TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA & Canada - New York judge strikes down retrofit ruling

* New York / USA - Contractors and sub-contractors that have had the expensive prospect of retrofitting emission-control devices on their trucks have been granted a reprieve...

New York,NY,USA -Fleet Owner -January 4, 2011: ... Thanks to a ruling by a New York State Supreme Court judge. Justice Donald A. Greenwood, recently ruled in favor of Riccelli Enterprises Inc. in its suit against the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The ruling could have lasting impact not just in the Empire State, but across the country. According to Greenwood, NYSDEC went too far in its initiative to require “emissions control devices” on any vehicle working on a state contract...

* DC / USA -Labor Dept. Data Highlights Trucking Contraction - Number of motor carriers dropped 7.5 percent during recession

Washington,DC,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Jan 11, 2011: -- The number of trucking operations tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics dropped 7.5 percent from 2007 through early 2010, a sign of significant consolidation among motor carriers over the course of the recession... The trucking "establishments" tracked by the BLS dropped from 119,664 in 2007 to 117,583 in 2008 and 113,068 in 2009. The earliest data available for 2010 placed the number of trucking operations in the agency's sights at 110,727... The number of companies tracked by the Department of Labor agency in the first quarter of last year was the lowest count in the past decade. The BLS tracks employment at for-hire local, long-haul and specialized trucking companies... While its numbers fall short of the total number of carriers, for-hire and private, registered with the Department of Transportation -- more than 500,000 carriers -- they still represent a significant portion of the for-hire trucking industry... Trucking employment over the same period dropped 16.6 percent, falling from more than 1.4 million to 1.2 million among the companies BLS tracks. BLS data include truck drivers, mechanics, office personnel and managers... The not-seasonally-adjusted trucking headcount declined three quarters of one percent in December from November, falling to approximately 1,251,100 employees. That's down from a 2010 high of 1,266,200 last August... On a seasonally adjusted basis, however, trucking added about 2,600 jobs in December from November, and about 22,900 since its low point in March. The seasonally adjusted figures were still 11.8 percent below those for December 2007...

* Ontario / Canada - 2011 economic outlook: Why the driver shortage may be the trucking industry's best friend

Toronto,ONT,Canada -Truck News, by Lou Smyrlis -Jan 3, 2011: -- The driver shortage, which is expected to get much worse in the years ahead, could prove a vital aid in helping trucking companies improve their profitability and find a way to pay their drivers better, according to Rick Gaetz, head of Vitran...  There were 143,000 drivers lost during the recession in the US as carriers downsized or went out of business. The new CSA legislation may remove another 10-15% of the current driver force, according to Wilson. As a result, by 2012 the US market could be in need of 400,000 drivers. In Canada, research conducted on behalf of the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council during the previous economic expansion found that almost half the carriers surveyed had to idle trucks because of the shortage of personnel while 42% noted the shortage affected their ability to move freight...

* Florida / USA - Ryder Completes Total Logistic Control Acquisition

Miami,FL,USA -Transport Topics -6 Jan 2011: -- Ryder System has completed its acquisition of Total Logistic Control at a cost of $200 million, the company said...  Ryder will keep TLC’s entire staff in similar roles, it said in a statement Wednesday. It estimates that the new business will add $250 million in revenue per year to its Supply Chain Solutions unit...  TLC provides logistics and supply chain management services to the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods companies. Ryder announced in December that it planned to acquire the business from grocery store chain Supervalu Inc...

* Minnesota - Transport America Buys Southern Cal Transport

Eagan,Minn,USA -Transport Topics -13 Jan 2011: -- Transport America said it has acquired Birmingham, Ala.-based truckload carrier Southern Cal Transport...  The combined carrier will field about 1,840 tractors, mostly company equipment, and employ 2,200 drivers, which would put it in the Top 15 for-hire dry van truckload carriers in the United States...  About 1,000 of those are Southern Cal Transport Drivers, said Scott Arves, president of Transport America...  Transport America had about $273 million in revenue in 2008. For the same year, Southern Cal had about $143 million in revenue...