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4 • TA R H E E L W H E E L S

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COVER • PAGE 9

REINSURANCE

FACILITY

WREAKING HAVOC FOLLOW-UP ON THE CONTINUING EFFORTS NCTA IS LEADING TO HALT THE SURCHARGE AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU.

BY DAN CALABRESE

Q2 SUMMER 2019 T H E O F F I C I A L M AG A Z I N E O F T H E N O RT H CA R O L I N A T R U C K I N G A S S O C I AT I O N

TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURES 14 Meet NCTA's Council Leadership

BY STEVE BRAWNER

16 Trucking Day at the Capitol Education, Reinsurance Facility and Infrastructure Among Topics Discussed

BY THW STAFF

DEPARTMENTS 24 FMCSA's Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse A push and pull system

BY DAVE OSIECKI

28 From Tracks to Trucks N.C. Transportation Museum Turns Focus to NC Trucking

BY MARK BROWN

4

NCTA Annual Sponsors

6

From the Past Chairman by Jerry Sigmon, Jr.

6

NCTA's Board of Directors

7

From the President by Crystal Collins

30

New NCTA Members

30

Advertising Resource Index

Q2 SUMMER 2019

TA R H E E L W H E E L S • 5

From the Past Chairman As Immediate Past Chairman, I Gained More Than I Gave The end of July marks the end of my year as NCTA chairman, but more importantly it’s been seven years since I joined the executive committee. During that time, I’ve learned many things from other trucking executives and from the association itself. I’ve worked with people I would never have known had I simply been a member and forgotten about the NCTA. In the process, I hope I’ve given back to the association a fraction of what I’ve gained. If you’ve never taken an active role in the NCTA, I encourage you to start.

Throughout this multi-year journey, I’ve developed meaningful, lasting friendships with my competitors.

While we all want our own companies to prosper, we’re also united by our desire to strengthen trucking and be good stewards for our industry.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is how an association works. It’s different than a normal business. An executive committee member and especially a chairman must interact with diverse people with very diverse viewpoints. Step one is to listen much more than you talk. If someone wants your attention, give it to them, because often that person is a diamond in the rough with important information to share. Once you’ve heard from various members, you must arrive at what NCTA’s position will be, which often involves adapting the best of several ideas rather than choosing one side or the other.

I’ve also learned that politics is tough! As a member of the executive committee, I’ve been more involved politically than I ever thought I would be. Through Calls on Washington and Trucking Day at the North Carolina General Assembly, the NCTA advocates for the issues that are most important to our industry, our individual companies and the motoring public. Sometimes success seems elusive, a good example being the North Carolina Reinsurance Facility’s insistence on assessing a surcharge on commercial liability policyholders. Another lesson learned is that politics moves slowly, especially for an industry that prefers to operate at 65 miles per hour on the open road. Sometimes you have to pick your battles. But despite the occasional roadblocks and setbacks, the NCTA never stops fighting for trucking. I’m confident of this: Lawmakers know who we are, they know our position, and they can come to us for help.

This upcoming year, I’ll be occupying the most coveted office in any organization: past chairman. The new chairman is Ryan Chambers, Chambers Transportation, will do a great job. But he’ll need our support – our active support. Get involved if you’re not already. You’ll gain more than you give. Thanks to all who have supported me and the NCTA.

Jerry Sigmon, Jr. Chief Operating Officer, Cargo Transporters NCTA Chairman

North Carolina Trucking Association OFFICERS OF THE BOARD Chairman Ryan Chambers Chambers Transportation 1st Vice Chairman Keith Barnes Barnes Transportation Vice Chairman Luke Mangum Mangum's Inc. Vice Chairman Jason Smith Southland Transportation Co. ATA State Vice President Mike Stevens Red Classic Transportation Services, LLC Allied Chairman Marc Tucker Fox Rothschild, LLP Secretary Crystal Collins North Carolina Trucking Association Treasurer Mark Patterson All State Express

2019–2020 NCTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Unifi Manufacturing, Inc Mr. Mark Berry

Kerns Trucking, Inc. Mr. Clyde Kerns

Eagle Transport Corporation Ms. Bree Bryant

City Transfer and Storage Company Mr. Scott Lassiter

Carolina Tank Lines Mr. Tony Capps Eagle Transport Corporation Mr. Lance Collette Thermo King Central Carolinas Mr. Ben Cox

Q2 SUMMER 2019

Longistics Transportation, Inc. Mr. Brooks Long Epes Transport System, LLC Ms. Amy Medlin

Best Cartage, Inc. Mr. Roy Cox

MMX Transportation, Inc. Mr. Randal Menscer

C.R.T.S., Inc. Mr. Stephen Currin

Special Event Transportation Mr. Thomas Moriarty

SE Davis & Associates Mr. Steve Davis

McGriff Insurance Services Mr. Scott Murray

A. V. Dedmon Trucking, Inc. Ms. Lora Dedmon

Edwards Wood Products Inc. Transportation Mr. Gerald Myers

Cargo Transporters, Inc. Mr. Dennis Dellinger Eagle Transport Corporation Mr. Herb Evans Ezzell Trucking, Inc. Mr. Grover Ezzell Teague Campbell Dennis & Gorham, LLP Mr. Scott Farwell Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Mr. Sam Faucette

Epes Transport System, LLC Ms. Melissa Nishan L. J. Rogers Jr. Trucking Co. Mr. Ronald Rogers Joe Morten & Son, Inc. Mr. Kevin Sherritze Brown Trucking Company Mr. Ralph Stanley Excel Truck Group Mr. Ken Tyree

Ezzell Trucking, Inc. Mr. Al Ganey Jr.

Triad Freightliner of Greensboro, Inc. Mr. Larry Tysinger

Goldberg Segalla Mr. Ben Greenberg

Mineral City Transport, LLC Mr. Gordon Underwood

ADUSA Mr. Warren Hall

Underwood & Weld Co., Inc. Mr. Badger Underwood

Barnes Transportation Mr. Chris Henry

Tidewater Transit Co., Inc. Mr. John Williams

Best Cartage, Inc. Mr. Richard Hepler

Swing Transport, Inc. Mr. Donnie Wilson

Hale Trailer Brake & Wheel, Inc. Mr. Chris Hill

Wilson Brothers Milling& Trucking Co. Mr. Jeff Wilson

Relation Insurance Services Mr. Sean Kelly

6 • TA R H E E L W H E E L S

McMahon Truck Centers Mr. David Locke Jr.

Yarbrough Transfer Company Mr. David Yarbrough Jr.

From the President We Want You … to Get Involved THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TRUCKING ASSOCIATION Tarheel Wheels is owned by the North Carolina Trucking Association and is published quarterly by Matthews Publishing Group in the form of three editions of Tarheel Wheels and one edition of NCTA’s Annual Membership Directory & Buyers’ Directory. For additional copies, to order reprints of individual articles or to become a subscriber to Tarheel Wheels, please contact Dana Cochran at DCochran@nctrucking.com and for information about advertising please contact Jennifer Matthews-Drake at jennifer@matthewspublishing.com.

Publisher

Jennifer Matthews-Drake Jennifer@MatthewsPublishing.com

Executive Editor

Crystal Collins CCollins@NCTrucking.com

Creative Director

Fran Sherman fran@shermanstudios.com

Graphic Designer

Barbara Negron

Photographers

Contributing Writers

Ad Production

Clay Cook Larry Kuzniewski Caleb Shane Lollar John David Pittman Steve Brawner Dan Calabrese Renee Miller Derek Rayment Jennifer Barnett Reed John Schulz Todd Traub Doug Benjamin

www.NCTrucking.com North Carolina Trucking Association Staff President

Crystal Collins CCollins@NCTrucking.com

Event Specialist

Amy Ballard ABallard@nctrucking.com

Instructor & Regulatory Specialist

Steve Massey SMassey@nctrucking.com

Bookkeeper Lindsey Harris

lharris@nctrucking.com

An affiliate of the American Trucking Associations

Since 1929, the North Carolina Trucking Association (NCTA) has represented the interests of the trucking industry. NCTA works to protect the interests of North Carolina’s trucking industry by working with state and federal regulatory and enforcement agencies. We are also dedicated to providing excellence in Education, Training, and Information. And promoting a safe, dependable and cost-effective motor transportation infrastructure to the betterment of the trucking industry in North Carolina.

For more information, contact NCTA at: North Carolina Trucking Association 4000 Westchase Blvd, Suite 210 Raleigh, NC 27607 Telephone: 919-834-0387 Facsimile: 919-834-3926 Website: www.nctrucking.com

Remember the World War I recruiting poster featuring “Uncle Sam” pointing to the viewer and declaring “I want you”?

Imagine replacing that top hat with a truck driver’s cap, and that’s the North Carolina Trucking Association.

At the NCTA, we want you. Ours is a memberdriven, volunteer organization. The more active volunteers we have, the better we can serve our industry. If our members are content merely to pay their dues, we can pay our bills, but we won’t be effective.

So, we want you …

– To get involved. We have many opportunities for leadership and service. Participate in our committees and in our safety and maintenance councils, become an officer, and join in our activities.

– To advocate. Pick up the phone and call your elected officials. Participate in our Calls on Washington and Trucking Day at the North Carolina General Assembly. Donate to our political action committee. Lawmakers find the NCTA much more persuasive when they are also hearing directly from their constituents – particularly those who create 218,540 jobs in this state.

– To take advantage of the opportunities NCTA provides. Our association offers many benefits to its members. Our member-only discounts on products and services save you money. Our staff regulatory specialist answers your questions. Our conferences let you network with clients, potential clients and vendors. Our awards and various offerings, such as this magazine, offer branding opportunities available nowhere else. Our Truck Driving Championship and Top Tech Challenge let you reward and recognize your best team members.

– To spread the word. There is strength in numbers, and the more members we have, the harder we’ll be to ignore. Invite your motor carrier competitors and your vendors to join the NCTA. We’ll all benefit.

– To have fun. Our association’s work is vital to our industry, but work doesn’t have to be drudgery. The NCTA lets you spend time with people who understand your mission, your challenges and your day-to-day life. Don’t just take advantage of our opportunities. Enjoy them.

Finally, thank you to Jerry Sigmon, Jr. for his year of service as our chairman, and thank you, Ryan Chambers, for being ready to move into the driver’s seat this upcoming year.

Our organization depends on active volunteers like them. If you’re not active yet, then get involved. We want you!

Crystal Collins President North Carolina Trucking Association

Q2 SUMMER 2019

TA R H E E L W H E E L S • 7

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N.C. REINSURANCE FACILITY WREAKING HAVOC FOLLOW-UP ON THE CONTINUING EFFORTS NCTA IS LEADING TO HALT THE SURCHARGE AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU.

BY DAN CALABRESE / CONTRIBUTING WRITER

H

ow should a nonprofit created to insure high-risk motor carriers retire its long-term debt? And who should be required by law to contribute?

That’s the question that’s created controversy within the North Carolina trucking industry for several years, culminating last year with the imposition of an additional cost the industry is still trying – unsuccessfully so far – to rid itself of.

When the North Carolina Reinsurance Facility announced in 2017 it would impose a surcharge on all state trucking firms to cover

a mounting debt, industry leaders succeeded at getting the surcharge cut in half – and expressed hope it would not continue past the one year.

Those hopes are being frustrated, at least for the moment, as the Facility has announced its intention to continue the surcharge for as many as three more years. But the North Carolina Trucking Association is not accepting defeat, and is looking at options that could include the pursuit of legislative action to get rid of the surcharge.

CONTINUED

Crystal Collins, President of the NCTA, said she and other leaders of the organization expressed their displeasure during a meeting with the Facility’s board on June 5.

“What we learned in our quarterly meeting of April this year was not that they’ve only lost $100 million, but they’ve lost an additional $40 million (since instituting the surcharge), because people then dropped their policies,” Crystal Collins said. “So essentially what they collected on the recoupment side paid for the additional $40 million they didn’t know they’d lost until recently. So we’re back to the $100 million again.”

NCTA wanted the Facility’s board to wait and see if its revenue would catch up before extending the surcharge, because there would be no reversing the surcharge if it ended up not being needed.

“We wanted to get a handle on just what revenue is going to be generated, because if the revenue exceeds the deficit, nobody gets a refund,” Crystal Collins said. “They just keep the money.”

The Facility, which offers policies for hard-to-insure motor carriers, last year announced its intention to impose a surcharge of 14.61 percent on all motor carriers domiciled in North Carolina. As a result of intervention by NCTA, the surcharge was reduced to 7.83 percent.

The surcharge applies to commercial liability coverages, including bodily injury liability, property damage liability, medical payments, uninsured motorists and underinsured motorists’ premiums. Collision and comprehensive coverage policies are not subject to the surcharge. Carriers who face the surcharge include motor

carriers, coach operators, taxi owners, logging truckers and dump truck operators – among others.

The purpose of the surcharge is to eliminate, over time, a fund imbalance that is approaching $100 million.

“We’ve definitely made progress, and the surcharge as it exists today will not retire the entire deficit,” said Terry Collins, chief operating officer of the Facility. “Mathematically it doesn’t work that way, but as results develop over time it’s possible that could happen.”

But NCTA officials had hoped they could steer the Facility to address the deficit in more structural ways – including higher premiums on its actual policies and operational improvements that could reduce the Facility’s costs. Since the initial imposition of the surcharge last year, NTCA has worked with the Facility in

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Q2 SUMMER 2019

pursuit of those objectives.

But in the end, the Facility did not agree that dropping the surcharge this year made sense.

“The way the board looked at it, which really makes a lot of sense, the Facility is continuing to lose money on commercial auto, although the results have really stabilized,” Collins said. “A year ago we had a lot of negative momentum, and the negative momentum finally flattened out with the actions that have taken place.”

Collins also noted that when the Facility agreed to cut the surcharge in half at NCTA’s request, it almost guaranteed a trade-off of the surcharge continuing over the course of more years.

But the decision was still an enormous disappointment to NCTA leaders.

“I don’t think this is resolved at all,” said Jerry Sigmon Jr., chairman of NTCA. “I’m very disappointed. I don’t think they heeded any of our input at all.”

That leaves NTCA with a decision to make. According to current law, the Facility has the authority to impose the surcharge and the state’s motor carriers have no legal recourse. But the Legislature has the power to change that.

“We’ve got a decision to make,” Sigmon said. “Do we just say OK? Do we just take this? Or do we want to push this further and take this back to the Legislature?”

The Facility is a non-profit, created by the North Carolina Legislature, for the express purpose of making it possible for high-risk trucking operations to obtain insurance that might otherwise be unavailable on the open market.

When the Legislature created the Facility, it provided for two possible revenue streams. The first is premiums on policies, and the second comes through the authority to levy

surcharges on other motor carriers like the one implemented last year.

Because of the high-risk nature of its policyholders, the Facility is exposed to high risk of losses, particularly during economically challenging times. The red ink that led to the nearly $100 million shortfall has been accumulating for some years.

Thus the continuation of the

surcharge, although Sigmon doesn’t think it makes sense for the Facility to sock motor carriers with a surcharge designed to eliminate it too quickly.

“They didn’t get into this $100 million deficit in one or two years, and there shouldn’t be a reach to eliminate the deficit in one or two years,” Sigmon said. “It could be accomplished over time.”

CONTINUED

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Jim Harrell, a contract lobbyist representing NCTA, said the Facility seems determined to set rates that do not attempt to address the existing deficit.

“There’s a fundamental disagreement there in that the Facility is obviously making the decision to design a rate to prospectively address losses and not increase it to address previous losses that have surpassed their collections,” Harrell said. “So the decision was to continue this (surcharge). The current ratepayers’ policies are not paying down any of this debt. So someone has to pay it.”

According to Terry Collins, the statute that created the Facility calls for it to retire long-term debt through a specific recoupment measure, rather than using increased premiums for that purpose.

“The statutes kind of dictate what we can and cannot do, and monies that were lost in the past cannot be recouped through the rate-making process,” he said. “In the real world, obviously, if we suddenly quadrupled rates and brought in a ton of money, that would end up accomplishing (the deficit reduction), but that is not what we’re held to doing by the statutes.”

According to Harrell, collections since the imposition of the surcharge have only kept even with the accumulation of operating losses, so no progress has been made on retiring the longerterm deficit.

The Facility itself does not sell policies, but traditional insurers can cede policies to the Facility if they consider them too high-risk.

The idea is to protect the traditional insurers from the higher risk posed by particular policyholders.

“We’re the last guy,” Terry Collins said.

“If you can’t get it from us, I don’t know what you do. That means the voluntary market’s not willing to write you.”

He emphasized, though, that this

doesn’t mean the Facility is offering cutrate policies.

“One reason for our being is to assure the viability of liability coverage to all eligible North Carolina risks,” Terry Collins said. “Now obviously you couldn’t do that at a loss forever. You’d run out of money and make recoupment go sky high. We are a market of last resort, but our mandate is to ensure the liability coverage is there. Our function is not one of making sure we keep rates at a certain level so people can afford it.

Our function is to make sure we rate the business as accurately as possible, and that’s based on the anticipated loss cost.”

Other insurers cede business to the Facility that they don’t believe they can write themselves, which is designed to reduce risk and higher costs to the industry at large.

But with all motor carriers now having to pay the surcharge to the Facility for at least another year – barring legislative action to the contrary – the traditional insurers and their policyholders are paying for the highrisk policyholders just the same.

“We do not think it’s fair that those policies not ceded to the Facility are having to make up the difference, so it’s fair to say we’re exploring all options,” Harrell said.

Terry Collins counters that it would disrupt the industry more to remove the surcharge now and possibly have to bring it back in the future.

“If you implement it once again later – you take it off, you put it back on – you create a lot of disruption in the marketplace,” he said. “It’s tougher for truckers to plan for, for the taxi driver to plan for, and for anyone else who has a commercial vehicle.”

The surcharge originally went into effect in October 2018, so any legislative action to prevent one or more subsequent years would have to move and take effect quickly. Last year the

NC Insurance Committee, co-chaired

by Rep. Dean Bumgardner, met on the surcharge issue and heard extensively from NCTA members to consider their perspectives on the surcharge.

For now, it would probably be wise for North Carolina motor carriers to include the surcharge in their budget planning for the 2019-2020 budget cycle. But it would also be wise to keep

an eye on what the NCTA is doing to address the issue.

According to current law, there is really no recourse, as the Facility has the authority to impose the surcharge and there is no mechanism for appealing it. The question is whether NCTA can work with the Legislature to change that status quo.

Those efforts are ongoing.

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TA R H E E L W H E E L S • 1 3

MeetNCTA'sCouncilsLeadership

Wendy Smith NCTA Technology & Maintenance Council Chair

BY STEVE BRAWNER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Smith: ’Don’t make your gender an issue, and it won’t be Wendy Smith was the third of four daughters of a truck driver and small farmer who wanted sons. So maybe it’s not surprising she’s now a maintenance professional in the trucking industry.

From an early age, she liked taking things apart and learning how they worked. In fact, maybe her career started when she was seven years old and growing up in Wilmington.

“We were always doing anything from decent-sized engine repairs to rebuilding 1 4 • TA R H E E L W H E E L S

Q2 SUMMER 2019

fifth wheels – just anything that came up,” she said. “And did the same thing on the equipment working on tractors, working on combines. I think the first thing I tore apart myself was a lawnmower when I was seven, without permission.”

Without permission?

“They were not paying attention to me, so I disassembled the lawnmower while my sister was working on a pickup truck. So my father came out and was like, ‘All right. Put it back together, and it had better run.’ So I put it back together,

it fired up, and I went and got him. I’m like, ‘Here we go.’”

Now she’s Red Classic Transportation’s regional maintenance manager for the Carolinas. She is responsible for maintaining 4,000 pieces with 23 maintenance shops and 110 diesel technicians across the Carolinas.

Red Classic is a for-hire company owned by Charlotte-based Coca-Cola Consolidated, the country’s largest independent bottler. It hauls the company’s beverages as well as other products for outside customers.

Smith is this year’s NCTA Technology & Maintenance Council chair. This year, the Council has been focused on getting more technicians involved.

“It does seem like so much is focused on maintenance managers and what we think needs to happen,” she said. “But if we can get to the techs and talk to those guys, we can find out what’s really going on in the industry, and then we can help give them some of the resources that they need either to become better at fixing trucks, or even to give them a career path to grow.”

Maintenance professionals are dealing with common challenges.

Truck maintenance is becoming more complicated and technical. Trucks are brimming with electronics and telematics. Everyone is trying to find qualified technicians, but not as many are entering the industry and fewer young people are tinkering with their cars at home. It’s harder to find talent, so motor carriers must grow their own.

Smith started her career in

transportation but not in maintenance.

In high school she decided that a person who understood business financials could do anything. She graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, but she knew before she left school that she didn’t have the personality to stare at spreadsheets all day. As a student she was working parttime at what is now Carolina CAT in the material handling division, and when she graduated she accepted a full-time job as fleet coordinator.

She moved up the ranks, becoming branch manager of a newly acquired LiftOne branch in South Carolina at the age of 25. She was trained by Caterpillar as a Six Sigma Black Belt, a professional skilled in the Lean Six Sigma methodology used to solve problems.

She left the company in 2009 during the economic downturn to work for Dean Foods as a distribution analyst,

eventually becoming a distribution manager. These, she learned she enjoyed working with technicians. She joined Red Classic Transportation in October 2013 as an area maintenance manager, eventually becoming regional manager.

While she’s not an accountant, she believes her education continues to serve her well. In a commercial setting, she understands how to manage both revenues and expenses. Her training helped instill in her a methodical, organized approach.

Inside that trucking executive is still that seven-year-old girl who liked to take things apart and put them back together.

Most of Smith’s hands-on work involves helping techs, particularly older ones, with computer diagnostics. But she still gets her hands dirty sometimes when a location is short-staffed. She’s repaired forklifts, made minor truck repairs and helped hang doors on trailers.

While the number of women in trucking operations has grown, maintenance remains a mostly male turf. Smith does occasionally have to prove herself, but once that’s done, the men “actually think it’s really cool,” she said. She believes more women will enter the field.

“I mentor some of the young ladies within the company,” she said. “And what I tell them is, ‘Don’t make your gender an issue, and it won’t be.’”

"I think the first thing I tore apart myself was a lawnmower when I was seven, without permission."

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Trucking Day at the Capitol Education, Reinsurance Facility and Infrastructure Among Topics Discussed

BY THW STAFF

1 6 • TA R H E E L W H E E L S

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T

he North Carolina Trucking Association (NCTA) hosted Trucking Day at the North Carolina General Assembly Wednesday, June 12. Members of the General Assembly met with members of the NCTA to discuss legislation and to bring awareness to the trucking industry.

The day started with a breakfast at the Legislative Building on Jones Street in Raleigh. Frank Morris, Chairman of the NCTA Legislative Committee kicked off the breakfast with introductions. Each member of the NCTA in attendance shared with the legislators what company they represented, their affiliation to the trucking industry and how many families and jobs each company represents.

Jerry Sigmon, Chairman of the NCTA and Chief Operating Officer for Cargo Transporters, Inc., told the legislators that his company has 520 trucks and employs over 700 families. "We appreciate you

and the support you give to our industry.

Trucking contributes enormously to our economy and we all know that our modern economy could not exist without reliable truck transportation."

Rep. John Torbett, chairman of the Appropriations, Transportation Committee in the North Carolina House responded, "The breakfast we enjoyed today, the cars we drove to get here and the clothes we are wearing all arrives by transportation. Some of you in this room may be online shopping right now as you listen to me, and those items you order will be delivered; at least in part, by truck.

I am a strong advocate for the trucking industry and the needed infrastructure for what you do for our economy."

Rep. Torbett added, "While I apologize for the many orange barrels your drivers see across the state, it is our hope the construction on our roads will help with some of the bottle-necking in the state and create safer highways for

the drivers. We understand you make North Carolina move," he added. "North Carolina would not be the state that it is without you. We know there are hurdles ahead for transportation and we appreciate your voice and your participation in helping us find solutions."

Mr. Morris told those in attendance that 218,540 jobs in North Carolina are trucking industry jobs. "That's one in every 16 jobs in the state," he said. Crystal Collins, president of the North Carolina Trucking Association who spends a lot of time at the North Carolina General Assembly with lobbying efforts on behalf of the industry and the association members said one of the most important statistics on trucking is how many communities depend solely on it. "Eightysix percent of communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods," she said. "That’s 324,805 tons moved by trucks in this state every day."

Q2 SUMMER 2019

TA R H E E L W H E E L S • 1 7

Mr. Morris encouraged the members of the House and Senate in attendance to help the trucking industry specifically with the following industry issues: • Education - Provide support and funding for more educational opportunities for those entering the workforce whether it be for drivers, mechanics, technicians or any position in trucking operations management.

• NC Reinsurance Facility – The

facility is over $100 million in debt. For the next 10 quarters at least and possibly for three years, the Facility will collect taxes from many commercial policies that do not benefit from the facility.

NCTA asked the General Assembly to assess the statutory structure of the facility to ensure it is proper for the modern day, maintaining that it is unfair for those not using the facility to subsidize those that do.

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• Short Term Work Training - Support the short-term work training budget proposal of $12 million to help fund truck driving certification courses, among others. North Carolina has a shortage in drivers, and this program will help train drivers for this career.

• Infrastructure - Address the dire infrastructure needs across the state.

Following the breakfast, NCTA members attended legislative sessions and participated in face-to-face meetings with elected officials from their business district, as facilitated by the NCTA staff.

"We are united in one voice on behalf of trucking," Collins said. "This is the day to show our united support for our industry."

Dr. Jamie Wicker, associate vice president for the Transportation and Public Safety division of Johnston Community College attended to reiterate the need for educational funding. "We are here today to lend assistance to the NCTA in pushing the agenda items that also benefit the community college system, specifically for short term training," Dr. Wicker said. "The North Carolina community college system is a valuable resource for our students and should be given investment and attention by our government leaders."

Scott Farwell, a law partner with Teague Campbell in Raleigh, attended the event to show his support for the industry and NCTA. He met one-onone with Rep. Julie von Haefen, who represents the 36th District and echoed the concerns of the industry. "This is an important day that I would not miss," Farwell said. "We need our legislators to see us and we them. We need to stand unified and we need to keep the lines of communication and the dialog open."

“Face-to-Face meetings with elected officials are the most effective influential form of advocacy educating the General Assembly why trucks are essential to the North Carolina’s economy”, Collins

said. The NCTA represents more than 400 trucking companies and allied members. There are more than 21,200 trucking companies located in the state and 85.6 percent of North Carolina communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods. The total trucking industry wages paid in the state in 2016 exceeded $10.2 billion.

We will continue to meet with our elected officials to let them know how important the trucking industry is to North Carolina’s economy," Collins said. "The decisions our legislators make impact our members and their business.

Trucking Day is just one way the NCTA gives the trucking industry a voice by letting our representatives know how their decisions affect the industry. This is a member only event and makes a huge impact on the work NCTA accomplishes during the legislative session and throughout the year."

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TA R H E E L W H E E L S • 1 9

MeetNCTA'sCouncilsLeadership

David L. Jarrett

NCTA Safety & Human Resources Council Chair David Jarrett: Better to be safe than lucky The NCTA Safety & Human Resources Council chairman has a simple philosophy when it comes to safety: “You’re either safe or you’re lucky.” And he doesn’t want to count on being lucky.

David Jarrett, executive director of safety and maintenance at All State Express, said he wants his fleet’s employees to think before they act. For example, many accidents occur when drivers are backing and don’t exit the cab and survey the situation.

“When we get in trouble as human beings, two things happen,” he said. “We

skip steps and how to operate something or how to do something, and we get in a hurry. And that’s usually when an accident happens.”

At All State Express, Jarrett oversees safety and maintenance for a fleet with 86 tractors, all owner-operator-driven, and 135 Sprinter utility vans. The less-thantruckload carrier travels throughout the United States and also ventures into Mexico and sometimes Canada. Its motto is “Time matters.”

Being involved with the Safety & Human Resources Council has provided networking opportunities with fellow safety and maintenance professionals.

Jarrett said he can call his peers at much larger fleets for advice on best practices.

The Council has continued to maintain a productive relationship with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Jarrett said he is a “big believer in the thin blue line. We all are because we have to work this thing together to keep it safe. We are proud of our law enforcement and everything that they do to keep it safe on the highways and protect us.”

Jarrett grew up on a farm in Trinity, the son of Depression-era children.

His mother only finished the eighth grade but was well-read. His father CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

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couldn’t read but could do complicated math and geometry and “had a work ethic like no other,” Jarrett said. In that environment, Jarrett developed a love for vehicles at a young age. At age 4 or 5, he would sit in his dad’s or his uncle’s lap and steer the tractor. He wasn’t much older when he started driving it alone while others loaded hay.

Jarrett enlisted in the Army in the early days of the Reagan administration, when its recruiting slogan was, “Be All You Can Be.” He became a platoon sergeant and attained the rank of sergeant first class.

He served in the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War with a nuclear-biological-chemical decontamination unit. He left his wife and two-year-old son at the airport in Colorado, where it was 21 degrees, flew

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“To go to D.C. and actually sit with a congressman and senators as a country boy from North Carolina just amazes me, and I’m so reverent of our government and our way of life and America itself,” he said. “I don’t take it for granted. I have a lot of respect for it, regardless of what side the politics is.”

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commercial with his unit, and landed in the desert sun. He also served in Hawaii, Korea, New Zealand and Japan.

While serving with the Army, he earned an associate’s degree in logistics and transportation management that led to his civilian trucking career. He first transported NASCAR race cars across the country for promotional events for five years, and then drove commercially for 10 years for several companies across the United States.

He then left the cab for a management career. He spent five years with Best Logistics Group, eventually becoming risk and compliance manager, driver trainer and recruiter. He then spent five years as director of safety and human resources at Chief Express. While there, he was awarded the NCTA Safety Director of the Year award, and the company was awarded the Fleet Safety and Industrial Safety awards. He left Chief Express to become vice president of safety and safety director at Salem

Corporation before taking his current position at All State Express.

Jarrett still maintains a CDL and occasionally pulls a load because, he said, “It’s in my blood!” He’s thankful to have worked in the trucking industry in so many roles.

"I have been blessed to have driven a truck, been an account manager, dispatcher, recruiter, safety manager and executive safety manager, something that has allowed me to learn the industry inside and out,” he said.

Outside the office, he has been married for 35 years to his high school sweetheart, Lori, and they have two grown children, Matthew and Emily.

Their first grandson is due in August.

In his spare time, he enjoys kayaking, fishing, playing music and traveling.

He especially enjoys driving on the open road on his Honda CTX1300 cruiser motorcycle.

A history buff, he takes pride in participating in the NCTA’s annual Call on Washington, which this year will occur Sept. 17-19.

“To go to D.C. and actually sit with a congressman and senators as a country boy from North Carolina just amazes me, and I’m so reverent of our government and our way of life and America itself,” he said. “I don’t take it for granted. I have a lot of respect for it, regardless of what side the politics is.”

When he began working in safety, a retiring executive over lunch told him to always take care of drivers, because without them, “None of us have jobs.”

The executive told him that his wife had died at a young age and he had raised his four children himself, and he had never missed paying a bill thanks to the trucking industry.

Likewise, Jarrett is thankful for the opportunities trucking has offered him.

“We’re the backbone of America,” he said. “We move the country.”

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TA R H E E L W H E E L S • 2 3

FMCSA's Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse: A Push and Pull System

BY DAVE OSIECK / GUEST WRITER

S

tarting Jan. 6, 2020, all 500,000 of the country’s motor carriers, including owner-operators, will be required to use FMCSA’s new Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Carriers will be required to pull information out of it and push information into it. And at first, there won’t be much information in the system.

Government often moves slowly, and the Clearinghouse is no exception.

Congress in 2012 directed the 2 4 • TA R H E E L W H E E L S

Q2 SUMMER 2019

Secretary of Transportation to create it as part of a highway reauthorization bill called Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). It would take another four years before FMCSA published the final rule designed to implement the program on Dec. 5, 2016. Starting this fall, drivers and fleets can establish a Clearinghouse account before the new system goes into effect.

The Clearinghouse’s purpose is to

promote highway safety. It applies to truck drivers and also school bus drivers, construction equipment operators, federal employee drivers who have CDLs, and others. It also applies to Canadian and Mexican drivers who are required to comply with the agency’s drug and alcohol requirements.

It will be especially valuable in helping carriers identify prospective drivers who have had a DOT drug and

alcohol program violation working for an ex-employer, but conveniently left out that detail during the application process. With some limited exceptions, the Clearinghouse will contain violations reaching back five years, or until the driver has successfully completed the return-to-duty process, whichever occurs later.

Motor carriers will be required to query, or pull information out of the Clearinghouse at certain times defined in the rules. They must perform a “full” query each time they want to hire a CDL driver, but they’ll have to obtain the driver’s consent first. Drivers will have to log in to the Clearinghouse and check an electronic box allowing the carrier to view their records.

This approach to driver consent is unique. Other motor carrier industry background checks such as

those for motor vehicle records, past employment, and a criminal record allow drivers simply to sign their name on the bottom of an employment application containing certain consentrelated information. One obvious and foreseeable problem with the Clearinghouse’s full query consent approach is this: What happens if a driver cannot remember his or her username or password when logging in to the system? Who among us hasn’t forgotten a bank account or credit card password? If a driver is unable to access the system to provide consent, then the carrier won’t be able to check the Clearinghouse at that time during the hiring process.

Full queries must occur each time a carrier hires a CDL driver. Carriers must also perform an annual “limited” query of each of their drivers, where they

will check the system to see if any data appears. On a limited query, the system will merely confirm that information is available on that driver; if so, fleets then will be required to perform a full query to learn exactly what happened, when it happened, and if the driver has completed the necessary return to duty steps in order to operate a CMV. For limited queries, drivers can provide their consent when hired and will not be required to provide it for each individual, subsequent limited query. Carriers will be able to batch the limited queries for all their drivers, and many probably will. Regardless of how it is performed, carriers will have to perform this action at least annually.

While fleets will be required to pull data from the system, they’ll also be required to push data into it. Any CONTINUED

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time a CDL driver has a qualifying violation, it must be entered into the system within three days. Those violations include a blood alcohol test of at least .04% concentration, a refusal to test for alcohol or drugs, or a fleet’s actual knowledge of a DOT testing program violation. Actual knowledge would include a carrier’s direct observation of use on duty and a driver’s admission of use on duty, among others. When a driver completes the return to duty process, that also will be entered into the Clearinghouse.

Drivers will be able, under FMCSA’s rules, to challenge their report’s accuracy but not the accuracy of test results or their own refusals to test.

Many fleets hire third party service agents to handle many portions of their DOT drug and alcohol testing program.

In fact, an entire cottage industry has developed around the DOT testing requirements. For Clearinghouse compliance, service agents can be authorized by motor carriers to perform the queries and report information to the system on their behalf.

The new Clearinghouse-related requirements will be time-consuming.

They will add burdens on carriers, as well as costs. In fact, there will be a cost involved each time a carrier queries the system, though the transaction costs for the full and limited queries has not yet been determined by FMCSA. Interestingly, fleets won’t be getting much for that money at first. When the system goes into effect Jan. 6, 2020, the Clearinghouse will be empty, and it will take a while for information to be entered. Only violations that occur after that date will be included.

Meanwhile, fleets will continue to be required to inquire about a driver’s drug and alcohol violation history with previous employers during the first three years of the Clearinghouse implementation, or until Jan. 6, 2023.

FMCSA’s Clearinghouse rules also contemplate what could happen if a fleet submits inaccurate information about a driver, perhaps as a retaliation tactic after the driver has left the company. If that happens, the carrier’s Clearinghouse registration can be revoked. While the carrier can remain in business, it will have to use an alternative method to determine if a driver applicant, or an existing driver within the fleet, is qualified. That method could involve contacting FMCSA and requesting the agency perform the check.

As you might expect, there are special rules for owner-operators.

They will be subject to all the requirements for companies as well as all the requirements for drivers, and they will have to designate a third party administrator to assist them in complying with the rules.

Finally, there’s a yet-to-be-completed component for state CDL licensing agencies. When drivers obtain their CDL, or renew, transfer or upgrade it, state licensing agencies will be required to check the Clearinghouse to determine the eligibility of the driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Government enforcement agencies will also have limited access to driver records in order to enforce the regulations while also maintaining some level of driver privacy.

On the heels of the ELD mandate, the Clearinghouse will be the next major change in an industry that often faces major changes and compliance challenges. In order for carriers to learn the details of the new Clearinghouse, FMCSA recently created an informational website for the industry. This site can be found at https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot. gov. Fleets are encouraged to check it out, and subscribe for updates from FMCSA as the January 2020 compliance dates nears.

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TA R H E E L W H E E L S • 2 7

FROM TRACKS TO TRUCKS N.C. TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM TURNS FOCUS TO N.C. TRUCKING

T

BY MARK BROWN / GUEST WRITER

he N.C. Transportation Museum has long been known as a location where railroad history happened and is preserved. The museum is located on the grounds of what was once Spencer Shops, Southern Railways’ largest steam locomotive repair facility in the southeast. Chosen as a midpoint between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Ga., the facility provided regular maintenance and full overhauls for the railroad’s fleet of steam locomotives, employing some 3000 workers at its peak during and immediately following WWII. Today, steam and diesel locomotives and railroad passenger cars from the past reside in the Bob Julian Roundhouse, the largest remaining structure of its type in North America, and the only roundhouse left in North Carolina. Seasonal train rides are enjoyed by visitors, providing a “from the rails” view of the 60-acre historic site.

The museum was founded, however, to

2 8 • TA R H E E L W H E E L S

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PHOTOS: COURTESY N.C. TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM

represent all forms of transportation, and exhibits focusing on North Carolina’s rich trucking history have been steadily growing.

With the 2017 opening of the 90,000 square foot Back Shop, the museum doubled its exhibit space. Plus, with more recent help from Old Dominion Freight Line’s Congdon family, a greater expansion of Tarheel trucking history is finally possible.

The varied aspects of the state’s trucking industry make the topic one ripe for interpretation.

Manufacturing North Carolina has a long history of truck manufacturing, dating back to at least 1910, as the first trucks rolled of the assembly line at Corbitt Motor Truck Company’s plant in Henderson, North Carolina. Corbitt manufactured trucks that served the home front for over 40 years and the U.S. military from the World War I era through the Korean Conflict.

By 1915 Corbitt was advertising that its

trucks were in use in 23 countries of the world. The company built more than 3,000 six-ton trucks for the U.S. Army during World War II and another 10,000 or more were built to the Corbitt design by four other firms including Brockway and White.

The N.C. Transportation Museum currently displays a two-axle, 165 horsepower Corbitt diesel tractor from 1953. The truck was purchased new by North Carolina’s Thurston Motor Lines and was one of the last produced by Corbitt.

Corbitt sold a record 600 trucks in 1946, but production trailed off as post-war demand was filled and the company was sold and disbanded in 1954.

In the early 1930s, the Perley A. Thomas Car Works, a company famous for their streetcars, saw orders vastly decrease while the company’s work force shrank from 125 to 10, including Thomas and his three children. In 1936, Thomas took the company’s first order for school buses,

instead of the company’s traditional streetcars. It was a transition that not only saved the High Point, N.C. production facility, but turned it into one of the most successful manufacturing companies in North Carolina.

A part of the museum’s collection is one of the company’s early buses, a 1940 model. Built on a 1939 Chevrolet chassis with an inline 6-cyclinder Chevrolet engine, it features seats along each side a nd a center bench, outward opening entry doors for emergency egress, and bow arch supports in the steel body that had been perfected during Thomas’s years in streetcar production.

With continual innovation and expansion, the Perley A. Thomas Car Works built buses for school systems across the nation, eventually reorganizing and rebranding the company as Thomas Built Buses. By 1996, Thomas was the largest bus manufacturer in the United States. Purchased in 1998 by Freightliner, a subsidiary of Daimler Chrysler, the company continues to operate in High Point, N.C. In 2016, Thomas became the first North American bus manufacturer to celebrate its centennial.

The largest truck manufacturer in the world, Daimler AG’s presence in North Carolina is, of course, not just limited to school buses. Subsidiary Freightliner has operated a manufacturing plant in Mt. Holly and a parts manufacturing facility in Gastonia since 1979, while Freightliner’s largest North American plant, located in Cleveland, N.C., was built in 1989.

The museum’s 1995 Freightliner FLD sleeper series truck is representative of the company’s innovations both with mechanical efficiency and driver comfort.

The FLD truck series was wildly popular with over-the-road truckers, due to sleeper’s integration into the cab and the 70” height, allowing most drivers to stand upright.

Volvo, the world’s fifth largest truck manufacturer today, maintains its North American headquarters in Greensboro, with the world headquarters of Mack Trucks, Inc. next door. Volvo obtained control of the venerable American truck builder in 2001. Both companies display a substantial presence in the state.

Trucking Through Time Museums may house artifacts, but the stories behind those artifacts are the true history being preserved. North Carolina’s trucking industry represents great stories of small companies that grew to become industry leaders.

Thurston Motor Lines began in 1932 in Wilson, N.C. when recent engineering school graduate Doc Thurston failed to find work in the midst of the Great Depression.

Instead, he bought a truck. Over the next 55 years, Thurston Motor Lines grew to employ thousands in North Carolina.

Carolina Freight Carriers began as a onetruck company in 1931 in Cherryville, N.C. after C. Grier Beam lost his first post-college job at a chicken plant due to the depression.

Initially working from a corner of his brother’s Shell Station, Beam grew CFC into a major regional carrier in the 1970s, a nationwide carrier in the 1980s and was moving into international markets at the time of his death in 1992.

McLean Trucking of Winston-Salem, N.C. also grew from a one-truck operation in 1934 to the largest trucking firm in the southeast and fifth largest in the United States by the 1950s. Malcom McLean accomplished that great success with his revolutionary idea of

containerized shipping, now an industry standard.

None, however, have had the lasting success of Old Dominion Freight Lines. Founded in 1932

by Earl Sr. and Lillian Congdon in Virginia, the company saw solid early growth in its home state.

Earl Sr. passed away in 1950, but Old Dominion remained a family company with Lillian assuming the presidency with sons Earl Jr. and Jack also coming on board.

Having expanded operations into North Carolina through the 1950s, the company headquarters moved to High Point in 1962.

Over the next 50 years, the North Carolina based company expanded into a nationwide and international carrier. Today, Old Dominion claims 235 service centers across the U.S. with international locations in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and China.

The Future of Trucking History The N.C. Transportation Museum currently displays two Old Dominion Freight Line trucks, a 1946 Ford straight truck and a 1950 White Super Power truck with Trailmobile trailer, representative of the company’s early days.

In December of 2018, a donation to the N.C. Transportation Museum was made by the Congdon family in honor of Old Dominion Freight Line’s founders Earl, Sr. & Lillian Congdon and their sons and wives commemorating their contributions to the transportation industry.

The donation funded an automotive shop nearly adjacent to the museum property.

The 9,500 square foot building includes a full automotive maintenance garage for automotive and truck repair, space to maintain and repair nearly any vehicle in the museum’s collection, and secure storage for vehicles not on display.

Repairs to the shop are underway with completion hoped for later in 2019, allowing the museum to better restore vehicles, to maintain them to working condition, and to illustrate and communicate the history of trucking in North Carolina.

Q2 SUMMER 2019

TA R H E E L W H E E L S • 2 9

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Southern Truck Insurance Brokers

12

This is just one more service that we're happy to offer on behalf of our THW advertisers.

Sprint Corporation

Tarheel Wheels

30

Thermo King Central Carolinas

15

For more information on advertising in Tarheel Wheels, contact our publisher, Jennifer Matthews-Drake, at jennifer@matthewspublishing.com.

USI Insurance Services

Super Fleet Services Inc. The Boyd Group

Valley Proteins Webasto Thermo & Comfort North America, Inc. Wireless Ventures

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This edition of Tarheel Wheels was made possible with the support of these corporate advertisers, all NCTA members. They support the trucking industry by enabling North Carolina Trucking Association to provide this publication to its members, prospective members, elected officials and the business community at large. They deserve your consideration and patronage when making your corporate purchasing decisions. Thank you!

Knowledge is Power Not All Trucking Companies Are Alike Trucking is all we do. When you choose Great West to insure your trucking business, you are getting over 60 years of experience in the trucking industry.

800.228.8602

gwccnet.com

Our agents work with you. Not every insurance agent can represent Great West. With a keen focus on the trucking industry, our agents are knowledgeable, dependable, and responsive. They understand your needs and work with you to match the right coverage and level of service for your trucking operation.

Do one thing, and do it right. Our agents can guide you through the process and customize a plan to provide you the broadest protection possible. You can also feel confident knowing that our agents’ service begins, not ends, with the issuance of your policy.

GREAT WEST CASUALTY COMPANY – No matter where the road takes you, you will discover that at Great West, The Difference is Service®.

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Battleground Tire & Wrecker

Serving the Trucking Industry Since 1970

24 Hour Live Dispatch (No Answering Machine)

Full Service Repair Shop Mobile Tire Service Towing Mobile Truck Repair National Tire Accounts

GREENSBORO 700 Patton Avenue

336.272.3456

BURLINGTON 6204 S. NC 62 336.227.2991

www.battlegroundwrecker.com