2022 Lifeliner Magazine --- Issue 1

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY

While trucking is but one link in the supply chain, we are all connected and part of a very expansive global environment. Keeping an eye of all the different links is critically important to all of us.

Issue 1, 2022

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Issue 1, 2022

The Delicate Links in the Supply Chain

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The trucking industry is but one link in the supply chain and the many other links of this important supply chain are tied to a much more global chain that continues to be troublesome and tenuous.

FEATURES p3

Chairman's Message

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President’s Message

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National News

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State News

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ATRI Update

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Human Resources Insight

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Economic Update

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IMTA Priorities

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Award Winner Insight

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IMTA Update

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Final Thought

OUR STAFF BRENDA NEVILLE, CAE President & CEO

GARY HANDLEY Special Projects Coordinator

JANELLE STEVENS Director of Communications, Education & Events

KEVIN WILLIAMS Special Projects Coordinator

brenda@iowamotortruck.com

janelle@iowamotortruck.com

ALLISON MEINERS Director of Safety & Member Services

gary@iowamotortruck.com

kevin@iowamotortruck.com

SAM SWANBERG Education & Events Manager sam@iowamotortruck.com

allison@iowamotortruck.com

KENZIE IHLE Education & Events Coordinator

MP DESIGN Design & Cover Illustration MPDesign.biz

kenzie@iowamotortruck.com IOWA MOTOR TRUCK ASSOCIATION 717 East Court Ave, Des Moines, IA 50309 515.244.5193 | iowamotortruck.com

SPONSORS IFC p4 p11 p16 p17

Great West Casualty MHC Kenworth Midwest Peterbilt Group Truck Country Thompson Truck & Trailer

p27 p32 p34

Truck Center Companies

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MHCS Trivista Companies, Inc.

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TCI Business Capital Thermo King Sales & Service

IMTA Cornerstone Sponsors

Central Trailer Service Quality Services Corp.

IBC BC

TrueNorth Companies Midwest Wheel Companies

ISSUE 1, 2022

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ROUND OF APPLAUSE TrueNorth Announces Trent Tillman as President

Jason Smith

Trent Tillman

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IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER

TrueNorth is excited to announce that Jason Smith, President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TrueNorth Companies, has extended his title of President to Trent Tillman, Executive Vice President (EVP) of TrueNorth’s transportation division.

Smith will remain CEO and Tillman will take on the role of President, while also retaining his responsibilities as EVP of the transportation division. This strategic decision will support firm growth as TrueNorth continues to operate as one of the nation’s largest privately held full-service risk management and insurance brokerage firms.

Ruan Driver Named America’s Road Team Captain Ruan driver Dean Key has been selected by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) as a captain on the 2022-2023 America’s Road Team. Key, who operates out of Ruan’s Holstein, IA, operation, has been with the company for 26 years, has achieved an exceptional safety record, and has earned a solid reputation as a mentor to other drivers. Dean was also recognized as IMTA’s Master Truck Driver of the Year in 2021.Dean will dedicate a few days each month to attend industry events, speak at schools, or meet policymakers on behalf of the trucking industry.

CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE Happy New Year!

There are a lot of commercial motor vehicles in the state The New Year is here and for those of us in trucking, that are represented beyond the IMTA membership. I am we enter the time of the year that really offers up the most sure you know folks that fall into that category. One of the challenges. Weather throughout the country gets dicey and ways you can help with this legislative effort is to reach out we all know what that does to the OTR trucking operation to the small business owners, and bottom line, not to mention the stress it puts on our local grain elevators, farming drivers. Now more than ever, I encourage IMTA members operations and every person to take the extra time and effort needed to ensure that that you know that operates a our drivers are always encouraged to operate in the safest commercial motor vehicle. Tell manner. Often, that means parking the truck and riding them about this important legout the storm, which is never fun for anyone, but always islation and harness their supthe best course of action. I wish everyone in the trucking port. We need their voice. We industry the best of luck over the upcoming months as we need the communicating with all navigate this challenging environment. legislators. We need their help.

And while we are on the subject of challenging environIMTA has made lawsuit abuse ments, this time of year is also when our state legislature a top priority based on feedconvenes and while some would say this is not as challeng- back from the members. And ing as driving a big rig in a snowstorm, there are certainly while our work at the Capitol different storms brewing at the State Capitol. is important, we are offering Legislative leaders and our Governor are taking bold up additional assistance in this BRENDA DITTMER IMTA’s Chairman of the Board steps to create a pro-business environment and we must area too. IMTA has contracted BRENDA NEVILLE continue to show our support for their efforts. Trucking with one of the top experts in IMTA President & CEO was specifically mentioned in the Governor’s Condition the nation to provide tactical litigation training. Dr. Bill of the State speech when she urged lawmakers to address Kanasky with Courtroom Sciences has assisted with depoa legal system that is awarding millions of dollars in dam- sition preparation and provided guidance to help folks be ages without regard to the consequences. She called for prepared for possible litigation.

I have had the pleasure of sitting through one of his reasonable caps on non-economic damages for trucking sessions and it was not only the most educational session accidents.

The Governor’s comments were a big I had attended but also the most comdeal and clearly sets her expectations and pelling. The trucking industry is being I HAVE HAD THE support for tort reform. It was also a very targeted by plaintiff attorneys and we PLEASURE OF SITTING must fight back. The best way to do visible show of support for our continued efforts to get lawsuit abuse legislation that is to be educated and informed.

THROUGH ONE OF HIS passed. We are extremely grateful for the IMTA is offering a once in a lifetime SESSIONS AND IT WAS educational opportunity and there is Governor’s support.

NOT ONLY THE MOST Even with the Governor’s support no excuse for anyone to miss out. The initial sessions are being offered in a this will not be an easy effort. While EDUCATIONAL SESSION I HAD ATTENDED BUT Republicans have a majority in both the virtual platform and then in April there House and Senate, the Republican trial will be a 2-day, in-person event that will ALSO THE MOST attorneys will never support this legislation offer up even more extensive training.

COMPELLING. along with a handful of other Republicans Yes, there is a fee associated with this that aren’t supportive for various reasons. training, but it pales in comparison to We will, however, continue to be relentless in our efforts what it could potentially cost you when you are sitting to get the votes needed in the House and hopefully see across from a plaintiff attorney. This is yet another storm these important reforms become reality. We are offering we are facing right now and like the way we approach the up solid legislation that has been passed in other states. winter months in trucking, we simply need to get out there Just last year, Texas passed legislation that is very similar and get the job done.

I am counting on you to join me in this fight. to what we are trying to get done.

As of the writing of this column, this legislation is specific to commercial motor vehicles (identical to last year).

ISSUE 1, 2022

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE We hear you.

We listen to you, and we understand the challenges you face daily. There isn’t a day that goes by that the need for more drivers is highlighted. That is the sobering reality of this industry and unfortunately, over the last two years as we have grappled with a pandemic, the numbers of folks leaving our industry is staggering.

Driving a truck is a good and honorable career. Despite what some may think, professional drivers are highly respected and appreciated. And while there are more negative connotations with the pandemic than positive, one important and pivotal change that occurred during COVID was an understanding and appreciation of just how valuable truck drivers are. That wave of positivity is still moving across this country, and one would think that in of itself would be the most effective recruiting tool out there. But the workforce landscape shifted dramatically over the last two years, and everyone continues to scratch their head at the number of people that are not returning to the workforce.

Those of us in the trucking industry don’t have the luxury to simply sit back and hope that things start to change, we have products to move, we have shippers to please and most importantly, millions of consumers that depend on our industry daily.

Trucking companies of all sizes are implementing programs and efforts to retain and recruit drivers that are innovative, cutting edge, and downright creative. The strength of our industry has always been defined by our ability to pivot, react, and respond to a changing environment quickly and effectively. Truckers are nimble, reliable, and above all extremely dedicated to moving products from point A to point B. Like the members we serve, IMTA must also be creative, aggressive, and unrelenting in our efforts to help with the workforce issue. It isn’t enough to simply host member focus groups and listening sessions and offer up a sympathetic ear. We need to have action-oriented plans that will enhance, support, and complement the recruiting and retention efforts of members.

Addressing the trucking workforce issue is our top priority and we are excited about some of the things that are starting to unfold. In November, at the urging of Governor Reynolds, a summit specific to the driver shortage was put on the calendar. The Governor identified several state agencies that she wanted to have at the table, but she wanted IMTA to take the lead role in getting something pulled together that was beyond just “lip service” about the problem.

It was a historic day in my humble opinion. Not only did we have a large audience of engaged participants repre-

senting many different demographics more importantly, we were able to have valuable conversations about ways to attract folks to our industry.

Offering up a class at the Iowa schools that would allow interested 18-year-old students to obtain a CDL by the time they graduate from High School is just one of the valuable ideas that came out of this summit. Why shouldn’t a CDL program be offered right along with welding, shop class or some of the other trade oriented high school programs?

We have 13 community colleges around this state that are more than eager to partner with IMTA to make this a reality.

We did an informal poll of 5 high schools in the central BRENDA NEVILLE IMTA President & CEO Iowa area and there were 35 seniors that expressed an interest in a program of this nature. With over 300 school districts in this state, many in the rural areas, we believe that number of interested students (future truck drivers) would be astonishing.

The other important tool we have is our show trailer and driving simulator. The mere mention of this at the summit generated a buzz unlike anything you could imagine. We now have over 30 requests for the show trailer in the upcoming months. Because of this demand, we recently created a Driver Ambassador program to secure professional drivers to help with this important program. In the upcoming weeks we will have 17 Ambassadors taking part in training before they hit the road on an aggressive high school tour.

This is just a sampling of some of the initiatives that are being implemented to address the driver shortage. There are several more ideas that are being developed and explored.

They are solid, innovative, and creative proposals that we believe will produce valuable interest and driver prospects.

We are excited about the momentum and support we are receiving and even more excited to be able to offer solutions that will get results for IMTA members.

We hear you and we are taking action.

That is what you should expect from your association and we won’t let you down.

ISSUE 1, 2022

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NATIONAL NEWS Biden’s Build Back Better (BBB) Agenda on Thin Ice On January 12, the consumer price index, an inflation gauge that measures the costs of dozens of items, rose 7% in December from a year earlier, the fastest pace since June 1982.

Inflation is one of the top concerns of Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) a key holdout on Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

ATA and other business trade groups share Manchin’s skepticism. The American Trucking Associations joined 80+ business groups in sending a letter to top leaders in Congress advocating for an end to BBB negotiations and instead focus legislative efforts on issues affecting Americans like rising prices, labor shortages, and supply chain constraints.

While major spending legislation is difficult and unlikely to pass in an election year such as 2022, there remains a possibility that slim Democrat majorities in the House and Senate still attempt to find some alignment to move forward on all or parts of the Build Back Better Act.

Appropriations Deadline Looms in February Last year, Congress passed legislation to increase the federal debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion, ensuring that the U.S government could fulfill its projected obligations to creditors until early 2023, and extended federal agency funding until February 18, 2022.

Both the House and Senate committees are currently working on a larger agreement on overall spending levels. Finalizing omnibus legislation is critically important for Democrats who want to leverage slim majorities in each chamber to adjust agency budgets last set during the Trump Administration. With only five weeks remaining under the current agreement, and potential procedural hurdles to overcome in the Senate, time is of the essence if a final agreement is to be passed without additional short-term extensions.

$2.5 TRILLION

White House Pushing to Get More Veterans into the Trucking Industry The White House plans to promote a host of job training programs designed to get veterans into the trucking industry.

Officials from the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Labor and Transportation in coming days will be touting an array of existing programs to help separating service members get careers in the trucking industry. The move comes just a few days after administration officials met with veterans groups to highlight the programs and encourage them to share information with their members. It is estimated that 500,000 veterans re-entered the workforce in January.

White House officials have promoted increasing the number of truck drivers in America as a long-term solution to the problem and offered a host of recent training initiatives to direct job seekers to the industry.

In the administration’s “Trucking Action Plan to Strengthen America’s Workforce” released in December, officials said that veterans skills and experience make them “excellent candidates to help address these challenges and build the next generation’s trucking workforce.”

The Department of Defense already offers online credentialing opportunities for troops before they leave the service as well as truckingspecific classes in the SkillBridge program.

The White House is also highlighting that veterans can use a variety of VA benefits — including the GI Bill and Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program — to get jobs in the industry.

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The Department of Labor has a 90-day trucking program based on their existing apprenticeship programs designed to fast-track would-be drivers into jobs. Officials said they’ll be targeting veterans for those openings in coming weeks. And the Department of Transportation’s Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Grant Program trains service members, veterans, and military spouses in “the safe operation of commercial vehicles.”

ALL OF THE PROGRAMS WILL BE FEATURED IN DEPARTMENT MESSAGING IN COMING WEEKS. “Our nation’s outdated infrastructure, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a historic volume of goods moving through our economy have created a supply chain backlog, which has stressed our transportation industry and resulted in a critical shortage of truck drivers,” a White House fact sheet recently released states. “[These programs] are available to transitioning service members and veterans as they prepare to secure a meaningful career with familysustaining wages in the trucking industry.”

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that about 10 percent of all professional truck drivers in America today are veterans.

NATIONAL NEWS COVID-19 Truck Blockade in Canada Shuts Down Ford Plant A blockade of the bridge between Canada and Detroit by protesters on February 9th demanding an end to Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions forced the shutdown of a Ford plant and began to have broader implications for the North American auto industry.

The protest by people mostly in pickup trucks entered its third day at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. Traffic was prevented from entering Canada, while U.S.-bound traffic was still moving.

announced plans this week to roll back some or all of their precautions. Alberta, Canada’s most conservative province, dropped its vaccine passport immediately and plans to get rid of mask requirements at the end of the month.

American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear issued a statement in opposition of the protests.

CHRIS SPEAR ATA PRESIDENT & CEO

The bridge carries 25% of all trade between the two countries, and Canadian authorities expressed increasing worry about the economic effects. Ford said late Wednesday that parts shortages forced it to shut down its engine plant in Windsor and to run an assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, on a reduced schedule.

“ATA strongly opposes any protest activities that disrupt public safety and compromise the economic and national security of the United States,” said Chris Spear, President and CEO of American Trucking Associations.

A growing number of Canadian provinces have moved to lift some of their precautions as the omicron surge levels off, but Trudeau defended the measures the federal government is responsible for, including the one that has angered many truck drivers: a rule that took effect Jan. 15 requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated.

“We held serious concerns about the unintended impact a vaccine mandate would have on our nation’s supply chain and ongoing COVID response efforts, which is why ATA challenged the OSHA rule all the way to the Supreme Court—where we prevailed.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia

Biden administration plan calls for $5 billion network of electric vehicle chargers along interstates The Biden administration recently laid out plans for a $5 billion network of electric vehicle chargers along interstate highways, aiming to boost confidence in battery-powered cars by ensuring drivers can always find somewhere to plug in.

The money, included in last year’s infrastructure legislation, will be shared over five years among states, which are likely to hire private companies to install and operate the charging network.

Officials say the federal funding is aimed at standardizing charging systems so drivers have an experience comparable to finding a gas station on a road trip. It is one of the most significant investments in the $1 trillion infrastructure law aimed at reducing carbon emissions from transportation and a steppingstone toward the administration’s goal of having half of new cars be battery operated by 2030.

“We are modernizing America’s national highway system for drivers in cities large and small, towns and rural communities, to take advantage of the benefits of driving electric,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

The administration says the money is the largest investment of its kind, yet it still represents a fraction of the estimated $39 billion cost of building a public charging system by 2035.

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STATE NEWS Trucking Workforce Summit Held IMTA partnered with the Governor’s office, the Iowa DOT, Iowa Workforce Development, and Iowa Economic Development to hold a summit that focused specifically on the driver shortage in trucking.

“We know that the driver shortage continues to escalate, and it has far reaching impacts on the entire industry and ultimately the entire state.

Because of that, we wanted to bring several state agencies and the trucking industry together to collaborate on ways to attract folks to the industry,” said Governor Reynolds.

The event was held at the IMTA offices and had almost 100 people in attendance. Represented in the audience were community colleges, public transit, and several state and federal agencies. IMTA members were also in attendance. IMTA worked closely with the Governor’s office and the Iowa DOT to develop an agenda which included a trucking panel and a community college panel, and then everyone broke into small groups to have further discussion.

“This was an extremely valuable afternoon of insightful discussion.

To see public and private entities sharing insight and ideas during the

roundtable discussions was by far the highlight of the summit,” said IMTA President Brenda Neville. “There was a lot of valuable feedback and ideas exchanged during these discussions. Everyone outside of trucking gained a much deeper appreciation of our industry and the workforce challenges we are facing.”

As a result of this summit, ongoing meetings and efforts are being made to move forward on some of the initiatives that were presented at the meeting. The Governor continues to express her interest in developing programs or offering funding to help recruit and attract drivers into the industry. IMTA has also continued conversations with the community colleges to develop potential programs at high schools that would allow a high school senior to obtain a CDL. “While this is not a problem that will be solved overnight, this summit was an excellent springboard to offer up some new ideas and approaches to attract new blood into our industry, especially the 18to 21-year-old demographics. It was also valuable in developing and fostering partnerships with other entities that can be helpful in our recruiting efforts,” said Brenda Neville.

The IMTA Carrier panel brought the hard hitting truths of what the workforce shortage means to trucking.

FRONT ROW, L TO R: IMTA President Brenda Neville; Ron Hanson (Ruan Transportation); Kevin Gass (PDI); IMTA Chairman of the Board Brenda Dittmer (Weinrich Truck Line, Inc.); Greg Stewart (Dakota Red Corp.); Scott Szymanek (Eldon C. Stutsman, Inc.)

IMTA Board Member Senator Adrian Dickey addresses the group on what he would like to see get accomplished about workforce during the 2022 Session.

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Scott Marler, Director of the Iowa DOT, facilitated the panel discussion amongst regulators of the industry and community colleges.

Gary Handley (IMTA) and Kenny Bauman (JMT Trucking)

STATE NEWS SUMMARY REPORT OF THE WORKFORCE SUMMIT

This was the summary that was presented to the Governor’s office at the conclusion of the Summit.

TRUCKING CAREERS IN HIGH GEAR Goal/Mission: To make a meaningful impact on the trucking workforce issue.

Promote the trucking industry to build interest in the industry Optimize career pathways Develop consistent training opportunities Grow the next-generation workforce Governing Body Iowa Motor Carriers Foundation, Public/Private Partnership 17 – 20 members; equal ratio private sector/public sector Private Sector: 7 – 10 people; Trucking industry Public Sector: 7 – 10 people; Governor’s Office, Iowa Workforce, Iowa Economic Development, Community Colleges, Public Transit, Legislators,

MAKING AN IMPACT Pillar 1 Building our Future Pipeline, Attracting New Drivers to the Industry Elementary, Middle & High School Focus – currently 250,000 students in 7 – 12th grade Financial support for IMTA Show Trailer/Driving Simulator Pilot Program – Creation of High School CDL program Financial support for Pilot Program and eventual expansion of the program to Iowa High Schools Statewide Messaging/Advertising Program – highlighting the importance of trucking Financial support for statewide messaging/advertising program

Pillar 2 Focusing on our Current Pipeline of professional truck drivers Unique environment for training truck drivers Creation of a training reimbursement grant program – hourly/ daily amount + room/board Apprenticeship Program specific to trucking – Drive Safe Act Creation of Apprenticeship program following parameters in Drive Safe Act Community College programs for truck driver training Consistent training at all the community colleges using the Drive Safe Act parameters

Driver Recruitment – big expense for every trucking company Creation of a grant program to help offset advertising/ recruitment costs of commercial drivers

Pillar 3 Quality of Life for Truck Drivers Truck Parking Greater investment from the State of Iowa to create comfortable, convenient, modern parking facilities New dollars for infrastructure = more risks for drivers Better/enhanced communications on construction zones, detours, road closures & delays Distracted Driving – truck drivers cite this as their biggest concern on the road Increased fines/penalties for distracted driving. Trucking and enforcement partnering to combat DD

Pillar 4 Technology Support Connectivity/Smart Highways Continued investment in connectivity/smart highway/digital technology to make roads safer/smarter Safety Technology specific to BIG Trucks Tax Credit or grant program for trucking companies that are investing in truck safety technology

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STATE NEWS Governor Reynolds Unveils Bold Tax Reform Plan When Governor Reynolds took office in 2018, Iowa had the sixth highest individual income tax rate in the nation. With the Governor’s plan proposal, Iowa’s rate will be fifth lowest among all states that charge income tax, ranking us among the most tax-friendly states in America.

Thanks to the administration’s strong, conservative budgeting practices and fiscal responsibility, Iowa is in a formidable economic position. Last fiscal year, Iowa closed its books with a general fund balance of $1.24 billion and nearly $1 billion in cash reserves.

In December 2021, the Revenue Estimating Conference projected that the state’s net general fund revenues for the current fiscal year (FY22) will exceed $9 billion, a 3% increase over the prior fiscal year, and that Iowa’s Taxpayer Trust Fund balance could top $2 billion.

“There’s never been a better time in Iowa for bold, yet practical tax reform that meets the priorities of the state, allows Iowans to keep more of what they earn, and creates a highly competitive tax system,” said the Governor.

The Governor’s tax plan proposes • Establishing a flat 4% individual income tax rate, further reducing individual income tax for all taxpaying Iowans.

• Eliminating retirement income tax.

• Exempting net capital gains on sale of employee-awarded capital stock.

• Reforming Iowa’s corporate income tax.

Cut Individual Income Tax - State finances are strong and it’s time that Iowans reap the benefit. Hardworking taxpayers deserve a raise. Rather than overpaying the government and waiting for a refund, Iowans should keep more of their hard-earned pay upfront.

• Beginning in tax year 2023, implement four tax brackets ranging from 4.4% to 6.0%.

• In subsequent tax years, eliminate the top rate annually until a 4% flat tax rate is achieved in tax year 2026.

• A 4% flat tax is projected to save Iowa taxpayers more than $1.583 billion by tax year 2026.

Fully Repeal State Taxes on Retirement Income in 2023 According to the AARP, the market activities of Iowa’s 50+ population create jobs, wages and salaries. In 2018, adults 50-plus supported $6.3 billion in state and local taxes, 38% of Iowa’s total. That figure is projected to more than triple to $22 billion by 2050.

Retirement Income Exemption • Beginning in tax year 2023, Iowans age 55 and older would be exempt from state tax on retirement income earned from individual retirement account (IRA) distributions, taxable pensions and annuities.

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Farmer Retirement Income Exemption • Beginning in tax year 2023, Iowa farmers age 55 and older who farmed for at least 10 years but have retired from farming operations, can elect an exemption of income from either cash GOV. KIM REYNOLDS rent or farm crop shares for all years the income is earned; or elect one, lifetime election to exclude the net capital gains from the sale of farmland.

One-Stock net Capital Gain Exemption - Iowans who are awarded capital stock from their employers currently pay all or some of the net capital gains taxes on those shares when they choose to sell them. Many states, including some neighboring Iowa, offer exemptions to encourage residents to remain in the state.

• Allow one lifetime election to exclude the net capital gains from one stock of one qualified corporate or employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) from state income tax.

• Qualified corporations must have done business in Iowa for a minimum of 10 years. Employee owners must have acquired capital stock while employed by the corporation for at least 10 years.

Reform Corporate Income Tax - Corporate tax levels directly affect economic activity in states, and those with more competitive structures and rates are in much better positions to grow existing businesses and attract new ones. Just a few years ago, Iowa’s rate was the highest in the country, but recent reforms have improved our national standing. Through continued common sense, pro-business strategies, Iowa can maximize its competitive advantage by offering businesses an opportunity to reduce their tax rate when they increase their revenue in Iowa.

• For every fiscal year in which net corporate income tax receipts exceed $700 million, the surplus will be used to buy down the current top rate.

• Following the close of the fiscal year, the Department of Revenue will determine the new top corporate income tax rate and apply it effective January 1 of the following tax year.

• New top rates will be determined each fiscal year that net corporate income tax receipts exceed $700 million, until a uniform 5.5% corporate income tax rate is achieved, at which time it would be capped.

• Once the rate is capped, excess tax revenue beyond $700 million will go into the state’s general fund.

• Under current law, 50% of net capital gains from an ESOP is allowed for deduction. The proposal would allow 100% of the net capital gains to be deducted.

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ATRI UPDATE The Industry’s Top 10 – How Iowa Ranks the Issues As the U.S. turned the corner on 2020, there were hopeful signs for emerging from the pandemic.

At the start of 2021, the U.S. had two COVID vaccines approved for use and a third would soon follow. However, the myriad of challenges faced in 2020 because of the pandemic would linger into - and in many cases become exacerbated - in the new year.

Global supply chain disruptions initiated by the pandemic in 2020 ATRI President & COO continued into 2021 as shortages of everything from computer chips to construction materials led to higher prices and inflation, with no signs of dissipating. Backlogs at the nation’s ports reached historic levels while economists predicted that the combination of too few shipping containers and the inability to move them off ships in a timely manner­likely meant a bleak holiday shopping season.

Some economists have even projected that we are on the cusp of an international recession.

REBECCA BREWSTER

Additionally, 2021 ushered in a new administration and a new Congress, and with those changes, a new focus on social programs, climate change and workforce issues. The post-pandemic economy has included a record infusion of stimulus, a push for zero-emission vehicles, labor shortages and vaccine mandates for employers with over 100 employees.

WE ASKED Through it all, the trucking industry has continued as a foundational component of the nation’s economy, delivering essential goods to help businesses reopen, stocking stores and restaurants, keeping hospitals and schools supplied, and delivering fuel as the nation returned to travel for work and pleasure.

However, supporting the post-pandemic economic recovery has not been without its challenges for the trucking industry. Some in the industry believe the perennial labor shortages are worse now than ever before, new equipment cancellations further exacerbate the capacity issue, and our industry’s workplace - the nation’s highways continued to fall into disrepair as political infighting had, until recently, stymied progress on meaningful infrastructure investment.

Given all that the industry has experienced over the past 18 months, it is imperative that industry stakeholders understand the interplay of the various issues confronting the trucking industry. For the past 17 years, the trucking industry has relied on the American Transportation Research Institute’s top industry issues analysis to prioritize the trucking industry’s most critical issues as well as to identify preferred

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strategies for addressing each issue. Organizations such as the American Trucking Associations and its Federation partners in the State Trucking Associations (STA) - including Iowa Motor Truck Association - have leveraged ATRI’s Top Industry Issues report to develop pro­active industry-centric strategies and programs.

ATRI’s 2021 Top Industry Issues (TII) analysis relies on a robust data collection methodology. The initial issues and related counterstrategies were first identified and synthesized in collaboration with various freight stakeholder groups.

Over 2,500 industry stakeholders across North America weighed in with their opinions on the most important issues affecting the trucking industry and the broader supply chain. The respondents represented motor carrier personnel (52.4%), commercial drivers (24.1%), and other industry stakeholders (23.5%), including industry suppliers, driver trainers and law enforcement. In addition to providing an overall ranking, ATRI’s analysis includes separate Top 10 lists for both commercial driver and motor carrier respondents. It also includes a breakout of the top three concerns for both company drivers and owner-operators / independent contractors.

TRUCKING ANSWERED For the fifth consecutive year, the driver shortage is the trucking industry’s top concern on the overall list, with more than four times as many first-place votes as the next issue on the 2021 Top Industry Issues list. The latest estimate from the American Trucking Associations places the driver shortage at 80,000. Myriad pressures are contributing to the shortage including growing freight demand, the aging driver workforce, drivers who left the industry over health concerns during COVID, new entrant training and licensing backlogs from COVID-related closures and drivers who are not initiating the return­to-duty process after positive drug tests. The industry is hopeful that inclusion of the DRIVE Safe Act in the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide a pathway for safely introducing younger individuals to truck driving careers to help mitigate the shortage.

With the driver shortage ranked as the top industry issue for the fifth year in a row, keeping those drivers currently in the industry driver retention - rose four positions to become the second most critical issue overall this year. According to the American Trucking Associations, driver turnover at large truckload fleets was 92% at the end of 2020. Among the strategies identified by survey respondents for addressing the shortage are researching and prioritizing retention strategies, based on driver feedback and driver tenure data; evaluating the impact of truck driver benefits, including health insurance and retirement benefits, on driver retention; and quantifying the relationship between safety technology deployment (e.g. cameras, speed limiters, active braking systems) and driver satisfaction and retention.

ATRI UPDATE For the third year in a row, driver compensation is a Top 10 issue. Many drivers believe that the driver shortage and driver compensation are one in the same issue, and that the solution to the shortage is simply to increase driver pay. Accordingly, in this year’s survey, one in three drivers (33%) ranked compensation as one of their top three industry concerns. However, as fleets continue to raise driver pay to recruit and retain drivers in response to the shortage, motor carriers are also concerned about driver compensation and the sustain­ability of continually raising driver pay. Among motor carrier respondents, 15% ranked driver compensation as one of their top three industry concerns.

Lawsuit abuse reform (previously referred to as tort reform in prior years’ surveys) rose three spots this year to become the fourth highest issue of concern. Significant attention has been brought to the issues surrounding truck crash litigation over the past two years including the rise in nuclear verdicts; ATRI’s 2020 Nuclear Verdicts study documented a 967% increase in average verdict size between 2010 and 2018. Additionally, ATRI’s latest study examining the impact of smaller verdicts and settlements-those under $1 million­shows that the proliferation of these smaller cases is having a detrimental impact on carriers’ insurance costs and availability, another Top 10 issue in this year’s survey.

Rounding out the 2021 top five issues is the lack of available truck parking. This is the 10th year that truck parking has made the Top 10 list of industry concerns, and among commercial drivers it has consistently ranked in their top three. In 2020, when several states closed public rest areas due to COVID concerns, truck parking was the number one concern among truck drivers Further underscoring the industry’s workforce challenges, a new issue emerged on this year’s top 10. The diesel technician shortage-ranked number 10 this year-is viewed by some in the industry as becoming as severe over time as the driver shortage, and fleets are scrambling to hire and retain skilled professionals to maintain their growingly complex equipment.

IOWA RESPONSES Iowa had 236 responses and for the second year had the most responses to the survey. Among Iowa respondents, the driver shortage and driver retention also claimed the number one and two rankings, but from there the criticality of the issues were ranked differently than the national rankings.

Iowa respondents ranked Lawsuit Abuse Reform as the third most pressing industry concern. Given that IMTA has been aggressively pursuing lawsuit abuse legislation since 2019, this was not surprising.

IMTA members are extremely engaged and active in these legislative efforts.

The number four issue ranked by Iowa respondents was Insurance Cost/Availability. The impact of rising insurance costs on industry operations, safety investments and driver training continue to be a top concern for carriers of all sizes.

For each issue identified as a top concern in the survey, respondents were asked to rank potential strategies for addressing each issue. The full report provides a roadmap for how the industry can collectively deal with each top concern and how the emerging issues may impact the industry down the road. Additionally, understanding the critical differences in how motor carriers rank the issues compared to how professional truck drivers do is a key step in identifying strategies to address the driver shortage and driver retention.

The full report is available at no cost from ATRI at www.TruckingResearch.org.

NATIONAL TOP 10 1. Driver Shortage 2. Driver Retention 3. Driver Compensation 4. Lawsuit Abuse Reform 5. Truck Parking 6. CSA 7. Detention / Delay at Customer Facilities 8. Transportation Infrastructure/ Congestion/ Funding 9. Insurance Cost/ Availability 10. Diesel Technician Shortage

IOWA TOP 10 1. Driver Shortage 2. Driver Retention 3. Lawsuit Abuse Reform 4. Insurance Cost/Availability 5. CSA 6. Diesel Technician Shortage 7. Detention/Delay at Customer Facilities 8. Driver Distraction 9. Economy 10. (tie) Hours of Service & COVID-19

COMMERCIAL DRIVERS TOP 10 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

(tie) Driver Compensation & Truck Parking Detention/Delay at Customer Facilities Fuel Prices Driver Training Standards HOS Rules ELD Mandate Driver Distraction Transportation/Infrastructure/Congestion Funding Speed Limiters

10. CSA

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HUMAN RESOURCES INSIGHT Research Summary: Why Employees Violate Cybersecurity Policies Last summer, Colonial Pipeline paid a ransom of almost $5 million after a cyberattack created widespread panic over the availability of gasoline across the Southeastern U.S. Just a few weeks later, the world’s largest meat processing company agreed to pay an $11 million ransom in response to a cyberattack that suspended operations at plants across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Attacks like these have been growing more common for years, and the Covid-19 pandemic has only made matters worse, with the FBI reporting a 400% increase in cyberattacks in the first few months of the pandemic.

In response, investment into cybersecurity has skyrocketed — but unfortunately, these efforts haven’t always addressed the underlying factors that create vulnerabilities. While IT specialists toil away to create better, smarter, and safer technical systems, there is one risk they can’t program away: humans. Especially as remote work becomes more prevalent and thus access to secure systems becomes more distributed, one wrong click by an employee can often be enough to threaten an entire digital ecosystem.

Furthermore, while some organizations have begun to complement tech-focused efforts with cybersecurity initiatives targeting employees as potential attack vectors, these programs generally assume that employees break security protocols out of either ignorance or malicious intent. Our recent research, however, suggests that much of the time, failures to comply may actually be the result of intentional yet non-malicious violations, largely driven by employee stress.

Many Policy Violations Are Driven by Stress, Not Desire to Harm We asked more than 330 remote employees from a wide range of industries to self-report on both their daily stress levels and their adherence to cybersecurity policies over the course of two weeks.

In addition, we conducted a series of in-depth interviews with 36 professionals who were forced to work remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic in order to get a better understanding for how the transition to work-from-home has impacted cybersecurity.

We found that across our sample, adherence to security conventions was intermittent. During the 10 workdays we studied, 67% of the participants reported failing to fully adhere to cybersecurity policies at least once, with an average failure-to-comply rate of once out of every 20 job tasks.

But what led to those breaches in protocol? When asked why they failed to follow security policies, our participants’ top three responses were, “to better accomplish tasks for my job,” “to get something I needed,” and “to help others get their work done.” These three responses accounted for 85% of the cases in which employees knowingly broke the rules. In contrast, employees reported a malicious desire to cause harm in only 3% of policy breaches — making nonmalicious breaches (i.e., those motivated purely by the need to get work done) 28 times more common than retaliatory ones.

We also found that people were substantially more likely to knowingly break security protocols on days when they reported experiencing

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more stress, suggesting that being more stressed out reduced their tolerance for following rules that got in the way of doing their jobs.

Common sources of stress included family demands that conflicted with work, job security fears, and ironically, the demands of the cybersecurity policies themselves: People were more likely to violate procedures when they worried that following them would hinder productivity, require extra time or energy, mean doing their jobs in a different way, or make them feel like they were constantly being monitored.

MANY POLICY VIOLATIONS ARE DRIVEN BY STRESS, NOT DESIRE TO HARM Of course, since our data was self-reported, we were unable to measure breaches that employees were unaware of committing. As such, our research is less conclusive when it comes to the prevalence of security issues borne of ignorance or human error. But our findings do suggest that despite considerable media focus on the “insider threat” posed by malicious employees, there are a lot of well-intentioned reasons that an employee might knowingly fail to fully follow the rules.

Based on this, we’ve developed three key takeaways for managers:

There’s a Middle Ground Between Ignorance and Malice Many leaders assume that employee security violations are either malicious or unintentional, and then design security policies based on that assumption. However, our research illustrates that there’s a sizable middle ground between ignorance and malice, and so managers would be wise to adapt their training programs and policies accordingly.

Specifically, rather than focusing on malicious attacks, security policies should acknowledge the fact that many employee-driven breaches stem from an attempt to balance security and productivity. This means educating employees and managers on the prevalence of

HUMAN RESOURCES INSIGHT non-malicious violations, and providing clear guidance on what to do if adherence to security practices seems to conflict with getting work done.

In addition, organizations should take steps to incorporate employees in the process of developing and user-testing security policies, and equip teams with the tools they’ll need to actually follow these policies.

Too often, IT departments develop protocols in a vacuum, with limited understanding of how these rules might interfere with people’s workflows or create new sources of stress. Especially as the shift to remote work has transformed how many people work, IT leaders should be sure to involve the employees who will be affected by new security measures in their creation, evaluation, and implementation.

Job Design and Cybersecurity Are Intertwined It’s common to think of security as secondary to productivity. In normal times, that’s not necessarily a problem, as employees are likely to have the resources to devote sufficient energy to both. But as the myriad stresses of the pandemic make it harder to maintain productivity, that means that security tends to take a backseat to the critical tasks that drive performance reviews, promotions, and bonuses.

To address this, managers must recognize that job design and cybersecurity are fundamentally intertwined. The reality is that compliance with cybersecurity policies can add to employees’ workloads, and so it should be considered and incentivized alongside other performance metrics when workloads are determined.

Technology & Innovation In addition, managers should work to identify and reduce sources of stress for their teams, since working under more-stressful conditions can impact employees’ consistency in following security protocols (not to mention their well-being and effectiveness across a slew of other metrics). In particular, especially as remote work becomes more common, managers should be cognizant of the psychological burden to employees of working under systems that monitor them. Surveillance systems that seemed reasonable in the office might feel intrusive at home — and even if there’s no obvious, direct fallout, our research suggests that the added stress could indirectly make people more likely to break security protocols.

Hackers Take Advantage of Altruism Most managers would say it’s a good thing if their employees want to help one another. But unfortunately, altruism can come at a cost: In our study, around 18% of policy violations were motivated by a desire to help a coworker. The pandemic has only increased the challenges we all face every day, and thus has created even more opportunities for well-meaning employees to “help” their peers in ways that leave their organizations vulnerable. Hackers know this, and they will often intentionally use social engineering tactics that take advantage of employees’ willingness to bend the rules if they think they’re helping someone out.

To address this, managers must not only implement security policies specifically designed to protect against these sorts of attacks — they

must also work to reduce the impact of these measures on employees’ workflows, and clearly explain their rationale, in order to increase employee compliance.

For example, as the move to remote work has reduced in-person communication, business email compromise (BEC) scams have become even more prevalent. These are scams in which an attacker poses as a supervisor or close coworker and emails employees with an urgent request to transfer funds. The time pressure and desire to help a colleague can push employees to break protocol and make these transfers without properly verifying the requests. Protecting your organization from these sorts of attacks means not just instituting a verification policy for large transactions, but also both educating employees on why the policy matters and minimizing the extent to which it impedes daily work.

In the modern cybersecurity landscape, every employee is a potential threat vector. To keep their organizations safe, technical, and business leaders alike must understand the factors that can make anyone susceptible to flouting policy and opening the door to attackers. While the idea of a resentful employee purposefully trying to harm their company may make for a compelling story, our research points to the major role of employee stress in motivating non-malicious (yet potentially catastrophic) security breaches. To address the mounting risk of cyberattacks — as well as the countless other risks associated with an increasingly stressed-out workforce — leaders must undertake targeted efforts to minimize the root causes of stress in the workplace and design healthier, more sustainable workloads for employees at every level.

Clay Posey is an Associate Professor of Information Systems in the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University and Chief Research Scientist at Beyond Layer 7, LLC. His research focuses on the human element in organizational cybersecurity by understanding how employees can both inhibit and promote the protection of their employers’ sensitive assets.

Mindy Shoss is an Associate Professor of Psychology at University of Central Florida and an Honorary Professor at Australian Catholic University. Her research focuses on counterproductive work behavior, workplace stress, and the future of work. © 2022 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Distributed by The New York Times Licensing Group

ISSUE 1, 2022

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A GLOBAL

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How has the pandemic impacted the global economy and how does that impact trucking in the United States?

For many, seeing big trucks rolling up and down the highway is an ordinary, everyday phenomenon especially here in Iowa. With the intersection of I-80 and I-35 in the state of Iowa, heavy truck traffic is a common sight. In Iowa, the busiest stretches of I-80 average almost 40,000 vehicles per day with well over half of that number being big trucks. The good news, if you are seeing big trucks rolling up and down the highway, you can be assured that the shelves are being stocked and the products you need are going to be available. But as we all know, the trucking industry is only one link in the supply chain and the many other links of this important supply chain are tied to a much more global chain that continues to be troublesome and tenuous.

Some of the links in this delicate chain were weakened even before the global pandemic hit, but the coronavirus pandemics’ wide-ranging disruptions have had an even greater impact on this weakened chain and some experts believe it could take as long as two years for the global economy to recover which will impact the trucking industry.

Keeping an eye on the global environment is what we do in trucking and trucking leaders and industry experts weighed in on some of the key areas they monitor to stay on top of an ever-changing global environment.

What are some of the key global links to have on your radar?

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CANADA Canada ranks as the top U.S. export market, accounting for 17.9% of all U.S. goods exports in 2020. Canada and the United States trade $1.7 billion in goods and services daily. Two-way trade in goods and services totaled more than $614.9 billion in 2020.

ON AN AVERAGE DAY

30,000 TRUCKS CROSS THE BORDER

On an average day, about 30,000 trucks roll across the Canada-U.S. border, carrying more than $1 billion in trade. If truck movements are disrupted, critical supplies of food and medicine are also interrupted and production at some of the largest manufacturing plants in both countries would cease, idling thousands of workers. Some have argued that monitoring Canada should be a top priority given the large impact even a small disruption could have on the industry.

The economic damage from interrupting the flow of trucks would be both direct and indirect. The direct damage would come when needed goods are cut off. For example, pharmaceuticals are a major export from Ontario to the U.S. and disruptions in this trade lane would have far reaching ramifications. Additionally, thousands of truckloads of agri-food products, from live animals to processed food, are shipped in both directions.

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the COVID-19 crisis, with the automotive production system paralyzed. Trucking operations of all sizes here in Iowa that are tied to the automotive industry have reported major disruptions for months.

In some cases, dedicated loads dried up completely.

Another important aspect of our neighbor to the north is the daily movement of people across the border. The movement of trucks and the movement of people are not independent issues. Beyond just the truck drivers, there are many people involved in maintenance, repair, training, marketing, and other trucking specific occupations who regularly move across the border in support of binational production systems. The disruption of these essential employees has contributed tremendously to the supply chain issues and some trade experts believe this is going to continue to hamper the supply chain for the foreseeable future.

As the pandemic was just starting to hit North America, political leaders, scholars, and economists highlighted the importance of these two countries working together in coordinated efforts to keep the cross-border supply chains open while also protecting the public.

As was summarized in an article in “The Conversation” an academic newsletter:

The indirect damage would come when supply chains that straddle the border break down, making it impossible for factories and other economic activities to keep operating.

“If the economic contraction during the COVID-19 crisis is any greater than what is required to protect the public, there will be more missed paychecks, more debt and more companies lost to bankruptcy. Keeping the trucks moving across the border could pay off in a faster return to economic vitality in the aftermath of the crisis.”

In the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, the border was shut down as a cautionary effort and the consequences were damaging. We are now seeing the consequences of an even longer shut down due to

The COVID -19 crisis has been a critical test of the resilience of the U.S. and Canada border supply chains as well as their relationship as trade partners. And the outcome of this important test is yet to be fully seen especially now that Canada

IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER

is imposing a vaccine mandate for truck drivers. In early January, Canada began requiring all truckers arriving from the U.S. to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus. Those who are not vaccinated are required to quarantine for 14 days. Canada officials continue to say that over 90% of all truck drivers are vaccinated. But issues continue to emerge as the vaccine mandate becomes the most recent lightening rod of controversy for Canadian leaders.

In late January, a convoy of truckers and their supporters converged on the Canadian capital in a protest which spiraled from frustrations over vaccine mandates into calls for the repeal of all public health measures – and even the overthrowing of the federal government.

Ahead of the protest in Ottawa, the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, dismissed the group as a “small fringe” that held “unacceptable views” and insisted that these folks did not reflect most Canadians.

Like the United States, the vaccine mandate is proving to be very divisive and, unfortunately, becoming a political focal point. But Canadian supply chain experts caution that the vaccine mandate is just one part of the “perfect storm” that could hit the nation’s food system and impact the United States, too.

“The supply chain is flexible, but it’s also fragile,” said Simon Somogyi, a professor at the University of Guelph who studies food business and supply chain management.

“The Canadian food system really rides on the back of a truck because of our short growing season,” he said of the $21 billion worth of food imported from the U.S. each year, and the key role that trucks play in this huge import lane.

At the end of the day, we need more trucks on the road. If everyone came to the table for an honest discussion about this, rather than making political statements, it’d be better for everyone.

“At the end of the day, we need more trucks on the road. If everyone came to the table for an honest discussion about this, rather than making political statements, it’d be better for everyone,” said Somogyi.

The future of positive cross-border relationships with Canada will continue to be critically important.

18,000 55,000 DRIVERS

NEEDED BY

2022

DRIVERS

NEEDED BY

2023

Like the trucking industry in the U.S., Canada is facing a major driver shortage. About 18,000 truck driver jobs will need to be filled in Canada by March of 2022, according to the latest report and statistics gathered by Trucking HR Canada. That number, however, is expected to balloon to 55,000 by 2023, said Stephen Laskowski, President of the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

“This is a national issue and potentially becoming a national crisis,” said Laskowski.

Canadian trucking companies are increasing wages to attract new drivers during what many Canadian trucking executives believe to be the worst labor shortage in the history of Canada.

The vaccine mandate is problematic, and the Canadian Trucking Alliance has been vocal in its opposition. This is not the moment “to lose potentially thousands of truckers on our roads, bringing groceries up from the U.S. and, who knows, maybe (COVID) rapid test kits as well,” said Laskowski.

As many as 32,000, or 20%, of the 160,000 Canadian and American cross-border truck drivers may be taken off the roads by the mandate, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) estimates. The industry was short some 18,000 drivers even before the mandate, CTA said.

Rob Penner, President and CEO of Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Bison Transport, said since January 1, 2022, they raised the base rate for cross-border drivers by almost 20% but failed to gain any new drivers. “There’s more freight than there are people right now.”

“Trade with our North American partners is hugely important to our industry. In fact, 71% of the value of surface trade between the U.S. and Canada moves via truck, while 84% of the surface trade with Mexico moves on trucks. This equates to over 11 million loads and generates roughly $13 billion annually for U.S. trucking companies,” said Bob Costello, Chief Economist & Senior Vice President of International Trade Policy & Cross-Border Operations for the American Trucking Associations.

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MEXICO While the focus has been on Canada, especially considering the recent vaccine mandate issues, Mexico is an equally valuable trade partner to the United States.

Positive cross-border relations continue to be a top priority. The United States and Mexico share a 2,000-mile border with 55 active land ports of entry. Mexico is currently our second largest goods trading partner with $536.7 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2020.

Like both the United States and Canada, Mexico is also facing a growing shortage of drivers. Mexico is also seeing an aging population of drivers, lower retention rates, and an increase of drivers exiting the industry due to COVID. The International Road Transport Union (IRU), based in Geneva, released a survey in March of 2021 that said Mexico’s truck driver shortage could increase by 18% by the end of 2021. The report continued to cite that Mexico has struggled to attract younger people and specifically women into the transportation sector.

aging population of drivers lower retention rates increase of drivers exiting the industry In July 2020, Canada, Mexico, and the United States struck a deal to revise the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The agreement protected tariff-free regional trade and created a more balanced, reciprocal trade supporting high-paying jobs for Americans and growing the North American economy.

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In an article published in Freight Waves, it was reported that Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the creation of a national customs agency that will be responsible for fiscal and customs authority across all the country’s ports of entry.

The National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) will operate separately from the Tax Administration Service, which had previously been supervising customs authority for the country’s 48 U.S.–Mexico border crossings and 330 total ports of entry. The Mexican President said that ANAM was created with the objective of “cleaning all customs.”

“We are going to reinforce land and maritime customs, with the support of the Ministry of Defense and with the support from the secretary of the navy. We have to continue to fight smuggling, the introduction of drugs, tax evasion and clear all customs in the country,” Obrador said.

ANAM will coordinate with the Mexican military for security at customs points, organize and direct the foreign customs and inspection services, regulate the import and export of goods in Mexico, and manage the collection of taxes related to foreign trade operations.

Additionally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced, in late 2021, an infrastructure improvement project at the Port of Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The project will expand the commercial entrance to facilitate the processing of more oversized cargo and improve the flow of traffic, officials said.

In a recent report, the U.S. State Department recognized the importance of maintaining a positive working relationship with this valuable trading partner. The report highlighted Mexico’s strong commitment to trade liberalization. Mexico maintains twelve trade agreements with 46 countries plus 32 investment promotion

agreements, and nine limited economic agreements, including pacts with Japan, the European Union, and many Latin American partners.

The U.S. and Mexican governments also meet through the multi-agency Binational Bridges and Border Crossings Group (BBBXG) to advance joint initiatives that improve the efficiency of existing The US-Mexico border region represents a combined crossings and coordinate planning for new ones. The population of approximately 15 million people. Cooperation between the United States and Mexico along TRADE AGREEMENTS BBBXG meets three times a year and provides the ten U.S. and Mexican border states, private sector reprethe border includes coordinating with state and local sentatives, and other public participants the forum to officials on cross-border infrastructure, transportadiscuss cross-border infrastructure. The BBBXG also tion planning, and security, as well as collaboration discusses many federal, state, and local mechanisms with institutions that address migration, natural that impact the border region, including Border Masresource, environment, and health issues. In 2010, the United States ter Plans to coordinate infrastructure and development and close and Mexico created the 21st Century Border Management Initiacollaboration on transportation and customs issues. tive (21CB) to spur binational advancements to promote a modern,

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secure, and efficient border. High-level representatives from the U.S. and Mexican governments meet annually in the 21CB Executive Steering Committee (ESC) to adopt Action Plans that guide bilateral efforts to modernize and expand ports of entry along the shared border; facilitate the flow of trade and travelers between the two countries; and strengthen cooperation on public safety in the border region.

Border security is always an important topic and border security is a shared responsibility. Neither country can be secure if the other is not. Cooperation between Mexico and the United States has never been more vital in the fight to combat the deadly threat of illicit fentanyl, heroin, and synthetic drugs while also ensuring that trucks can continue to move across the border and deliver the essential products needed.

In the March 2020 ESC, the delegations approved the 21st Century Border Management Initiative Strategy to collaborate more closely on promoting the shared border as a safe and competitive region, while also highlighting the key role it plays in the economic development and well-being of its communities.

“While Canada is the U.S.’ largest export market, I see significant growth coming for Mexico in the future as more supply chains move to North America. This transformation will take time, but it will generate even more cross-border freight in the future,” continued Costello.

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PROBLEMS AT THE PORTS The well-documented logjams at U.S. ports have continued to dominate the headlines with the pictures of thousands of ships waiting to be unloaded.

Ocean carriers have deployed all available capacity, including ships that are not even designed to carry containers. Backups are particularly a problem at major U.S. ports in California (Los Angeles/​Long Beach, Oakland), New York/​New Jersey, Georgia (Savannah), and South Carolina (Charleston), each of which has recently seen record numbers of ships parked offshore waiting to unload their containers.

“The supply chain issues are much more complex and involve each link in the supply chain: from the ocean carriers to ondock labor, to the terminal operators, to trucking, to warehouses, to rail. Each link has played a role in the challenges the supply chain continues to face, and each link ultimately will be part of the solution,” said Shawn Yadon, President and CEO of the California Trucking Association.

Port of Oakland Port of Los Angeles Port of Long Beach

The busiest port is Los Angeles/Long Beach (LA/LB) which handles 30 to 40 percent of the total export/import volumes each year. The LA/LB port is at capacity and all the contingency anchorages they have along the coast are also filled. Many ships are simply drifting along the West coast, which has never happened before.

It is estimated that if these containers were lined up, end to end, it would stretch halfway across the United States. Today, the average ship waits almost 10 days to be unloaded compared to the wait of 5 days just a year ago. Fewer containers in use means higher prices and more stress on the system. These backlogs on the West Coast have pushed shippers to use the East Coast ports like Savannah, Virginia, and New York/​New Jersey (via the Suez Canal), which has now created problems at those ports.

Many of the problems at the U.S. ports today are a result of many years of questionable decisions regarding the ports according to industry experts.

Port of New York/ New Jersey

Backups at major U.S. ports

Port of Charleston

Port of Savannah

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These same experts believe that the United States port system lags the other international ports.

According to the 2020 World Bank/​IHS Markit “Container Port Performance Index”, for example, not one U.S. port ranked in the top 50 global ports in terms of getting a ship in and out of a port using either a “statistical approach” measuring efficiency and finances or an “administrative approach” reflecting expert knowledge and judgment. The highest ranked U.S. port (statistically) was Philadelphia at 83, with Virginia close behind at 85 and NY/NJ at 89. Oakland came in at 332, while LA/LB ranked a dismal 328 and 333, respectively.

(Things are even a little worse using the “administrative approach.”)

Overall, these rankings are dominated by Asian ports (Japan’s Yokohama ranks first under both methodologies), but many Western ports also score better than anything in the U.S.: Algeciras in Spain (10); Mexico’s Lazaro Cardenas (25); Canada’s Halifax (39); and Denmark’s Aarhus (44).

Less sophisticated measures of port efficiency reveal similar concerns. According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), for example, U.S. ports in 2019 ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of the time container ships spend in port (weighted by ship size) and below the world average of 23.2 hours.

So why do the ports in one of the richest countries in the world — and a major driver of the global economy — rank below those of so many other nations, including ones with far fewer resources?

A September 2021 article written by Scott Lincicome with the Cato Institute highlighted several issues at the ports, starting with ongoing union issues.

The report stated “perhaps most notable is the extreme influence that U.S. longshoreman unions—the International Longshore and

Warehouse Union (ILWU) out West and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) basically everywhere else—have on port operations. ILWU’s impact is particularly strong because it controls essentially all longshore labor for all West Coast ports (thus giving the union extreme leverage—strikes or slowdowns affect every port on the West Coast). Thus, contentious labor negotiations not only lead to occasional, economy-​crippling port stoppages (and other non-economic harms), but also longer-​term labor contract provisions that intentionally decrease port productivity in several ways.”

U.S. ports are open for fewer hours per week than any other ports in the world.

According to several different reports, the U.S. ports are open for fewer hours per week than any other ports in the world. For example, in Asia, ships work 24/7 or 168 total hours per weeks whereas at the LA ports, ships are worked 16 hours per day or 112 hours per week.

Much of this is dictated by union contracts, which limit the number of hours that workers can work.

Another issue at the U.S. ports is that many of the ports’ Customs office are closed nights and weekends. Nothing can be cleared or admitted into the United States unless it gets clearance from the Customs offices.

The failure to fully automate the major U.S. ports continues to impact the efficiency at the U.S. ports. As stated in the Cato Institute report, “One analysis found, for example, that automated cranes in Rotterdam were almost twice productive than the stone-aged ones in Oakland.”

ISSUE 1, 2022

25

There are also two aspects of U.S. maritime law that contribute to the problems at the ports. The Jones Act, which requires U.S.-built, -crewed, and -flagged ships to move all freight between U.S. ports on supposed “national security” grounds, made those ships incredibly expensive and dramatically reduced the size of the U.S.-flagged fleet.

Industry experts believe that the Jones Act has worsened the current shipping situation by (1) putting additional pressure on inland transit (i.e., trucks and trains are used instead of ships that could travel between U.S. ports); and (2) causing companies to avoid the Jones Act by “port hopping” up and down U.S. coasts using larger, foreign-​ flagged ships that take longer to offload and are prohibited from picking up additional cargo while they’re in port.

Second, the combination of the Jones Act and the Foreign Dredge Act (which requires barges transporting dredged material to be Jones Act-compliant) dramatically raises the cost of dredging U.S. ports—dredging that is badly needed so the US ports could accept more, bigger, and fuller ships.

WITH ONE MORE

INCH OF DEPTH IN A PORT A CARGO SHIP COULD CARRY

50 MORE

TRACTORS

5,000 TELEVISIONS

“There is no question the unprecedented pent-up demand over this past year has inundated the ports with record container volume. However, from trucking’s perspective, thousands of intermodal truckers call on the Southern California ports each day. One continuing issue is the lack of space at the ports for truckers to offload their empty containers, which must take place in order for a driver to then have a freed-up chassis to accept a loaded container to take off port. The ocean carriers must amplify their efforts to sweep those empties off the ports for truckers to offload empties to free up chassis,” said Shawn Yadon with the California Trucking Association.

While the bottlenecks at the U.S. ports have put a spotlight on the struggle to get imported goods to American consumers, exporting capabilities are also being impacted dramatically.

MarketWatch collected data from the nation’s nine largest ports through October 2021, the equivalent LAPTOPS of 12.1 million containers have left those ports empty, up 46.2% from 2020 and 37.8% from 2019.

770,000 The amount of empty export containers, as meaBUSHELS sured by twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, The depth and width of the shipping channels OF WHEAT contrasts significantly with the 20.6 million of determine what size and how many vessels can imported loaded container TEUs that have arrived travel through a shipping channel. Even a seemingly small amount at the nine biggest U.S. ports this year, up 22% from last year. of additional depth to accommodate the weight of a larger vessel

30,000

exponentially creates value.

As cited in the Cato Institute article, “just one inch of water depth results in the ability to import and export millions of dollars’ worth of more cargo.” According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “with one more inch of depth in a port, a cargo ship could carry about 50 more tractors, 5,000 televisions, 30,000 laptops, or 770,000 bushels of wheat.”

The lack of depth in many shipping channels also forces bulk carriers to “light load,” or carry less than a full load, because they cannot travel with full loads at existing depths. Because light-​loading is inefficient, it increases transportation costs per unit of goods transported—and consequently raises prices for U.S. exporters. If a port cannot accommodate a larger, heavier ship, that cargo ship will divert to a deeper port first.

RELIEF IN

SIGHT? 26

IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER

In total, 59% of containers leaving the nation’s nine biggest ports have been empty in the first 10 months of 2021. Loaded export containers leaving the nation’s nine biggest ports carrying American goods have dropped 10.7% since before the pandemic, from 9.3 million TEUs in the first 10 months of 2019 to 8.3 million TEUs in the same period of 2021.

“Voracious demand for imported goods by U.S. consumers has pushed up rates for freight being shipped across the Pacific from Asia to the U.S., making that trip far more lucrative than the journey from the U.S. to Asia. That’s incentivized shippers to leave with empty containers, rushing them back to Asian ports where they can be filled again with U.S.-bound goods,” said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, a trade group representing agricultural exporters.

As Donald Broughton, Managing Partner, Broughton Capital, LLC, wrote in a recent column for the Iowa Trucking Lifeliner, “the number of talented people whose primary responsibility is to manage the supply chain, and the capital at their disposal, has never been larger. The caliber of their intellect, the level of their education, and the capability of the sophisticated technology they possess has been increased so profoundly that all the current problems will be solved.”

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ECONOMIC UPDATE

Growing Pains Continue – Q1 ‘2022 In this column months ago, we predicted, “While the recovery from this self-induced economic shut down will have plenty of challenges, just as all economic recoveries do; and the rate of recovery will be very different in some segments of the economy, as well as very different for individual companies in each industry; the strength of the overall recovery will be far faster and far more robust than anticipated. Certainly, there will be segments of the economy and individual companies, that were previously healthy, which will be left behind and become the buggy whip’ manufacturers of the 2020’s. There are also many industries and individual companies, that were already in a state of decline, whose demise will happen more quickly than it otherwise would. In turn, the survivors will thrive as few competitors remain in many industries, and entire new industries will emerge and create prosperity in areas that did not exist in 2019.”

LOOK AT THE CAUSE, NOT THE SYMPTOM We remain convinced that our very bullish thesis is correct (an outline is at the end of this article). However, continues to be a cacophony of reports, coming out of almost every media source, filled with warnings about what we should be worried about – first it was the Delta variant and then the Omicron variant, government spending and debt, Federal Reserve policy, inflation, supply chain shortages…

Each and every one of the concerns reflect an economy that is swelling with prosperity, as demand grows faster than supply, and productivity surges at record high rates. Every time we hear about a concern, or a new reason to worry, we look for the underlying cause. Every time we do, we see economic expansion, not contraction; we also see markets doing what they do with incredible efficiency.

28

IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER

by which demand exceeds capacity suggests that pricing will be extraordinarily strong for both spot and contract rates throughout 2022.

That said, we expect pricing power to remain stronger and expand for a longer period because demand growth will be outsized, and many of the demand drivers are also offering jobs to potential drivers.

These jobs pay well and, in many cases, offer better ‘quality of life.’ As a result, trucking will struggle to add capacity.

This will be especially true in reefer and flatbed.

DONALD BROUGHTON

Managing Partner, Broughton Capital LLC

DEMAND EXCEEDS CAPACITY IN ALL MODES OF TRUCKING – Load posting in the spot market has steadily increased. The number of loads posted in all modes in 4Q ’20 was 1.6X 4Q ’17 and 1.8X 4Q ’18 (the two previous peaks). The number of loads posted in all modes in 4Q ’21 was 1.5X 4Q ’20 and the full year of ’21 was 1.9X the full year of ’18. In recent weeks, it has remained unseasonably strong and is now >8.5X the levels hit at the bottom in 2020.

We are going to assume that if you are reading this article, you already know demand in trucking is strong - In all three modes of truckload trucking, the amount

WE EXPECT PRICING POWER TO REMAIN STRONGER AND EXPAND FOR A LONGER PERIOD BECAUSE DEMAND GROWTH WILL BE OUTSIZED, AND MANY OF THE DEMAND DRIVERS ARE ALSO OFFERING JOBS TO POTENTIAL DRIVERS.

DRY VAN - demand is being driven by strong consumer spending and the explosion in e-commerce. We expect the strength in consumer spending to continue as new household formation has reached a frenetic pace and the last 18 months of housing starts have hit at levels not seen since 2006 (before the 2008 housing crash). While it initially drives strength in demand for Flatbed section, for several years after a house is completed it drives demand for Dry Van. Purchasing a new house is only the first step for a young couple. Almost a decade of spending follows the house purchase, as they make the house their home, and most of those goods are delivered by Dry Van. E-commerce plays an equally powerful role - distribution centers are not the traditional balanced model which Walmart perfected (i.e., homogenous loads inbound are matched at a ratio of 1 to 1 with outbound loads of mixed goods that are exactly what each store needs). Outbound loads fully utilize each trailer’s capacity and depending on the retailer and the season, may weigh out before they cube out. In the land of e-commerce fulfillment, inbound loads are less optimized (goods mixed to meet immediate and volatile demand). After

each item is bubble wrapped and placed in a cardboard box that is often too large, the outbound loads always cube out and they run at a ratio as high as 8 to 1 when compared to the of inbound loads. This expands the number of loads inbound and explodes the number of outbound loads.

Over the road truckers might dismissively point out that, “All of the outbound loads are very short lengths of haul.” While they would be correct in their assessment, we believe that the sheer magnitude of additional drivers needed combined with the ability to offer drivers the luxury of being “home every night” will thwart most over the road Dry Van carriers’ ability to attract and retain enough drivers to grow their fleets. Instead, most will struggle to keep their current fleets seated.

imum capacity for in-house dining, yet their receipts from take-out are still exceeding the receipts from dine-in.

Since most restaurants do not serve any processed food, they use far more fresh / frozen food stuffs than most households.

Since they also tend to make larger serving sizes the amount of food stuffs they consume is magnified even further. We believe the vast preponderance of this shift in purchasing behavior is permanent. If it is, it not only magnifies demand, but in a similar fashion to the e-commerce demand for local drivers, Door Dash and Grub Hub compete for available labor, offering regular home time without the need for a CDL or a drug test. Most Reefer fleets will be unable to grow and will struggle to keep their current fleets seated.

REEFER - demand did not collapse

FLATBED – strong demand is being

quite as much as Dry Van and Flatbed did, which is part of the reason for its lower level of volatility in spot and contract pricing. Grocery stores still had to be stocked during the quarantine and the Covid vaccine is only one of the medical supplies which require temperature control. Although any incremental demand from medical supplies is already fading, an entirely new driver of incremental demand has been created.

Not just pizza and Chinese food anymore – over the last year many restaurants failed, but those that survived are thriving. Consumer buying habits have been completely retrained. Diners of all ages have learned how to order breakfast, lunch and dinner on their phone.

Delivery services such as Door Dash and Grub Hub are booming. In areas where restaurants have fully reopened, many of them are back to pre-Covid (not socially distanced) max-

already being driven by the construction and automotive industries, with a significant wave of additional demand now being added by the oil & gas exploration industry.

The rally in per barrel WTI crude oil prices, above $60 in March ‘21 and above $70 in September ’21 (even trading above $80), means the price materially exceeds the cost of production via fracking in all the major fields. This has already almost 3X the number of oil rigs being actively put to work - from a bottom of 172 in August ’20 to 491 last week. Just as e-commerce and food delivery govern the addition of capacity in Dry Van and Reefer, Oil & Gas Exploration w ill offer alternative

high paying employment to potential drivers for the Flatbed industry. Driving demand while constraining capacity as it offers competing employment to Flatbed drivers.

WHERE ARE WE GOING? Continued economic growth at an accelerated pace - the recovery is already well underway; economic growth will be technology driven and more disruptive but also more dynamic than previous cycles; led by the U.S., Asia, and Northern Europe; propelled by unprecedented productivity increases. We predict most financial markets will continue to inflate in value, the European Union will struggle to survive, and the U.S. trade deficit will steadily shrink until becoming a surplus (within the next 10 years). Although our outlandish prediction of 18 months ago, “outsized growth in productivity and prosperity will result from the Covid driven acceleration in technology adoption” has now become a reality. We believe it is only beginning, will continue to be stronger than expected, and will have an extended period of duration.

Finally, we predict that current fears about inflation are dead wrong. There will be an incredible wave of prosperity created over the next several years, rivaling the post WW2 era, and developing into a period that historians call the “Great Post-Covid Boom.” And, it will happen without inflation.

After spending over two decades as one of Wall Street’s top Analysts and one of its leading Market Strategists, Donald Broughton founded Broughton Capital in 2017. Broughton is notorious as a hard-hitting forensic accountant, using Sell ratings more often than any other analyst. He is highly regarded for translating goods flow data into economic forecasts that have proven to be highly prophetic.

Additionally, Broughton is convinced that most individuals know much more about the economy than they realize and believes that economists are only boring because they are lazy or choose to be.

ISSUE 1, 2022

29

IMTA PRIORITIES Serving the Membership and Promoting the Success of Trucking in Iowa The Iowa Motor Truck Association (IMTA) is proud of its over 400 members representing some of the best carriers and suppliers in the industry. Trucks move this state (and nation) and every day the positive impacts of the trucking industry are evident.

Since 1942, the association has made it a top goal to serve the membership in the most professional and effective manner possible.

For the last two decades, the association has ensured that the members are heard through focus groups, polling and listening sessions. These important efforts enable the association members and volunteer leaders to have a clear, distinct understanding and appreciation of what IMTA members are dealing with daily. This feedback is valuable. All the data is compiled and IMTA leaders then move forward in developing a plan of action that is the foundation of the association’s efforts throughout the year.

This past fall, IMTA members once again stepped up and participated in these important feedback sessions and then IMTA leaders developed a strategic focus for the upcoming year. As always, serving the membership and ensuring that the association is offering up the most effective services and support is the top priority.

2022 Goals

1

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Everyone is in need of employees, drivers, diesel mechanics, senior/ middle level and support staff.

In July 2019, the American Trucking Associations released numbers on the driver shortage, urging the industry to hire 1.1 million drivers over the next decade, an average of 110,000 drivers each year. Once the pandemic hit, the conditions changed significantly and not for the better. Now carriers are competing with literally everyone.

But here’s the good news, trucking companies know what its like to operate with a labor shortage, we’ve been dealing with it for a very long time and while it is a big challenge, our track record as

Mission:

Promote the success of trucking in Iowa

30

IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER

an industry is excellent when it comes to recruiting and retention.

However, having said all of that, identifying ways to highlight the outstanding employment opportunities that exist in the industry is a top priority. There are many different audiences that will be receptive to this message.

IMTA’s show trailer and driving simulator are excellent tools in telling the story and fostering interest and curiosity in the industry. Additionally, building networks with the community colleges, high schools, and workforce agencies will also be a part of this outreach effort. No stone will remain unturned when it comes to promoting the industry and attracting people to this industry.

2

LAWSUIT ABUSE EFFORTS Both legislative and non-legislative.

Plaintiff attorneys have targeted the trucking industry and the wave of nuclear verdicts continues across the country. Every trucking company is more than willing to step up and take financial responsibility if they are at fault, that will never be disputed. But the suits that are brought against a trucking company when they have no fault are continuing to escalate. No trucking company is immune to a frivolous lawsuit and action must be taken. While a federal legislative solution would be the most ideal scenario, that is unobtainable, so the states need to take action. Given the legislative landscape in Iowa, pursuing

Vision:

IMTA strives to be the most reliable, credible, and effective resource and voice for Iowa’s trucking industry

Values:

Driven to provide the highest quality of service, support, and assistance to the membership Dedicated to being a trusted, reliable, and credible voice and advocate for Iowa’s trucking industry

IMTA PRIORITIES reforms became a priority. IMTA was successful in 2020 with the passage of language specific to phantom damages. Efforts continued in 2021 and now again in 2022 to secure even more important reforms.

Additionally, IMTA leaders identified the need to provide additional assistance to carriers outside the realm of legislation. Specialized litigation training is as equally important in this effort. IMTA has partnered with a nationally recognized trainer and expert in the field of litigation training, Dr. Bill Kanasky. This important and essential training will provide the valuable tools and added confidence that is needed in this hostile legal environment.

3

ADVOCACY Being your voice.

The foundation of the IMTA is our advocacy efforts. Being your eyes, ears, and voice in front of legislators and regulators is at the heart of these efforts. Every single day IMTA staff step into the role of advocate and this will continue to be a top priority in 2022. The relationships we build and nurture with lawmakers and regulators is important work. Helping these important decision makers have a good understanding of our concerns, challenges, and goals is imperative.

Additionally, with the 2022 elections on the horizon, IMTA will continue to educate, inform, and lead the members to be engaged and involved. Identifying legislators that support a pro-business, protrucking environment is an important and valuable priority that we take very seriously.

4

5

RAISING AWARENESS AND SUPPORT FOR THE IOWA MOTOR CARRIERS FOUNDATION

Since 1986, the Iowa Motor Carriers Foundation has been a valuable partner in our efforts as a trade association. Over time, the Foundation has broadened it scope of activities and now it is an important and valuable organization that compliments and supports the efforts of IMTA. The Foundation will continue to be a valuable partner in serving Iowa’s trucking industry and we want to continue to highlight the important work of the Iowa Motor Carriers Foundation.

The Foundation is also the owner of the IMTA headquarters building.

IMTA’s home sits at the foot of the Iowa State Capitol and offers more exposure for the industry and the association efforts than most people realize. There are a lot of exciting things on the horizon for the Foundation and we want to ensure that IMTA members are aware of the valuable support the Foundation provides.

6

TELLING THE STORY

We are all storytellers, and we have a fascinating and compelling story to share. Trucking is interesting, important, and relatable.

Everyone understands our industry. Everyone sees the big trucks on the road and the majority of people are intrigued and curious about big trucks. IMTA is committed to telling the story. Every part of this strategic plan is impacted by our ability to tell the story often and accurately, and we are committed to doing just that.

SUPPORTING THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF

The professional staff at the Iowa Motor Truck Association is one of our most important assets. Having the personnel to fully serve the membership is another top priority. It has been several years since IMTA has been fully staffed up and over the last six months, filling open positions was a top priority. We now have almost all positions filled and are extremely committed to serving the membership at the level of excellence that every member deserves.

Every department is taking a very focused and strategic approach to our membership outreach efforts. Understanding and responding to the needs of the members is always front and center and our goal is to offer unprecedented service. We appreciate the support provided by the members and we are very respectful of the environment that our members are operating in. Your success is our success, and we are here to serve and support every single member, every single day.

ISSUE 1, 2022

31

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AWARD WINNER INSIGHT 2021 IMTA IMAGE AWARD WINNER Thompson Truck & Trailer

It is an everyday effort to showcase and highlight the value of trucking and remind people why we love and appreciate the industry so deeply. Because of the importance of these pro-trucking efforts, IMTA proudly recognizes an IMTA member for their outstanding commitment and efforts in helping the public gain appreciation for value of the trucking industry.

Why does your company invest the time, energy, and financial resources in public relations efforts?

Every job is important, but there’s no doubt that our world would not be the same without trucking and the entire transportation industry. We sell the trucks that plow the streets we drive on. We service the school buses that carry our children to school. We supply parts for the vehicles that haul everything from medical supplies to ice cream sandwiches. The transportation industry is so critical to the overall success of our communities, and we love to play a small part in promoting the important work that our customers are doing every single day.

What are some things that IMTA members could do to raise awareness about the industry through public relations without spending a lot of money?

2021 IMTA Image Award Winner Thompson Truck & Trailer Erica Bellach Director of Talent & Marketing Thompson Truck & Trailer is a full-service commercial truck dealership, serving customers in six locations across Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Thompson has been family-owned and operated for nearly 25 years, and those family values are demonstrated every day with our commitment to customer service and strong customer relationships. We reward and value honesty, integrity, and hard work within our high-performance team of more than 200 people.

Erica is the Director of Talent and Marketing for Thompson Truck & Trailer where she manages all the internal and external marketing and communication for prospective customers and employees. Erica also serves on the LEAD IMTA Council and is actively involved in their leadership efforts.

34

IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER

A great resource for the IMTA members is the driving simulator and show trailer. We’ve been the conduit between local organizations and the trucking industry through the show trailer and driving simulator. This is always a hit for kids – and adults, too! The trailer not only houses the driving simulator, but also has lots of great facts and information about the trucking industry in Iowa.

We have also done internal and external campaigns to highlight our customers and the work they are doing. This is so simple, yet so impactful in reminding us WHY we do the work we do – it’s all to keep our customers moving, so they can keep everything else moving!

If an IMTA member committed to one public relations effort what would you suggest they do?

So much of public relations can be done at the grassroots level by simply talking to friends and family about the rewarding, high-paying jobs within transportation. We sometimes take for granted just how impactful those conversations can be, but it’s certainly a great place to start.

Any other advice on implementing a public relations effort?

The advice I give when asked about almost anything is to raise your hand and get involved.

It can be uncomfortable, but I have found that it’s the best way to learn, the best way to contribute, and the best way to connect with others. You sometimes have to stick your neck out a bit in order to have a seat at the table when decisions are being made and we must all step forward to ensure that transportation is part of the discussion.

AWARD WINNER INSIGHT 2021 IMTA SAFETY PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR Dave Zerbe, Keane Thummel Trucking

Fulfilling any kind of role in safety in the trucking industry requires several important skills but two of the most important skills is a passion for professionalism and commitment to always making safety a top priority. Keeping everyone focused on the value of safety is not without challenges and having support from the very top always ensures a greater acceptance and respect of the role of safety.

Fortunately, there are many trucking companies in Iowa that truly understand, respect, and support a safety centric culture. It is encouraging to see the commitment to safety that prevails among many of the IMTA members.

Why does your company invest the time, energy, and financial resources into a solid and effective safety/compliance department?

Safety Pays! Not having a good safety program will cost a company more than they ever thought. Money is well spent on getting safety into every person’s mind and keeping it there.

What are some things that every IMTA member should be doing to enhance their safety efforts?

Make it personal because it is. Safety means you care and aren’t afraid to show it. You want and need everyone to understand that you care for them as a person and their family as well.

Then the larger safety picture gets into focus pretty quick after that.

What is the most popular safety program you have implemented at Keane Thummel Trucking? Why is it so effective?

We have always been a proud group here, but I started a program called PRIDE. It is an acronym for Personal Responsibility in Daily Endeavors. Being proud of being a professional driver and not being afraid of showing it.

What is the first step that should be taken to promote a safety culture at a trucking company?

Lead by example. Don’t do things you tell your fellow employee’s not to do. Treat all your internal and external customers like you want to be treated if the situation was reversed.

Treat everyone with respect and listen. Really listen and take to heart what you hear.

Any other advice on implementing an effective safety program at a trucking company?

We live in a vibrant world that depends on what we do as companies. Take pride in what you and your people accomplish and take care of the family you have created. Then the safety becomes easy as everyone becomes invested at making it better.

2022 IMTA ANNUAL AWARDS PROGRAM Through the IMTA Annual Awards Program the Iowa Motor Truck Association offers a variety of opportunities for members to gain further recognition of their own employees or departments that continually demonstrate tremendous dedication in the areas of safety, maintenance and operations.

2021 IMTA Safety Professional of the Year Dave Zerbe

Director of Human Resources & Safety Keane Thummel Trucking Keane Thummel Trucking is a 48 state, over the road long haul carrier. We also service the lower provinces of Canada. We have Step Decks, Dry Vans, and Heavy Haul equipment. We are an all Peterbilt fleet. We have been in business since 1984 and are a family owned and operated company.

As the Director of Human Resources and Safety, Dave is not only responsible for keeping everyone out of trouble but ensuring everyone knows about upcoming changes. Trucking is a new job everyday with new challenges and that is one of the items he enjoys most about the industry. Dave also serves on the Steering Committee for the Iowa Council of Safety Management and has an active role in planning the annual Truck Driving Championships.

Nomination forms for 2022 will be available in the coming months. In the meantime, we all know someone deserving of one of these awards opportunities so be on the lookout in your own company or department for someone deserving of recognition.

ISSUE 1, 2022

35

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IMTA UPDATE

IMTA Board of Directors Convene for Annual Fall Meeting The 2022 IMTA Board of Directors met this Fall for their annual meeting where newly elected IMTA Chairman Brenda Dittmer, Weinrich Truck Line, Inc., led the formal meeting and Dr. Bill Kanasky gave an eye-opening preview of what to expect during the litigation training being offered in March and April.

FRONT ROW, L TO R: Lance Votroubek (Warren Transport, Inc.); Rory Triplett (Relion Insurance Solutions); Proxy David Riggan (TanTara Transportation Corp.); Proxy John Dalrymple (West Side Transport, Inc.); LEAD Council Representative Jeff Martin (Green Products); Melinda Anderson (Ennis Corporation); Nick Thummel (Keane Thummel Trucking, Inc.); Mark Olson (Olson Explosives, Inc.); Kevin Gass (PDI); Jason Smith (TrueNorth Companies) BACK ROW: Darla Arends (Van Wyk, Inc.); Brenda Dittmer (Weinrich Truck Line, Inc.); Bill Arnold (Quest Liner, Inc.); Travis Thompson (Thompson Truck & Trailer); Lead Council Representative Blake Grolmus (Ruan Transportation); Dean Kloewer (Panama Transfer, Inc.); Brad Kohlwes (Argee Transport); Steve Schuster (Schuster Co.); Jeff Arens (Schuster Co.); Hugh Ekberg (CRST The Transportation Solution, Inc.): Jack Sawyer (DMTC); Dave Neuwohner (All Seasons Trucking, Inc.); Adrian Dickey (Dickey Transport)

Going the Extra Mile During the Holidays During the holiday season IMTA members, including representatives from the Iowa Council of Safety Management, handed out 600 complimentary boxed lunches to truck drivers across the state as a small token of appreciation for their dedication to delivering all the holiday essentials.

ICSM Members Take Advantage of Division Membership Benefits The Iowa Council of Safety Management has been a valuable platform for safety professionals not only because of timely, safety related topics during monthly meetings, but also because of the networking opportunities that have come about in recent months thanks to the mini conferences that are offered to ICSM members.

TDC Committee Kicks of 2022 Event Discussions Has your company participated in the annual Truck Driving Championships before? Whether it be by sending a driver to participate, being a volunteer, or providing financial assistance through a sponsorship, the 2022 TDC Committee wants to get you involved so you can witness firsthand the benefits of this event. Join us on Thursday, June 9 and Friday, June 10 at Prairie Meadows --- you do not want to miss out!

FRONT ROW, L TO R: TDC Chairman Randy Kopecky (Don Hummer Trucking), TDC Co-Chairman John Holt (Ruan Transportation) BACK ROW: Brian Pyle (Pyle Transportation); Bridget Nixon (Solar Transport); Krystin Sitzmann (Schuster Co.); Dave Zerbe (Keane Thummel Trucking); Marvin McGinnis (Solar Transport) NOT PICTURED: Keith Lamfers (Casey’s General Stores); Terry Pump (CRST The Transportation Solution, Inc.)

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IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER

2022 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS IMTA Leadership Class

Truck Driving Championships

Wednesday, March 2 & Thursday, March 3 IMTA Office

Thursday, June 9 & Friday, June 10 Prairie Meadows; Altoona

IMTA Leadership Class

IMTA Leadership Conference hosted by the LEAD IMTA Council

Wednesday, April 6 & Thursday, April 7 IMTA Office

IMTA Social & Networking Mixer hosted by the LEAD IMTA Council Wednesday, April 6 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Republic on Grand; Des Moines

Safety Professionals Conference

Wednesday, June 22 & Thursday, June 23 IMTA Office

IMTA Social & Networking Mixer hosted by the LEAD IMTA Council Thursday, July 7 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Dubuque

Wednesday, April 20 & Thursday, April 21 IMTA Office

IMTA Social & Networking Mixer hosted by the LEAD IMTA Council

IMTA Social & Networking Mixer hosted by the LEAD IMTA Council

Thursday, August 4 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Davenport

Thursday, May 12 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Sioux City

IMTA at the Iowa State Fair

Maintenance Technician Competition Wednesday, May 18 & Thursday, May 19 Truck Center Companies; Altoona

Truck PAC Golf Outing Thursday, May 26 Legacy Golf Club; Norwalk

IMTA Social & Networking Mixer hosted by the LEAD IMTA Council

Thursday, August 11 – Sunday, August 21

IMTA Management Conference Wednesday, September 14 & Thursday, September 15 Coralville Hyatt; Coralville

IMTA Social & Networking Mixer hosted by the LEAD IMTA Council Thursday, September 29 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Council Bluffs

Thursday, June 2 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Cedar Rapids

A list of educational opportunities, as well as information specific to each of the listed events, can be found at iowamotortruck.com

ISSUE 1, 2022

39

FINAL THOUGHT

Misinformation About Trucker Training Could Keep Prospective Drivers Off the Road

With the current strain on the world’s supply chain, pay and earnings have gone up significantly for truck drivers—a career that was already a well-paying path to the middle class for Americans without a college degree.

But misinformation about new national training standards may be keeping prospective drivers away at this critical point. It’s important that everyone in trucking understands what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to the federal Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirements.

The new requirements establish a single, national standard for obtaining a commercial driver’s license. This has been a long-time coming: it was first mandated by Congress back in 2012, before the rulemaking process and IT issues at the state and federal levels caused successive years of delay.

So, what’s actually changing with this new ELDT? For most current drivers and for organizations that have a structured training program in place today, the truth is – not much.

First off, if you are already hold a commercial driver’s license, by and large you will not be affected. The revised ELDT regulations apply only to drivers seeking to 1) Obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) for the first time; 2) Upgrade their existing CDL from Class B to Class A; or 3)

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IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER

Obtain a new hazmat, passenger, or school bus endorsement.

Secondly, the process for obtaining a CDL will not markedly differ from what takes place today. Prospective drivers will be required to complete theory instruction and behind-the-wheel instruction before taking their skills test to obtain their CDL. There are no minimum number of hours as part of this training. In fact, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) estimates that 85% of entry-level drivers already receive training curricula that meet the ELDT requirements.

Third—and here is where rumors are the most outrageous—there are no new exorbitant costs nor minimum training hours required with the ELDT. Prospective drivers do not have to go to a truck driver training school and can still receive training from the same places: educational institutions, motor carriers, rural cooperatives, school districts, joint labor-management programs, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) schools and other venues. For carriers this means if you conduct in-house training today, you’ll still be able to do so after the new ELDT rule becomes effective.

Most training providers won’t have to change their programs to comply with ELDT requirements. There are no required minimum instruction hours for theory training.

Training providers must use assessments

to determine if trainees are proficient in all units of the theory curriculum. There are also no required minimum instruction hours for behind-the-wheel (BTW) training.

Training is complete when the training provider determines that a trainee is proficient in all elements of the BTW curriculum.

What will change is that training providers will have to meet minimum training requirements issued back in 2016 and register online with FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry.

Most training programs already meet or exceed ELDT requirements and will be able to continue training new drivers without disruption.

We at the American Trucking Associations estimate that we need 80,000 additional truckers on the road today to meet the economy’s current freight demands. In order to fill that gap, we must make entry into our field obtainable, affordable, reliable, and understandable.

By Dan Horvath, Vice President of Safety Policy, American Trucking Associations

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