REGISTRATION FEES DEBATE * Australia - Transport Department denies truckies taking out rego interstate

(Photo from ABC News, by Andrew Fisher)Sydney,NSW,Australia -ABC News, by Tim Jeanes -Feb 28, 2011: -- The Road Transport Association says some companies are registering their vehicles interstate to avoid big registration hikes in South Australia...  Executive director Steve Shearer says a 75 per cent increase in B-double registration costs has taken them to $14,000 per year. He said costs in Western Australia remained at $4,500...  A Transport Department official said there was no data suggesting South Australian registrations were being lost to interstate...   He said the new charges were developed by the National Transport...

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DEBATES * USA - Hand-Held Phone Use

* ATA Supports Proposed Ban on Hand-Held Phone Use by DriversArlington,VA,USA -TruckingInfo -24 Feb 2011:  --  The American Trucking Associations announced its support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's proposed prohibition on the use of hand-held mobile phones, though it urged the agency to allow the use of hands free devices, citing agency research demonstrating the net safety benefits of such devices...  ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said: "Recognizing the risks of hand held mobile phone use, it simply makes sense to prohibit their use by all motorists to make the highways safer for everyone" ...  ...

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TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * China: Proposes Colombia Rail Link to Rival Panama Canal

Land route could carry exports, imports for all of Latin AmericaBeijing,China -The Journal of Commerce Online (USA), by Bruce Barnard -Feb 14, 2011: -- China is in negotiations over the construction of a rail link across Colombia to rival the Panama Canal... The 137 mile "dry canal,” linking Colombia's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, would make it easier for China to export goods across Latin America and import raw materials such as coal... The plan is for imported Chinese goods to be re-assembled at a new city near Cartagena, on Colombia's northern Atlantic coast, for export across the Americas... Raw materials would be exported from Colombia...

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BIODIESEL * Canada - Now a Reality in Canada

Ontario,Canada -Driving Today, by Jack Nerad -February 25, 2011: -- As you may guess, the new Canadian regulations that mandate the nationwide use of 2-percent biodiesel fuels were applauded by industry groups like the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), which called the decision “good news for consumers, farmers and energy diversity in Canada” ...  But the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is not nearly as positive about the new regs. In fact, it challenged government claims that its members stand to reduce their carbon footprint in any significant manner through the biodiesel mandate"...   According to CTA, there is strong evidence...

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WOMEN TRUCKERS * USA - More Women Joining Arkansas' Multi-Billion Dollar Trucking Industry

Less than 7% drivers who are women, living their lives behind the wheel Kark,Little Rock,ARK,USA -Ozarks First -February 25 2011:  ... Reyna White has been driving semis for over 20 years. She's a great-grandmother now but she did it then simply because she needed work.... A self-described loner, when she drives, she doesn't like to talk. She keeps a steady eye on the road, her small hands steady too... She loves this job. but her work is hard, physically and mentally... This man's world is intimidating, often and sometimes, terrifying... Rayna's C.B. stays off. The talk is too vulgar... She knows women who have been assaulted and raped...

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OIL NEWS * Canada - Fuel prices, cast anxiety over truckers

Halton,ONT,CAN -The Spec, by Danielle Wong -Feb 24, 2011:  ...   Alarming gas price increases are making drivers, business owners and civic leaders nervous as various pockets of Hamilton are taking the hit...  Shawn Kemp, the vice-president of operations for local delivery business PACEX Transportation Solutions, agreed Ottawa needed to step in and take the Canadian oil business off the world market...  The struggling trucking industry has only begun a slow climb towards recovery over the past two years, Kemp said, but the jump in fuel prices has him and other employees worried. “My concern is … it’s going to put us back...

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CLEAN AIR PLANS * USA - Shipping Industry Leaders Announce Clean Air Partnerships With Top U.S. Ports

CRT to Serve as National Forum for Best Practices to Reduce Diesel EmissionsOrlando,FLA,USA -PRNewswire-USNewswire -Feb. 24, 2011: -- The Coalition for Responsible Transportation (CRT) announced today that three of the nation's largest ports—the Georgia Ports Authority, the South Carolina State Ports Authority, and the Virginia Port Authority—have joined CRT as Charter Port Members... This announcement marks the first time that CRT's membership has expanded to include public sector representatives, and will allow CRT to serve as a forum for ports around the country to collaborate with leading cargo owners, trucking companies, ocean carriers...

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Shortage of truck drivers * India - May turn speed bump for economy

A growing shortage of young men to climb into the driver’s seat may seem a prosaic problem at a time when an expanding network of interstate highwaysShortage of drivers in MumbaiMumbai,India -Live Mint, by Shally Seth -24 Feb 2011: -- The loneliness of the long-distance trucker may have been romanticized in novels and films, but hard realities such as punishing work schedules and harassment at octroi posts have created a shortage of truck drivers in India at a time when easier and more attractive employment options are available to young men...  A growing shortage of young men to climb into the driver’s seat may seem a prosaic problem at a time when an expanding network of interstate highways and the creation of a seamless national market after the introduction of the goods and services...

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TRUCKERS' COMPLAIN * USA - CARB Dumps On Dump Truck Industry

"It’s hard to read or write anything about CARB without becoming angry"Sacramento,CAL,USA -Calwatchdog -Feb 23, 2011: -- For Lee Brown, who’s run a dump truck company in Upland for the last 20 years, business is as bad as it has ever been. The construction industry in California is half of what it was three years ago, and credit is tight for those small companies still hanging on... The $650 million agency (CARB) is a behemoth, responsible for all the state’s pollution and global warming regulations, which it enforces with all the subtlety and kindness of a barroom brawler. Even the revelation that one of its own pollution researchers had...

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TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA -Daimler Plans to Hire 10,000 Worldwide

Portland,ORE,USA -Transport Topics -1 March 2011:  --  As truck manufacturing expands, Daimler Trucks North America will hire 1,300 workers this year as part of a worldwide plan to hire 10,000 workers during 2011...  The Feb. 24 announcement by Daimler, Stuttgart, Germany, said that the hiring plans worldwide would be a blend of skilled workers and younger people to be apprentices...  North American hiring includes 700 workers in North Carolina and 600 in Mexico...  “We are making enormous investment not only in research and development but also in the recruitment and training of the best young talent and skilled workers,”...

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SAFETY * Canada - Alberta truckers safe drivers: official

While U.S. figures revealed that thousands of Canadian trucking firms have violated regulations south of the border, Alberta officials say the industry's safety record is good Edmonton,ALB,CAN -CBC News -Feb 23, 2011: -- A CBC News investigation has revealed that thousands of Canadian trucking companies have been violating U.S. road safety rules by not keeping proper records and driving longer than is allowed...   Data from the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration showed that thousands of Canadian carriers violated key parts of the hours of service and logbook rules in 2009 and 2010. Alberta-based companies accounted for...

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HOS * Australia - NTC to release time counting recommendations

Sydney,NSW,Australia -ATA Friday Facts -25 Feb 2011: -- Last year, a Queensland truck driver was charged with seven fatigue offences in Victoria, despite counting his work and rest hours in accordance with the interpretation used in Queensland and New South Wales...  Following the issue being raised by the ATA, the NTC established an investigation into the problem. The results of that investigation will be publically released in March...   The National Transport Commission (NTC) will release its findings into variations in time counting rules...  The ATA has worked closely with the NTC on improving how the states count...

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Truck Registration Charges * USA - Rise 2.4 per cent

Sydney,NSW,Australia -ATA Friday Facts -February 25, 2011: --  The National Transport Commission (NTC) has today announced it will increase registration charges for heavy vehicles 2.4 per cent on 1 July 2011...  Under the changes, the cost of registering a semi trailer will increase from, $5612 to $5746, while a B-Double will now cost $15,708, as opposed to $15,340 in 2010-11...  In February 2008, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the Australian Transport Council (ATC) agreed that heavy vehicle charges should be adjusted annually to maintain recovery of road costs...  The NTC is responsible for reviewing national...

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Toyota Sequoia Review ,First( 2001-2007)and Second Generation(2008-Present),and Specs,Photos

Toyota Sequoia Manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation Production 2000–present Model year(s) 2001–present Assembly Princeton, Indiana, United States (TMMI) Class Full-size SUV Body style(s) 4-door SUV Layout Front engine, rear-wheel drive / four-wheel drive Related Toyota Tundra The Toyota Sequoia is a full-size SUV produced by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana in Princeton, Indiana. It is derived from the Toyota Tundra pickup truck but differs in its use of an independent rear suspension. It is priced between the mid-size 4Runner and Toyota's flagship Land Cruiser SUV.The Sequoia is the largest SUV currently sold under the Toyota name....

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Safety Strategy * Australia - Should emphasise chain of responsibility

Sydney,NSW,Australia -ATA Friday Facts -25 Feb 2011: -- The final version of the 2011-2020 National Road Safety Strategy should give the planned National Heavy Vehicle Regulator the resources, expertise and authority to take direct carriage of major chain of responsibility investigations, according to the ATA’s submission on the draft... The ATA submission says the strategy should include measures to support the increased use of high productivity vehicles, and calls on governments to provide regulatory incentives for trucking companies to join the TruckSafe safety accreditation program... Independent statistics show that TruckSafe accredited...

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OIL PRICES * USA - Truckers Call on Obama to Tap Offshore Oil

Rising oil, fuel prices seen hurting trucking and the general economyWashington,DC,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Feb 25, 2011: -- The American Trucking Associations urged the White House to tap domestic energy sources, such as offshore oil deposits, as rising oil prices increased fuel costs... The price of crude oil soared to a two-year high during the week of Feb. 21, rising to nearly $100 a barrel, pushing up the price of diesel, gasoline and aviation fuel... At the start of the week, the average retail price of diesel in the U.S. rose to $3.57, according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration......

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TRUCKING STATISTICS * USA - January Truck Tonnage Hits 3-Year High

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -23 Feb 2011: -- Truck tonnage grew 8% in January from a year ago to its highest level in three years, American Trucking Associations said Wednesday... The upturn, which was the largest since April, left the index at a reading of 117.1, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage report. The index uses the year 2000 as its baseline reading of 100. It was the highest level since January 2008... January’s index gained 3.8% from December, and ATA revised December’s monthly increase to 2.5%, from a previously reported 2.2%... For all of 2010, tonnage increased 5.7% compared with the previous year. It had dropped 8.7% in 2009... ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said: "The report shows the economy is growing, and he expects a good...

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