16 minute read
Trucking News Roundup
State driver’s license system to shut down April 18-26 for upgrades
Gov. Kay Ivey recently announced plans to shut down Alabama’s decades-old driver’s license system and will close all Driver License offices statewide from April 18 through April 26 to install a new system.
According to the governor’s office, the new system will be called the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Driver License System (LEADS) and will yield significant im prove ments to citizen experience, including more streamlined processes to update ad dresses, pay and reinstate licenses, upload medical cards, view TSA Hazmat back ground checks, among other conveniences.
Driver license offices statewide will close Monday, April 18, with plans to reopen by Tuesday, April 26. During this time office and online services will not be available to the public.
“This new system will consolidate mul tiple legacy systems into one integrated, modern system to further protect our citi zens’ data and enhance customer service,” said Governor Ivey. “I am proud of ALEA’s dedication to complete this crucial and ex tensive task to positively impact all citizens.”
For further information on LEADS and project updates, visit LEADS | Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (alea.gov).
Tanker Truck group pledges $50k to help fight Rhode Island tolls
The National Tank Truck Carriers has contributed $50,000 to the trucking in dustry’s ongoing challenge to Rhode Is land’s extortionary truck-only tolls scheme.
“Winning this suit is critical for truck ing,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear, “If this exorbitant, predatory tolling
BR Williams’ matriarch saved the family business and placed it on a path for growth and success.
EDITOR’S NOTE: March is Women’s History Month. To celebrate, we offer this short piece spotlighting a true Alabama trucking hero: Ruth Williams, a wife, mother and former school teacher who steadied the ship of her family’s trucking business after the tragic death of her husband and company founder B.R. “Bill” Williams. Women like Mrs. Williams have impacted the trucking and logistics industry for years, and in recent times have gained more extensive representation in a traditionally male-dominated profession.
Modern transportation and logistics have been around since the late 19th century but only gained steam with women towards the end of World War I. Back then, only about 20 percent of women worked outside the home, and only 5 percent of those were married. Typical thinking was trucking was just not a job most women sought. In fact, at the time, much of where and when women worked, in general, was regulated.
As the war continued, women began to shift into non-traditional careers out of necessity and the urgent need to fill vacancies left by men off to fight the war overseas. Women increasingly took on industrial jobs, including warehouse work and trucking. World War I gave many women an opportunity to prove their capabilities in roles they were previously considered unsuitable. Today, advancements of women in the trucking and transportation industry are more apparent but still not equal – especially in leadership roles. Here in Alabama, during the 1960s, however, a woman named Ruth Williams took over her family’s trucking business because she had to and worked for many years building it to become one of the state’s most respected operations.
In July of 1958, Bill Williams established his trucking operation known today as BR Williams. He experienced all the issues and growing pains of owning a new business, but after only five years of operation, a shop fire took his life. His widow, Ruth, then an elementary school teacher, was advised to walk away from the business because of all the damage that the fire caused. However, she knew that the people who worked for the company relied on their jobs, and she desperately wanted to stay in business for them and to honor the work of her late husband. Despite the many obstacles she knew she’d face as a female operating a trucking business, she retired from teaching and became the owner and president of BR Williams.
For years, she managed the operation, made wise business decisions, and hired the right people to take the company to the next level. After years of challenges associated with raising her daughters as a single mother and running the business on her own, Ruth began to see the fruits of her labor. The company grew by leaps and bounds.
In 1992, the time came for Ruth to pass the baton to the individuals who had the wisdom and bravery to carry on the legacy begun so many years ago. She looked no further than her son in law, Greg Brown, and daughters Dee Brown and Kaye Perry who had grown up in the business. This decision would take the company to heights Bill never could have imagined.
Last July, BR Williams celebrated its 63rd year of business, and the company forever respects the strength of Ruth Williams and the sacrifices she made to continue her husband’s business.
We will never know just how hard the days were for Ruth as a female trucking owner in the 60s, 70s and 80s. For sure, she didn’t take the easy road – she made her own. Her legacy is a worthy reminder of the strength, determination and talent of women truckers everywhere.
Ruth Willams in the 1990s. Ruth & Bill Williams
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plan is allowed to stand, it will be replicated across the country. This is an all-hands-ondeck situation, so we are grateful for NTTC’s support in this crucial fight.”
National ATA’s Litigation Center, and a number of carriers based in New England, sued Rhode Island over its RhodeWorks tolling program that specifically targets the trucking industry. The industry’s challenge is currently being weighed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
“We appreciate NTTC stepping up to help in this effort. Their support is critical to our success in this suit,” said ATA Chairman Harold Sumerford Jr., CEO of J&M Tank Lines. “And as an NTTC member and a past chairman, I want to thank them personally for their leadership in making this a priority for their members and our industry.”
“Hearing what the consequences of losing this suit would be for our industry, deciding to help was a no-brainer,” said NTTC President and CEO Ryan Streblow. “We are proud to stand with ATA on behalf of our industry to stop Rhode Island, or any state, from targeting trucking with these kinds of predatory schemes.”
NTTC leadership made its $50,000 commitment to the Rhode Island litigation effort at the association’s annual board meeting in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Southland Trans portation Group has received the Inter national Truck Pres idential Award, which honors the top eight percent of International Truck dealerships that achieve the highest level of performance in terms of operating and financial stan dards, market repre sen tation, and most importantly, customer satisfaction.
“This award is the highest honor an International dealer principal can achieve from the company,” said Mark Belisle, group vice president of Dealer Sales and Operations at Navistar. “Southland Transportation Group is one of only 14 International dealerships in the United States and Canada who earned this prestigious recognition in 2021.”
Belisle continued, “The Presidential Award also recognizes the effort and dedication of all the dealership’s employees. A highly skilled, professional staff is a critical success factor for any commercial truck dealership. Drew Linn, CEO of Southland, is clearly committed to growing his business and being recognized by customers as the dealership of choice in their market. I con gratulate everyone at Southland Transpor ta tion Group for their commitment to out standing customer service, operational ex cellence and representation of the Inter na tional Truck brand.”
“This award is a great honor for everyone at Southland because it recognizes all of the expertise and professionalism we bring to customers in our market,” said Southland CEO Drew Linn. “We are dedicated to providing an outstanding customer experience. They rely on us to keep their businesses moving and growing. For more than 46 years, our customers have been returning to do business with us because they know we deliver quality products and services that help drive profits to their bottom line.”
Southland Transportation Group is a full-service International Truck dealership sup porting customers in cities throughout Ala bama. For more information visit southlandtransportationgroup.com.
The American Transportation Research Institute has released its annual list highlighting the most congested bottlenecks for trucks in America.
The 2022 Top Truck Bottleneck List measures the level of truck-involved congestion at over 300 locations on the national highway system. The analysis, based on truck GPS data from over 1 million freight trucks uses several customized software applications and analysis methods, along with terabytes of data from trucking operations to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location. ATRI’s truck GPS data is also used to support the U.S. DOT’s Freight Mobility Initiative. The bottleneck locations detailed in this latest ATRI list represent the top 100 congested locations, although ATRI continuously monitors more than 300 freight-critical locations.
For the fourth year in a row, the intersection of I-95 and SR 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey is once again the Number One freight bottleneck in the country. The rest of the Top 10 includes:
2. Cincinnati: I-71 at I-75 3. Houston: I-45 at I-69/US 59 4. Atlanta: I-285 at I-85 (North) 5. Atlanta: I-20 at I-285 (West) 6. Chicago: I-290 at I-90/I-94 7. Los Angeles: SR 60 at SR 57 8. Dallas: I-45 at I-30 9. San Bernardino, California: I-10 at I-15 10. Chattanooga, Tennessee: I-75 at I-24
ATRI’s analysis, which utilized data from 2021, found traffic levels rebounded across the country as more Americans returned to work and consumer demand for goods and services continued to grow. Consequently, supply chain bottlenecks occurred throughout the country. Average rush hour truck speeds were 38.6 MPH, down more than 11 percent from the previous year.
“ATRI’s bottleneck list is a roadmap for federal and state administrators responsible for prioritizing infrastructure investments throughout the country. Every year, ATRI’s list highlights the dire needs for modernizing and improving our roads and bridges,” said American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear. “We have seen, most recently in Pittsburgh, that the cost of doing nothing could also cost lives. It’s time to fund these projects and get our supply chains moving again.”
For access to the full report, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, please visit truckingresearch.org. ATRI is also providing animations created with truck GPS data for select bottleneck locations, all available on the website.
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Bill would create seasonal workers exemption for unemployment benefits
Alabama Daily News reports that a bill pending in the Alabama Senate would let businesses designate jobs as seasonal, exempt ing them from the state’s un em ploy ment benefits.
Senate Bill 100 states seasonal jobs are those that last six months or less. It is one of several bills deemed priority legislation by the Alabama Small Business Com mission.
The bill requires the Alabama Dept. of Labor to come up with a seasonal employee designation for employers and allow them not to pay the state’s unemployment tax on those jobs. That tax revenue goes into the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which people draw from when they lose their jobs.
Currently, people can file unemployment claims if they’ve worked in two of the last four quarters of the year. Companies’ ex perience ratings can increase, causing them to pay a higher unemployment tax rate if more former employees file unemployment claims.
The Alabama branch of the National Federation of Independent Businesses strongly supports this bill, with 82 percent of members voting yes during their yearly ballot of priorities.
“This is not only beneficial to the busi ness owners, but to the employees,” said Rosemary Elebash, state director of the NFIB. “This bill would allow high school ers to get that first seasonal job to gain experience or allow a business owner to preview an employee’s work and then offer them a full-time position down the road,”.
The bill doesn’t require any employers to label any jobs as seasonal and it wouldn’t impact year-round employees.
State Community College System and ATA unveil jobs training center
The Alabama Community College Sys tem (ACCS) Innovation Center, a $10 million investment aimed at rapidly train ing workers for the state’s highest-demand industries, recently launched its first of several industry-designed programs to help students find immediate employment.
ACCS leaders, Alabama Trucking Asso ciation and other industry partners and students kicked off the Innovation Center’s opening and demonstrated some of the training at an event on February 14 at Barber Motorsports Park and Museum in Leeds, Ala.
The training includes short-term classes that students can start from anywhere in the state and finish with an in-person lab in a regional ACCS location. Once students complete the training, they are job-ready and are awarded a credential and an opportunity to earn more certifications at their local community college.
“Every Alabamian deserves an oppor tunity to succeed in the state’s economy. It’s not always that someone needs two years at the community college to make them have the skills viable for the labor market, so we have found a way to expedite the training so we can move people more rapidly into the market,” said Jimmy Baker, Chancellor of the Alabama Community College Sys tem. “The Innovation Center is where we house people to devote to the process of developing curriculum for training, no matter what it may be, so that residents can take those credentials and either get to work or get promoted with the right skills for their job.”
Business leaders say rapid training is key
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as Alabama faces supply chain issues and the nation’s 11th largest worker shortage, according to a study.
“America’s commercial trucking industry is facing a critical shortage of about 80,000 professional drivers,” said Mark Colson, president and CEO of the Alabama Truck ing Association. “Here in Alabama, truck ing already provides 112,000-plus jobs – about 1 out of 15 in the state. These are high-quality jobs offering great pay and endless career path opportunities. We are proud to partner with the Alabama Community College System to ramp up efforts to attract and connect job-seekers with the training they need to enter the trucking industry. The ACCS Innovation Center is the right program to supercharge the availability of CDL offerings in our state and enhance the existing programs that are already preparing our future workforce.”
The Innovation Center has already suc cessfully collaborated with the Alabama Tourism Department to help workers train for and find jobs in the state’s $16 billion hospitality industry, thanks to a $1 million grant from Gov. Kay Ivey. All graduates of this pilot training project hosted by Coastal Community College were matched with jobs and 100 percent of students were hired upon completion of the training.
The ACCS also received funding from the Legislature to develop the Innovation Center and expand skills training and career technical programs that lead to nationally recognized short-term certi fications in high-demand industries.
In addition to hospitality, the first indemand industries targeted for Innovation Center rapid training include butchery, commercial drivers license (CDL), recre ation, heavy equipment, plumbing and facilities maintenance.
For more information on upcoming training, or for answers to frequently asked questions, visit innovation.accs.edu.
Workforce Coalition: From left, Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics; Dr. Cynthia Anthony, President of Lawson State Community College; Mara Harrison Interim Executive Director, ACCS Innovation Center; Jimmy Baker ACCS Chancellor; Mark Colson, President & CEO Alabama Trucking Association; and Rosemary Elebash National Federation of Independent Businesses State Director
PO Box 242337 • Montgomery, AL 36124 • Phone: (334) 834-3983 • Fax: (334) 262-6504
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A. For-Hire Motor Carriers (Membership dues are based on truck count; maximum of $4,000)
$500 plus $20 per truck
B. Private Carriers (Schedule based on miles traveled in Alabama)
$300 ..............................for up to 1 million miles $600 ..............................for 1,000,000 up to 4 million miles $900 ..............................for 4,000,001 up to 7 million miles $1,200 ...........................for 7,000,001 up to 10 million miles $1,500 ...........................for 10,000,001 up to 13 million miles $1,800 ...........................for 13,000,001 miles up to 16 million miles $2,100 ...........................for 16,000,001 up to 19 million miles $2,400 ...........................for 19,000,000 up to 21 million miles $2,800 ...........................for 21,000,000 up to 24 million miles $3,100 ...........................for over 24 million miles
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