Greetings from RoadKing.com
Newsletter for 8/15/2000
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This week at RoadKing.com:
Here's to all of you on National Truck Driver Appreciation Week!
Biggest Team in Racing?
Think only big shots can sponsor a race car?
Think again.
Freightliner, Mike Ryan Set New Pikes Peak Race Record Ryan and Century
Class Truck Shatter Big Rig Record by 51 Seconds.
All Aboard Continental Express.
By Mary Hance
At Continental Express, a driver-friendly attitude and a responsive,
professional management team make all the difference.
They love trucks, they love them not
Following are two items, one a letter from the owner of a company that
serves the trucking industry, and the other, an article from
Preservation Advocate News sent to me by reader Jess. Interesting to see
the contrast....
Editor:
The other day I saw a bumper sticker that said, "You would be homeless,
hungry and naked without truck drivers." How true!
Nearly 10 years ago I moved my company, CompuNet Credit Services, to a
small community in the Arizona desert. We have no port, no rail and only
a small commuter airport. Virtually everything we need is delivered by
truck. The same is true in the majority of towns in America.
During "Truck Driver Appreciation Week," it's only appropriate to thank
America's trucking companies for their hard work, which makes our way of
life possible.
I also want to thank them for placing their trust in CompuNet when they
need to know how brokers and shippers pay freight bills. We work hard to
protect carriers from bad debt, by providing accurate, up-to-date
information around the clock, every day of the year. We're here for you,
so you can be out there for us.
Drive carefully, and Godspeed. Sincerely,
Cindy Aldridge, President CompuNet Credit Services, Inc.
From Preservation Advocate News
National Trust Joins Coalition in Freeze on Bigger Trucks
The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently joined the
Coalition Against Bigger Trucks to help fight for the coalition's major
Federal legislative campaign to pass the "Safe Highways Resolution."
Introduced on April 12 by Rep. James McGovern (D-MA), the "Safe Highways
Resolution" - House Concurrent Resolution 306 - expresses congressional
support for the existing freeze on longer combination vehicles and
current Federal limitations on truck size and weight. The resolution
has 102 cosponsors to date.
Fights about the truck size and weight usually take place when Congress
considers major surface transportation legislation, like ISTEA or
TEA-21, but a measure has already been introduced in the House of
Representatives to increase weight limits from the existing 80,000 to
97,000 pounds. The trucking industry is opposing a proposal by the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reduce the current level
of daily driving hours for truckers. The industry argues that there are
compensating "benefits" and increased productivity with these heavier
trucks.
Historic preservationists are in this fight because the drive for
bigger, heavier trucks is spawned by sprawl and America's bondage to
roads and motor vehicles for the movement of goods and people. This
dependency clogs highways, damages streets and bridges, and contributes
to blight in America's urban centers and small towns.
Historic resources and historic neighborhoods are degraded by larger,
heavier trucks. The scale and character of small towns and urban centers
are already being overwhelmed by big trucks, and as the trucks get
bigger, the pressure on businesses dependent on trucks to get out of
town and locate on the sprawl sites becomes more intense.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to associate
itself with this effort, joining highway safety advocates, the American
Automobile Association, law enforcement and public health groups. If you
need additional information, please contact Dan Costello in the Public
Policy Department at 202-588-6167 or Dan_Costello@nthp.org.
Personally, I take issue with their attitude toward the industry that
feeds them, but bigger and heavier trucks aren't in the best interest of the men and women who have to drive them on roads not designed to handle the vehicles. And, if history is any lesson, bigger plus heavier would not equal higher freight rates or driver pay. And that's a blight on the whole country.
New Truck Market Hits the Brakes
Big truck building is slowing down. Freightliner LLC and Navistar
International this week made back-to-back announcements of production
cutbacks and layoffs. Each company cited sharp drops in new truck orders
- something the industry has been anticipating for some time, but hates
to see.
John R. Horne, chairman, president and chief executive officer of
Navistar, said a drop in third quarter truck and bus shipments from the
second quarter and the decline in order receipts were clear indications
the industry is at the beginning of a downturn. He blamed the decline on
an oversupply of late-model used trucks - many of which have unified
sleepers and cannot be easily converted to daycab use - escalating
diesel fuel prices and higher interest rates.
New truck orders are lower than they've been since at least 1996, Horne
said.
Freightliner spokeswoman Debi Nicholson said that company expects North
American heavy-duty truck sales to decline by as much as 25 percent this
year; sales of medium-duty trucks have also slowed. She also cited a
drop in new truck orders, high fuel prices, chronic driver shortages and
interest rates as driving the cutbacks.
The past few years have been go-go in Georgia overdrive, with new truck
orders blowing past expectations. Now comes the hill. Other builders
have previously announced cuts in production, and the ripple is
spreading through suppliers of components such as engines.
However, there doesn't appear to be lessening in demand for drivers, nor
for movement of freight. And, eventually, those used trucks will get
sold and the cycle will resume. Until then, tighten your belt.
That's all for this week. Until next time, be safe, make money and get
home often.
