CCJ0817 by dwatson

AUGUST 2017

SPECIAL REPORT: ELDS

IN THE SPOTLIGHT Lights can make, break inspections page 89

CCJ's TECH TOOLBOX

Gaining insight in your fleet page 77

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FOR TRUCKING PROFESSIONALS

What do inspectors want to see?

page 44

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The shape of trucks to come

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AUGUST 2017 | VOL 174 | NO. 8

JOURNAL

THE CCJ TOP 250: NEW DIRECTIONS

Trucking faced a myriad of headwinds in 2016 that resulted in anemic growth in most segments of the industry. Chief among them was a nineyear high in retail inventory-to-sales ratios that led to weak demand from shippers. A contentious presidential election cycle further dampened optimism for business investments, and consumer spending was frozen until the election was over.

LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Cover design by David Watson

FEATURES

Special Report: ELDs and inspections

Running with an e-logs device is one thing. Communicating e-log data to an inspector is quite another. With four months to go, states’ data transfer plans vary widely, and an ambitious federal program remains untested.

News Congress may attempt to alter or delay Dec. 18 ELD mandate … NAS report recom-

CCJ ’s Tech Toolbox: Providing business insights

mends changes to

Motor carriers can use business intelligence technology to create value from data and solve big challenges in the areas of compliance, operations, maintenance, driver performance, safety and more. Fleets can create, mix and match key metrics with visualization tools and drill-down reporting to present a compelling story to users and create accountability.

CSA system … Bill would repeal 12% truck sales tax … DOT nixes speed limiter

mandate, withdraws

In Violation, Part II: Lighting

Inoperable lights account for almost 30 percent of all CSA violations, and they also serve as visible indicators that a truck’s overall maintenance may leave something to be desired, acting as an invitation to inspectors to give the truck a thorough lookover. In CCJ’s second report of a threepart series on “Preventing CSA Vehicle Maintenance Violations,” several equipment experts offer their best practices on lighting maintenance.

sleep apnea rulemaking … Court decision allows Mexican carriers to continue U.S. operations … Walmart tells truckers it may

The right path to follow

drop them if they haul for Amazon

For many companies, route planning and scheduling has become automated, but new technologies are prompting some fleets to look at routing through a more strategic lens. Rather than leave some of the details of route planning to drivers, some forward-thinking carriers now are optimizing an entire trip plan.

10 InBrief 20 MarketPulse

Innovators: Werner Enterprises

The Omaha, Neb.-based truckload giant creates an apprenticeship program for diesel mechanics and finds opportunities to celebrate military veterans to tap into a pool of highly skilled labor.

commercial carrier journal

| august 2017 3

DEPARTMENTS

ccjdigital.com

technology

facebook.com/CCJMagazine @CCJnow linkedin.com/ccjmagazine

Editorial

22 23 23

Electric ‘disruption’ prospects more flip-phone Mack teases new on-highway tractor Number of clean diesel trucks on the road reaches 30%

24 InBrief 26 26 26 28 30

35 36 38 38

DTNA’s new PDC targets supply chain improvements Daimler seeks lower window placement for camera UPS commits to more renewable power by 2025 Weight, aero savings boost International Super Truck Volvo debuts revamped VNL long-haul tractor

32 InFocus: Air spring care

CFOs share financial strategies

editorial@ccjdigital.com

Stay Metrics helps Prime Inc. match drivers, trainers ITI offers 3D site-specific training TDS creates carrier risk analysis report

38 InBrief 40

EBE adds Capture Wizard to CMC mobile app Chevin maintenance software adds multicurrency report

42 InFocus:

Mobile load apps

Paragon adds fuel usage visibility to software

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

107

Tank, tires, load securement tool, more

commercial carrier journal

| august 2017

Upfront

Higher wages could help alleviate driver shortage

116

Preventable or Not?

114

Ad Index

Products

Editor: Jeff Crissey Senior Editor: Aaron Huff Equipment Editor: Jason Cannon Managing Editor: Dean Smallwood News Editor: James Jaillet Associate Editor: Matt Cole Contributing Editor: Todd Dills

A sports car blindly and hastily exited a high-fenced apartment complex only a few yards in front of John Doe’s tractor, leaving Doe with little time to avoid impact. Was this a preventable accident?

Design & Production

Art Director: David Watson Graphic Designer: Kenneth Stubbs Quality Assurance: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Leah Boyd production@ccjdigital.com

Trucking Media

Vice President of Sales, Trucking Media: Brad Holthaus sales@truckingmedia.com

Corporate

Chairman: Mike Reilly President/CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operating Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Russell McEwen Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Business Development: Robert Lake Senior Vice President, Data: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Events: Stacy McCants Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault

3200 Rice Mine Road N.E. Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com Commercial Carrier Journal (ISSN 1533-7502) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Single copy price U.S., $6; Canada/ Mexico, $9; Foreign, $12. Subscription rates, payable in U.S. dollars, $48 per year (in Canada $78 U.S. currency). For subscription information/inquiries, please email commercialcarrierjournal@halldata.com. Periodicals Postage-Paid at Tuscaloosa, AL, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Commercial Carrier Journal, PO Box 2186, Skokie, IL 60076-9919. Unsolicited letters, manuscripts, stories, materials or photographs cannot be returned except where the sender provides a postage-paid, addressed, stamped envelope. Address all mail to Commercial Carrier Journal Editorial Dept., P.O. Box 3187, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403. All advertisers for Commercial Carrier Journal are accepted and published by Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC on the representation that the advertiser and/ or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC harmless from and against any loss, expenses or other liability resulting from any claims or suits for libel violations of right of privacy or publicity, plagiarisms, copyright or trademark, infringement and any other claims or suits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Copyright © 2017, Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Commercial Carrier Journal. is a registered trademark of Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC. Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee regarding the quality of goods and services advertised herein.

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LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Congress may attempt to alter or delay Dec. 18 ELD mandate

bill was filed in the U.S. House last month to delay the compliance date of the federal government’s electronic logging device mandate by two years to December 2019. If enacted, carriers would have two additional years to adopt ELDs. Separately, a panel of House lawmakers issued a report advising the U.S. Department of Transportation to study whether a “full or targeted The House bill also would prohibit states delay” of the ELD mandate for from requiring carriers to pay drivers for small carriers was warranted. meal and rest breaks and nondriving time. The ELD Extension Act of 2017, filed by Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), was introduced July 18 and referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The House report on studying an ELD mandate delay was issued a day earlier, July 17, by the 51-member House Appropriations Committee when it stamped approval on legislation that funds DOT through the 2018 fiscal year. The language in both Babin’s bill and the House committee report are signs that last-ditch efforts to have Congress derail the mandate in full or in part are gaining traction. The push for congressional action comes after the OwnerOperator Independent Drivers Association’s failed attempts to have the mandate overturned in court. Though the DOT funding legislation, if enacted, secures an ELD compliance extension for livestock haulers, it does not offer any broader relief from ELD compliance. The legislation also does not include a requirement that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration perform the study on delaying the mandate. Rather, the direction for the study is included only in a corollary report explaining the legislation and the policy reforms it includes. For now, truckers still must begin using ELDs by Dec. 18. The DOT funding legislation cleared the House committee by a 31-20 vote and was sent to the full House for debate and potential amendments. The House legislation also includes a provision exempting carriers from compliance Scan the QR code with your with state-level laws requiring paid meal smartphone or and rest breaks for drivers, as well as a visit ccjdigital.com/ measure blocking FMCSA from producing news/subscribe-toa Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking newsletters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a daily e-mail newsletuntil reforms are made to its Compliance ter filled with news, analysis, blogs Safety Accountability program. and market condition articles. – James Jaillet

NAS report recommends changes to CSA system

ational Academies of Science researchers issued a congres-

sionally mandated report recommending that the U.S. Department of Transportation overhaul its Compliance Safety Accountability carrier rating system. The report says DOT needs to make CSA’s Safety Measurement System more fair and accurate in assessing motor carriers’ safety risk, and that the data used to create the rankings is in need of “immediate attention.” Key recommendations from the report, made public June 27, include: • Reconfiguring the SMS statistical model – the percentile ranking used to target carriers for intervention – with an “item response theory” (IRT) model that targets at-risk carriers more accurately; • Making the scoring system more transparent and easier for carriers to replicate and understand; and • Departing from using relative metrics as the sole means for targeting carriers.

commercial carrier journal

– James Jaillet

| august 2017 9

JOURNAL NEWS

INBRIEF 8/17 • Heartland Express (CCJ Top 250, No. 28) last month acquired 100 percent of the outstanding stock of Interstate Distributor Co. (No. 74 last year) from Saltchuk Resources for $113 million. Interstate provides primarily dry van truckload services, including local, regional, dedicated and transcontinental offerings, in the Western and Southeastern United States. The company generated about $325 million in total revenue in 2016. Heartland, based in North Liberty, Iowa, said that Interstate’s headquarters in Tacoma, Wash., and its terminal network overlap with existing Heartland locations and will be consolidated. Interstate’s fleet includes about 1,350 company tractors, 220 tractors supplied by independent contractors and 4,700 trailers.

ROTELLA ROUNDUP

The 411on10W-30 By Dan Arcy, Shell Lubricants

Many fleets are switching to 10W-30 engine oils from traditional 15W-40 oils. The reason is fuel economy. Thinner viscosities mean the engine doesn’t have to work as hard and uses less fuel. Think of it like swimming through honey vs. water. Honey is thicker than water, so more energy is used to move through it. The same goes for an engine’s moving parts. A 15W-40 oil requires more energy to move through it whereas 10W-30 oil produces less drag on your engine.

• Daseke Inc. (CCJ Top 250, No. 37), a consolidator and owner of North American flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics solutions, announced a merger that added The Steelman Companies – Daseke’s third merger in two months. Steelman, which generated $46 million in revenue and $7 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2016, includes flatbed and heavyhaul provider Steelman Transportation and specialty hauler Group One. Daseke now is comprised of 12 companies with over 3,600 trucks and over 7,500 flatbed and specialized trailers.

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• XPO Logistics (CCJ Top 250, No. 4) is eyeing additional acquisition targets in North America and Europe, according to CEO Brad Jacobs, who didn’t name any companies specifically. The Teamsters union blasted XPO’s plan to expand operations and increase its debt. XPO in recent years has made some major additions, including the $3 billion purchase of Con-way and all of its subsidiary companies in 2015. XPO last year sold off Con-way’s truckload business, but it retained that company’s brokerage and less-than-truckload operations.

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• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration denied a 30-minute break exemption request from Transco Inc., which operates through McLane Co. and wanted its drivers to be able to use unloading time at grocery stores and restaurants to meet the requirements for the mandated break. The

Comments, questions or ideas? Email us at RotellaRoundup@JWT.com

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| august 2017 6/15/17 1:49 PM

agency said the 30-minute break is “especially important” for Transco drivers because they accumulate fatigue from both unloading freight and driving. • FMCSA embarked on its ELD Implementation National Tour featuring driver-focused presentations and panel discussions to help carriers and drivers comply with the Dec. 18 federal electronic logging device mandate. The remaining stops are Aug. 24-26, Great American Trucking Show, Dallas; Sept. 25-27, North American Commercial Vehicle Show, Atlanta; Oct. 14-15, California Trucking Show, Ontario; Oct. 21-24, American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition, Orlando, Fla.; and Nov. 6-8, Women in Trucking Accelerate! Conference & Expo, Kansas City, Mo. • Nearly 2,000 trucks across the United States and Canada were placed out-ofservice during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s unannounced Brake Safety Day on May 3. CVSA inspectors in 33 U.S. states and 10 Canadian provinces conducted 9,524 inspections during the one-day enforcement blitz. Of the 1,989 trucks placed out-of-service for various violations, 1,146 of them were parked for brake-related violations. During the event, 4,635 trucks were identified as requiring ABS, and 8 percent (or 391) had ABS violations. • A Senate bill would disqualify truck drivers from holding a commercial driver’s license permanently if they’ve been convicted of a human trafficking offense. The No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act would institute a lifetime CDL ban on those “who [use] a commercial motor vehicle in committing a felony involving an act of practice [in violation of] the Trafficking Victims Protection Act,” according to the bill’s text. The legislation is part of a two-bill package sponsored by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and introduced in the Senate’s Commerce Committee. • The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved a 6 percent increase for both E-ZPass and cash customers effective Jan. 7, 2018. The increase will see the most common toll for a Class 8 truck increase from $23.60 to $25.01 for E-ZPass and from $33.10 to $35.08 for cash. The annual increases of 3 to 6 percent for the Turnpike are expected to continue through 2044.

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JOURNAL NEWS

Bill would repeal 12% truck sales tax

U While several bills have targeted the FET in the past few years, none have gained enough traction to get the 12-percent tax removed from the truck’s sticker price.

14 Untitled-31 1

commercial carrier journal

.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) last month introduced a bill that seeks to repeal the federal excise tax on the retail sale of most heavy-duty trucks, tractors and trailers. Bills similar to H.R. 2946, “Heavy Truck, Tractor and Trailer Retail

Federal Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2017,” have been introduced over the past several years, with none gaining enough traction to get the 12-percent tax removed from the truck’s sticker price. LaMalfa’s bill now heads to the House Ways and Means Committee. “The excessive 12-percent federal excise tax on heavy trucks adds tens of thousands of dollars to truck purchases and directly impacts the cost of food, consumer goods and other products Americans need,” LaMalfa said. “Even worse, truck owners large and small pay this tax whether a truck is driven 100,000 miles or never driven at all, forcing them to pay taxes on an investment that may not be generating any revenue.” LaMalfa’s legislation has the support of the American Truck Dealers, which represents more than 1,800 U.S. commercial truck sellers. The group hosted its annual legislative fly-in to Washington, D.C., to rally congressional support for the bill. “The 12-percent federal excise tax on heavy-duty trucks is the highest percentage rate of any federal excise tax that Congress levies, and it adds $12,000 to $22,000 to the price of a new heavy-duty truck,” said Steve Parker, ATD chairman and president of Baltimore Potomac Truck Centers. “The FET depresses new heavy-duty truck sales and delays the deployment of cleaner, safer and more fuel-efficient trucks.” LaMalfa said repealing the truck tax will help small businesses invest in new equipment and jump-start domestic manufacturing while also reforming an outdated tax code. The FET originally was imposed in 1917 to help defray the cost of World War I. The tax has grown from 3 percent, when it was incorporated into the Highway Trust Fund in 1955, to 12 percent today. – Jason Cannon

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JOURNAL NEWS

DOT nixes speed limiter mandate, withdraws sleep apnea rulemaking not enough information available to support moving forward with a rulemaking action, and so the rulemaking will be withdrawn,” DOT’s report reads. – James Jaillet

Despite hot action in recent years on a speed limiter mandate, DOT has moved the rulemaking to a long-term agenda item.

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he U.S. Department of Transportation, as expected under the Trump administration, last month signaled it would not continue to pursue a rulemaking to mandate the use of speed limiters in the trucking industry – at least any time soon. In its latest biannual update to its regulatory calendar, DOT moved the speed limiter mandate, which was issued as a proposed rulemaking last September, to a long-term agenda item and away from the active rulemakings list. Given the erosion of industry support for a speed limiter rule over the past year and the Trump administration’s reluctance to implement new regulations, industry stakeholders assumed the Trump DOT would drop or stall the speed limiter rulemaking. Last month’s update to the DOT calendar confirmed those expectations. The DOT report also marked the ongoing sleep apnea screening rulemaking as withdrawn sometime in June, though the report didn’t specify a date. The rulemaking regarding sleep apnea screening for truck operators would have established the protocol for which truck drivers would be required to be tested for obstructive sleep apnea during the medical certification process. DOT did not indicate when it would attempt to pursue such a rule, if at all. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Medical Advisory Board last year issued recommendations to guide the agency in developing a sleep apnea rule. DOT’s report, however, appears to have put an end to such efforts. “FMCSA has determined there is

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JOURNAL NEWS

Court decision allows Mexican carriers to continue U.S. operations

federal court last month dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Teamsters Union challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s cross-border trucking program. FMCSA in January 2015 opened the U.S. operating authority application process to all Mexican carriers. The Teamsters’ lawsuit, filed in March 2015, alleged FMCSA didn’t generate enough inspection data during its three-year crossborder trucking pilot program to make a proper determination about expanding it. The OwnerOperator Independent Drivers Association sided with the union as an intervenor in the lawsuit, backing the Teamsters’ claim about a lack of data.

A panel of judges on the 9th Circuit, however, said FMCSA has the law-given discretion to grant operating authority to Mexican carriers despite concerns over data. FMCSA’s pilot program, held between 2011 and 2014, was implemented to gather data to gauge the safety of Mexican carriers. The agency said before the program began that it would need 46 participating carriers to make an accurate safety determination about Mexican cross-border operations. However, only 15 carriers signed up for the program, and inspection data was lacking because of the subpar participation, according to a review report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General. The report

Mexican carriers in the cross-border program are required to pass a PreAuthorization Safety Audit and abide by all U.S. regulations.

opened the door for the Teamsters’ court challenge. DOT argues it was required by the North American Free Trade Agreement to open the application process to Mexican carriers. The policy ends the roughly $2 billion in tariffs imposed on U.S. exports to Mexico as a retaliatory measure for not complying with NAFTA obligations. – James Jaillet

Walmart tells truckers it may drop them if they haul for Amazon

almart’s logistics arm, which encompasses both the retailer’s private fleet and transportation outsourced to for-hire carriers, has started telling carriers it may opt against doing business with them if they do business with Amazon, according to a transportation analyst. Satish Jindel, head of SJ Consulting of Pittsburgh, said he’s heard from several carrier executives in recent weeks that Walmart has relayed such a message to them. Walmart isn’t explicitly telling its contracted carriers not to do business with Amazon, Jindel said. Rather, the company is saying “if they are doing business with Amazon, then [Walmart] may choose not to do business with them,” he said. The carriers aren’t the largest fleets

commercial carrier journal

but instead are carriers in the 100- to 300-truck range, Jindel said. Though Walmart and Amazon in recent years have entered into a battle for online retail dollars, Walmart’s message to carriers could be more pragmatic than antagonistic. Jindel said one of Walmart’s chief concerns is freight cyclicality and securing trucking capacity to move during busy seasons. “The genuine concern is that when [Walmart] needs 30 trucks from a company, that they get those 30 trucks instead of losing out because they are [working] for Amazon,” he said. The company is “protecting its ability to get capacity when they need it.” The practice isn’t unique to Walmart’s trucking operations,

| august 2017

Though Walmart and Amazon are battling for online retail dollars, Walmart’s message to carriers could be more pragmatic than antagonistic.

Jindel said. The company has told other suppliers that if they work with Amazon, particularly if they leverage Amazon’s cloud storage business, that’s an invitation to be dropped by Walmart. The cloud storage concerns are based on Walmart’s proprietary data passing through or being stored on Amazon servers. “I don’t want that information in the hands of my competitors,” Jindel said. – James Jaillet

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PRODUCT REVIEWS, OEM & SUPPLIER NEWS AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT TRENDS

BY JASON CANNON

Toyota’s “Project Portal” test this summer involves hydrogen-electric technology in drayage operations at Los Angeles-area ports.

Electric tractor dreams

‘Disruption’ prospects more flip-phone than iPhone

couple of years ago, you probably were inundated by the sheer volume of headlines proclaiming natural gas as trucking’s great

disruptor. Then diesel prices – the ultimate disruptor – dropped and have held under $3 per gallon for more than a year. One of my Facebook friends recently posted a query, asking his friends to share words that bother them. DISLIKED WORD: “Disrupt” is overused and often misapplied in the trucking industry. ELECTRICITY BOOM: We’re seeing the resurgence of one of fossil fuel’s oldest rivals. TOO HEAVY: Batteries might wipe out 30 percent of a payload just to offset their weight.

commercial carrier journal

| august 2017

As I sat there and read the comments where people listed their least favorite words – such as “deplane,” “gullet,” “meat” and “moist” – I thought long and hard about what words really rub me the wrong way. I could come up with only one: “disrupt,” which is overused and often misapplied in this industry. A decade ago this month, Steve Jobs and his iPhone changed how the world communicates and accelerated the exodus of the landline from many U.S. homes. Now that’s disruptive. The pace of innovation in trucking always is going to ebb and flow with the price of every fleet’s single largest expense, but with diesel prices at their lowest point in more than a decade, we’re seeing the resurgence of one of fossil fuel’s oldest rivals: Electricity. Navigant Research says electric vehicles already make up more than 3 percent of all new vehicle sales, and that could grow to nearly 7 percent by 2020. In September, Elon Musk is expected to debut his electric semi-tractor – about 127 years after William Morrison debuted the first electric car in the United States. While we’ve been down this electrified path before, the biggest difference between then and now is that technological advancements have

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Technological advancements have made electric tractors more viable. made pieces of it more viable. Morrison’s six-passenger electrified wagon featured a top-speed of 14 mph. Tesla’s Model S will hit 60 mph from a dead stop in 2.5 seconds. The kind of electric technology needed for a heavy-duty tractor is already here. What’s not yet ready for prime time is the power supply – banks of payload-zapping batteries. Tesla’s Model S weighs just south of 5,000 pounds. A conventional large Toyota Camry weighs in at about 1,500 pounds less.For a passenger car that weighs about as much as a King Cab F-150 pickup, a 30 percent uptick in curb weight is no big deal. For a combination unit that shouldn’t weigh more than 80,000 pounds, it’s fairly significant. If you wipe out 30 percent of your payload just to offset battery weight, that’s disruptive in your ability to cover your payroll and pay your bills. Thanks to a lower center of gravity coming from the low-slung battery bank, a Tesla handles and corners better than probably any car you’ll ever drive. But that’s hardly important to drivers dragging a 53foot trailer around the highway. The idea of an electric tractor always has been sold on the idea of cutting out fuel costs to deliver a faster payback, but leaving almost a third of your load on the dock isn’t an efficient way to bank those bucks. And I’m willing to bet that all that added on-demand torque is going to stress a tire budget. Trucking has spent much of the last 10 years getting lighter, implementing everything from wide-base tires to aluminum wheels and replacing 15-liter engines with 13- and even 11-liter versions. An electric truck, almost by its very nature, takes us in the opposite direction. The work being done in the electric truck space is important and almost certainly will lead to advancements that can be used across a host of applications, even if you never drive an electric tractor. However, in the century-long fight for mobility as far as electric trucks are concerned, I think we’re looking at an innovation such as the Motorola StarTAC – the world’s first flip-style mobile phone – and not a major game-changing iPhone-like disruption. JASON CANNON is Equipment Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jcannon@randallreilly.com or call (205) 248-1175.

Mack Trucks’ campaign features sneakpeek photos and videos of a tractor the company is expected to debut in September.

Mack teases new on-highway tractor

ack Trucks last month launched a campaign featuring sneak-peek photos and videos of a tractor the company is expected to debut in September. Visitors to Mack’s dedicated website can sign up to receive notifications as new content is posted, as well as to claim an invitation to watch the launch of the new product via a live video stream on Sept. 13. Two hashtags have been set to capture reactions from fans and customers. Social media posts with the hashtags #NewMack and #MackComfort will be collected and displayed on each landing page to highlight reactions to the new truck. – Jason Cannon

Number of clean diesel trucks on the road reaches 30%

rucks equipped with clean diesel engines and advanced emissions control systems make up 30 percent of all trucks on the road, according to research by the Diesel Technology Forum. The national average – nearly 3 million trucks – is up from 25.7 percent last year. “Over a five-year period, the newest-generation commercial vehicles have saved 4.2 billion gallons of diesel fuel and reduced 43 million tons of carbon dioxide, 21 million tons of nitrogen oxides and 1.2 million tons of particulate matter,” said Allen Schaeffer, DTF executive director. A Class 8 tractor-trailer powered by the latest-generation clean diesel engine will save the owner 960 gallons of fuel each year relative to the previous generation of technology, Schaeffer said. – Jason Cannon

commercial carrier journal

august 2017

INBRIEF • Daimler Trucks North America recalled about 1,550 severe-duty Freightliner trucks for a missing check valve that could cause the trucks to apply the parking brakes without warning. Affected trucks include 2015-17 108SD, 114SD and Business Class M2 models built between Dec. 16, 2014, and April 27, 2017. DTNA will notify truck owners beginning Aug. 24. The recall number is FL-740.

• Ryder System Inc., a provider of commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation and supply chain solutions, launched a new preventive maintenance program for its Pre-Owned Vehicle purchasers, providing them with added flexibility to finance or prepay for the preventive maintenance service they select when they purchase a Ryder preowned vehicle. • Kenworth’s T680, T880 and T880S models

now are available with Cummins Westport’s 8.9-liter ISL G Near Zero NOx emissions natural gas engine rated at 320 hp and 1,000 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine features advanced engine calibration, a maintenance-free threeway catalyst aftertreatment system and a closed crankcase ventilation system. • Wabco extended its long-term supply agreement with Daimler Trucks for new heavy-duty automated manual transmission control technology on Freightliner, Fuso, Western Star, Mercedes-Benz and BharatBenz units. • Penske Logistics was selected to support Detroit Diesel Corp.’s engine, transmission and axle supply chain operations in Redford, Mich. Penske will provide warehousing and dedicated contract carriage services for the inbound portion of Detroit’s operations, which includes sequencing and kitting. On the outbound logistics side, Penske will manage a NAFTA consolidation center.

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• Penske Truck Leasing entered into an agreement to acquire Richmond, Va.-based Old Dominion Truck Leasing; financial terms were not disclosed. Old Dominion serves about 360 customers in diverse industry sectors from 11 locations in five states, offering full-service truck leasing, truck rental, contract fleet maintenance and dedicated contract carriage. The acquisition adds about 1,400 trucks, tractors and trailers to Penske’s fleet. • The Timken Co., a provider of engineered bearings and mechanical power transmission products, acquired Groeneveld Group, a provider of automatic lubrication solutions for on- and off-highway applications, for about $280 million. Groeneveld Group also has a telematics business, Groeneveld ICT, which provides solutions for truck fleet operators. • Hyundai Translead now offers the Bendix ADB22X-LT air disc brake from Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake. The ADB22X-LT features the Bendix BX276 brake pad. • Accuride Corp. made its ProFinish steel wheel refinishing service available to the commercial vehicle aftermarket. ProFinish, which operates from Accuride’s steel wheel production facility in Henderson, Ky., carries a 12-month warranty against rust damage. • Bridgestone HosePower acquired Fittings Inc., a Seattle-based hydraulic and industrial hose sales and service company. The acquisition brings Bridgestone HosePower to 40 U.S. locations and one in Mexico.

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commercial carrier journal

| august 2017

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• Aperia Technologies, a provider of tire inflation devices for tractors and trailers, announced that Lithonia, Ga.-based Brown Integrated Logistics made its Halo Tire Inflator a standard specification on all of its new and existing power units.

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DTNA opens new PDC, targets supply chain improvements

aimler Trucks North America opened its latest parts distribution center in Whitestown, Ind., to serve dealers and service locations in the region with next-day parts delivery. DTNA also announced breaking ground on a second PDC in Grimes, Iowa, to serve customers in the Midwest region. The Whitestown PDC opened last month, and the Grimes location is expected to begin operation in late 2017

The completion of the 275,000-square-foot Whitestown PDC is DTNA’s latest investment in its 2013 promise to improve customer service.

or early 2018. When both are fully operational, the two facilities will stock more than $15 million of inventory and 20,000 product SKUs. As part of DTNA's strategy to optimize its PDC footprint, it will shutter its Chicago PDC in the near future. The completion of the 275,000square-foot Whitestown PDC is DTNA’s latest investment in its 2013 promise to improve customer service by creating a supply chain network that

Daimler seeks lower window placement for camera

aimler Trucks North America is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to allow it to mount its attention assist and lane departure warning system camera lower on the windshield than is permitted by DTNA is asking FMCSA to allow it to mount an attention federal regulations. assist and lane departure warning system camera lower The camera Daimler wants than currently permitted. to mount on its trucks is about 7 inches tall, but regulations require vehicle safety technologies to be mounted no more than 4 inches below the upper edge of the area swept by windshield wipers. DTNA says it wants to mount the camera in the center of the top of the windshield, outside of driver sight lines. During testing in which 50 commercial driver’s license holders drove more than 900,000 miles with prototype camera housings mounted, drivers said “there was no noticeable obstruction to the normal sight lines to the road ahead, highway signs, signals or any mirrors,” according to DTNA’s exemption request. To view public comments on DTNA’s exemption request, go to Regulations.gov and search Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0176. – Matt Cole 26

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| august 2017

provides next-day parts delivery. DTNA’s goal for its aftermarket group is to supply next-day parts delivery to 90 percent of its dealer and service location network. At present, DTNA provides next-day parts to 60 percent of its network. With the two new locations, as well as the Dallas PDC facility that opened last year, that number will increase to better than 75 percent by yearend, the company said. – Jeff Crissey

UPS commits to more renewable power by 2025

PS announced new sustainability goals to add more alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles to its fleet while increasing its reliance on renewable energy sources. The company said the tighter goals support its commitment to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions from global ground operations by 12 percent by 2025. UPS has a goal that 25 percent of the electricity it consumes will come from renewable energy sources by 2025, an increase from 0.2 percent in 2016. By 2020, UPS plans that one in four new vehicles purchased annually will be an alternative fuel or advanced technology vehicle, up from 16 percent in 2016. The company also set a new goal that by 2025, 40 percent of all ground fuel will be from sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel, an increase from 19.6 percent in 2016. UPS already uses millions of gallons of lower-carbon-footprint renewable diesel and renewable natural gas in its fleet each year. These initiatives reinforce the company’s commitment to reducing its environmenUPS operates more than tal impact despite growth in 8,300 alternative fuel and e-commerce deliveries, which advanced technology veare driving up energy used to hicles worldwide, includoperate facilities and power its ing compressed natural gas-powered tractors. vehicle fleet. – Jason Cannon

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Great gains Savings on weight and aerodynamics give International’s Super Truck high yields on efficiency BY JASON CANNON

he only thing more eye-popping than the aesthetics of Navistar’s CatalIST Super Truck project is its $7 million price tag, but that’s only a small part of the $40 million spent on the joint project with the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE’s goal for its Super Truck projects with truck makers is to boost freight efficiency, a combination of equipment weight reduction and improved fuel efficiency, by 50 percent. Navistar says its CatalIST obliterated that target with a 104 percent improvement. “Freight efficiency is literally how much freight X miles per gallon at 65,000 pounds GVW,” says Navistar’s chief engineer of advanced vehicle technologies, Dean Oppermann, a man who’d be listed as CatalIST’s father if the truck had a birth certificate. Shedding weight To reduce the rig’s weight, Oppermann and his team shaved 2,000 pounds off the trailer, but added 1,500 pounds back through aerodynamic devices such as slotted skirts, a boat tail, gap treatment and 48-volt solar panels. Aluminum landing gear and lightweight axles helped shed pounds, as did the thinner DuraPlate walls on the Wabash trailer. Working with an LT tractor, the team pulled out 2,300 pounds. The skirts and hood are carbon-fiber, and the wedgeshape cab is a carbon-fiber skin over a 28

commercial carrier journal

The performance of International’s CatalIST more than doubled the goal of boosting freight efficiency by 50 percent.

steel structure. The windows and windshield are polycarbonate, which is lighter and stronger than glass. Super-single tires and aluminum tanks round out most of the 2,800 pounds deleted from CatalIST, improving freight efficiency 8 percent. Aerodynamic design In designing the trailer, Oppermann added a boat tail that extends well below the underride guard and acts as an extension of the skirts at the rear of the truck. A full-width reinforced carbon-fiber bogie treatment acts like a boat’s hull under the trailer, separating the airflow coming into the trailer axles. CatalIST’s segmented Wabash trailer skirts flare inward as they reach the end of the trailer. The reduced aerodynamic benefit resulting from the slotted skirt, Oppermann says, is offset by the skirts being lighter and having other advantages, such as having segments that can be replaced individually when damaged. At full height, the skirts ride well above curb level, so they’re not easily deformed. The trailer’s aerodynamic improvements reduced drag by more than 30 percent. CatalIST completely shed its mirrors, which slashed aerodynamic drag and wind noise and improved side visibility. Mirrors were replaced with exterior cameras and interior pillar-mounted monitors. Oppermann says most drivers who’ve

| august 2017

tested the truck say it takes them about 20 miles to fully adapt to using the monitors. I got the hang of it in less than that. The wraparound windshield design provides excellent visibility of traffic. The polycarbonate windshield also allowed designers to keep airflow attached to the truck longer as it comes over the A-pillar. During my drive around Chicagoland, when rain droplets hit the windshield, they barely moved. The ones that did were forced left or right by air crossing the windshield rather than straight up, as expected. A side effect of keeping the air close to the truck around the A-pillar is additional noise reduction. With the truck at freeway speed, there was no noticeable change in tone when I rolled down the window. I didn’t even have to raise my voice to account for wind noise, because there was none. Another distinct feature: An air-overleaf suspension drops the front of the truck and rear of the trailer for an airfoil shape – picture the cross-section of an airplane wing – across the top of the combination when it hits 50 mph. “On the expressway, you’re not expecting to see curbs or bumps, so having it as low as possible is a good thing,” Oppermann says, “On the expressway, when it’s most important, you have basically a leaf-spring feel – a little bit firmer – that our customers like.” When the truck drops to 35 mph, the

bags reinflate. “We want that ride height to come up, because you’re going to hit curbs or potholes, and what happens is now you get a little softer feel, which is exactly what you want, because when you hit curbs, you don’t want it to be jarring your vehicle,” Oppermann says. “It’s a little bit the best of both worlds.” That happens with no input from the driver, and you can’t necessarily feel it while it’s happening. But you notice it when it’s complete, as the driver’s seat feels ever so slightly tilted forward. Using a 6x2 axle was low-hanging fruit in terms of boosting fuel efficiency, and Oppermann’s team addressed traction concerns with load biasing. At lower speeds, the load is biased on the drive axle by taking the air out of the tag suspension. The opposite happens on the expressway; at 50 mph, when ride height changes, the weight is biased to the tag axle to take advantage of its lower rolling resistance. All of this happens without the driver feeling that it’s taking place. CatalIST’s engine is a base International A26 attached to a 10-speed direct-drive automated manual transmission. A 1:91 rear axle ratio – the tallest rear axle ratio ever used in this type of application – keeps cruising rpms low, saving more fuel. “What that means is this vehicle basically cruises at 65 mph at around 1,000 rpm,” Oppermann says.

While every Class 8 OEM produced a Super Truck under the DOE program, CatalIST is the only one that completely shed its mirrors, relying instead on cameras.

The package of weight savings and improved aerodynamics gives the truck an effortless and slippery feel on the road. The lack of wind resistance translates into a reduced need for power that’s noticeable by simply peeking at the tachometer. Advanced electrical system A 24-volt supercapacitor supports the truck’s stop-start function. I’ve driven cars with this feature, but it’s an eerie feeling to sit at a stoplight and feel your heavy-duty truck shut off. CatalIST also has a 48-volt kinetic energy recovery system. A 15kW motor generator mounted to the engine captures energy when the service brakes or engine brake is applied, while a pneumatic kinetic energy recovery system tops off the air tanks. “We do that to try and minimize the amount of time that the air compressor is on when the engine is being fueled,” Oppermann says. CatalIST has achieved fuel efficiency of 13 mpg. Gone is a more typical mechanical HVAC compressor mounted to the engine and a no-idle sleeper unit. Equipped with the 48-volt system and with electric energy at its disposal, the entire HVAC system was converted to fully-electric. “That’s important because when the engine shuts off, it won’t affect the interior of the vehicle,” Oppermann says.

Predictive cruise CatalIST employs an advanced predictive cruise control that analyzes the upcoming terrain and continuously calculates the most efficient speed and gear for optimal fuel economy. “If we know that a hill is coming in the future, we can support that by preconditioning the engine,” Oppermann says. “We can speed up the water pump and bring that temperature down, knowing that it’s going to rise as we approach that hill, and minimize the amount on fan on-time.” While a radiator fan may sound like an insignificant efficiency feature beyond keeping fluids at a cool operating temperature, that’s hardly the case. CatalIST will cruise at 65 mph using only 80 hp. Yet turning on a fan for a 13-liter engine can consume an extra 50 to 70 hp, depending on engine speed. “You’d basically be doubling the amount of horsepower you need [to run the fan], so you want to minimize that activity,” Oppermann says. In CatalIST’s fuel economy runs held in near-100-degree weather, the fan never came on. The likelihood of seeing a production-model CatalIST is something south of zero percent, but there are many potential gains to be made by bringing to market production-viable components from this rolling proving ground.

Segmented Wabash skirts, which flare inward as they reach the end of the trailer, helped reduce drag by more than 30 percent. commercial carrier journal

august 2017

Volvo debuts revamped VNL long-haul tractor Makes driver assist system standard BY JEFF CRISSEY

olvo introduced the first major overhaul of its flagship long-haul model, the VNL, since the VN model was introduced in 1996. The truck is “infused with new innovations and technologies,” said Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North America, during the unveiling at Volvo’s New River Valley manufacturing facility in Dublin, Va. The new VNL shares many design cues with its VNR regional-haul sibling that was introduced in April to replace the VNM. The VNL will be available in five cab configurations, including daycab, 40-inch flat-roof, 70-inch mid-roof and 70- and 77-inch high-roof options. “For 19 years, the VNL 670 was the volume leader in our long-haul segment,” said Jason Spence, Volvo Trucks product marketing manager – long haul. “Moving forward, that 61-inch high-roof sleeper will be replaced by the [70-inch] VNL 760, which will be our new high-volume long-haul model.” The VNL’s new design gives the truck a distinctive broad stance with lines that taper inward from the roof fairing and through the hood, grille and bumper. Character lines extending from the bumper and continuing over the hood and down the sides of the cab and trailer fairings add to the truck’s curb appeal and aid in aerodynamic performance. The tractor will be available in three different fuel economy packages capable of delivering a 7.5 percent improvement over the current Volvo VNL XE fuel-efficiency spec. The powertrain improvements account for 6.5 percent fuel efficiency: 5.5 percent from a turbocompound option for the D13 engine, available in 2018, and 1 percent from a 30

commercial carrier journal

Volvo’s new VNL long-haul tractor can deliver up to a 7.5 percent fuel economy improvement over the current VNL XE fuel-efficiency spec.

2.47:1 rear axle ratio. Aerodynamic improvements add 1 percent fuel economy. Those aerodynamic upgrades include new chassis and roof fairings, repositioned air intakes to reduce turbulence and an aggressively sloped hood and tapered fenders that help channel airflow from the front to the sides. Spence said the company considered input from focus groups and thousands of driver surveys when making design improvements, resulting in “the most comfortable driver-friendly environment we’ve ever built.” The Position Perfect steering wheel Volvo introduced on the VNR also will be available in the VNL. The three-way positioning system allows the steering wheel to tilt up to 20 degrees in relation to the column, as well as traditional column tilt and telescope movements. The steering wheel has 21 buttons, providing more driver control without hands leaving the wheel.

| august 2017

Position Perfect allows the smallest and largest drivers “the ability to make the adjustments for better visibility and to be more comfortable,” said Spence. Also like the VNR, seven seat options will be available for order independent of the three trim level packages selected. The steering wheel also has 21 buttons that allow the driver to navigate the new 5-inch color LCD driver information display, answer and end hands-free phone calls, engage cruise control functions and more. Previously, many of these controls were on a stalk mounted behind the steering wheel, requiring drivers to remove a hand from the wheel to operate them.

“We brought those controls to the front because the interface that the driver has today with the vehicle is much more than what it was 20 years ago,” said Spence. The driver information display home page also is configurable, allowing the driver to select which gauge data and information they want displayed, including battery voltage, fuel economy average, average speed, engine temperature and more. Bunk options include a dinette/work station and a reclining bunk that was introduced on the Volvo FH in Europe that allows the driver to sit up in bed while relaxing or watching television. The cabin control panel has been relocated to the rear cab wall, allowing the driver easier access to lighting, audio and cabin temperature controls. Volvo also added a door lock/unlock switch and panic button. A new blue LED ambient lighting option is available for cab illumination, puddle lamps and accent lighting throughout the cabin interior. All new VNL models except the VNL 760 will be in production in September; the VNL 760 enters production in November. The truck maker also is making its Volvo Active Driver Assist system

standard on all new VNL models. The radar- and camera-based system developed by Bendix combines forward collision warnings and active braking on moving and stationary objects. A new heads-up windshield display alert warns the driver before automatically engaging brake functions.

Drivers can customize the information shown on the 5-inch driver information display.

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commercial carrier journal

august 2017

in focus: AIR SPRING CARE

Tips for maintaining a smoother ride BY JASON CANNON

n air spring suspension provides a better ride quality than its steel spring counterpart, but it isn’t quite as bulletproof when it comes to wear and tear. Air springs should be inspected at every preventive maintenance interval or when a system air leak is detected. They need to be checked visually for any splits, cuts and deformities in the flex member, and for cracks or missing portions of the lower piston. Steve Berry, global field service director for Hendrickson, said any “checking” – small cracks formed when molecules of ozone gas react with rubber compounds – can be dismissed as a natural occurrence on the flex member’s rubber face. When ozone attacks the rubber, it frequently causes discoloration and small surface cracks – a condition that’s especially prevalent in hot urban environments. Ozone cracking is different from an abrasion, which typically would be isolated to a particular area – as opposed to consistent along the spring’s circumference – and should be addressed immediately, said Mark Hilburger, Firestone Industrial Products marketing director. Road grime Because of their position under the truck, air springs can accumulate seasons of road grime and sludge. While there are no specific guidelines for routine washing, a good practice is to wash the entire suspension after winter, Berry said. “This will remove the caustic chemicals used for snow removal from all the components, preventing premature corrosion damage,” he said. “If an air spring flex member is exposed to petroleum-based products, the affected area should be thoroughly cleaned with a mild detergent. This will prevent softening or rotting of the rubber.” When washing the rubber, it’s best to use a mix of soap and water, avoiding organic solvents, pressure washing or steam, all of which could cause damage, Hilburger said. “Wiping the flex member clean with this solution and clearing any debris from between the flex member and piston will help prolong the life,” said David Brinkman, Stemco’s air spring segment business leader. Proper inflation Among the keys in getting the most life from your air 32

commercial carrier journal

| august 2017

Air springs should be inspected visually for splits, cuts, deformities and cracks at every preventive maintenance interval or when a system air leak is detected.

spring is keeping them inflated. “Drivers sometimes dump the air out of the system to get under certain dock conditions,” Hilburger said. “When they drive away [before allowing the system to fully reinflate], everything is now compressed on itself, depending on parking conditions of the truck or trailer. That causes issues – being pinched on the suspension.” Bad shocks also can shorten the life of air springs, which rely on the shock to limit their range of travel. Shock absorbers should be checked for signs of leaking hydraulic fluid, broken end connections, worn bushings or cylinders and overextension. “Periodically, check the suspension for proper ride height,” Brinkman said, adding that the height control valve should be inspected to see that it is functioning properly and should be cleaned or replaced as needed. “The dimension should be maintained plus or minus a quarter of an inch to protect the air springs and shocks from overextension or frequent bottoming out of the suspension,” he said. Replacement likely Steel springs under proper conditions can last the life of the truck, but air springs likely will need to be replaced at least once on extended ownership cycles depending on the application. An air spring’s life can be determined by measuring the pressure needed to achieve design height. According to ContiTech, when installing a new air spring, the pressure gauge rating when the vehicle is idle should be noted. The rating should be checked periodically. When the pressure rating increases by 15 percent to achieve design height when the truck is idle, the air spring should be replaced, ContiTech said.

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MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF

A day in the books CFOs share financial strategies

n June 29, chief financial officers from trucking and logistics companies met in Chicago to discuss topics that ranged from mergers and acquisitions to taxes, financial reporting and business intel-

ligence. The CFO conference was organized by McLeod Software. One speaker, Dwight Lloyd, shared his vision to create profitand-loss statements for every truck and driver at his company. “Our ultimate goal is to put together a P&L for a truck based on the driver,” said Lloyd, controller for PS Logistics, a Birmingham, Ala.-based company that operates more than 2,000 trucks. “If you want to manage your day-to-day business, you want to know what is going on by truck.” Lloyd noted some roadblocks in this effort, one being different cost-per-mile calculations. The company uses two types of mileage records from its McLeod system: “empty” miles for truck movements to its shippers, and “loaded” miles from shippers to consignees. Analyzing tractor and driver fuel costs per mile is not as simple as dividing total gallons FINANCIAL DIALOGUE: Fleet purchased by total CFO topics ranged from mergers dispatch miles for and acquisitions to taxes, reportempty and loaded, ing and BI. he said. PS Logistics COMPREHENSIVE P&L: Experts also considers miles discussed creating profit-and-loss driven “outside the statements for every truck and McLeod system,” driver. Lloyd said, such as GOOD TIME TO SELL: The market when the company continues to be strong for sellers sends drivers home of asset and nonasset companies. on weekends. PS Logistics uses odometer or IFTA miles for calculating cost per mile for maintenance and insurance. With the different mileage definitions and a somewhat subjective method for allocating administrative costs, Lloyd said the P&Ls are a work in progress. The P&L challenge is even more complex when a company has different driver pay structures. “There are a whole stream of

Trucking and logistics finance experts met in Chicago at the inaugural CFO conference organized by McLeod Software.

factors,” he said. “The challenge is to come up with true numbers that make a truck profitable or not.” A sellers’ market In addition to discussing accounting practices, speakers at the conference shared strategies for and experiences with acquiring transportation companies. The market continues to be strong for sellers of asset and nonasset transportation companies, but the scale has tipped toward “high-quality operators” in logistics, said Hugh Rabb, managing director of BB&T Capital Markets. Most transactions for logistics companies are driven by strategic buyers who want to add new products and services, Rabb said. It’s not unusual to see the sticker price of higher-quality logistics businesses at seven to eight times their EBITDA earnings, he said. On the asset-based side, many buyers pay close attention to carriers’ maintenance and capital expenditures, and it’s common to see carriers selling for four to six times their EBITDA. “When we are looking at asset deals, we focus on the culture, the people and the drivers, but it’s really all about the drivers,” said Brian Barze, CFO of PS Logistics. “Everyone knows how tough it is to find quality drivers.” Barze and other speakers agreed that they would not buy a carrier that has not already implemented electronic logs due to the investment risk. AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call 385-225-9472.

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august 2017

technology

Stay Metrics to help Prime Inc. match drivers, trainers

tay Metrics, provider of an evidencematch for drivers with trainers, dispatchbased driver engagement, research ers and managers to increase engageand analytics platform that motor ment and retention,” said Tim Hindes, carriers use to retain more of their best chief executive officer of Stay Metrics. drivers, announced a driver matchTo create the value profile measureing application through a partnership ments, Twegos uses methodologies inwith Twegos, a Belgium-based human spired by a 1997 study from Dr. Timothy resources technology company. Judge, Stay Metrics’ director of research. Stay Metrics and Twegos both apply “We are excited to collaborate with scientific methods and data-driven Stay Metrics and put our evidence-based research to solve problems for clients. value assessment technology to work The companies says the technology, in an industry with a high turnover developed by Twegos, accurately can environment,” said Arend Van Itterbeek, predict the fit of individual drivers with CEO of Twegos. any individual organization, team, colPrime Inc. (CCJ Top 250, No. 15), the league or manager based on a model that first Stay Metrics customer to implement screens for 14 values. the new driver-matching tool, will use “The value assessment and profile give the technology to facilitate a scientific insights that can predict driver turnover process to pair driver trainees with Prime June_CCJ_Ancra 1 5/8/17 AM and, more importantly,RAR_7x4.5.pdf identify the best driver8:54 trainers, with whom they will

Prime Inc. will use the technology to facilitate a scientific process to pair driver trainees with driver trainers.

spend three to four weeks working over the road. “A more scientific approach to matching instructors and trainees will improve the overall experience for both parties,” said Jim Guthrie, director of recruiting for the Springfield, Mo.-based company. Hindes said the value assessment technology also has utility for transportation and logistics companies beyond driver matching. “Driver matching will fulfill an immediate need for many of our clients, but there are many more opportunities to apply the technology to build a better workforce,” he said. – Aaron Huff

CMY

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technology

INBRIEF • Geotab, a telematics solution provider, launched integrations with Driver DataSense from J. J. Keller & Associates and TMWSuite and TMW TruckMate from TMW Systems. Driver DataSense is designed to help fleets manage hours of service based on data coming from the Geotab device, paper logbooks and driver time records. TMWSuite and TruckMate are designed to help customers reduce empty miles and improve operating ratios and utilization by connecting people and processes with industry-specific workflow and automation. • Pegasus TransTech, an enterprise mobility, telematics and business process automation provider, signed an exclusive agreement with the Simplex Group, a provider of safety and compliance solutions, to promote and sell its Transflo Telematics and Transflo E-Log services. Simplex will administer and monitor Pegasus TransTech’s electronic logging device programs for its clients in the Hispanic market. • Caruma Technologies is integrating Accuscore’s driver risk scoring engine into its Intelligent Connected-Vehicle Platform. Caruma combines artificial intelligence and computer vision with high-definition video collected by its windshield-mounted Caruma Cam device that monitors the driver for drowsy or distracted driving and the road for near misses, tailgating and lane departures, and connects vehicles to a continuous learning cloud to provide context-rich information for Accuscore’s driver-scoring system and risk identification. • Help Inc., the nonprofit provider of PrePass, received permission from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol to proceed with the deployment of truck pre-clearance and weigh station bypass at 10 additional locations throughout the state on Interstates 26, 40, 77, 85 and 95. • EFS, a provider of fleet payment solutions, launched the Fleet One Edge savings network designed to provide smaller fleets access to additional discounts. The network offers overthe-road fleets fuel discounts at over 3,600 truck stop locations, nationwide card acceptance at over 8,000 locations, nationwide discounts on most major tire brands and a variety of equipment, maintenance, wireless and fleet management savings, including electronic logging devices and hotel reservations. • One20 partnered with RoadsideMasters.com to provide free roadside assistance to more than 350,000 drivers who are members of One20’s free membership communities. Services include but are not limited to truck and trailer towing, flat tire changes, tire repair, mobile mechanic services and jump starts.

commercial carrier journal

august 2017

ITI offers 3D sitespecific training

nstructional Technologies Inc., a provider of training solutions for the transThis 3D rendering of an actual highportation industry, including the Pro-Tread accident incident site trains drivers how to safely enter this ITI customer location. online driver training system, announced the availability of site-specific highly detailed 3D customized training designed to address frequent safety hazards at single or multiple locations. “When drivers get a first-person view of the situation, it helps them buy into the training,” said Nathan Stahlman, ITI chief operating officer. “Fleet safety personnel find drivers relate to lessons when they depict a known site or architecture.” For fleets that have incidents at the same locations repeatedly or have similar problems at multiple locations, ITI site-specific training uses satellite imagery to create a detailed 3D model of the area. The training course also is specific to traffic patterns at each location. To address similar safety issues at multiple locations, the training can reflect a fleet’s standard operating procedures. “Because we can also show overhead imagery and other unique viewpoints, it makes the lesson incredibly more effective and dramatically reduces crashes,” Stahlman said. “These models can also be used for first-person accident reconstruction to help fleets fight lawsuits in courts.” – Aaron Huff

TDS creates carrier risk analysis report

ransportation Data Source launched TDS Reports, which the company describes as an all-in-one platform that enables insurance underwriters to perform a detailed risk analysis of motor carriers. TDS Reports leverages the company’s motor carrier monitoring database to help underwriters receive the most relevant, up-to-date and inclusive data in an easy-to-use and customizable format. Features of the service include full motor carrier details such as authority types and status, time in business, operating radius, lanes traveled, inspection records, main address, contact information and fleet size, including full VIN, year, make and model of inspected equipment. Users also can see motor carriers’ BASICs and ISS scores, in-depth service violations of drivers and their equipment, their current and past safety ratings, shippers and commodities carried and more details. The platform and all data can be customized and filtered so underwriters only see exactly what they want to see. TDS Reports allows all the information to be produced in either a PDF or spreadsheet. “Current options available to underwriters today can take hours to evaluate,” said Lyn Simon, president of TDS Reports. “Quality reporting creTransportation Data Source describes TDS ated within seconds in an easy-to-use Reports as an all-in-one platform that enables insurance underwriters to perform format is priceless in this industry.” a detailed risk analysis of motor carriers. – Aaron Huff

technology

INBRIEF • Rubicon Global announced the RubiconPro Fuel program and partnerships with Fuelman and TAC Energy to provide fuel discounts, equipment and financial benefits to independent waste haulers and truckers that previously were available only to large regional and national fleets. • Drivewyze expanded its weigh station bypass services in North Carolina, bringing its total locations in the state to 16. The 13 new sites are located along Interstates 26, 40, 77, 85 and 95. • Sentry Insurance rolled out a new online driver training program. Powered by CarriersEdge, the platform is designed to consider the individual learning styles of users and provide engaging and interactive learning experiences. Sentry said CarriersEdge will complement and expand its safety, risk management and educational services designed to help fleet managers and trucking businesses improve driver safety and lower operating costs. • Dispatching Solutions announced that its DSi Mobile platform now uses the Google Maps Engine as its core mapping technology to provide an enhanced user interface as well as access to Google Maps’standard mapping and routing features. Applications on the DSi Mobile platform include scheduling and dispatching, GPS and fleet management, electronic logs and compliance, and the company said Google Maps will improve the platform’s ability to optimize routes, calculate real-time ETAs, track assets, analyze behaviors and review trends. • PeopleNet, a provider of fleet mobility technology, integrated Continental’s ContiPressureCheck tire pressure monitoring system into its telematics platform following completion of a successful beta test. Continental’s CPC TPMS allows both drivers and back-office personnel to continuously monitor the real-time pressure and temperature of their tires. The CPC sensor is mounted on the tire’s inner liner. • FourKites, a provider of real-time freight tracking and supply chain visibility solutions, partnered with HaulFox, a cloud-based transportation management software system, to incorporate FourKites’platform with HaulFox’s solution that helps enhance day-to-day freight shipping processes. FourKites’technology collects shipping location and status information from more than 60 onboard GPS/ELD systems, trailer-tracking devices and driver cell phones. • MacroPoint announced that its smartphone-based freight visibility platform was selected by West Chester, Pa.-based A. Duie Pyle Brokerage Solutions for real-time load tracking.

commercial carrier journal

august 2017

EBE adds Capture Wizard to CMC mobile app

BE Technologies, a provider of automated decision support applications, has added a Capture Wizard enhancement to its Connect Mobile Capture software to assist the driver in obtaining the best quality document images before submitting to dispatch. The Capture Wizard audits documents at the point of EBE’s CMC mobile capture and requires drivers to recapture documents that app links to a variety of webdo not meet quality standards. Drivers receive immediate based driver tools. feedback and get tips to improve image capture, such as adjusting the angle or the proximity of the mobile device. The enhanced feature eliminates driver frustration at having to recapture images later, the company said. CMC is a mobile scanning application that also is designed to serve as the driver’s mobile command center. CMC can link to carriers’ information systems to allow drivers to access and interact with in-house and partner mobile offerings. Other CMC features include an interface that reduces manual keystrokes, integration with dispatch that pushes the order number directly to the driver’s mobile device, configurable document types and indexing assistance. “Drivers, now more than ever, want innovative ways to perform their daily duties efficiently and with assurances that they are fulfilling what’s required of them,” said Michael Randone, EBE’s vice president of Mobile Solutions. – Aaron Huff

Chevin fleet maintenance software adds multicurrency support

hevin Fleet Solutions, a provider of web-based fleet and asset management software, has added multicurrency features to its FleetWave solution to support businesses that operate across borders. The features are designed to allow currencies to be rendered in multiple ways. Fuel purchases and other transactions can be recorded in more than one currency. Users can view transactions in their original currency and convert them into other currencies based on personal settings. FleetWave’s multicurrency feature also has live feeds to exchange rates for up-to-date conversions and can account for local tax rates. Also available in FleetWave are customizable fuel economy labels that are used to categorize how much a vehicle pollutes. The label can be configured with region-specific values, colors and defaults to provide more detailed definitions and indicate vehicles that are rated outside a company’s emissions policy. Multilingual options eliminate the need for manual translation by letting users define settings and metrics. “With FleetWave, Chevin Chevin’s latest FleetWave can help simplify every aspect of local and features are designed to allow global fleet, asset and workforce management,” currencies to be rendered in multiple ways depending on the said Ron Katz, vice president of North Ameriuser or system configurations. can sales for Chevin. – Aaron Huff

technology

in focus: MOBILE LOAD APPS

Uniform coverage Freight tracking bridges the divide between brokers, carriers BY AARON HUFF

reight tracking applications now are standard for transportation and logistics service providers. They require no upfront investment in hardware or software, especially since the majority of drivers carry the smartphones that house the apps. Yet for LSPs, using basic freight tracking technology may not be enough to differentiate their services in the minds of their customers. One segment in the market where Trucker Tools is seeing increased demand for its Load Track platform is from independent freight agents who have to go the extra mile to stand out in a crowded field. LSPs use Load Track, which is embedded in the free Trucker Tools driver smartphone app, for continuous shipment visibility from the time they dispatch a driver to pick up a load through final delivery. Prasad Gollapalli, Trucker Tools’ chief executive officer, says Load Track also automates arrival and departure notifications, provides instant two-way driver messaging and simplifies the data and document capture process. “Collectively, these features help brokers eliminate fraud or double-brokering,” Gollapalli says. Since the driver’s location is tracked before he arrives to pick up a load, this visibility ensures the load doesn’t change hands. LSPs also use Load Track to identify and validate driver detention events at their customer locations and speed the freight payment process by having drivers capture load data and electronic proof-of-delivery documents, Gollapalli says. Automatic updates Artisan Logistics, a Columbia, S.C.-based transportation and supply chain solutions provider, uses Load Track as an integrated platform with its custom freight management system. Artisan, an agent for a large asset-light transportation firm, differentiates its services by sending automated shipment tracking alerts to customers at certain intervals, says Dennis Brannon, CEO and owner. The email alerts contain a “View Tracking” link for customers to monitor live shipment status on a visual map display. Artisan also uses its integrated Load Track platform to send automatic updates to customers.

commercial carrier journal

august 2017

MacroPoint has built integrations with telematics and electronic logging systems and captures locations from its free mobile app that drivers download to their smartphones.

“In the trucking marketplace, you have to find ways to create value,” Brannon says. For Holly Transportation, the technology has proven valuable to customers with high-value shipments. The Dallas-based Landstar agent is able to monitor shipments to ensure drivers stay on designated routes and with their equipment at all times. “Our customers are impressed by our capabilities to monitor high-value freight and hazardous shipments that require an extra level of security,” says Monty Byrd, Holly’s owner. Going for total connectivity Since MacroPoint was founded in 2011, one of its strategies has been to create a freight tracking network with 100 percent coverage for LSPs and make it possible for them to access the network directly from their native transportation management software systems. The company has built integrations with TMS, telematics and electronic logging systems and captures locations from its free mobile app that drivers can download to their smartphones. With real-time information coming from these and other sources, MacroPoint uses algorithms to predict the estimated arrival times of shipments by accounting for variables such as drivers’ predicted hours-of-service limits when the actuals are not available. “The differentiator is that there are many different ways we are able to grab data,” says Dave Halsema, the company’s executive vice president. Since many transportation companies now have asset and nonasset logistics divisions, freight tracking applications can help to ensure a consistent flow of information to customers, no matter whose assets pull their loads.

technology

Paragon adds fuel usage visibility to optimization software route by making use of load data taken from a company’s order management system, achieving a high accuracy rate for multidrop transport operations. – Aaron Huff

Paragon said transport managers will be able to gain added insight from the fuel usage enhancement to give immediate feedback to drivers and generate custom reports.

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aragon Software Systems, a provider of vehicle routing and scheduling optimization solutions, launched a fuel usage enhancement to its routing and scheduling software designed to enable logistics operations to accurately compare planned versus actual levels of consumption. This update to Paragon’s Route Execution module means fuel data can be taken directly from an approved Can bus-integrated vehicle tracking system and analyzed against predicted consumption figures, calculated during the planning process, to identify where route planning can be improved. “By taking a scientific approach to calculating consumption, our software is able to accurately predict usage levels by individual route and then compare with the actual performance to pinpoint exactly where inefficiencies are occurring,” said Richard Street, Paragon development director. “The ability to use accurate weight data at both the transport planning and review stages provides an invaluable opportunity to take control of fuel management to reduce transport costs and carbon emissions.” Paragon said transport managers will be able to use the added insight to give immediate fuel efficiency feedback to drivers and generate custom usage reports, based on credible data, for relevant stakeholders within the business, providing visibility and understanding of where excessive consumption is occurring within a fleet and what action can be taken to help drivers reduce fuel costs and the associated carbon emissions. Paragon’s routing and scheduling software is designed to use payload, speed, vehicle type and curb weight data to estimate the fuel usage for any journey. With fuel consumption influenced by the vehicle load, the calculation considers the weight of cargo being collected and dropped off at every stage of a planned

• Built-in printer to get through inspections faster. • Backed by Continental, a leader in compliance systems, with over five million ELDs in use worldwide. You’ve got the driving covered. Leave the mandate to us. www.vdoroadlog.com (855)-ROADLOG roadlog-sales@vdo.com

commercial carrier journal

CO4397 CCJ_RoadLog Dont Sell Your Trucke_HalfIsl_8-17_v1.1.indd 1 Untitled-3 1

august 2017

7/7/17 10:31 AM 7/10/17 3:04 PM

SPECIAL REPORT: ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICES

Presenting logs at roadside Running with an electronic logging device is one thing. Communicating e-log data to an inspector is quite another. With four months to go, states’ data transfer plans vary widely, and an ambitious federal program remains untested. BY TODD DILLS

ne of the less publicized but highly critical aspects of the electronic logging device mandate involves a new platform that will transfer ELD data from roadside to a central federal system. The electronic record of duty status data platform is supposed to be working by Dec. 18. On that date, inspectors from state Departments of Transportation and police departments will be required to begin enforcing the ELD mandate’s requirement for most drivers to use an ELD. They’re also supposed to interpret whether an ELD indicates a potential hours-of-service violation, which in many cases will not be as simple as it sounds. One thing has been made clear, however, by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: Come Dec. 18, running without an ELD if you’re not exempt will net you eight hours out of service at roadside. FMCSA spokesman Duane DeBruyne didn’t directly answer a question about whether he suspected most states would have their inspectors up to speed on access points to a planned central federal system for ELD data transfer and analysis, or even whether the technology to facilitate the system at the state level would be in place. “FMCSA is planning to have data transfer capability ready by December of 2017. If data transfer is unavailable, the printout or display options [one of which is required of all ELDs] will be used to enforce hours of service.” A variety of factors suggest those print/display backup methods will be important in most log checks. The agency soon was expected to deliver elements of its planned data-transfer protocol to ELD vendors to test against, among the first steps toward rollout of the new eRODS program to states. With the electronic data transfer system, FMCSA in some ways is centralizing hours enforcement in a federal system for most methods of data transfer. The agency has contracted a third party to develop software housed in the federal system to analyze logs sent from the field through its central system for possible violations. State inspectors theoretically then would investigate any flagged potential violations. Many states, however, currently aren’t anywhere near 100 percent sure what that piece will look like – or how exactly they would interact with it. The ELD mandate specified two types of devices, each type 44

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| august 2017

The ELD mandate specified two types of devices, each capable of at least two methods of transferring data to an inspector.

required to support at least two data-transfer methods. For local-transfer devices, Bluetooth and USB 2.0 are the required methods. For telematics-type devices – most of the ELDs on the market today, with an internet connection – the ability to upload and email hours data is required. FMCSA hoped states would support at least one method from each pair at the roadside, thus accommodating any device. As a backup, the rule likewise required every ELD to either include a printing capability or display current and previous-seven-days hours information with a graph grid analogous to today’s paper logbooks. “We have not determined the primary data transfer method we will support,” says Fran Clader of the California Highway Patrol’s communications office. Like FMCSA, though, Clader remained confident that state roadside personnel would be ready by December. Another 15 states either were unsure or, for different reasons, didn’t plan on supporting a local-transfer option. While in Indiana, “each inspector has his/her own laptop computer and secure email account and can send and receive emails,” says State Police Maj. Jon Smithers. “We won’t use USB devices. Our state security rules prevent us from using USB devices that have been in contact with an outside device.” Smithers didn’t totally rule out Bluetooth for a localtransfer option, but other states in similar situations relative to USB have done so. Michigan, for instance: “Currently, the State of Michigan IT policy prohibits the attachment of any unauthorized equipment to an IT resource,” says State Police Sgt. Joseph Austin.

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SPECIAL REPORT: ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICES Three primary methods of transfer for the foreseeable future are likely to be most prominent in log checks. E-mail Among the telematics options for transfer, states are most familiar with email output from current-generation automatic onboard recording devices, the current regulated type of device. Legacy AOBRDs can be used by carriers that have installed them prior to the Dec. 18 ELD enforcement for two years, until December 2019, when full ELD implementation is scheduled. Smartphone-based logbook apps such as BigRoad and KeepTruckin, both currently also offered with engine connections to function as AOBRDs, make it relatively easy to output an email with the required hours compliance information to inspectors. In the case of BigRoad, says Mike Davies, company product vice president, “We’re taking a belt-and-suspenders approach” given skepticism about the broad rollout of the data-transfer system FMCSA wants in place in the states by Dec. 18. “We’re not taking away any of the options” for displaying required hours information to an officer. Printing with a Bluetooth-connected peripheral printer, faxing and emailing will remain

options as the program comes under the ELD specification. Come Dec. 18, Davies says, “There will be states that will de facto fall back to how they inspect AOBRD systems today. We’ll be adding eRODS [capability] and keeping all the other pieces in there as backup.” Vermont Capt. Kevin Andrews, noting his state was not “prepared to accept [logs] any other way” than email, suggested that eRODS likely wouldn’t be a total reality before the final Phase 3 of the ELD rule, which begins in December 2019. Until then, the following options are likely to play as large a role in roadside transfer as email. Device display The display required by the ELD rule specifies use of a graph grid similar to that in paper logs today, but that’s not all it requires. The illustration on page 48 shows other information likewise will be available through prints and displays for officers. Only Missouri reported total reticence to rely on the display for current and previous-seven-days log checks. This carries over from years prior when computer-assisted logs on drivers’ laptops and cellphones (not synced with the truck’s ECM) became de rigueur in trucking. The ShowMe State only wanted

Out-of-service conditions related to ELDs The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s announcement of the availability of the updated out-of-service criteria handbook noted amendments related to electronic logging devices. Unlike previous updates, however, the alliance didn’t spell out those additions. Closer examination of the book itself reveals that none are new OOS conditions. Rather, they’re footnotes related to current OOS conditions having to do with the hours of service, namely having no logbook, having no previous seven days of logs and presenting a false log. All require putting the driver OOS for eight consecutive hours. • If a driver/carrier isn’t using an ELD on FMCSA’s device registry, it’s considered to be having no logbook. There’s a wrinkle in this, though, given FMCSA’s grandfather period for current-generation automatic onboard recording devices. AOBRDs meeting fairly minimal requirements compared to ELD specs are essentially grandfathered through Dec. 16, 2019. The ELD mandate notes that any carrier installing an AOBRD prior to this year’s ELD enforcement date can use that device until the 2019 date. Practically, what that means is that enforcing the requirement to use a registry-listed device is unlikely before that time, particularly for carriers that comply with the ELD rule and install an engine-connected e-log prior to Dec. 18. So the registry’s importance for carriers choosing ELDs at this stage is minimal. If placed OOS for this one prior to 2019, and you have proof you were using an ELD/AOBRD prior to Dec. 18 this year, this could be cause for a challenge to remove it from your record. • A driver “unable to produce or transfer the data” from an AOBRD or ELD at roadside will be considered to have no log and be placed OOS. • If you use a special driving category – a yard move or personal 46

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•

• • •

conveyance, for example – “when not involved in that activity,” you’re considered to have a false log. In the event of AOBRD/ELD failure, inability to reconstruct the previous seven days of logs will net you an hours violation for not having the logs. Fortunately, in failure cases, if you’re a true independent with authority and you have access to the web at roadside, with most ELD platforms you’ll be able to access your logs to either email to an officer or print to carry with you down the road in case of an inspection. Keep a paper log in the truck for on-the-spot malfunction backups for that current period. If you’re leased or a company driver, it’s not uncommon that drivers in such situations move to a paper log for their current period and have their required previous seven days’ logs emailed to them or an officer. Failure by a carrier to “repair a malfunctioning electronic logging device within eight days,” as required by the mandate, or to obtain an extension from FMCSA will net a no-logbook OOS. Failure by a driver to use the ELD like it’s supposed to be used (logged in with your driver profile) merits a no-logbook OOS. If you’re not an exempted carrier or driver under the terms of the ELD mandate and you’re not using an ELD, you’ll be considered to have no logbook. In terms of your company safety record, your own if you’ve got authority, having no log comes with a 5 (out of 10) severity weight in the Compliance Safety Accountability Safety Measurement System – not publicly available at the moment, but still impactful in some business relationships. OOS violations in the CSA SMS’ scoring methodology also receive extra weight – 2 more points.

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SPECIAL REPORT: ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICES ing the screen … of the device the driver is using.”

In the ELD mandate’s appendix, FMCSA provides this illustration to show the format of the wealth of data it expected the back-up display and/or print methods to present to roadside officers in lieu of a data-transfer option. Another illustration adds duty status changes, including times and locations.

those drivers’ logs shown on a piece of paper, given liability issues, says Highway Patrol Lt. Kevin Kelley. Checking a device’s display or a print, however, will play second fiddle there to USB, wireless web and email transfer, Kelley says. “As a last resort, we may look at the graph grid.” Missouri, however, is the outlier. Outside of that state, as noted Maj. Todd Armstrong of the Illinois State Police, “Most roadside inspectors today already use this option [of reviewing the display] when looking at any form of electronic hours of service allowed in today’s regulations.” Some other states also noted varying degrees of likely significant reliance on display and/or print options at roadside, particularly if no obvious issues with hours regulations compliance are noted. Maj. Jay Thompson of the Arkansas Highway Police expressed a measure of uncertainty as to the full extent of display reliance, but speculated “officers will review the actual grid on the device and only transmit a copy if and when violations are discovered.” Similarly, Idaho representatives remain fairly unsure about just how everything will play out, but Capt. Tim Horn says that “the majority of the time [officers] will be review-

Printout The market for purely local-transfer devices is small at this point, with Continental’s VDO RoadLog the most prominent among them. RoadLog is the only device with a built-in printer, though it also offers logs on its display. It comes with no follow-on costs after purchase but for the printer’s high-heat paper – $10 a roll, good for about two roadside inspections. Many smaller fleets and independent drivers are gravitating to the base RoadLog version given the lack of a cellular connection opened up within it. For those for whom both information security and personal privacy is a concern, choosing RoadLog also could satisfy worries about overreliance of handling an operator’s ELD, in many cases also a personal smartphone. Also given the questions around rollout of the data-transfer software, says Jeff Waterstreet, company sales manager, “We’ve taken the angle that troopers over the next few years are going to really love the built-in printer.” That point is underscored by the relatively small number of states planning to support local-transfer options. The ability to print with other ELDs via peripheral devices may be useful for others. Any ELD that began its life as a computer-assisted logbook should contain that ability. As BigRoad’s Davies says, though FMCSA has offered guidance on accepting digital signatures of daily logs via those logbook programs, that same guidance still stresses that drivers need to be The only ELD on the market with a built-in printer is Continental’s able to print today if usVDO RoadLog. ing such a program.

Weak links can hamper app-based ELDs Many ELD systems based on smartphones or tablet apps fall in the category of “bring your own device.” But because they rely on cellular and Bluetooth connections, BYOD systems can be more prone to connectivity problems. The DC Transport all-owner-operator small ﬂeet experienced problems with J.J. Keller’s Encompass ELD paired with operators’ smartphones, as reported in April. The problems were with dropped Bluetooth connections en route. This causes unassigned-driving events to mount for back-ofﬁce system operators responsible for reconciling multiple driver accounts, not to mention presenting issues of log currency for drivers during roadside inspections. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hosted ELD provider 48

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companies in Washington, D.C., in May to discuss implementation of the mandate and requirements placed on providers regarding self-certiﬁcation. FMCSA specialist Danielle Smith noted another issue with BYOD-type ELDs. Speciﬁcally, she addressed the situation of a similar dropped connection in any ELD that pairs software on an operator’s phone with an engine-connected device over the air via cellular connection. The use of such a “cloud ELD,” as the Geotab company calls its device, could be limited for operators whose routes take them through areas with spotty to nonexistent cell coverage. Be aware of such limitations before investing in any ELD solution, and keep a paper log handy for serious or prolonged malfunctions.

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Lackluster economic conditions in 2016 see truck counts shrink, revenues diminish among for-hire carriers, but some segments thrived BY JEFF CRISSEY

rucking faced a myriad of headwinds in 2016 that resulted in anemic growth in most segments of the industry. Chief among them was a nine-year high in retail inventory-to-sales ratios in the first quarter that led to weak demand throughout much of the freight network for the rest of the year. A contentious presidential election cycle further dampened optimism for business investments, and consumer spending was all but frozen until the election was over. Both the general freight and refrigerated segments of the 2017 CCJ Top 250 companies experienced stagnant financial results in 2016. Of those companies in the rankings that self-reported revenues for both 2015 and 2016, general freight revenues rose only 0.3 percent, and refrigerated revenues were flat at 0.0 percent. Trucking companies serving the oil and gas and fracking markets also struggled with depressed market conditions through the first three quarters of 2016. According to companies in the flatbed/specialized/heavy haul and tank/ bulk commodities segments that self-reported revenues for both 2015 and 2016, revenues were down 1.7 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. Those two segments were joined by the household goods segment, for which CCJ Top 250 companies reported a 5.2 percent decrease in revenue, as well as a 3.4 percent decrease in revenue for the motor vehicles segment despite a record year for car sales. But 2016 wasn’t completely without merits. Carriers with competencies in last-mile and pickup-and-delivery services benefited from the growing e-commerce market. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce represented roughly $390 billion of U.S. retail sales in 2016, a 15-percent increase from the previous year. United Postal Service and FedEx (Nos. 1 & 2 in this year’s CCJ Top 250) alone combined for a $5.31 billion increase

in operating revenues in 2016 vs. 2015, and fellow Top 250 segment companies DHL Americas and Spee Dee Delivery Service experienced similar gains, albeit on a smaller scale. The significance of the continued rise in e-commerce and the health of the package segment to the rest of the segments in the CCJ Top 250 cannot be understated. If you remove the 7.2 percent increase in revenues of those four package companies from the CCJ Top 250, year-over-year revenue growth for companies across all segments that self-reported revenues in both 2015 and 2016 would fall from 4.1 percent to just 1.2 percent. On a power unit basis, CCJ Top 250 fleets also shed trucks during the last year. The total truck and tractor count for the companies in the 2017 CCJ Top 250 totals 659,886 power units, a 2.9 percent decrease from 2016. Carriers in the flatbed/specialized/heavy haul segment accounted for just over 31,000 power units, a 29.8 percent decrease from the 2016 rankings. Only the tank/bulk commodities (3.7 percent), packages/small shipments (6.6 percent) and intermodal (8.2 percent) segments showed year-over-year growth in truck and tractor counts. M&A activity slows in 2016 The industry saw relatively few mergers and acquisitions in 2016, but several certainly made an impact on this year’s list. Schneider (No. 8) kicked things off in June with the acquisition of final-mile delivery specialist Watkins & Shepard (No. 133 in last year’s CCJ Top 250), as well as Lodeso, a

Editor’s note: Due to an ongoing investigation into accounting discrepancies at two Roadrunner Transportation Services subsidiary companies dating back to 2015, RRTS has yet to file updated 10-K forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, the company is absent in this year’s CCJ Top 250 ranking. 54

commercial carrier journal

| august 2017

CCJ TOP 250 BREAKDOWN BY SEGMENT Segment

Dedicated contract carriage Flatbed/specialized/heavy haul General freight Household goods Intermodal Motor vehicles Packages/small shipments Refrigerated Tank/bulk commodities

Carriers

% of total

Power units

19 25 118 8 8 8 4 23 37

7.6% 10.0% 47.2% 3.2% 3.2% 3.2% 1.6% 9.2% 14.8%

29,240 31,006 259,845 16,293 14,270 10,471 232,212 31,902 34,647

% of total

Estimated revenue change 2015 to 2016**

Revenue per power unit*

Revenue per driver*

4.4% 4.7% 39.4% 2.5% 2.2% 1.6% 35.2% 4.8% 5.2%

5.6% -1.7% 0.3% -5.2% 6.0% -3.4% 7.2% 0.0% -7.7%

$223,416 $175,548 $268,479 $220,998 $143,740 $251,744 $287,930 $235,211 $221,733

$213,345 $176,096 $257,232 $229,977 $144,238 $263,021 $298,583 $218,328 $218,504

*Excludes outlying operations that likely would skew a segment’s figures for various reasons, such as their unusual scope or operating profile or the inclusion of revenues that is beyond either North America or transportation by truck. **Based on companies that self-reported revenue data for both 2015 and 2016.

technology provider for the home delivery industry. The move will provide Schneider with new opportunities in the growing e-commerce business segment. Also in June 2016, trucking conglomerate Transport Investments Inc. (No. 81) purchased former CCJ Top 250 company Jones Motor Group, a flatbed hauler with roots back to 1894 and believed to be the oldest carrier in the industry. The 500-truck acquisition brings TII’s independent contractor count to more than 1,400 drivers. CRST International acquired Chino, Calif.-based regional truckload carrier Gardner Trucking (No. 67 in last year’s CCJ Top 250), complementing CRST’s business in drayage, warehousing, short-haul and local markets. The acquisition boosts CRST’s driver count from roughly 8,000 to 10,000, helping the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based carrier climb 10 spots to No. 13 this year. XPO Logistics’ 2015 acquisition of Con-way led to a jump from No. 12 to No. 3 in last year’s CCJ Top 250 ranking. Just one year later, however, XPO sold the truckload portion of the Con-way business to TFI International (No. 7) – formerly known as TransForce – augmenting the Canadian carrier’s existing U.S.-based freight system with subsidiary Transport America. XPO’s divestiture was enough to

vault Swift Transportation into the No. 3 spot on this year’s list, with XPO sliding to No. 4. Speaking of Swift, both it and Knight Transportation (No. 25) still are listed as separate companies in this year’s ranking since the pending merger between the Phoenixbased trucking giants announced in April 2017 likely won’t take effect until later this year. When it does, the newly formed company, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, likely will lock down the No. 3 spot in next year’s ranking as the industry’s largest truckload carrier. Other companies acquired in the first seven months of 2017 also don’t appear in this year’s list, including Wilson Trucking (No. 131 in last year’s CCJ Top 250), which was purchased by Waco, Texas-based Central Freight Lines (No. 90); Interstate Distributor Co. (No. 74 last year), acquired by Heartland Express (No. 28); and Estenson Logistics (No. 91 last year), acquired by Hub Group Trucking (No. 30). Another absence from this year’s ranking comes not via acquisition but bankruptcy. Graebel Van Lines (No. 148 in last year’s CCJ Top 250), once one of North America’s largest household goods movers, announced in a letter posted on its website last March that it was ceasing operations immediately and liquidating assets to satisfy creditor liens.

Go to CCJTop250.com for more detailed information! The 2017 CCJ Top 250 rankings are comprised from a large data set used to calculate the annual list, including revenues and counts on power units, trailers, drivers and other company information. You can view the detailed information at CCJTop250.com and sort by primary segment type to get a closer look at a carrier’s

performance in relation to its peers. You also can view carriers by rank in several other variables. In the pages that follow, you will see where the trucking companies rank and learn more about some of the fleets in the CCJ Top 250 as chosen by our editors.

Turn the page for the CCJ Top 250® foldout commercial carrier journal

| august 2017 55

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1-25

For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com. 2017

Company

UPS/United Parcel Service Inc. Atlanta, GA FedEx Corp. Memphis, TN Swift Transportation Co. Inc. Phoenix, AZ XPO Logistics Inc. Greenwich, CT YRC Worldwide Inc. Overland Park, KS J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. Lowell, AR TFI International St.-Laurent, QC Schneider Green Bay, WI Landstar System Inc. Jacksonville, FL Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. Thomasville, NC Werner Enterprises Inc. Omaha, NE Estes Express Lines Richmond, VA CRST International Inc. Cedar Rapids, IA ArcBest Corp. Ft. Smith, AR Prime Inc. Springfield, MO U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. Chattanooga, TN UniGroup Fenton, MO Ryder Supply Chain Solutions Miami, FL R+L Carriers Wilmington, OH CR England Inc. West Valley City, UT Kenan Advantage Group North Canton, OH Crete Carrier Corp. Lincoln, NE Averitt Express Cookeville, TN Saia Inc. Johns Creek, GA Knight Transportation Inc. Phoenix, AZ

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

commercial carrier journal

2016 Rank

13 CRST INTERNATIONAL

2 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 23 13 15 14 16 18 20 19 17 22 21 26 24

| august 2017

ACQUISITIONS SPUR CONTINUED GROWTH Industry segment:

RST International last September General freight announced its acquisition of Chino, Tractors: 6,420 Calif.-based Gardner Trucking (No. Trailers: 11,561 67 in last year’s CCJ Top 250), which CRST Drivers: 8,682 said was the largest acquisition in its history. 2016 ranking: 23 Gardner is a major truckload carrier in California, with customers in the paper and packaging, food and beverage, wood products and metal and plastic container industries. The company primarily serves the Western United States with facilities in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Texas. CRST projects the Gardner acquisition will add approximately $400 million in revenues to the company with its more than 2,400 drivers. The acquisition boosted CRST’s driver count from roughly 8,000 to 10,000, helping the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based carrier climb 10 spots in the CCJ Top 250 to No. 13 this year. “The acquisition of Gardner Trucking further complements CRST’s service offerings through Gardner’s expertise in shorthaul local markets, as well as drayage and warehousing,” says Dave Rusch, CRST president and chief executive officer. “We are thrilled to be working with the Lanting family on this acquisition and look forward to growing Gardner’s operations in its markets.” Tom Lanting, Gardner’s previous owner and president, is continuing in his role as president. “With the Gardner brand and its specialized service offerings, we look forward to offering our customers a wider range of services in more locations,” Lanting says. Rusch says Gardner allows CRST to enter the warehousing, drayage and regional van transportation segments of the industry. “For CRST and Gardner, it means improved fleet utilization and increased operating efficiencies,” Rusch says. “We look forward to working with the Gardner employees and customers.” In recent years, CRST also has acquired Specialized Transportation, Allied Special Products, BESL Transfer Co. and Pegasus Transportation. – Dean Smallwood

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26-50 For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com.

2017

Company

Penske Logistics Reading, PA Southeastern Freight Lines Lexington, SC Heartland Express Inc. North Liberty, IA Universal Logistics Holdings Inc. Warren, MI Hub Group Trucking Memphis, TN Celadon Group Indianapolis, IN Quality Distribution Inc. Tampa, FL Ruan Transportation Management Systems Des Moines, IA Cardinal Logistics Management Corp. Concord, NC KLLM Transport Services LLC Richland, MS Forward Air Corp./FAF Inc. Greeneville, TN Daseke Addison, TX Stevens Transport Inc. Dallas, TX Covenant Transportation Group Inc. Chattanooga, TN NFI Cherry Hill, NJ Evans Network of Companies Schuylkill Haven, PA Central Transport International Inc. Warren, MI Marten Transport Ltd. Mondovi, WI DHL Americas Plantation, FL AAA Cooper Transportation Dothan, AL Atlas Van Lines Inc. Evansville, IN Pitt Ohio Express LLC Pittsburgh, PA P&S Logistics Birmingham, AL Anderson Trucking Service Inc. St. Cloud, MN Sirva Inc. Westmont, IL

27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

commercial carrier journal

2016 Rank

30 HUB GROUP TRUCKING

27 36 25 53 32 30 31 35 33 39 42 38 41 29 43 40 45 102 47 44 48 104 46 49

| august 2017

GROWTH LEADS TO CUSTOMER AWARDS savvy business acquisition and Industry segment: Intermodal continued customer service Tractors: 4,057 success helped Hub Group Trailers: 6,051 Trucking leap more than 20 spots to No. Drivers: 4,230 30 in this year’s CCJ Top 250 ranking. 2016 ranking: 53 The Oak Brook, Ill.-based intermodal carrier made headlines earlier this year when it acquired Estenson Logistics, one of the nation’s largest contract carriers. The $306-million acquisition added more than 1,200 power units and 5,000 trailers to Hub’s existing fleet, expanding the company’s overall operation to about 4,000 power units. Hub promoted the move as an opportunity to “more efficiently deploy equipment and drivers,” and in the two months since the expansion, the decision continues to be met with customer satisfaction. Just one month after announcing its Estenson acquisition, Hub Group Trucking was named the 2016 Intermodal Carrier of the Year by Walmart Transportation. Recognized for its work with Walmart stores, Sam’s Club facilities and distribution centers throughout the United States, Hub was chosen based on its customer service and commitment to creating innovative solutions. “We are honored by this recognition and view it as validation of our service strategy,” says Don Maltby, Hub Group president and chief operating officer. “Our dedicated account management team keeps the bar set high to continue to meet Walmart’s service expectations and delivery standards.” In July, the company earned another 2016 Intermodal Carrier of the Year award, this time from KBX Logistics/Georgia-Pacific, its third Carrier of the Year award since April. Overall, Hub Group operates 4,057 tractors, 6,051 trailers and 4,230 drivers out of more than 30 locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In addition to its intermodal business, Hub Group also offers highway, logistics, drayage and dedicated carrier services. – Lucas Deal

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51-75

For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com. 2017

Company

Western Express Inc. Nashville, TN Trimac Transportation Calgary, AB Mercer Transportation Co. Inc. Louisville, KY TMC Transportation/Annett Holdings Inc. Des Moines, IA Jack Cooper Transport Co. Inc. Kansas City, MO FirstFleet Inc. Murfreesboro, TN Cowan Systems LLC Baltimore, MD Dart Transit Co. Eagan, MN Bennett International Group McDonough, GA United Road Services Inc. Romulus, MI Dayton Freight Lines Inc. Dayton, OH The Shevell Group of Companies/NEMF Elizabeth, NJ Roehl Transport Inc. Marshfield, WI P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. Tontitown, AR U.S. 1 Industries Valparaiso, IN Bison Transport Inc. Winnipeg, MB Hogan Transports Inc. St. Louis, MO USA Truck Inc. Van Buren, AR Ceva Logistics Americas Houston, TX TransX Ltd. Winnipeg, MB Salmon Companies North Little Rock, AR MVT Services LLC/Mesilla Valley Transportation Las Cruces, NM Black Horse Carriers Inc. Carol Stream, IL Maverick USA Inc. Little Rock, AR Comcar Industries Inc. Auburndale, FL

52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75

2016 Rank

65 U.S. 1 INDUSTRIES

52 51 55 58 64 61 60 62 56 65 66 63 59 77 72 70 57 54 68 73 75 78 76 69

A LOGISTICS TEAM OF BUSINESSES, DRIVERS UNITED FOR SERVICE Industry segment:

.S. 1 Industries Inc. is a Valparaiso, Ind.Intermodal based investment company specializing Tractors: 2,100 in trucking and logistics. The company Trailers: 150 provides risk management, regulatory compliDrivers: 2,100 ance, safety, information technology and finan2016 ranking: 77 cial services to small independent businesses and owner-operators that it treats as business and investment partners. U.S. 1 says it promotes integrity and performance while focusing on its customers’ needs throughout its entire organization. The company’s services include container and intermodal, factoring and financial, flatbed and heavy haul, insurance and risk management, local distribution and consolidation, logistics and brokerage, power only, refrigerated, dry van, less-than-truckload and warehousing. U.S. 1’s affiliates include the ARL Network, Bruin Express Intermodal, Cam Logistics, Cam Transport, Carolina National Transportation, Crossroads Steel Supply, Enterprise (power only), Harbor Bridge Intermodal, ICG Logistics, Keystone Lines, Keystone Logistics, Liberty Transport, Lionhart, Patriot Logistics, Risk Insurance Services of Indiana, TC Services, Thunderbird Logistics, Transport Leasing and U.S. 1 Logistics. Since last year, the company has added 500 trucks to its large network of affiliate companies. “U.S. 1 Industries has played a vital role in the success of ARL Network,” says ARL’s Ron Faherty. “We truly value the relationship that has been built between our two companies. U.S. 1 Industries provides a professional service combined with a winning attitude that meets customer expectations.” – Dean Smallwood commercial carrier journal

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76-100 For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com.

2017

Company

IMC Companies Memphis, TN Challenger Motor Freight Inc. Cambridge, ON Groupe Robert Rougemont, QC Premier Transportation Forest Park, GA The Dana Companies Avenel, NJ Transport Investments Inc. Pittsburgh, PA Cassens Transport Co. Edwardsville, IL Acme Truck Line Inc. Gretna, LA RoadOne IntermodaLogistics Randolph, MA Paschall Truck Lines Inc. Murray, KY JHT Holdings Inc. Pleasant Prairie, WI A. Duie Pyle Inc. West Chester, PA Lynden Companies Seattle, WA Foodliner Inc. Dubuque, IA Central Freight Lines Inc. Waco, TX Epes Carriers Greensboro, NC Melton Truck Lines Inc. Tulsa, OK TransAm Trucking Inc. Olathe, KS Mr. Bult’s Inc. Burnham, IL Paladin Capital Inc. Nashville, TN Trans-System Inc. Spokane, WA Hirschbach Motor Lines Inc. Dubuque, IA Wheaton Van Lines Inc. Indianapolis, IN Eagle Express Lines Inc. South Holland, IL United Vision Logistics Holding Corp. Lafayette, LA

77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

2016 Rank

90 CENTRAL FREIGHT LINES

86 37 88 81 84 80 71 109 83 87 113 89 95 108 93 92 94 90 100 97 105 96 112 85

MARKET GROWTH IN THE BIBLE BELT arlier this year, Central Freight Industry segment: Lines acquired Virginia-based fleet General freight Wilson Trucking, the No. 131 forTractors: 1,050 hire carrier in last year’s CCJ Top 250. Trailers: 3,480 The acquisition brought together two Drivers: 1,518 less-than-truckload carriers, each with 2016 ranking: 108 nearly 100 years in the business, and helped Central Freight Lines expand its operation further into the Southeastern United States. But the groundwork for the company’s rise was laid years earlier. The Waco, Texas-based carrier has set its sights on growth in the Bible Belt, seeking out and closing acquisitions in the region in three of the last five years. In 2014, Central Freight Lines grew its East Coast reach by acquiring Georgia-based Drug Transport out of bankruptcy along with four of its Peach State-based terminals. The year before, Central Freight Lines purchased Nashville, Tenn.-based LTL carrier Circle Delivery, which also bolstered the company’s presence in Wisconsin. The Wilson Trucking acquisition combined Central Freight Lines’ 56-terminal network in 17 Western and Southwestern states with Wilson’s 29-terminal network in nine Southeastern states and Washington D.C., allowing the company “to give our customers the extended coverage they’ve been asking for,” says Don Orr, Central Freight Lines president and chief executive officer. In the past 12 months, Central Freight Lines has added 73 tractors and 40 trailers and boosted its driver force by more than 36 percent. In July, the company debuted a new division for owner-operator teams called the Expedited Elite Fleet, offering drivers $1.15 per-mile base pay plus fuel surcharge with dedicated lanes, terminal-to-terminal runs, two coast-to-coast options and 5,000 miles or more per week. – Jason Cannon

commercial carrier journal

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THE TOP 250 FLEETS ARE EXEMPLARY COMPANIES. TOGETHER THEY SUPPLY OUR NATION’S WAY OF LIFE.

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101-125 For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com.

2017

Company

101

Martin Transportation Systems Inc. 103 Byron Center, MI Superior Bulk Logistics 98 Oak Brook, IL Hansen & Adkins Auto Transport 99 Los Alamitos, CA May Trucking Co. 106 Salem, OR Stan Koch & Sons Trucking Inc. 111 Minneapolis, MN Groendyke Transport Inc. 110 Enid, OK Brown Integrated Logistics Inc. 101 Lithonia, GA Super Service Holdings LLC 119 Grand Rapids, MI John Christner Trucking LLC 125 Sapulpa, OK Innovative Logistics Group 140 Taylor, MI Midwest Logistics Systems LTD 116 Celina, OH Navajo Express Inc. 121 Denver, CO Carter Express Inc. 118 Anderson, IN Millis Transfer Inc. 122 Black River Falls, WI Venture Express Inc. 126 La Vergne, TN A&R Logistics Inc. 124 Morris, IL Quality Drive-Away Inc. 117 Goshen, IN Kaplan Trucking Co./Horizon Freight System Inc. 82 Cleveland, OH PGT Trucking Inc. 120 Monaca, PA Ozark Motor Lines Inc. 143 Memphis, TN Beelman Truck Co. 135 East St. Louis, IL The Decker Companies 132 Ft. Dodge, IA Star Fleet Trucking Inc. 107 Middlebury, IN K&B Transportation Inc. 146 South Sioux City, NE Falcon Transport Co. 153 Youngstown, OH

102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125

commercial carrier journal

2016 Rank

| august 2017

109 JOHN CHRISTNER TRUCKING

BOUNCING BACK AND CELEBRATING eadquartered in Sapulpa, Okla., John Industry segment: Christner Trucking specializes in temperaRefrigerated ture-controlled truckload services, and its Tractors: 841 fleet is comprised entirely of owner-operators. The Trailers: 1,108 company hauls protein, produce and dairy products Drivers: 802 for the food industry. 2016 ranking: 125 The company was an early adopter of electronic logging devices in 2011. When the implementation began, the company had 800 trucks. By April 2012, the software was running on all of its trucks – all 700 of them, that is. The majority of the 100 drivers who quit were independent operators; the remainder came from its leased operator program. Their earnings had fallen along with the company’s productivity; miles per truck decreased by nine percent in five months. John Christner tackled this efficiency and manpower crisis by using the Virtual Hours of Service software from Add-On Systems. The tool uses its dispatch and real-time tracking data to monitor drive time and project the number of hours drivers will have available over the next two to three days. The company also implemented an optimized load planning tool, Driver&Load, from Manhattan Associates. Freightliner Trucks recently helped the resurgent John Christner, a longtime customer with 330 of the truck maker’s tractors in its fleet, mark its 25th anniversary with a tricked-out Coronado. The truck was presented to company founder John Christner during a recent celebration event at the Tulsa Convention Center. “Over the last 25 years, Freightliner Trucks has continued to develop the right solutions to fit our changing needs,” says Daniel Christner, the company’s vice president and chief operating officer. “They are a partner in every sense of the word, and we were thrilled to have Freightliner as part of our anniversary celebration.” – Dean Smallwood and Aaron Huff

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126-150 For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com.

2017

Company

126

The Suddath Companies Jacksonville, FL National Retail Systems Inc. North Bergen, NJ Coleman World Group Midland City, AL C&K Trucking LLC Chicago Ridge, IL National Carriers Inc. Liberal, KS Dupre’ Logistics LLC Lafayette, LA TransWood Carriers Inc. Omaha, NE Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc. Auburn, WA Smith Transport Inc. Roaring Spring, PA Ward Transport & Logistics Corp. Altoona, PA Paper Transport Inc. De Pere, WI Oakley Trucking N. Little Rock, AR Fleet-Car Lease Inc. Commerce City, CO Oakley Transport Inc. Lake Wales, FL Williams Brothers Trucking Inc. Hazlehurst, GA JBS Carriers Inc. Greeley, CO K.L. Breeden & Sons LLC Terrell, TX New Legend Inc. Yuba City, CA Tennessee Steel Haulers Inc. Nashville, TN G&P Trucking Co. Inc. Gaston, SC Indian River Transport Co. Winter Haven, FL SLH Transport Inc. Kingston, ON Tri-National Inc. Earth City, MO Saddle Creek Transportation Inc. Lakeland, FL Tankstar USA Inc. Milwaukee, WI

127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150

commercial carrier journal

2016 Rank

123

143 NEW LEGEND INC.

144 134 152 137 128 129 159 145 142 162 138 147 227 158 169 172 155 154 149 157 136 202 165 141

| august 2017

‘YOUR NORTHWEST CONNECTION’ ON I-5 ew Legend Transportation was estabIndustry segment: lished in 1996 as a single-truck operaGeneral freight tion in Yuba City, Calif., and was incorTractors: 675 porated in 2008. Since then, “Your Northwest Trailers: 1,900 Connection” has grown to over 500 trucks and Drivers: 675 1,200 dry vans, both plated and high cube. The 2016 ranking: 155 over-the-road company says that its customers treat it as a strategic partner with the common goals of fast, dependable and compliant service. New Legend’s customer base currently is concentrated on the Interstate 5 corridor from the Mexico border to Canada, where it has cross-border permits. Customers along the I-5 market can be provided with drop trailers at their locations, which allows them the flexibility to load or unload while giving New Legend the opportunity to prepare to get the most hours of service from its drivers to be successful with on-time delivery. New Legend touts extensive Truckload service experience and stability transporting goods from manufacturers in a wide variety of industries. The company’s customized Dedicated solutions meet the unique needs of each customer’s business and industry; New Legend manages costs, regulatory compliance and performance of service with scalable solutions. A wide range of Expedited team capacity solutions include multiple tractor and trailer options to maximize cube and weight and also promote added value to customers. The company says its High Cube service is beneficial across various industries for shipping retail products, paper products, building products, pallets and packaging materials, providing more loading capacity and allowing for savings. High cube trailers are offered in the Western 11 states, where 50 percent of the van capacity is high cube. At 4,331 cubic feet, high cube trailers offer 331 more loadable cubic feet than a standard dry van of 4,000 cubic feet, and with 8.2 percent more cubic volume per load, it takes 12 standard vans to ship the same amount of volume that 11 high cube vans provide. – Dean Smallwood

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151-175 For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com.

2017

Company

151

CalArk Inc. Mabelvale, AR Eagle Transport Corp. Winterville, NC Spee Dee Delivery Service Inc. St. Cloud, MN Venture Logistics Inc. Indianapolis, IN American Eagle Logistics LLC Lafayette, LA Transportation Services Inc. Romulus, MI Gypsum Express Ltd. Baldwinsville, NY J&R Schugel Trucking Inc. New Ulm, MN H&R Transport Ltd. Calgary, AB Florida Rock & Tank Lines Jacksonville, FL American Bulk Commodities Boardman, OH Martin Transport Inc. Kilgore, TX Midland Transport Dieppe, NB Bay & Bay Transfer Co. Inc. Eagan, MN United Petroleum Transports Inc. Oklahoma City, OK Big G Express Inc. Shelbyville, TN Day & Ross Transportation Group Hartland, NB Pride Transport Inc. Salt Lake City, UT Dedicated Logistics Inc. Oakdale, MN A.D. Transport Express Inc. Canton, MI McElroy Truck Lines Inc. Cuba, AL Combined Transport Inc. Central Point, OR Online Transport Inc. Greenfield, IN Cargo Transporters Inc. Claremont, NC Wiley Sanders Truck Lines Inc. Troy, AL

152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175

commercial carrier journal

2016 Rank

174

166 BIG G EXPRESS

164 179 114 130 161 160 166 219 168 167 150 178 156 170 208 115 180 185 175 177 173 176 209 194

| august 2017

BIG G RIDES EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP UP THE RANKS

Industry segment: General freight Tractors: 601 Trailers: 1,675 Drivers: 565 2016 ranking: 208

ig G Express, a two-decade-old fleet headquartered in Shelbyville, Tenn., jumped 42 spots in this year’s rankings, riding the momentum of an expansion to its operations last year. The dry van carrier in 2016 added about 100 trucks and drivers in a year when many carriers, particularly larger carriers, were sidelining capacity due to freight constraints and cheap rates. The company is 100 percent employee-owned, a plan set in motion in 2009 when Big G Express founders, brothers Jack and Pat Marsh, sold their stock to the company’s employees. Ownership share now is based on years employed at the company and compensation rates. Founded in 1996 with six trucks and 12 trailers, the company now boasts over 600 tractors, nearly 1,700 trailers and 565 drivers. Its drivers also consistently receive national recognition. In 2015, the Truckload Carriers Association, in partnership with Truckers News, named Big G Express driver Danny Smith as the 2015 Driver of the Year, a prestigious award that came with a $25,000 prize. Big G Express drivers also have been captains for the American Trucking Associations’ America’s Road Team the last four years. The driver ambassador group, in addition to remaining full-time truck drivers, travel the country to promote a positive image of trucking and drivers. The carrier says that since drivers also are vested owners of the company, it’s able to offer top-of-the-line service to its customers and invest in technologies that make its operations more efficient and enhance safety. – James Jaillet

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At PeopleNet, everything we do is designed to make the truck driving experience safer and more efficient. For you, that means increased productivity. A more well-protected fleet. And ultimately, a better bottom line. But it also means the freedom to get the job done faster from wherever you are, so you can return to the time that truly matters. Because we all want the most out of our hours of living.

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PeopleNet’s electronic logs: one part of our full-service ConnectedFleet solution. ConnectedFleet is a trademark of PeopleNet. ©2017 PeopleNet. All rights reserved. This information is subject to change without notice. Printed in the U.S.A. 06/17

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176-200 For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com.

2017

Company

176

Wilson Logistics Springfield, MO Benore Logistic Systems Inc. Erie, MI Admiral Merchants Motor Freight Inc. Minneapolis, MN Aim Integrated Logistics Girard, OH West Side Transport Inc. Cedar Rapids, IA McClymonds Supply & Transit Co. Inc. Portersville, PA M&M Transport Services Inc. Putnam, CT Carroll Fulmer Logistics Corp. Groveland, FL Midwest Transport Inc. Robinson, IL Sharkey Transportation Inc. Quincy, IL R.E. Garrison Trucking Inc. Cullman, AL WEL Companies Inc. De Pere, WI Salem Carriers Inc. Winston-Salem, NC Leonard’s Express Farmington, NY SNL Distribution Services Corp. Birmingham, AL Slay Transportation Co. Inc. St. Louis, MO Artur Express Inc. St. Louis, MO Dillon Transport Inc. Burr Ridge, IL Hartt Transportation Systems Inc. Bangor, ME Beam Bros. Trucking Inc. Mt. Crawford, VA Bulkmatic Transport Co. Inc. Griffith, IN W.W. Transport Inc. West Burlington, IA Western Dairy Transport LLC Cabool, MO Haney Truck Line Yakima, WA Titan Transfer Inc. Shelbyville, TN

177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

commercial carrier journal

2016 Rank

176 WILSON LOGISTICS

210 171 212 192 183 220 193 211 188 204 201 198 205 207 195 NR 181 216 214 186 237 163 213 196

| august 2017

DIVERSIFYING, GROWING IN THE NATION’S HEARTLAND ilson Logistics is a family-owned Industry segment: and -operated organization with General freight a diverse portfolio of solutions for Tractors: 511 its clients. The company began as Wil-Trans in Trailers: 314 1990, a Springfield, Mo.-based trucking company. Drivers: 533 Through the acquisitions of Jim Palmer Trucking 2016 ranking: in 2014, O&S Trucking in 2016 and RJ’s TransNot ranked portation in 2017, Wilson Logistics was formed. Today, the company operates as an asset-based third-party logistics provider with a range of transportation services, including full truckload, Yard Management Solutions, Dedicated Solutions and Power Only Solutions. The company’s combined fleet of more than 500 trucks supports its service offerings through two locations: Springfield, home of Wil-Trans and O&S Trucking; and Missoula, Mont., home of Jim Palmer Trucking. Wilson Logistics prides itself on its ability to be fast, effective and flexible. The company has over 25 years of experience hauling full truckload freight in the contiguous United States and Canada with its own power units and dry van trailers and a vast carrier partner network. The company’s Yard Management Solutions offers spotting and local shuttle services by specialized daycabs and terminal tractors and advanced analytics to target inefficiencies, help reduce cost and increase productivity. Dedicated Solutions are customized to offer all of the benefits of a private fleet without the complete cost of an operation. Wilson Logistics manages all aspects of the operation, including costs, compliance, service and safety. Options include a revenue share model, a fixed variable cost setup or a full private fleet conversion. Wilson Logistics’ Power Only service allows customers to supplement their existing operations with professional equipment and personnel. The average age of the fleet’s tractors is one to two years old, all spec’d with the latest technologies. – Dean Smallwood

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201-225 For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com.

2017

Company

201

PI&I Motor Express Inc. Sharon, PA Raven Transport Co. Inc. Jacksonville, FL Miller Transporters Inc. Jackson, MS Stevens Worldwide Van Lines Saginaw, MI Transystems LLC Great Falls, MT Wayne Transports Rosemount, MN The Dependable Companies Los Angeles, CA Fraley and Schilling Inc. Rushville, IN Cypress Truck Lines Inc. Jacksonville, FL Venezia Inc. Royersford, PA Midwest Motor Express Bismarck, ND Freymiller Inc. Oklahoma City, OK Danny Herman Trucking Inc. Mountain City, TN Mission Petroleum Carriers Inc. Houston, TX C.T.I. Inc. Coal City, IL Coastal Transport Co. Inc. San Antonio, TX Rush Trucking Inc. Wayne, MI TLD Logistics Services Inc. Knoxville, TN Lessors Inc. Eagan, MN D.M. Bowman Inc. Williamsport, MD Abilene Motor Express North Chesterfield, VA Transervice Logistics Inc. Des Plaines, IL Arpin Group Inc. West Warwick, RI E.L. Hollingsworth & Co. Flint, MI Halvor Lines Inc. Superior, WI

202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225

commercial carrier journal

2016 Rank

182

209 CYPRESS TRUCK LINES

197 223 229 203 190 127 191 222 221 200 199 225 215 236 240 151 231 226 224 228 NR 217 232 233

| august 2017

FLATBED SUCCESS IN A FLAT MARKET ince 1972, Cypress Trucks Lines has Industry segment: been a family-owned and operated Flatbed/specialized/ flatbed trucking company based in Jackheavy haul sonville, Fla. From the drivers and mechanics to Tractors: 550 the operations and office staff, the Cypress team’s Trailers: 1,800 goal is to work in unison to provide the greatest Drivers: 426 experience and results for its customers. Despite 2016 ranking: 222 a flat market for flatbed operations in 2016, the company’s revenue grew, with better prospects anticipated in 2017. Cypress says its drivers on the road are front and center of who it is and what it does — the backbone that keeps the business going. To that end, the company offers guaranteed weekends home — a huge commitment but a worthwhile one to promise to its 600-plus drivers. Cypress also says it is able to command a market presence that ensures year-round freight. David Penland, president of Cypress Truck Lines, purchased the assets of Jacksonville-based Ploof Truck Lines out of bankruptcy and in November 1999 changed the name to Ploof Carriers Corp. Merging the operations of the two companies resulted in the largest gypsum carrier in the United States. Cypress also was an early adopter of SmartDrive video event recorders. Prior to using SmartDrive, the company was relying on critical event data from its telematics system that reported how fast a driver was moving at the time of a sudden deceleration or “hard braking” incident, along with other details. But the data in the telematics report was not as conclusive as video. “We felt like we could take it to the next level,” said Thad Penland, Cypress Truck Lines vice president. As part of the rollout, the company put cameras in all trucks with new drivers to “get a good look” at who it had hired. Within weeks of implementation, Cypress had seen its SmartDrive safety scores improve by 57 percent, with reductions in speeding and distracted driving by 58 percent and 48 percent, respectively. – Dean Smallwood and Aaron Huff

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sponsored by

226-250 For detailed and sortable rankings, visit www.ccjtop250.com.

2017

Company

226

Landair Greeneville, TN California Multimodal LLC Signal Hill, CA Schuster Co. Le Mars, IA Heyl Truck Lines Inc. Akron, IA Fremont Contract Carriers Inc. Fremont, NE Market Transport Ltd. Portland, OR Modern Transportation Services Sewickley, PA Lily Transportation Corp. Needham, MA Miller Truck Lines Inc. Stroud, OK HVH Transportation Inc. Denver, CO N&M Transfer Co. Inc. Neenah, WI Milan Express Milan, TN J&M Tank Lines Inc. Birmingham, AL CDN Logistics Inc. Northlake, IL Andrus Transportation Services St. George, UT Cliff Viessman Inc. Gary, SD Gibson Energy LLC Rockwall, TX G&D Integrated Morton, IL Builders Transportation Co. LLC Memphis, TN Penner International Inc. Steinbach, MB Tutle & Tutle Trucking Inc. Cleburne, TX Poly Trucking Inc. Grand Prairie, TX Normandin Transit Inc. Napierville, QC American Central Transport Kansas City, MO Metropolitan Trucking Inc. Bloomsburg, PA

227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250

commercial carrier journal

2016 Rank

246

249 AMERICAN CENTRAL TRANSPORT

234 244 239 NR NR 230 NR 238 242 245 248 NR NR 249 NR 184 235 NR 247 187 NR NR NR NR

| august 2017

INNOVATIVE COMPANY RECRUITS, KEEPS THE BEST DRIVERS Industry segment:

merican Central Transport started out as General freight a small flatbed trucking company called Tractors: 331 E.K. Motor Service, operating in Joliet, Trailers: 1,022 Ill. In 1972, Tom B. Kretsinger Sr. purchased Drivers: 350 the company and changed the name to Ameri2016 ranking: can Central Transport, or ACT. By 1994, it had Not ranked converted its operation to 100 percent dry van truckload service. Today, ACT operates over 300 trucks, a majority being company drivers. The Kansas City, Mo.-based truckload company was named ’s 2012 Innovator of the Year for its novel approaches to address escalating fuel prices and driver recruiting and retention. By analyzing company driver performance, developing an innovative pay structure that incentivized good driving behavior and creating a recruiting strategy focused on former drivers returning to the industry, ACT set itself on a path for success, and the company recently opened its new headquarters. ACT also was an early adopter of onboard cameras and has seen its Compliance Safety Accountability scores steadily improve since it began using the Lytx DriveCam program in the latter half of 2014. The company deployed the DriveCam system in all of its company trucks throughout 2015 as they came in for maintenance services. Some of its contractors were slow to adopt the new technology, however. In summer 2015, management announced an incentive of 2 extra cents per mile to drivers who were using the system. Despite the incentive, a few contractors continued to hold out on the technology. In early 2016, management required the remaining drivers to meet one-on-one with the company’s chief executive officer, Tom Kretsinger Jr. After the meeting, they either had to go directly to the shop and get a DriveCam installed or terminate their contract. “Out of that group, we had very few leave us,” says Brandon Leininger, ACT’s director of risk management. “Most of them, once they had the meeting with Tom, said ‘Go ahead and put it in.’ ” – Dean Smallwood and Aaron Huff

About the

ommercial Carrier Journal has ranked the top forhire trucking companies since the late 1960s. The CCJ Top 250 is the most comprehensive ranking of active carriers. Our ranking takes into account not only the revenues posted by a trucking company but also its fleet size and employment base. Rankings based strictly on revenues often capture activities that have only an indirect relationship to transportation. Blending revenue, equipment and drivers also allows for a reasonable way to capture carriers that decline to disclose revenue. The CCJ Top 250 ranking treats all carriers under one umbrella as a single entity; carriers with significant ownership by an individual, family or company but not organized under a single management team are treated separately. For a detailed explanation of the CCJ Top 250 ranking methodology, see “Ranking Methodology” to the right. Our presentation of the CCJ Top 250 continues to evolve. Carriers that went out of business or were acquired by other companies in 2017 aren’t listed; instead, only active carriers are displayed. And as we have done the past four years, this year’s print version of the CCJ Top 250 information provides only very basic information on the carriers we rank. Virtually all of the underlying data – revenues, power units and drivers, for example – appear only online at CCJTop250.com. The CCJ Top 250 begins with data provided by RandallReilly’s RigDig Business Intelligence (www.rigdig.com/bi) based on data supplied by carriers to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on their required Form MCS150 filings. Because this data can be – although rarely is – as much as a couple of years old and because the MCS-150 does not include information on revenues, all carriers included in the ranking were given an opportunity to review FMCSA data for freshness and to supply information not included on the form. In some cases, CCJ supplements its data with other official sources, such as reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 74

commercial carrier journal

| august 2017

If a carrier declines to verify or update the data that we provide it for review, we presume the publicly available data is valid and use it for ranking purposes. Carriers are never allowed to opt out of the ranking. Ranking methodology CCJ ’s ranking of companies is a blended scale based on a combination of revenue, total power units and number of drivers rather than a ranking simply by revenue. Companies considered for inclusion in the CCJ Top 250 were ranked from high to low by revenue, power units (weighted based on the type of power unit as discussed below) and drivers and assigned a rank in each category. The numerical rank stored in each of the three fields was added together (revenue rank + vehicle rank + driver rank) to provide a rank sum. This sum then was ordered to provide the overall ranking assigned to each carrier, with the lowest sum receiving the highest rank. A number of carriers failed to report actual 2016 revenue. In order to be included in the blended ranking, they were assigned – for blended ranking purposes only – a calculated revenue figure determined by multiplying the carrier’s total number of power units by the average of the bottom 50 percent of revenue per power unit performers for the companies in that carrier’s primary segment. Calculated revenue is discounted by using the average of the bottom 50 percent of performers so that carriers failing to report revenue are not given an undue advantage in the ranking. Calculated revenue almost always will differ from actual revenue, of course, but the effect on the blended ranking likely is slight. The power unit ranking, which represents an investment as much as a physical-count measure of trucking assets, takes into account the difference between tractors and trucks. The assumption is that a for-hire carrier with 1,000 tractors has a greater investment in equipment than one with 1,000 straight trucks. For the purpose of the blended rank only, a truck was weighted at half the value of a tractor.

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PART 8: Providing business insights

Creating value from data BY AARON HUFF CHRIS GALLUP DESCRIBES

OrTran’s information systems prior to 2015 as “in the Stone Age.” “We were fragmented,” says Gallup, chief operating officer of the Kansas City, Mo.-based fleet with 60 power units. “We didn’t have our systems integrated, and we muddled through. What we were extremely good at was putting out fires. We realized we were arsonists. We put out a fire and celebrated it.” This month, the 2017 CCJ Top 250 ranks carriers with large numbers for revenues, drivers and truck and trailer assets. While those physical assets are relatively easy to quantify and benchmark, many companies would consider data to be their most valuable, albeit elusive, asset. It’s not the number of gigabytes or terabytes that create value. Rather, it’s the efforts and investments fleets are making to improve data quality and deliver key

“We were fragmented [before implementing BI]. We didn’t have our systems integrated, and we muddled through.” – Chris Gallup, COO, OrTran

insights to users at all levels, from the corporate suite to drivers. In 2015, OrTran implemented new fleet management systems and tied them together with TMW Systems’ Data Warehouse business intelligence platform. With this technology, executives and managers gained visibility to key metrics across the business. Gallup says the insights made it possible to cut costs and manage the business better through automation. By the end of 2016, OrTran had increased its value as a business, and its owner, David Orscheln, decided to sell the assets to Outwest Express, an El Paso, Texas-based

truckload carrier. Gallup continues to implement new technology for the combined company to get all users, equipment and data assets on a single platform. “The fun never stops,” he says. In this eighth edition of CCJ Tech Toolbox, we explain how motor carriers can use BI technology to create value from data and solve big challenges in the areas of compliance, operations, maintenance, driver performance, safety and more. Also be sure to visit CCJTechToolbox.com for other installments and multimedia content and to sign up for special CCJ TechToolbox webinars and newsletters.

Where to start with BI platforms BI platforms come in many shapes and sizes. Fleet management systems are often the entry point and catalyst for why fleets decide to invest in BI technology. Fleet management systems come with advanced reporting tools to display key performance metrics for drivers and vehicles, as well as compliance, operations, maintenance and any area of a business. The latest cloud-based or Software-as-a-Service systems typically have a dashboard-style user interface with graphical objects known as cards that display key metrics. The metrics can be customized to individual user responsibilities and preferences to simplify and speed up the workflow and tasks for processes that once took hours to complete. Fleet management systems pull data from a sin-

PART 8: Providing business insights gle database, but to have visibility of multiple systems in a single application requires a BI platform of some variety. Many fleets use BI platforms from companies such as Microsoft, Domo, Cognos and their transportation management software system providers. As part of setting up a data warehouse, companies first may need to “cleanse” their data and establish standard definitions. U.S. Xpress went through this process in 2016 to report the true lifecycle costs of its assets. But getting the stakeholders from its operations and maintenance departments to agree on data definitions was not an easy task. “The meetings were pretty intense to get down to whose definition was ‘right’ and whose was ‘wrong,’ ” says Gerry Mead, senior vice president of fleet maintenance for the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based carrier. As an example, there was disagreement on the meaning of a “dispatched” and “not dispatched” truck. The operations and maintenance departments wanted to know who was responsible to get the “not dispatched” trucks moving, Mead says. Once the data is cleaned and defined, companies can create, mix and match key metrics with visualization tools and drill-down reporting to present a compelling story to users and create accountability.

A BY-THE-BOOK DASHBOARD MVT uses BI to simplify safety, compliance processes IN DECEMBER 2016, THE FEDERAL MOTOR Carrier Safety Administration conducted an onsite audit of Mesilla Valley Transportation (CCJ Top 250, No. 75). This was MVT’s second audit in as many years. “The auditors came in and looked at all of the different things we were doing,” says Mike Kelley, chief information officer of the Las Cruces, N.M.-based fleet. “We came out squeaky clean.” The first onsite audit in October 2015 was a different experience. The audit uncovered gaps in the fleet’s compliance processes and sparked a turnaround project. “We started doing a concentrated push to make sure we were operating correctly with a focus on safety to show we were doing the things we needed to,” Kelley says. In the wake of the 2015 audit, as MVT was taking inventory of the situation, it became clear that employees lacked the tools to manage compliance proactively. Employees in the safety department were using FMCSA’s Compliance Safety Accountability portal to find the company’s hours-of-service and other violations. They also were being inundated by e-mail alerts from the fleet’s electronic HOS logging application, Kelley says. The fleet’s e-log application was sending email alerts starting when drivers had two hours remaining on their 11-hour cycle. With 1,300 trucks in the fleet and an average of 800 in motion on any given day, if all 800 trucks were getting a two-hour alert every day for 30 days straight, 24,000 alerts would be generated in a month, he says.

Mesilla Valley Transportation applied BI to harness data from its various systems and present critical safety and compliance information to employees. Throughout the month of January 2016, the fleet received 17,000 email alerts. After further review, only about 10 percent of those alerts required a proactive response action, Kelley says.

Back to development At the time, MVT was using BI tools in other areas of its business to create real-time dashboard reports for executives and managers. The dashboard reports were accessible to users through a Microsoft SharePoint webpage and pushed to them daily through scheduled emails. In early 2016, the company launched an initiative to apply BI capabilities in safety and compliance to harness data from its various systems and present critical information to users. As part of the project, developers created a workflow or “tasking solution” to ensure that compliance procedures were being followed. Russ Burns, senior developer for MVT, began the project with a BI application to categorize the email alerts. The most critical appear in a dashboard for MVT’s staff of 10 employees who manage real-time HOS compliance across the fleet’s 24/7 operations. As an example, an employee may see an alert on the dashboard that says a driver is out of hours but still moving. In that event, the employee would use the workflow tools to contact the driver and complete an investigation using drill-down reports. The investigation might lead to a fleet manager or customer sharing responsibil– Mike Kelley, CIO, Mesilla Valley Transportation ity for an HOS violation, Kelley says.

“By bringing all of this data together, we are not just blasting people with a firehouse of information. Now everybody has their own water fountain.”

PART 8: Providing business insights Another feature of the BI platform automatically audits driver logbook data by comparing a driver’s duty status to work activities such as fueling, loading/unloading and roadside inspections. If logbook data showed that a driver was logged as off duty during any of these activities, the BI system would trigger a workflow for the violation. The system also catches repeat violations from drivers. These events trigger an escalation process and workflow to managers in the safety department, Kelley says. “By bringing all of this data together, we are not just blasting people with a firehouse of information,” he says. “Now everybody has their own water fountain.” Besides creating a BI system to manage real-time compliance data, MVT uses BI technology daily to chart its progress and create new strategies. Managers use various reports in their daily safety department meetings to identify areas to address, Kelley says. Getting results Over the last two years, MVT has reduced the number of HOS violations in its CSA scores dramatically. The company’s CSA data show the fleet had nearly 3,300 roadside inspections during the last 24 months; only 1.7 percent of those inspections (55) had HOS violations. By making improvements to its compliance processes, MVT now is “ready for the new world” of electronic logging devices starting in December 2017, Kelley says. “We are already playing by the rules,” he says. The company is looking beyond compliance to harness data from various driver safety systems with its BI platform. Driver behavioral data from MVT’s video event recording system is another source to add to its safety and compliance dashboards. The data set from this system includes accelerometer events and following distances. Bringing this and other data into a single report would help employees be even more proactive in changing driver behaviors, Kelley says. Central to MVT’s BI strategy is the ability to access data from various systems through application program interfaces. Eventually, APIs will replace the process of extracting data from emails and monitoring the web portals of its various fleet management systems, he says.

FOCUSING ON BEHAVIORS ReedTMS Logistics looks at hourly performance of office employees THE TRADITIONAL REPORTING

structure for motor carriers is to get results into the hands of executives and managers as soon as possible after an established timeframe ends. By looking at the results, managers may want to know what happened during the weekly or monthly period to cause a change in income, revenue, customer service or any other measurement. Another report would have to be created, and by the time the report comes back, the person who asked for it may have forgotten why. One of the motivations for investing in BI is to create real-time visibility of daily activities and behaviors that drive bottom-line results. By focusing on behaviors, companies can hold people accountable. Mike Reed, president and chief financial officer of ReedTMS Logistics, invested in BI tools to focus quickly on problem areas that develop each day, such as a slip in revenue or an increase in deadhead miles. As part of the company’s BI strategy, it segments the reporting of its fleet into different groups — van, refrigerated and specialized. ReedTMS Logistics operates 76 trucks across these divisions. As CFO, Reed says his most critical daily reports come directly from the fleet’s LoadMaster TMS system from McLeod Software and show unbilled loads and aging receivables. Reed tasked his IT staff to give managers and employees real-time metrics through personalized dash-

ReedTMS Logistics uses personalized dashboards to display real-time metrics for managers and employees to achieve daily goals and meet weekly incentive plans. boards. As part of this project, the company created weekly incentive plans for office employees who meet daily goals. At ReedTMS Logistics, the BI platform harnesses data from multiple systems. On the logistics sales side, the platform pulls data from Salesforce.com and the company’s Shoretel voiceover-IP phone systems. On the asset side, the platform pulls data from the PeopleNet mobile fleet management system and McLeod. ReedTMS Logistics has dashboards for all of the company’s position groups from sales to accounting. In the center of the office is what Reed calls a “Jumbotron” with scorecard metrics rotating through four screens for everyone to see. The company has daily and hourly revenue and load count targets for employees to meet. Reed says that on the asset side, managers and

“Once you miss out on revenue, it’s gone. We focus more on the revenue that we need to make an acceptable level of profits.” – Mike Reed, president and CFO, ReedTMS Logistics

PART 8: Providing business insights employees see “what are we doing and what do we expect to be doing” for loads so “we can manage to the revenue.” “Once you miss out on revenue, it’s gone,” he says. “We focus more on the revenue that we need to make an acceptable level of profits.”

With BI, all of the information that U.S. Xpress managers in maintenance and operations need to do their jobs is available in a few mouse clicks.

Data segregation

A core function of BI tools is the ability to segregate the reporting of key metrics by different groups and divisions within an organization to create accountability. Tri-State Motor Transit, a provider of high-security transport services with more than 300 power units, already has seen a difference by using BI tools for this purpose. In May 2017, company managers held strategy meetings and set new goals to achieve higher levels of service, velocity, efficiency and revenue per truck. As part of this effort, they organized TSMT’s operations into strategic business units based on freight types. Previously, “everything was in one hopper, and it was anyone’s game,” says Frank Larance, director of asset utilization and business intelligence. Individuals now are responsible and held accountable for the freight in their business units. “They are running with it,” Larance says. “We also have specific goals set for them. Previously, we had generic targets, but they did not know how to impact targets. With segregation, you know exactly what you have to do. What we have seen is an increase in performance.” TSMT, which has offices in Joplin, Mo., and Glendale, Ariz., monitors its performance using McLeod’s Vital Signs BI tool. As part of Larance’s responsibilities, he monitors real-time performance metrics for deadhead, rate per mile, revenue per truck and more. All of these and other key metrics are displayed on big screens in the operations room.

GEARING UP ON MAINTENANCE

U.S. Xpress uses data to keep assets out of the shop ON EVERY DESKTOP PC IN THE IT

department of U.S. Xpress is a wallpaper image with a high-tech truck and a slogan: Technology and Business, Together We Deliver. Prior to 2016, the company’s maintenance and operations departments needed some help from IT. Managers in both departments lacked visibility as to why trucks were going beyond their promised due dates in the shop, as well as other factors that hurt asset utilization. In 2015, Jeff Seibenhener, chief information officer, began working on a project with Gerry Mead, senior vice president of fleet maintenance, to create a new suite of reports to provide real-time visibility of metrics for asset availability, utilization, velocity, throughput and more. To develop the system, Seibenhener and his IT department used the Microsoft BI stack to build the data warehouse, data cubes and analytical processes necessary to take transactional data from various sources and transform it into intelligent and consumable information. The information is delivered to users

“You’ve got to be able to move, shoot and communicate. If you are sitting there building reports and then having to analyze it, you just used up a whole bunch of time.” – Gerry Mead, senior VP of fleet maintenance, U.S. Xpress

through a web-based Microsoft SharePoint interface. The online reports help users at all levels “quickly understand if we are winning or losing,” Seibenhener says. The reports have helped the maintenance department find ways to decrease costs and increase uptime and asset availability. All of this gives operations the opportunity to generate more revenue and eliminate disruptions for drivers. “We are driving that business effi-

PART 8: Providing business insights ciency and managing both equipment and people really fast,” Mead says. A Tractor Velocity report shows the number of trucks, by division, that have been in the shop for more than 24 hours. Users can click on a number to find out why the truck is in the shop and take action to improve efficiency. Another report, Standard Repair Times, shows how efficiently the shops are completing repairs. Each type of repair is represented by a green,

yellow or red stoplight icon that indicates how the average repair time is trending in relation to the fleet’s SRT. “We don’t want report builders, we want true analysts,” Seibenhener says. For Mead, one of the most important reports shows failures that occur between preventive maintenance events. The company’s trade cycle for tractors is 500,000 miles, and it schedules a PM service every 50,000 miles to change oil, fuel filters and more.

With BI, managers in maintenance and operations no longer have to search or ask for answers. All of the information they need to do their jobs and accomplish the company’s goals is available in a few mouse clicks. “You’ve got to be able to move, shoot and communicate,” Mead says. “If you are sitting there building reports and then having to analyze it, you just used up a whole bunch of time.”

SCORING DRIVERS

Paper Transport used BI to create a custom mobile app and a scorecard to give its drivers a daily snapshot of their safety and fuel behavior scores.

Fleets can answer the question ‘What makes a good driver?’ MANY MOBILE FLEET

management systems come with driver scorecard applications. By connecting to the vehicle’s electronic control module, these systems capture safety and fuel behaviors, score them and show drivers how they stack up against the rest of the fleet. Paper Transport, a Green Bay, Wis.-based dry van carrier with 570 trucks, wanted to create a driver scorecard that showed more information than what was being captured by their trucks’ ECMs. Peter Covach, IT systems analyst at Paper Transport, led the development of a custom Android mobile app and a scorecard feature to give its drivers a daily snapshot of their scores in four categories: safety, production, equipment and administration. The custom app uses real-time information from the fleet’s XRS mobile platform from Omnitracs. It also imports information from the fleet’s TMS system.

“Our scorecard used to be very high-level and didn’t have detail,” Covach says. “Drivers would only get a score 30 days later. With the new iteration, we are able to download, validate and display that data to drivers in a timely manner. Now drivers actually believe what is coming out of their scores. It has really been driving our driver behavior, which is fantastic.” Companies can use BI products to create these types of robust driver scorecards using data from multiple systems. The TMW Data Warehouse platform comes with built-in integrations with PeopleNet and TMW Systems’ suite of products. Fleets that use TMW Data Warehouse have their

data from PeopleNet and TMW products in a single location. By using a report builder called TMW Data Warehouse Explorer, driver scorecards can be created by selecting the data sources from different categories and building metrics. Brian O’Sickey, a senior business intelligence analyst at TMW Systems, recently presented a webinar to explain the process of using Explorer to create a driver scorecard. Using the Trip Details data source, O’Sickey showed how a user can select revenue, dispatch mileage (loaded, empty and

“Now drivers actually believe what is coming out of their scores. It has really been driving our driver behavior, which is fantastic.” – Peter Covach, IT systems analyst, Paper Transport

hub miles), pickups, deliveries and other driver-related data points. He used a Calculation Builder feature in the report palette to show how users can create custom metrics by entering formulas that weigh each metric to create an overall score. The report palette has features to sort metrics and add color-coded visual cues to help identify top performers and trending patterns. A common setup is to have a scorecard dashboard in the left quadrant of a screen that shows a ranked list of drivers by their overall scores in their peer groups. The screen’s remaining real estate can be filled with charts and graphs to show data trends. Users also can create drill-down reports to view historical details for any metric in the scorecard.

PART 8: Providing business insights

Cypress Truck Lines’ management team developed a robust driver coaching program using SmartDrive’s video-based insights.

A CLEARER PICTURE

Video telematics systems improve driver coaching effectiveness IN TERMS OF DATA QUALITY, PERHAPS

nothing is more definitive than having actual video footage. A fast-growing number of fleets now are using technology that combines video with telematics data and BI to assess driver performance based on incidents such as hard braking or sudden swerving. Lytx has loaded its DriveCam Enterprise Workspace online portal with BI tools designed to simplify the workflow for driver coaching to change behaviors. The portal’s goal is to create “more results with less effort,” says Brandon Nixon, chairman and chief executive officer of Lytx. With DriveCam Enterprise Workspace, coachable events and other information are presented using objects called “cards” that show a lot of data in a simple way. A Driver Profile screen gives managers more context and information to be effective coaches and to track that effectiveness. “We used a lot of behavioral science in the design, not only to get drivers to change but also to get coaches to do the things we want them to do in a meaningful way,” says Kristin Costas, product lead at Lytx.

Categories of risky observable behaviors are assigned a time-weighted score for the last 30 days. The points system shows the relative collision risks of behaviors based on Lytx’ ongoing analysis of its 70 billion-plus miles of observable driving data. The company’s data show the importance of reducing incidents of drivers not wearing seatbelts. Drivers who don’t wear seatbelts are 3.4 times more likely to be involved in a collision, according to Lytx. Cypress Truck Lines, a family-owned and -operated flatbed carrier based in

“We used a lot of behavioral science in the design, not only to get drivers to change but also to get coaches to do the things we want them to do.” – Kristin Costas, product lead, Lytx

Jacksonville, Fla., adopted the SmartDrive video-based safety platform in 2012 to improve safety and gain a deeper understanding of the overall risk for its 500 power units that operate in the eastern half of the United States. The SmartDrive program identifies unsafe driving with an open platform that captures video, vehicle, audio and driving data and automatically offloads footage for expert review and analysis. Cypress’ management team has developed a robust driver coaching program using SmartDrive’s insights. Because footage and analysis is provided in real time, coaches can sit down with drivers on an as-needed individual basis. The fleet has created a safety bonus program using the SmartDrive safety scores of each driver. Drivers can track their personal scores on a mobile app. Since adopting the SmartDrive program and providing ongoing evidence-based coaching to drivers, Cypress’ safety score has improved by 80 percent, and the fleet also has reduced instances of exceeding its maximum speed by 100 percent. Cypress also credits the technology for improving seatbelt use dramatically and reducing instances of cellphone use and distracted driving.

n PA R T N E R S O L U T I O N S / N A V I S TA R

Technology plays growing role in providing business insights

OnCommand® Connection is shifting truck maintenance/repair culture from reactive to proactive, offering a window into driver behavior and helping fleet managers accurately bid on loads.

Matthew Krump is director of strategic ince 2013, Navistar’s OnCommand® development for Navistar Connected Services. Connection has given trucking company Since 2005, he has worked with Navistar, owners the opportunity to transform their focusing on marketing, administration and maintenance and repair operations from development of the OnCommand suite of 10 unique solutions that help customers better reactive to proactive and predictive. manage their fleet operations. “OnCommand Connection provides fleets of all sizes a window into the health and operations of each one of their vehicles, regardless of make, model, engine or age,” says Matthew Krump, director of strategic development for Navistar Connected Services. With vehicle-health visibility provided by an online dashboard and reporting tools, fleet managers can quickly identify vehicles that are showing signs of potential problems. In addition, OnCommand Connection mapping tools help customers find nearby service providers so they can route a driver to the closest location or contact a local provider for help. We asked Krump to tell us more about how OnCommand Connection can give trucking company owners insights into their businesses.

With technology evolving so rapidly, is OnCommand Connection offering any new tools?

On July 5, 2017, OnCommand Connection released several major enhancements and added a full telematics system (hardware and

online dashboard), including an ELD app for all makes of vehicles. This new bundled product offering includes two years of service, with all

The ﬂeet manager's OnCommand Connection dashboard includes a Health Report that shows operational data and diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) for all vehicles enrolled in the system.

the features and functionality included.

Is there any information that can help ﬂeets with driver training and re-training?

Yes. New reports included with the new OnCommand Connection telematics hardware and dashboard provide insights on: • Rapid stops and harsh acceleration events • Vehicle idling reports and fuel economy • Vehicle trip mapping history • Driver Hours of Service logging (compliant with U.S. DOT’s electronic-logging-device mandate)

How do OnCommand Connection products and services help analyze the data they collect so it’s quick and easy to understand?

The system displays diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) and operational data in a dynamic, easy-toread Health Report view. It draws from OnCommand Connection’s wealth of vehicle and engine data to interpret the Diagnostic Trouble Codes through more than 22,000 Fault Code Action Plans (FCAPs). These FCAPs provide a description of the fault codes in plain English, along with possible symptoms being experienced, and includes questions a ﬂeet manager can ask a

driver to help verify the problem. In addition, the OnCommand Connection FCAPs provide the severity level and recommended actions to take. OnCommand Connection gœs above and beyond by helping customers easily understand the best way to address speciﬁc vehicle issues.

How dœs OnCommand Connection help minimize downtime? How are the driver, technician and ﬂeet manager affected?

When a customer enrolls vehicles in OnCommand Connection, the system quickly identifies those showing the most severe problems and recommends actions. Armed with this knowledge, a fleet manager hearing from a driver about a dashboard light or other issue can have real-time visibility into the vehicle’s health, ask the driver pertinent follow-up questions and make an educated decision. Fleet managers can feel confident determining whether a vehicle needs to be brought in for service immediately or, alternatively, a technician can address the problem during the next scheduled-maintenance session. Technicians and fleet maintenance providers receive detailed action plans and procedures to help them properly diagnose and repair all issues, major or minor. The predictive maintenance and repair culture OnCommand Connection creates allows fleets to operate more efficiently by avoiding over- and under-

reactions to potential issues. This reduces downtime and gives customers a chance to address minor issues before they escalate into problems requiring more costly repairs. By contrast, when ﬂeets using systems that lack the remotediagnostic capabilities of OnCommand Connection contact a service provider because they are experiencing a problem, the service provider can only ask the customer to bring the vehicle in so a technician can look at it. With the remote-diagnostics visibility provided by OnCommand Connection, customers and service providers can better decide what actions should be taken and implement a plan proactively.

Can OnCommand Connection provide data that assists with load scheduling?

When a company’s drivers use our EDL app, the fleet manager’s dashboard provides a quick view into each driver’s available hours and time remaining before a mandated break. The fleet manager also sees vehicles’ locations and health/safety/inspection statuses. With this information, fleet managers can bid accurately and safely on the next load for each of their assets. We are looking into ways load scheduling can be more directly integrated into our current solution as we continue adding fleet-maintenance functionality to provide the best-possible telematics and diagnostics experience to our customers.

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Don’t give inspectors an easily visible reason to pull you over BY JASON CANNON

The following story is Part 2 of a three-part series on “Preventing CSA Vehicle Maintenance Violations.” Last month’s installment focused on brake violations. Next month’s story will highlight violations involving tires.

ights account for almost 30 percent of all Compliance Safety Accountability violations, and in an ironic twist, inoperable lights serve as visible indicators that a truck’s overall maintenance may leave something to be desired, acting as an invitation to inspectors to give the truck a thorough lookover. “Pre-trip and post-trip inspections play a significant role when it comes to avoiding CSA violations,” says Megan Vincent, Phillips Industries’ marketing manager. “Inspecting the trailer and tractor for broken or inoperable lights can save a driver time and stress in the long run. We all know lights can be the easiest violation for inspectors to spot, so why risk it? If any of the lights are nonfunctioning, they will stand out

and could call attention to other violations the vehicle may have.” As it ages, an electrical system becomes less reliable and more susceptible to damage and failure. The operating environment also plays a role in electrical system integrity, and drivers operating an older vehicle in challenging conditions should be the most diligent in their inspection process. Andrew Liuzzo, Truck-Lite’s marketing communications specialist, says that drivers may not always invest the proper amount of time into pre-trip inspections due to their schedules and time constraints. “In addition to being functional and intact, lights and reflectors must also be wiped clean of any dirt or debris, a step that is sometimes overlooked,” he says.

Scheduling and time constraints aside, there is no more important step in lighting safety than a proper pre-trip inspection, says Brett Johnson, Optronics International president and chief executive officer. “Regardless of maintenance practices and the type of lighting technology on a vehicle, it all leads to the question of whether the lighting and electrical system is in sufficient operational condition for safe operation,” Johnson says. “The driver is the last person in line to make that call.” Lighting violations carry six severity points each, with headlight and taillight violations an automatic OutOf-Service violation, adding another two points. “There are more advanced options for checking your system beyond pre-trip inspections,” Vincent says.

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EQUIPMENT: LIGHTING VIOLATIONS

In recent years, tractors have started using the same taillight as the trailers, 4-inch round, which makes it more universal.

“There are several systems currently on the market that can monitor the state of your lights, making it easier to know if you are experiencing a lighting failure. But identifying a cracked or missing lens by a walkaround inspection is a pretty simple way to reduce the chances of being spotted for a violation.” Symptoms of a failure Flickering or dim lights are usually pre-failure symptoms that can be caused by issues such as improper bulbs, damaged wiring and corroded sockets. “While these could be signs of a light failure itself, it tends to be an underlying problem within the electrical harness or wiring,” Vincent says. If you’re experiencing dim or flickering lighting with LEDs, there is almost certainly a deeper electrical issue, Johnson says. “Beyond just visually inspecting whether a light is lit, a driver or technician should always inspect connections and harnesses,” Liuzzo says. “A multimeter can aid greatly in ensuring that a 90

commercial carrier journal

lamp is receiving proper voltage.” LED lighting is more resilient than incandescent lighting, so an LED lighting failure may be a sign of a bigger problem, Johnson says. “A failed lamp may mean corrosion is already present within the system,” he says. Corrosion is one of the most common causes of a lighting fault, and it can be avoided by sealing out the intrusions of foreign substances. “The main ingredients for corrosion are water, de-icing chemicals, salts and road debris,” Vincent says. “Combine that with electrical current, which accelerates the development of corrosion even further.” Brad Van Riper, Truck-Lite’s senior vice president and chief technology officer, recommends that technicians look for signs of field repair in the lighting electrical system, because the longer you can maintain the integrity of the wiring harness, the better the performance. “Fix any field repairs with proper procedures like removing any corrosion, removing wiring that exhibits

| august 2017

green corrosion and using heat-shrinkable covering over splices and repairs,” Van Riper says. A vehicle’s electrical system is designed to use dielectric grease, and in modular systems, connectors have reservoirs to hold the grease. Connectors should be inspected regularly during planned maintenance and the grease replenished as needed, Johnson says. “Moisture and corrosion are constantly assaulting a system at its weakest points, and that is any connection point,” he says. “Some fleets apply adhesive-lined heat-shrink tubing to all electrical connectors on the first day they take possession of a vehicle, and if a driver sees this, they know that their maintenance department probably has their back.” Corrosion prevention starts when the light is installed, Vincent says. “Mechanics can extend the life of their electrical wires and lights by properly sealing the connections,” she says. “We also encourage the use of grease to further prevent the damage of corrosion.” The first step in preventing electrical system corrosion is to remove any wire probes or picks used by technicians to penetrate the wire to measure voltage or continuity, Van Riper says. “The use of these wire probes causes permanent damage to the stranded wire, and the corrosion will wick up through the harness, causing the movement of corrosion through the electrical system,” he says. “The use of dielectric grease with a corrosion

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EQUIPMENT: LIGHTING VIOLATIONS

“Pre-trip and post-trip inspections play a significant role when it comes to avoiding CSA violations.” – Megan Vincent, Phillips Industries’ marketing manager

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inhibitor is a great recommendation we make to help improve the resistance of your wiring system from corrosion.” LED reliability, benefits LEDs have carved out a niche as a more durable replacement for standard lights. LEDs usually have a wider voltage operating range, offering the same light output in lowvoltage or voltage-drop situations, Vincent says. “When voltage drop occurs with incandescent lamps, they get dim, and you could be cited for insufficient lighting,” she says. While LEDs come with a price premium over incandescents, there are considerations that offer payback, says Marcus Hester, Optronics’ vice president of sales and marketing. If roadside service is necessary, the failure of a $5 lamp can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars in service fees, lost vehicle and driver productivity, fines for violations and significant points against the CSA scores of both the driver and fleet. “While in some cases the LED may be more expensive upfront, there is a significant savings in labor and downtime overall,” Vincent says. “They can reduce the chances of CSA violations as well.” LEDs also offer extended life, Van Riper says. “A good example is marker lights,” he says. “A red incandescent marker lamp has a rated life of 5,000 hours, while a red LED marker lamp has a rated life of 100,000 hours. Couple the life benefit of LED technology with the resistance to mechanical damage, shock and vibration, and you have a product that can potentially last the life of the vehicle.” The ratio of LED lamp orders versus incandescent lamps by OEMs is now surpassing 90/10, Hester says. “There is a clear and decisive move toward LED lamps over incandescent lamps

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EQUIPMENT: LIGHTING VIOLATIONS Connectors should be inspected regularly during planned maintenance and the grease replenished as needed.

across the board in the commercial vehicle arena,” he says. “This includes tractors, trailers and work trucks.” Hester says LED lamp prices have fallen exponentially over time and estimates that every decade, the cost per lumen falls by a factor of 10, while the amount of light generated by each LED package increases by a factor of 20. Also, modern LED lamps use between 10 and 30 percent of the amps needed to light an incandescent lamp, enabling fleets to repurpose that power for other electrical components. “I would have to say that we are entering the twilight of the incandescent era in truck lighting,” Johnson says. “As a practical matter, I can’t see why any fleet would still find value in spec’ing a vehicle with any incandescent lamps.” Switching to LEDs Converting a truck or trailer from incandescent to LED lighting can be as simple as unplugging the old light and plugging in the new one, but not in every case. “Tractors are a little more specific as to what they can replace as opposed to the variety available for trailers, and it’s straightforward,” Vincent says. “In recent years, tractors have started using the same taillight as the trailers, 4-inch 94

commercial carrier journal

round, which makes it more universal. In some cases, for trailers, changing over from an incandescent lamp to an LED may require an adapter. Mounting applications may need to be taken into consideration as well.” Van Riper says switching lamp types should be done with much consideration, adding that replacement kits designed for converting halogen lamps to HID or LED are illegal. “Use of illegal HID or LED kits in your headlamps will cause glare levels too high for oncoming drivers to be safe,” he says. “All replaceable bulb headlamps and bulbs shall be marked with the DOT symbol, and if they are not marked, we advise that you do not use them. For vehicles equipped with halogen headlamps, we recommend that you stick with halogen replacement bulbs called out by the manufacturer.” Van Riper also says to avoid using bulbs labeled “offroad use only,” as they often damage a headlamp to the point that it can’t be repaired. Incandescent systems often come with PL-3 connectors that are less reliable than the weathertight connectors found on most LED lamps, Johnson says. While Optronics recommends the use of weathertight connectors where possible to assure optimal service life,

| august 2017

fleets with existing incandescent lamps using PL-3 connectors can upgrade to Optronics LED lamps simply and easily, he says. Hester says that while the service and replacement market is following the OEM trend toward LED lighting, it lags because many vehicles originally equipped with incandescent lamps are still in service today. “Unlike LEDs, you won’t find many incandescent lamps on vehicles that haven’t been replaced multiple times,” he says. “Though LED lamps are often used to replace failed incandescent lamps, repairs are still made by simply replacing one incandescent lamp with another.” The ratio of LED lamp sales vs. incandescent lamp sales within the service-related replacement market is about 70/30, Hester says. Lighting violations that aren’t lights Reflectors and conspicuity tape are critical items that often are overlooked. Johnson calls them “the last bastion of safety and visibility in a situation when the lighting and power are out on a vehicle.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires most trailers in trucking applications to be equipped on the sides and rear with a means of making them more visible on the road. The NHTSA rule allows trailer manufacturers to install either red and white retroreflective sheeting or reflex reflectors. Drivers can receive violations for having defective reflectors and conspicuity tape and should make sure reflectors are free of cracks and dirt, Johnson says. “Over time, conspicuity tape can also degrade to the point that it is no longer sufficiently reflective, thus making an unlit truck a sitting duck for a collision,” he says.

PA R T N E R S O L U T I O N S / E X X O N M O B I L

New Mobil Delvac™ video series celebrates successful fleets

he team behind Mobil Delvac™ lubricants has launched a new video series focused on successful fleet managers, maintenance professionals and owners, called “The Hardest Mile.”

The first video produced by the Mobil Delvac team highlights American Expressway Inc., a family-owned, fleet based in Las Vegas. The company offers a combination of long haul, regional, cross-border and expedited freight transport, as well as truck and trailer repair services. In addition, the company transports equipment for elaborate stage shows and general supplies for casinos along the famous Las Vegas strip. The video was recently released on mobildelvac.com and is titled “Loading Las Vegas.”

For example, there are the dry conditions that prevail for most of the year. Summer heat consistently approaches or exceeds triple digits. And, come winter time, there can be numerous days with below freezing temperatures and heavy winds, a combination that is not ideal for commercial vehicles. Kallal credits the fleet’s use of Mobil Delvac™ 1300 Super diesel engine oil for helping to protect the company’s 27 Freightliners and Kenworths against these conditions and maximize uptime. “Most of our loads are time-sensitive, so our clients need to know and trust that we’ll deliver on that promise, or it’s going to cost us and them money,” Kallal said. “I trust Mobil Delvac™ diesel engine oil with our trucks. When the fleet works better, it makes my life a whole lot easier.”

It stars Chris Kallal, fleet manager, American Expressway Inc., who says that managing a fleet is never easy, but doing it in Las Vegas, is extra challenging.

According to Kallal, the company’s proactive maintenance approach and willingness to invest in its technicians also make life easier, helping ensure that trucks are serviced and back on the road quickly.

“There is so much going on here, because Las Vegas is a 24-hour, seven days a week town, all year long,” Kallal said with a laugh and a hearty smile.

“Our drivers love it that we can consistently get our trucks in and out of service within 24 hours,” Kallal said. “Because, in a 24-hour town like Las Vegas, the show must always go on.”

Along with the nonstop action, Kallal says the area’s extreme operating conditions provide unique maintenance challenges.

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BUILDING TRUCKING’S FUTURE

Routing strategies help fleets boost performance, safety BY AARON HUFF

oute planning and scheduling is among the most routine activities in operations. For many companies, the process has become automated, but there is always room for improvement. New technologies are prompting some fleets to look at routing through a more strategic lens. Rather than leave some of the details of route planning to drivers, some forward-thinking carriers now are optimizing an entire trip plan. Such a detail-heavy plan may include turn-by-turn navigation that guides drivers from dock to dock and through all types of weather and road conditions. The final mile is where it matters the most. As drivers approach a destination, applications can provide them with specific instructions on where to enter a facility and what procedures to follow. These and other details can help decrease accident risk and improve worker productivity.

Urban deliveries According to research firm Nielsen, 4 percent of food and beverage sales now are made online. By 2025, e-commerce will capture 20 percent of this $700 billion market. Online grocer Fresh Direct provides next-day delivery in the densely populated Connecticut-to-Philadelphia region. Most orders come from New York City – more specifically, Manhattan. Fresh Direct’s order placement

cutoff time for next-day delivery is in the early evening. After this time, the company begins the route scheduling and planning process for its private fleet that operates about 320 trucks most days and more than 400 during peak seasons. Fresh Direct uses the Omnitracs Roadnet software to optimize its daily routes dynamically. Some trips will dispatch a truck to a central location where employees called “runners” will make door-to-

Online grocer Fresh Direct uses the Omnitracs Roadnet software to optimize its nextday metropolitan delivery routes dynamically. commercial carrier journal

august 2017

TECHNOLOGY: STRATEGIC ROUTING Telogis allows TruGreen to steer its driver technicians to customer locations with the right side of their trucks — where the hose is located — facing the lawns for service.

door deliveries using handcarts that carry up to 20 cartons. All of the runners have separate routes. To make this type of plan work, Fresh Direct needs enough orders to fill three to six urban routes, says Rod Mathey, senior operations analyst. Route planners use Omnitracs Roadnet to input the number of runners available on the following day and at what time. “We can set up any number of different schedules for individual routes,” Mathey says. “On the day before delivery, it ends up being a people management issue to know who we will have available.” Once the schedules and routes are set, Fresh Direct sends runners a text message with instructions on where and when to be ready for work. The employees use public transportation to get to their assigned locations due to limited parking. “I can’t imagine how they would drive to a job,” Mathey says. Once they arrive, the runners use Airclic’s mobile app to view their individual delivery manifests, record their arrivals at each stop and confirm piece counts. Mathey expects the number of handcart routes will increase as the company grows, which will help its routes be more profitable while meeting next-day service requirements. “We will create more and more of these as we get to the right density level in various neighborhoods,” he says. 100

commercial carrier journal

Final-mile routing A route’s last few miles can be the most difficult and risky for drivers. The streets get smaller and the turns become tighter before drivers reach pickup or delivery sites. Once they arrive, they may not know where to enter, where to go and who to meet. All of this can leave drivers confused and distracted, raising their stress level and risks for accidents. One strategy is to fine-tune the preferences in a routing software system. TruGreen, a lawn care service provider, uses Telogis’ suite of route planning applications for its fleet of 7,000 vehicles. TruGreen has optimized its routes to put its driver technicians at customer locations with the right side of their trucks — where the hose is located — facing the lawns for service, says Ken Dewitt, the company’s chief information officer. Some of the latest developments in routing software make driving a truck comparable to flying an airplane. Just as air traffic controllers give pilots specific procedures when arriving at and departing from airports, fleets can provide Tri-State Motor Transit has implemented the Telogis Navigation app to send drivers detailed final-mile instructions to assist with pickups and deliveries.

| august 2017

drivers with the same type of detailed guidance for the final mile of their routes. Telogis Sites, a module that integrates with the Telogis Navigation app, lets users create site-specific instructions for drivers. Users view aerial satellite images of locations and set geofences to trigger a workflow in the cab for drivers. When drivers cross the geofences, a workflow for the specific location could read a custom note to drivers with instructions for the destination site. A geofence could be established a mile away from a site. When crossed, the app would read instructions on how to locate the entrance. Another geofence could be set up at the entrance to trigger instructions on where and how to proceed next, such as “Head to loading dock 12, and ask for Mark.” By using this feature in Telogis Sites, transportation companies can remove distractions for their drivers, says Erin Cave, Telogis’ vice president of product management. Tri-State Motor Transit is a division of Roadmaster that provides specialized, secure transport using 300 power units dispatched from offices in Joplin, Mo., and Glendale, Ariz. In May, the company implemented the Telogis Navigation app to send drivers detailed final-mile instructions to assist with pickups and deliveries. “Our main concern is that they are on a safe legal route for the product being transported,” says Frank Larance, TSMT’s director of asset utilization and business intelligence.

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