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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Since 1990, Karl Robinson has watched an idea for a trucking company grow into a successful endeavor that does business with the likes of HondaJet, Thomas Buses and other giant companies.

Now Robinson has another idea that could help transform the economy here in the Piedmont and across North Carolina. He wants to put convicted felons to work in industries like his that current laws prevent them from getting into.

“We have companies right here in the Piedmont that can grow and continue to grow and are growing [regardless of the limitations now],” said Robinson.

Last week Robinson was part of a group that met with elected leaders in Washington, D.C., and President Barak Obama's economic advisors about North Carolina's workforce needs.

Robinson wants support from elected leaders like Gov. Pat McCrory, Rep. Alma Adams, and Sen. Richard Burr for a plan that would help pair business needs with a workforce desperate for a chance to make a decent wage.

“We're trying to fill the pipeline because we're 250,000 drivers short in America and over the next 10 years you're looking at over 1.25 million workers short,” said Robinson. “You've got trucking companies they have 30, 40, 50 vehicles just sitting because they can't get people to drive.”

Robinson said the problem will only get worse if people are not trained to do the job and the potential candidate list remains limited. Those shut out right now include non-violent offenders or people convicted on minor drug charges.

“The insurance laws are what prohibit companies like ours from hiring them and when your insurance says no -- no means no,” said Robinson. “When they come out of prison they have a hard time finding a job other than for cleaning services and things like that and you can't provide for yourself or your family if you don't make a good living wage.”

Robinson said he’s not just concerned with his trucking company or the shipping industry but the Piedmont as a whole.

“This is not a selfish thing this is something that will help everyone in the community and it will bring a different light on North Carolina as far as being inclusive,” said Robinson.

Source of article click here: FOX8

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CHICAGO - Matt Leszczak’s story is really not much different from millions of other Americans. Immigrants have been coming to this country’s shores for generations to live the American dream. Leszczak was lucky to get in to logistics in Chicago. Starting in warehousing thru dispatching to freight brokering, Leszczak always saw trucking companies struggling with drivers. With 8.2% unemployment in 2012, companies surprisingly say they’ve had 3 million job openings every month, according to the Labor Department, but employers are having trouble filling these positions because they can’t find skilled workers to do the jobs.

200,000 jobs are for truck drivers. The median annual wage for a trucker that works for a private fleet, such as a truck driver employed by Walmart, is $73,000, according to the ATA. The Labor Department pegs the median annual salary for all truck drivers at around $40,000. To become a heavy-hauling driver one needs a CDL driver license and proper training. Some of the bigger freight forwarders will cover training and all CDL costs for new employees.

The trucking companies, warehouses, and private sector in the U.S., employ an estimated 8.9 million people in trucking-related jobs; nearly 3.5 million are truck drivers. The United States economy depends on trucks to deliver nearly 70 percent of all freight transported annually, accounting for $671 billion worth of manufactured and retail goods transported by truck in the U.S. alone. That’s not including the $295 billion in truck trade with Canada and $195.6 billion in truck trade with Mexico.

It’s a job that cannot be shipped overseas and has the potential to drive the cost of goods higher and ultimately hurt the U.S. economy.

Immigration reform might help to fulfill the increasing gap in the trucking industry, help lower the cost of truck load as well as LTL freight, and improve freight delivery time. There have been several legislative attempts to overhaul the U.S. immigration policy over the past decade, and all of them have failed. The American people rejected these efforts because they were primarily focused on addressing the demands of the people who broke our laws. In the U.S. labor force, there were 8.1 million unauthorized immigrants either working or looking for work in 2012 - all potential drivers already in the U.S.

Sen. Marco Rubio says people who immigrated to the U.S. illegally but haven’t committed any major crimes could be allowed to stay. “I don’t think you’re going to round up and deport 12 million people,” he states.

President Barack Obama said Monday he expects immigration to be a major issue in the 2016 election.

Source of article click here: Ajot

If we have immigration reform, we will have more drivers, freight estimate will be lower, the U.S. trucking industry will boost up, and cost of goods in your market will drop significantly, says Leszczak.

Collisions critically injure several, appear related to snow squalls

A pileup involving dozens of vehicles on a Pennsylvania interstate that killed three people and sent scores to hospitals appears to have been related to a passing snow squall, authorities said Saturday.

• Arctic blast descends on Central, Eastern Canada

• Deep freeze grips southern Ontario

• Extreme cold weather warning issued for northern New Brunswick

Trooper Justin Summa said three fatalities had been confirmed and an unknown number of critically injured patients were flown to hospitals. Seventy more were transported by ambulance to other facilities following the crash in Interstate 78 in Fredericksburg.

State police said more than 50 vehicles were involved in the crash, which happened around 9:45 a.m. The pileup left tractor-trailers, box trucks and cars tangled together across three traffic lanes and into the snow-covered median about 125 km northwest of Philadelphia.

Megan Manlove of Penn State Hershey Medical Center said 10 patients had been brought in from the crash, three in critical condition, three with moderate to severe injuries and four with minor injuries.

Trooper Adam Reed said investigators believe that "passing snow squalls played a role in causing the crash."

PennLive.com reported that some witnesses reported sudden whiteout conditions on the interstate before the crash.

Emergency personnel work at the site of a pileup of more than 50 vehicles near Fredericksburg, Pa., Saturday. (Daniel Zampogna/PennLive.com via Associated Press)

"It just turned real white," Raul Jardine of Allentown said, adding that all he could see were the brake lights of the car in front of him, so he slowed down and was hit from behind.

Summa said several buses of stranded passengers were taken to a warming shelter at a firehouse in the area.

"We're keeping them warm, keeping them fed and hopefully going to provide them with some rental cars," he said.

Emergency personnel work at the crash near Fredericksburg, Pa., Saturday. (Daniel Zampogna/PennLive.com via Associated Press)

The Penn State-Lehigh Valley men's basketball team was heading to a game in New Kensington when the team's chartered bus was hit by a tractor-trailer, the university said. Officials said there were no serious injuries to anyone and the students were "on a warm, dry bus" but were being taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokesman Cory Angell said an emergency operation center was activated and a special response team was at Fort Indiantown Gap to deliver stockpiled supplies such as food and water if they are needed.

Emergency personnel carry an injured person from the crash. (Daniel Zampogna/PennLive.com via Associated Press)

Angell said drivers were being urged to use caution due to extremely cold temperatures and blowing snow making roads hazardous even though they have been plowed.

"You could be driving down the interstate and all of a sudden conditions change because the winds are drifting the snow," he said.

The crash comes amid dangerous weather conditions that are gripping the northeastern U.S. as well as parts of Central and Eastern Canada.

'Life-threatening' cold

In some areas of the northeastern U.S. on Saturday, temperatures in some areas were set to fall below about -18 C, with Boston facing its coldest Valentine's Day in almost four decades.

Officials warned people to stay indoors away from what the National Weather Service described as "life-threatening" cold.

Wind chill advisories were in effect over parts of nine states extending from northern Pennsylvania to western Maine, with forecasters expecting gusts up to 70 km/h.

"Wind chills will be getting colder and colder as the day goes on," said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass.

The temperature in Boston was expected to drop to -22 C overnight, but feel as cold as -35 C with the wind chill. That would be below the record low of -19 C set in 1979.

New York City was bracing for its coldest night in 20 years. Mayor Bill de Blasio said officials had put on extra staff to help respond to residents who had lost heat.

"It's so important to take this seriously, to stay indoors to the maximum extent possible, go out for as little time as possible," de Blasio told reporters.

At Boston's Pine Street Inn 485-bed homeless shelter, workers were finding cots, mats and even chairs to accommodate the roughly 600 people they were expecting tonight, said spokeswoman Barbara Trevisan.

"No one will be turned out for lack of space," Trevisan said.

In Boston, some were hurrying through their mornings to get outdoor chores done before the worst cold set in.

"Right now I'm going to drink a coffee" to stay warm, said Carmen Pichente, 40, en route to her job at a Boston restaurant. "Tomorrow, I'm going to stay at home all day."

Others brushed it off as part of life in New England.

"It's nothing. I lived in Boston all my life," said Eddie Brown, 51, a delivery truck driver out on his rounds. Asked why he wasn't wearing a coat, Brown replied, "I got long underwear on."

Source of article click here:CBC NEWS

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BULLITT CO., Ky. (WHAS11) – A Texas man is facing charges after the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office said he was running people off I-65 north with his semi-truck, driving erratically and also rammed a Cadillac causing significant damage.

Bullitt County dispatch started receiving calls around 6:30 a.m. Friday about the semi. It was hauling landscaping timbers.

The Bullitt County Sheriff office said the semi driver Danny Gonzalez, of Harlingen, Texas, ran vehicles off the road around exit 112 on I-65 northbound.

One truck was hit and ran into a cable barrier. At exit 121, also known as the Brooks Exit, Gonzalez went west on Brooks Hill Road and in the 4600 block, he ran the Cadillac off the road. The driver of the Cadillac attempted to notify Gonzalez he was run off the road, but Gonzalez intentionally hit the Cadillac in the rear causing substantial damage.

The sheriff’s office said Gonzalez continued to flee the scene of that crash by heading north on Knob Creek Road. On Goff Lane, police said, Gonzalez ran over street signs, then entered a field parallel to the roadway and that is where the truck became stuck.

That is where a Bullitt County Deputy found Gonzalez. He did not initially follow the deputy’s order to get out of the semi, according to the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office. He was eventually placed into custody.

According to the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office, Gonzalez said he had just “snapped” and was tired of people messing with truck drivers.

Gonzalez is charged with wanton endangerment, criminal mischief and leaving the scene of a crash. He is being held at the Bullitt County Detention Center.

The Louisville Metro Animal Services has begun an animal cruelty case relating to a puppy that was found in the semi with Gonzalez.

The 8-week-old female puppy, which is a shepherd mix, is at LMAS. She is still in serious condition and the staff will be monitoring her for the next several days. There are signs of abuse; however, because of the ongoing investigation no other details were released.

Staff at LMAS have named the puppy GiGi.

Louisville Metro Police helped Bullitt County Deputies.

Source of article click here:WHAS11

VIDEO

Contract Transport Services, Inc., a trucking company in Green Bay, recently wrapped five of its semi-cabs to honor different branches of the military. CTS will donate two cents for each loaded mile these trucks drive to a local charity that benefits local veterans.

“CTS is a strong, local company committed to helping the community,” said Curt Reitz, president of CTS. “Our goal is to give back as much as we can to the local men and women who have sacrificed so much for the well-being of our country.”

The charity that will benefit from CTS’s generosity is the Fox Valley Veterans Council, which provides emergency funding for basic needs – like housing, utility payments, clothing, food, and transportation – to area veterans, their dependents, their survivors, and those still serving. The Fox Valley Veterans Council also intends to use a portion of the donation to start a new scholarship program for the local children of fallen soldiers.

"I was in the Air Force myself and I just have a lot of respect for what they [veterans] allow us to do everyday. This is one of the best ways we can think of to support our local veterans,” Reitz said. “Many trucking companies look to hire veterans, and CTS is taking the initiative to help them. For that, we are very proud.”

The trucks that have been wrapped honor the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. In addition to logging thousands of miles on Midwest roadways, they will be seen in parades across the area this year.

"We are estimated to raise anywhere from $16,000-$18,000 annually," Reitz said on Local 5 This Morning. "The pressure is on our shop, our vendors - that when a truck has an issue, get it fixed quick so we can get it out running so we can make more money for the veterans."

Source of article click here: we are Green Bay

“Something permanent has happened in our economy, and we have to understand that the economy is not growing as rapidly as it used to. There is no sign that trend will reverse itself in the next five years.”

So said Noel Perry, truck and transportation expert for FTR, speaking at the 2016 AmeriQuest Symposium Feb. 11 in Orlando, Fla. Perry told the audience that FTR forecasts 2016 to show the same slow economic growth we saw in 2015.

However, he added, “Although the economy is slow, trucking is strong.” The company’s forecast calls for trucking to grow at about 3.2% for 2016. He told audience members to “stop complaining. This has been a good recovery.”

However, Perry says he is not sure how much longer the recovery will last, and if freight is flat, GDP growth could slow to 1.6%. The main reason for concern is weakness in the manufacturing sector. He believes by 2017 there could be very slow growth. “The risk bias will slowly shift downward as the time frame matures,” he said. “The chance of [conditions] being better than the forecast is less likely the further out you go.”

Yet there are reasons to be optimistic, according to Perry. Savings rates are up, which means consumers are paying down debt. Crude oil prices are way down, with Perry projecting the price for a barrel of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude likely will hit bottom in the next few months before rising back to $30 or $40 a barrel by the end of the year. Consumer expenditures tend to peak late in a recovery, he said, and consumer confidence is still high.

Counting Down to the Next Recession

It is likely that a recession will occur sometime in the next three years, Perry said, noting that only three other recoveries since WWII have lasted longer than the current one. “In your three-year plans, you have to throw in a recession and it will require you to adapt,” Perry told audience members. Volumes and profits levels will go down, but “the stress of the recession causes market innovations and changes. Your competitors will be different than they are today. You, too, need to become more innovative,” he advised.

The world economy is another factor that will likely cause the U.S. economy to go into a recession before 2020. “China is 100% likely to have a recession,” Perry said. He added that China inflates its economic growth rate by 50%, saying the country’s industrial economy is already in a recession. There are also concerns about the economies of Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Greece and Russia.

“The rate of global trade growth has slowed dramatically, so the boost we get from trade will go negative in the next three to four years,” according to Perry.

He believes that there is a 35% probability that the U.S. economy will be flat or in a recession by the end of the year because of global forces.

The increased volatility in the truck market will put pressure on relationships between shippers and carriers. “The ability to form collaborative relationships between carriers and shippers is increasingly going to be a factor in their ability to find excellence in their own business,” Perry said. He believes a flattening of the hierarchy between business partners is going to be important as we go into 2020.

Perry also touched on the struggling energy sector, explaining that the cost of drilling is what sets the price of oil over time. “OPEC is not the arbiter of oil prices, except they control inventories. In the very short term, oil prices are determined by what’s bring produced.”

For the supply and demand of oil to be in equilibrium, 1.5 million barrels a day need to be produced, he said. From 2011 to 2013, production was lower than that, so prices were higher. “Since 2014 we went way over that,” he said. “In 2015 oil production was at 5 million barrels a day.” The extra oil production went into inventory. “When people have inventory they want to get rid of it so they cut the price. It is possible we will go as low as $20 a barrel.”

However, he added that since production has slowed, we are consuming inventory that will not be replaced, meaning prices will go up in the future.

He said $60 to $70 a barrel is the equilibrium point, but “by later this year or early next year we could see oil back at $100 a barrel temporarily. But prices will level out at about $50 a barrel.”

Turning from the economy to trucking specifically, Perry noted that demographics are making it harder and harder for companies to recruit drivers.

“There will not be enough people for you to continue to hire people you have traditionally hired. The growth in the U.S. workforce is approaching zero unless we allow immigration,” Perry said.

In addition, he believes regulatory drag from things such as mandatory electronic logs, speed limiters and the drug and alcohol database will increase the need for drivers. The climax of this regulatory drag will occur in 2018.

“Fleets won’t be able to keep up [with the demand for drivers] and will fall behind unless the economy goes into recession,” Perry says. “In 2018 we will have the mother of all driver shortages.”

He said that there is no surge capacity left in the market. “We can’t even handle a weather crisis and we have a bad weather event every 1.5 years.”

In the long term, Perry said, “We are on the cusp of the biggest event since super highways were built in the 1950. Digital tools have an astonishing impact on the demand for trucks.”

He said digital tools reduce risks, reduce fuel costs, and reduce driver costs. “The result will be a reduction in the demand for drivers by 20% to 30%, and a reduction in the number of vehicles needed to haul freight.”

Many of these technologies are already in use on trucks, with others in prototype stages, and others expected to be mandated. “By 2025 can you imagine FMCSA not requiring automatic braking?” Perry asked the audience.

In concluding his remarks, Perry said, “Market conditions will change radically. The next four years will be about finding capacity without making permanent investments. In 2016 we are on the edge of the precipice.”

Source of article click here: Truckinginfo