Newsletter Archive

🗣️ 33 states tell truckers to turn off the engine

States are tightening up anti-idling laws. What's this mean for your fleet? In today's top story, we take a look at where anti-idling laws are in place and the sizeable fines associated with keeping a truck running. But what if the driver lives in their truck? Asking them to turn off the engine poses a problem. Could APUs be the answer? They might be.

Drivers: 🗣️ Sound off and let us know how you feel about the anti-idling laws by responding to this email.

ICYMI: We released a downloadable white paper: 5 Tech Tools that can improve driver and fleet safety. Don't miss it!

Buckle up and let's get to it!

Bianca

Inside today's newsletter

⛽ Diesel prices settling
🛑 AT&T outage impacts fleets
⚖️ OOIDA supports law to protect small biz
📌 Advice for new fleet managers
🚛 Moving a 1916 landmark by truck

Anti-idling laws impacting fleets across the U.S.

With heightened awareness of air quality, anti-idling laws are gathering pace quickly across the country. Limits are already in place in 33 states, according to the ATRI, with sizeable fines and lawmakers looking to tighten up further.

However, idling is a necessity for truck fleets, providing power to keep drivers comfortable during overnight stops. So how can carriers stay ahead of regulations?

Time to think about electric auxiliarypower units? The latest figures from Bloomberg NEF show the price of lithium-ion battery packs has fallen by 82%, since 2013 - thanks to large-scale production efficiencies. This is enabling companies to offer cheaper battery-powered APUs, which are capable of handling trucks’ hotel loads without idling the engine.

How else can fleets benefit? Aside from avoiding fines (which are here to stay), electric APUs would reduce the 1B tons of fuel used by idling trucks each year. It’s an investment which could enhance driver comfort, reduce fuel and maintenance costs, and contribute to wider sustainability goals.

Read about anti-idling laws in Fleet Owner.

🙂 GOOD DAY:

Diesel prices have levelled out after last week’s 21 cent per-gallon surge, with the national average staying at $4.11. Despite the recent rise, that’s still 27 cents cheaper than it was a year ago.

Diesel details can be found in Work Truck Online.

🙁 BAD DAY:

AT&T experienced a major outage impacting users nationwide Thursday, affecting cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Dallas. The hours-long outage impacted cellular communication which is crucial for trucking functions such as engine control updates, asset tracking, telematics, and electronic logging devices.

Read out the outage in CCJ Digital.

OOIDA supports bill to shield small carriers from costly rules

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is backing a new bill designed to protect small businesses - including the vast majority of motor carriers - from financially burdensome regulation.

If the Prove It Act (HR7198) becomes law, small businesses will get new powers to raise concerns, request reviews and gain exemptions from costly new regulations. OOIDA says this would benefit smaller carriers, who account for 96% of the trucking sector.

Read the latest in Land Line.

New fleet managers: Advice to get started

Fleet managers are a mission-critical role within an organization, with responsibilities spanning human resources, procurement, sustainability and cost control. So where should you start if you’re taking the reins?

The expert advice is simple. Set clear budget-driven targets based on your own leadership style, and keep a line of communication open with other staff members. It’ll all help reach those end goals.

Check out the tips in Government Fleet.

CloudTrucks adds brokerage to stabilize carrier earnings

Trucking tech company CloudTrucks is hoping to shore up a more consistent income for carriers by adding a brokerage solution to its portfolio.

CT Exchange is a rebrand of software-as-a-service provider Shipwell’s brokerage arm, and augments the company’s leasing and credit card offerings. In a slow freight market, it’s hoped that this will offer a more reliable frequency of quality loads for carriers.

Loads of details in FreightWaves.

Quote of the Day:

“Over 70% of American freight is transported exclusively by truck, and 96% of trucking is made up of small business carriers. OOIDA and the 150,000 small-business truckers we represent support the bipartisan Prove It Act to keep government overreach and burdensome overregulation off of the backs of the men and women behind the wheel who keep our economy moving.”

Todd Spencer, OOIDA President

Be safe out there -

Bianca,
Editor, The Inside Lane