Carriers expect to face driver shortages this year, according to the Initial responses to TransCore’s carrier benchmark survey. They expressed concerns about staffing issues, in response to a question about business challenges that might arise in 2010 and 2011.

Other concerns included CSA 2010, other regulatory changes and economic trends.

Meanwhile, truckload rates are increasing, and broker rates are starting to exceed contract rates in certain markets, especially for reefers. 

Note: If your company is looking for drivers, we invite you to advertise in truck stops, at toll plazas, in our truck stop location directory, carrier newsletters, or other TransCore media options.  

Freight rates rose in March on the spot market for all equipment types, according to TransCore’s Truckload Rate Index. The product, which provides contract-based rates from actual freight bills, will soon include a module that tracks rates paid by brokers to truckers. These “spot market” rates are typically more responsive to market demand than contract rates, which usually remain stable for long periods. 

Spot market line haul rates for flatbeds rose by $0.05 (3.5%) in March, from an average of $1.42 to $1.47 per mile for truckload moves. During the same period, TransCore reported, the load-to-truck ratio for flatbeds surged from an already high 13.4 to more than 20 loads per available truck. An increase in load postings for flatbeds accounts for most of the change. Although capacity left the market in recent months as major flatbed carriers closed their doors, the number of flatbed truck postings has not declined at a faster rate than postings for other equipment types.

Reefer and dry van rates rose by 3% in March on the spot market. Reefers commanded a premium of $0.04 at $1.35 per mile, compared to $1.31 in February.  Van rates rose by $0.03, from $1.11 to $1.14. Van rates were the first to increase, however, with initial increases detected in the first week of March.

Looking at rate trends from February 2009 through February 2010, it is easy to detect periods of peak demand for reefers and flatbeds. Spot market rates for reefers, in particular, exceeded contract rates in June, and enjoyed a second, smaller increase at year end.

Average flatbed rates on the spot market did not exceed contract rates during the period, but the gap between the two rate types narrowed during periods of high demand in February and March of last year, and again in the Fall. Flatbed freight is often considered to be a leading economic indicator, because it is comprised largely of building materials, heavy equipment and other elements required for construction and manufacturing.

An electronic on-board recorder will be required for carriers and drivers who are found to have hours of service (HOS) violations of 10% or more, according to a rule enacted last week by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA.)

According to a statement posted on the FMCSA web site, nearly 5,700 carriers will be required to install EOBRs on all their vehicles during the first year of enforcement. Carriers that install the devices voluntarily “will receive relief from some of FMCSA's requirements to retain HOS supporting documents, such as toll receipts used to check the accuracy of driver logbooks.”

The new regulation will not go into effect until 2012, but HOS enforcement is also a major component of the new Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010 program that is now scheduled to roll out nationwide later this year. Driver fatigue is one of the seven Behavioral Analysis Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) that will comprise a carrier’s safety rating in 2010 and beyond.

Being required to install an EOBR may seem onerous, but when used voluntarily, an EOBR can be a valuable driver training tool that promotes safe habits, improves accountability and prevents future HOS violations. Some EOBRs, including TransCore’s CabLink™, can provide many additional benefits to fleet managers, including location tracking and monitoring, fuel conservation and remote engine diagnostics for preventive mainenance.

CabLink, a 100% satellite-based in-cab communications solution, tracks the truck’s location, direction and speed while monitoring engine performance. CabLink’s full EOBR capability is included in an automated driver log module that records actual drive time and calculates hours of service. As a bonus, CabLink provides the necessary state line crossing data to produce accurate IFTA fuel tax reports.

To learn more about CabLink, see our web page or call 866.378.8725.

Starting in July, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will roll out its new Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010 program nationwide, heralding a new level of complexity in carriers’ regulatory compliance. CSA 2010 has already been field tested in six states; it is scheduled to be fully implemented by the end of this year.

CSA 2010 continues the FMCSA’s system of inspections at the roadside and in the yard, but scores will be updated monthly, and ratings will incorporate on-highway performance. The program includes significant changes in the measurement of carrier performance data and adds new categories for driver performance, as well. Driver violations will affect the overall rating for the carriers who employ them.

Instead of the four categories that exist today in SAFER, the CSA will group carrier and driver safety performance data into seven categories called BASICs: Behavioral Analysis Safety Improvement Categories.  All seven BASICS may be affected by driver behavior:

1. Unsafe driving
2. Fatigued driving, including Hours of Service (HOS) compliance
3. Driver fitness
4. Controlled substance or alcohol
5. Vehicle maintenance
6. Improper loading of cargo
7. Crash indicators

Based on a carrier’s weighted score within each BASIC, the CSA 2010 measurement system will trigger the Agency to intervene with the carrier, or alert the agency that carrier performance has reached the “unfit” threshold.

At that point, CSA 2010 triggers progressive interventions – from a warning letter to an actual claim notice – to advise the motor carrier or driver that their safety performance requires correction.  These steps are meant to improve unsafe behavior early.

As the CSA 2010 system rolls out, fitness determinations will be based on performance data processed through the measurement system, and will not necessarily follow the current FMCSA compliance review process. 

What are the implications for carriers? The new safety measurement and rating system is a “game changer,” according to a recent editorial in Transport Topics. The FMCSA’s intent is to streamline carrier safety ratings and make them more accurate and responsive nationwide, but the quality of the underlying data will depend on uniformity in reporting from state to state. 

Further, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) submitted lengthy comments on CSA 2010, including the recommendation that data should be normalized according to total miles traveled, rather than the number of power units, as the most important weighting factor.

Imagine that you’re hauling ice cream over 1,300 miles with multiple, time-sensitive drops. This is your first job for a new customer. To make it even more challenging, the entire haul takes place over a weekend, when both your company and the shipper have only a skeleton crew available to track the shipment.

That high-pressure scenario quickly became business as usual at Sunco Carriers. The Florida-based reefer operation was so successful in its first ice cream haul, it has pursued other cargo types that are highly temperature-sensitive, time-sensitive or both. The ice cream shipper rewarded Sunco’s flawless performance with additional business. According to Randal Sanchez, Sunco’s Director of Operations, the key ingredient in the company’s success is a highly customizable trailer tracking and temperature sensing solution from TransCore.

Trailer tracking has been a part of Sunco’s reefer operation for years, but the TransCore solution’s user-defined tools have given the Florida-based carrier the flexibility to pursue new cargo types, Sanchez said. While the ice cream run appeared challenging at first, Sanchez felt confident that the tracking system’s efficiencies would more than compensate for staff shortfalls on a weekend schedule.

Tracking Cargo Remotely, While Driver Slept

“We were worried at first, but then we thought: ‘Good Lord, how many people do we need to pull up a trailer?’” Sanchez explained, citing the flexibility of the tracking system’s user-defined report intervals.  “Our weekend people just watched the shipment [from their office computers] the whole time. Every hour, they got position and temperature reports,” Sanchez said. “The driver didn’t have to stop along the route for temperature checks or phone calls. And when the driver went on a break, he knew we were watching his cargo – even while he slept.”

We didn’t have to call the driver at all, not even when he approached the destination,” Sanchez continued.  “We could see when he backed up to the dock, and then we would see the temperature change from -20 to -5 degrees. We knew he had just opened the cargo door.” 

The job was successful, and Sunco won additional business from the same customer. “Many carriers wouldn’t try a haul like this, because of all the challenges involved,” he said. “We knew we had the tools available and we knew we had the equipment that could handle the freight,” Sanchez continued. “Now when we have sensitive cargo, we’ll watch the air temp and re-set our report time to return a report every hour instead of the four-hour default interval.”

“Before we had this [configurable tracking system], honestly, I don’t think we would have taken the risk or pursued that type of shipment,” Sanchez said. “TransCore’s tracking and monitoring solution opened up another commodity that we were willing to pull,” he explained, which makes Sunco more competitive in a profitable market segment.

Fine-tuning report intervals, to suit customers and cargo

“Other shipments may not have a highly temperature-sensitive nature, but the customer may be time-sensitive, and want reports at a specific interval.  We can configure the system to report back as often as the customer requires, just for the units that are handling that shipment.”

In addition to creating new business opportunities, the reefer tracking and monitoring system has enhanced customer communication and service. The system has also helped Sunco to improve utilization and prevent theft of valuable equipment.

“We use our proximity and dwell time reports to view and confirm when and where our trailers are idle,” Sanchez explained. For example, we had a trailer at a shipper, and we noticed that it had been idle for 15 days,” he continued. “The shipper said he didn’t have freight for the trailer, so we started watching it on the tracking system. It was moving!” he said. “The shipper was moving his goods back and forth across town, from one warehouse to another,” Sanchez said. “Maybe he didn’t think we’d mind. But we did,” he concluded.

Find trucks, even when they're parked in customer's yard

“Another time, a shipper called, irate, to complain that our equipment wasn’t on site,” Sanchez remembered. “I pulled up a map, converted it to the satellite view and sent him a snapshot of the trailer in his yard, attached to an email,” he continued. “I asked: ‘Would you like the driver to check back in?’ The driver was there an hour early!  The customer didn’t see him, but the TransCore system is so accurate, it showed which corner of the parking lot our truck was sitting in,” he said.

 “Last week, another shipper called,” Sanchez went on. The customer has a perishable product, so he won’t even manufacture it unless the trucks are on-site, ready to ship as it comes off the production line, according to Sanchez.

“This is a place where we have at least 20 trailers at all times,” he said. “But the shipper called our sales guy and said, ‘We’re shutting down our plant tonight, because we have only 12 trailers.’ So I immediately pulled up a proximity report for the customer’s yard, based on the TransCore system’s geopoint locator, and it showed we had 24 pieces of power on-site,” Sanchez continued. “Now, the customer said his yard guy had just done a physical check and all he saw was 12 trailers, but we had 24 on site,” he continued. “The customer was able to turn on his production line, because we knew the exact location of every one of our trucks, right down to their position in the customer’s parking lot.”

“That geopoint locator has been a great tool for us. It helps us with the customer,” Sanchez added. “He calls and asks, ‘Can you tell me where the truck is?’ and we can read the last location off the report. If that’s not recent enough, we can poll the trailer on the spot, and provide the current location,” he concluded.

 “We have had some trailers stolen in the past,” Sanchez continued. “Now we go to the history report immediately, and we provide it to local authorities,” he said.

“We keep our trailers on a four-hour reporting interval, as a default. In one case, the driver called us when he woke up to find his truck missing in the morning. We traced the trailer to a warehouse and called the police,” he said. “We got the trailer back in less than 18 hours,” Sanchez added.” Once thieves abandon our trailer, we recover it as quickly as possible.”

Freight availability on the spot market has been trending upward since February, as depicted in Figure 1: 2008-09 Spot Market Freight Index, below. The graph represents available freight loads on TransCore load boards in 2008 and 2009. The blue line in the graph, which represents 2009 spot market loads, first exceeded the 2008 totals in October, on a year-over-year basis. The gap between the two years widened from 10% in October to 65% when comparing November 2009 to the same month of 2008.

Figure 1: TransCore Spot Market Freight Index, 2008-09, U.S only. (Year 2000 = 100)

This year’s gradual improvement of spot freight availability contrasts with the sharp downturn in load postings in the second half of 2008, depicted by the red line in Figure 1, above. Following the financial market crisis of September and October 2008, spot freight postings continued to slide from the unusually high levels posted in the second quarter.

Happily, overall freight tonnage has also been trending upward in 2009, as reported by American Trucking Associations not-seasonally-adjusted index. Tonnage totals through October 2009, depicted by the blue line in Figure 2, below, contrast sharply with the trajectory of 2008 tonnage (represented by the red line.) Shipment levels fell precipitously in the fourth quarter.

Figure 2: American Trucking Associations Tonnage Index, 2008-09, not seasonally adjusted. (Year 2000 = 100)

It appears that November and December are on track to exceed last year’s tonnage for the same months, and if this trend is sustained, it may indicate the start of a gradual economic recovery in 2010.Other indicators are pointing to the imminent return of economic health, as well. Business inventories rose in October for the first time in a year, and sales rose by 1.1%, exceeding expectations. If these indicators continue to improve, they can be expected to generate further increases in freight tonnage.

For more industry information and statistics, visit TransCore Trendlines.

Everyone agrees that it is dangerous to drive while talking or texting on cell phones. Carriers must do their best to reduce the temptation for drivers to use handheld devices. But many dispatchers rely on these technologies to stay in touch with drivers.

Carriers can eliminate routine check calls and reduce driver distractions by installing satellite-powered truck location and tracking solutions in the cab. Dispatchers know the location of every truck in the fleet, without calling the driver. Drivers can view written directions and other important information when the truck is parked safely.

Satellite-based tracking and communications solutions such as TransCore’s CabLink™ enable carriers to save time, improve productivity and conserve fuel, with accurate, actionable reports. CabLink tracks each truck’s location and monitors route, mileage, speed, RPMs, and other key indicators. Best of all, CabLink confirms that every message has been received, so drivers are not obliged to answer the phone or reply to text messages while driving.

Carriers who rely on cell phones for driver communications are constrained by laws that ban the use of handheld phones while driving in six states. A bill was submitted to the U.S. Senate in October, to ban text messaging by drivers nationwide. As the issue of distracted driving has received significant attention in recent months, more legislation can be expected.

In September, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood convened a Distracted Driving Summit, where he cited these grim statistics: “On any given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone,” he said. “Every single time someone takes their eyes or their focus off the road - even for just a few seconds - they put their lives and the lives of others in danger,” Secretary LaHood continued. “Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible and in a split second, its consequences can be devastating.”

LaHood estimated that crashes involving distracted drivers led to nearly 6,000 deaths and more than 500,000 injuries in 2008 alone. Handheld cell phones were observed in use by 6% of drivers across the country, with almost as many using hands-free devices, as revealed in a separate report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA.)

Happily, “large-truck drivers had the smallest percentage of total drivers involved in fatal crashes that were reported as distraction-related,” according to the Traffic Safety Facts research study published in September by the NHTSA. FMCSA is now researching driver distractions among drivers of commercial trucks and buses, in a study that began in September and will continue through June 2010. 

To stay in touch with drivers while minimizing distractions, consider CabLink.