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In his recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama talked about supporting a new highway bill, improving truck fuel efficiency, building a natural gas fueling infrastructure and addressing labor shortages. But according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the President did not go far enough. ATA leaders were disappointed Obama did not provide…

As Congress returned from its holiday recess, one of the requests members were greeted with is from the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the nation’s largest trucking association. “This time of year is a good one for self-reflection and analysis,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “We hope our leaders in Washington will take the…

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking an injunction against California’s Air Resources Board (CARB), saying the board’s Truck and Bus Regulation is unconstitutional and discriminates against out-of-state truckers. “CARB has overstepped its bounds by requiring trucks from other states to be upgraded in order to operate…

Blumenauer’s bill is designed to test a pilot of a transportation funding system that would replace the federal gasoline tax and offset expected revenue losses due to alternative fuel vehicles and higher gas mileage performance. Oregon has been a pioneer in mileage-based user fees, conducting several VMT pilots at the state level. The most recent…

With many states looking to increase global exports, the challenge of moving those goods to port remains a real one. In Idaho, for example, wheat, vegetables and dairy products were among the top agricultural exports in 2012, according to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. The products were destined for Canada, Mexico, China and Japan….

NEW YORK – A two-year pilot project recently completed by New York City DOT and U.S. DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) has found that having trucks make nighttime deliveries is an effective way of combating peak hour congestion. The pilot project was funded with a $1.2 million RITA grant with an additional $640,000…

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is planning to conduct a pilot program to study the safety benefits and impacts of increased flexibility in the use of sleeper berth breaks by professional truck drivers. FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro called for proposals last year to see if electronic logs and the latest sleep research could…

The 2015 expansion of the Panama Canal will have an effect on U.S. trucking, according to a report recently released by U.S. DOT’s Maritime Administration (MARAD). The study focuses on the canal expansion’s impacts on ports, waterways and intermodal freight systems. The Panama Canal Expansion Study, the first of a two-part study, found the integration…

With reauthorization of the federal transportation bill looming in 2014, transportation industry leaders are priming the pump for increases in federal funding formulas. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) recently introduced H.R. 3636, which would raise the federal fuel tax by 15 cents. Blumenauer’s bill is consistent with recommendations made by the Simpson-Bowles National Commission on Fiscal…

Commercial truck drivers face a Jan. 30, 2014 deadline to self-certify their operating status and provide NRCME medical examiner certificates to their state driver licensing agencies, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA). FMCSA began requiring CDL holders to identify if they conduct intrastate or interstate commerce and if they hold non-excepted or excepted…