our schools against existing commercial schools" and said trucks, equipment, and instruction would be too expensive for the 100 students a year he predicted most schools would attract.

Meanwhile, the owner of the Career Driving and Learning Center, Brit Killinger, said Ohio has one of the country's toughest CDL standards and wondered whether the quality of instruction might be impacted by the bill. Killinger also worried that commercial schools may not be able to compete if other schools are subsidized with government money. Akron Beacon Journal (06/18/00) P. C1; Moroney, Joel

Most of Kansas' Wheat Harvest Shipped by Truck

Among the reasons for this change are railroad deregulation, an equipment shortage, and the fact that short lines have been sold, according to Kansas Agricultural Statistics statistician Eddie Wells. Wells also said trucking is more convenient and flexible and that railroads often prefer to serve

onagricultural shippers when their shipments are more consistent and profitable. Many grain elevators have no choice but to ship by truck because their rail lines have fallen into disuse or disrepair.

This year, however, farmers are finding that trucking also has some problems, including reduced capacity and fuel efficiency for a single truck versus a single railcar. In addition, millions of dollars in road damage is occurring in counties that cannot afford to repair the roads. Wichita Eagle Online (06/18/00); Griekspoor, Phyllis Jacobs

Mack Celebrates 100th Anniversary

The Lehigh Valley has been home to Mack Trucks since 1905. The company now employs 6,208 people in North America and Australia, roughly 1,000 of them in Macungie. Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Online (06/19/00); Yang, Eleanor

North Carolina Carriers Cope With Driver Shortages, High Turnover

Burlington Industries Transportation's Ron Walker says his company does not have too hard a time retaining drivers, since most are on the road for only one or two days at a stretch, but it is having trouble finding high-quality new drivers. Burlington's John Richardson says most experienced drivers are not up to his company's qualifications, since "most of your good experienced people are not out there looking for a job"; in addition, many longtime drivers are retiring and being replaced with younger people with less of a work ethic, he says.

Burlington is working harder to supply senior drivers with controlled dispatches and relay operations, and to get all its drivers home quicker, says Richardson, adding that trucking companies are trying to cut down on wait time and keep drivers from having to do loading and unloading.

Meanwhile, Turner Transfer's Mike Hoggard believes the most important factor to drivers is pay; he predicts that transportation prices are going to go up because driver pay will be rising. C.H. Robinson's Mark Walker says the biggest factors his company experiences as a third-party carrier are "quality of service and cost of hire," while LTL carrier Old Dominion Freight Line's David Congdon says it costs between $4,000 and $5,000 for his company to replace a driver.

Recruitment is a bigger problem than retention at Old Dominion, and the company combats that problem by operating an in-house driving school to train dock workers as drivers. Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area Online (06/19/00); Woestendiek, Kathryn

Florida Interstate Exit Numbers to Change Next Year

Compiled by Transport Topics staff and INFORMATION, INC. © 2000