The Canadian government has filed a lawsuit against a trucking company and a deceased truck driver over a fiery tanker truck crash that damaged a bridge in 2022.
On May 31, 2024, government officials filed suit against Troyer Ventures Ltd in B.C. Supreme Court. Also named in the suit is the estate of truck driver John Olson, CBC reports.
The lawsuit alleges negligence on behalf of both Troyer Ventures and Olson in a crash that occurred in August 2022 on Highway 97 (Alaskan Highway) north of Fort St. John.
The Alaska Highway is closed is both directions at the Sikanni Chief Bridge due to a vehicle collision and subsequent explosion.
Olson was driving a tanker truck loaded with a liquid natural gas byproduct when he crashed into the Sikanni Chief Bridge. The crash resulted in an explosion and massive fire that caused major damage to the bridge structure.
Olson died at the scene.
The lawsuit alleges that Troyer Ventures did not do enough to make sure that the tanker truck was mechanically sound and that Olson was well-trained enough to transport the hazardous materials.
The suit also alleges that Olson was operating “while his ability to drive was impaired by fatigue or other factors.”
The current estimate for the cost of repairs to the bridge is around $4.25 million.
The B.C. government has been heavily cracking down on trucking companies responsible for damaging infrastructure over the past year.
The British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced changes to the Commercial Transport Act (CTA) that will allow fines of up to $100,000 or 18 months in prison for an infrastructure strike involving a commercial vehicle. B.C. officials also issued a speed limiter mandate for commercial vehicles and a rule requiring in-cab warning devices for dump truck drivers.
Digitization has become a central focus for transportation fleets and their finance partners in recent years, as they strive to modernize their operations and streamline processes. This trend was highlighted during the pandemic when businesses needed to digitize their back-office operations, particularly the handling of paper-based contracts and documents, to enhance efficiency.
Contracts are the lifeblood of relationships between lenders, partners, and customers such as organizations with heavy-duty transportation fleets. With the advent of technology solutions facilitating digital transformation, companies are increasingly reducing their reliance on paper contracts. This shift not only improves the speed and efficiency of transactions, but also ensures greater security and compliance with stringent regulations for equipment financing.
The transition to digital contracts also addresses concerns related to document storage and access control. Digitization enables better protection of documents during transfers between the transportation fleets and their finance partners, as an example. Recognizing the inefficiencies in paper-based processes, transportation fleets and their finance partners are actively seeking to minimize their reliance on physical paperwork. This shift is particularly seen in many industries that operate private fleets, such as construction. As an example of this, in terms of how companies have contracted partnerships with transportation fleets, about 7.5% of all documents end up getting lost, which is a significant reason why keeping everything digital today is extremely effective.
Digitization ensures accuracy & efficiency
Despite today’s still-heavy reliance on the use of paper, moving toward digital solutions offers a more effective alternative in solving several key pain points for the industry. First and foremost, digitization will significantly improve the accuracy and added costs to manage paper, keeping up with revisions, etc. What’s more, digital contracts not only reduce the risk of using outdated agreements, but also facilitate smoother interactions between the lender and the truck dealer or business.
Transportation fleets and their finance partners have clearly recognized the importance of evolving from paper only, to more of a digital contracting environment. As a result, they have seen significant enhancements including faster processing, streamlined workflows and a more reliable, trusted document handling system. Managers like the ease of logging in, reviewing, and signing their documents which automatically pushes the document to the next approver.
What’s more, aside from e-signatures and digital contracting, the electronic storage of these contracts is crucial for all parties involved, ensuring secure access and facilitating audits.
Digital contracting will only grow in prominence, so equipment financiers should recognize this if they want to be considered leaders of tomorrow. According to industry data, the global digital signature market size is projected to grow from $7.4 billion in 2023 to $34.8 billion by 2028 – a CAGR of 36% during that time. Leading companies in their respective industries will quickly turn toward digitizing their contracts and signatures.
The next phase of contracting digital transformation will involve leveraging advanced workflow processes such as e-contracting, multi-channel origination, digital certainty, auditing, document governance, security, post-transaction asset management and analysis tasks. Each of these areas may seem mundane to the average person, but they each remain critical for the industry to evolve to the next chapter of digitalization.
Centralized data management will allow transportation fleets and their finance professionals to access and analyze metadata across various origination channels and asset classes.
What’s more, it will help to control and track access, manage status changes, and transfer control of digital documents while utilizing sophisticated granular controls and permissions to allow for departmental separation and visibility. All of this will result in improved speed and process efficiency for the entire industry.
Despite the numerous benefits of digital transformation, some organizations have been slow to adopt these changes. Challenges, such as legacy internal processes, user resistance, and concerns about software costs have hindered progress for some. However, delaying this adoption of digital solutions will result in a significant competitive disadvantage.
With these enhancements, the equipment finance and transportation fleet industries can advance in digital transformation. From origination transactions to back-office operations, digital transformation can revolutionize how original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), dealers, equipment financiers and the fleets themselves operate and collaborate.
Five people lost their lives following a two vehicle collision along a Georgia interstate on Tuesday evening.
The Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Department of Public Safety Motor Carrier Compliance Division officers responded to a crash on I-75 in Tift County, Georgia, at 6:39 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4.
Authorities say that a vehicle was traveling north on I-75 at mile marker 69 when the driver left their lane and collided with a semi truck parked on the shoulder of the interstate.
The vehicle struck the semi’s trailer.
The driver and three passengers died at the scene. Another passenger was hospitalized but later died from their injuries, according to the Tifton Gazette.
Atlanta resident Serigne Mbodji, 22, has been named as one of the people killed in the crash. None of the others have been named pending identification and notification of family members.
The crash is under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol.
Trucking news and briefs for Friday, June 7, 2024:
More data underpinning dramatic rise in cargo theft
California, Texas and Tennessee were the top three states for cargo theft in the first quarter, though Arizona was among the top states for high-value thefts.Overhaul
One firm, Overhaul, said that as 2024 continues, the trends in cargo theft are becoming more apparent. Perhaps the biggest to watch, Overhaul noted, is a pattern involving the targeting of high-value loads, which are of special interest to criminals who have a lot to gain from a successful theft.
Every quarter, Overhaul compiles and reports data from the U.S. and abroad. During the first quarter, the company recorded 11 cargo theft events in the U.S. with a total value exceeding $1 million, a significant increase compared to Q1 of 2023, where only one event was recorded with cargo worth higher than $1 million. The value of these 11 events accounted for 49% of the total loss value in Q1-2024.
Overhaul said high-value goods such as electronics and pharmaceuticals can easily be sold on the black market for a sizable profit. Additionally, shippers often transport multiple high-value goods at once, which means the potential rewards are even greater via the theft of a single tractor-trailer. In other words, rather than risk stealing several less valuable loads, thieves often choose to go after a single, more valuable one.
Electronics were the main high-value product type targeted during the first quarter this year, with seven events reported. The stolen products ranged from computers and monitors to specialized equipment such as cryptocurrency mining machines or telecommunications equipment. Pharmaceuticals were targeted in two events, one involving medicine and the other involving nutritional supplements.
These first-quarter theft events mainly took place in three states: California, Texas, and Arizona, well-known for commercial and logistics importance but also for cargo theft.
Overall in the first quarter, Overhaul reported 371 total cargo thefts with an average loss value of $210,597. The number of thefts recorded was a 38% increase over the same period a year ago. Full truckload theft was the most popular theft tactic by thieves during the quarter, representing 33% of all thefts. Facility theft ranked second at 27%, followed by pilferage from trailers/cargo areas at 25%.
Overhaul’s numbers are on the low end compared to another cargo theft recording firm, CargoNet, which said last month that it documented a staggering 925 theft incidents in the first quarter — up 46% from the first quarter in 2023.
CARB: California exceeds ACT sales goal 2 years ahead of schedule
The sales of new zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks in California in 2023 doubled from the prior year, now representing 1 out of every 6 new vehicles sold for services that include last-mile delivery, freight transportation, and school-bus passenger transport, according to a report released by the California Air Resources Board.
With 18,473 medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs sold in California in 2023, the state has exceeded its Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) goal two years ahead of schedule with five times the required sales numbers. Since 2021, a total of 26,921 medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs have been sold in California.
The ACT requires Class 2b-Class 8 manufacturers to sell zero-emission trucks as an increasing percentage of their annual California sales from 2024 to 2035. By 2035, zero-emission truck/chassis sales would need to be 55% of Class 2b-3 truck sales, 75% of Class 4-8 straight truck sales, and 40% of truck tractor sales.
The latest figures are a preliminary look at annual medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales data in the state, and points to continued momentum for zero-emission vehicles, CARB noted, ahead of rules that start phasing in later this year requiring the gradual deployment of clean vehicle technology for fleets. That rule requiring fleet adoption, the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule, is effectively on hold until CARB receives a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The ACF rule in particular has been under fire from trucking industry groups and others. Most recently, a coalition of 17 states and the Nebraska Trucking Association filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California that seeks to block the ACF rule. The American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (AmFree Chamber) also filed suit over the rule earlier this year. Late last year, the Western States Trucking Association (WSTA) filed two lawsuits challenging both the ACT and ACF rules.
“California set visionary targets to move key transportation sectors toward zero-emissions technology, and the market is stepping up to be part of the solution for cleaner air and climate action well ahead of required targets,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “The data shows that the future is zero-emissions and that fleets are finding value in making the switch early.”
In total, OEMs sold 116,483 vehicles in California, where 18,473 were ZEVs. Many of the ZEVs sold are in the medium-duty range, with Rivian (11,182 sales) and Ford (5,221 sales) leading the charge. Navistar sold 246 medium-duty ZEVs.
Among heavy-duty truck sales, Paccar led the way in 2023 with 76 ZEV tractor sales, followed by Daimler (73), BYD (68), Tesla (58) and Volvo (44). Electric terminal tractor manufacturer Orange EV sold 210 units.
Truckers are at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, so it’s important to know the warning signs of this potentially deadly illness.
Earlier this month, a Washington State workplace safety group shared a report on the January 2023 death of a semi truck driver from carbon monoxide poisoning believed to have been caused by a single-burner butane cooking stove found in his truck.
Other ways that truckers can be exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning include malfunctions within the truck’s exhaust system or idling for long periods of time in a space without proper ventilation.
The workplace safety group’s report highlights the importance of truckers knowing the common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning so that they can better protect themselves. Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, so often the physical symptoms are the first clue that a person has been exposed.
Know The Physical Symptoms Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Flu-like symptoms
Confusion
Nausea
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Fainting
Hallucinations
Abdominal pain
Visual changes
Difficulty walking
Drowsiness
Headache
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, exit the truck and seek medical care immediately.
One of the best ways for truckers to protect themselves is to install a battery-powered carbon monoxide detector designed for use in vehicles.
Weak rates, low volumes and high operational costs continue to plague the freight industry. ACT Research’s recent For-Hire Trucking Index noted that capacity, volume, pricing, productivity, and drivers saw continuing declines in April, with a decrease of nearly 6-10% month-over-month across the categories.
ACT’s indexes are based on surveys of for-hire trucking service providers. Its volume category in April was down around 9% from March, which ACT noted was due to momentary volume shift from the for-hire market to private fleets.
ACT Research
Carter Vieth, research analyst at ACT Research, noted that given private fleets’ cost disadvantage, and lack of incentive for backhauls, “we don’t expect this to last long, and recent Class 8 data suggests private fleet capacity additions are slowing, a welcome sign after an extended downturn.”
Vieth said that his firm believes volumes will improve as private fleets reach productivity limits. “Inflation remains a risk, but retail sales in real terms remain positive and were up 3.0% year-over-year in March. Improved imports and intermodal volumes also bode well for improvement.”
Pricing fell nearly 10% month-over-month, though ACT noted that the next few months will be more significant as bid season heats up. Capacity dipped at 6.5%, which is attributed to challenging for-hire condition, with low rates and higher costs driving declines.
The news comes after a similar report wherein ACT significantly downgraded its forecast on the growth of trailer purchases due to overcapacity of trucks in the market from 2023, low profit margins of publicly traded truckload carriers in Q1, soft peak order season, and increasingly diminished backlogs.
“In Q1, profit margins collapsed to a 14-year low 2.6%,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT president and senior analyst.
As for-hire capacity shrank for the past 10 months, and with large fleets lowering capex budgets for 2024, delayed capacity additions are likely to continue.
“Class 8 sales trends suggest the ongoing capacity additions at private fleets, a key reason the downcycle has drawn out so long, are slowing too, reducing overall capacity additions and downward rate pressure,” Carter Vieth noted.
Though private fleet competition has weighed on volume the past few months, Carter Vieth noted that it’s likely temporary. “Solid performance of rates and the load/truck ratio in the spot market through Roadcheck suggest the gradually improving volume trends will support the market balance in 2024,” he said.
However, the problem remains that private fleets continue to add capacity in 2024. Although this is shifting and requires time, Carter Vieth noted that cost economics should discourage further additions and encourage freight to the for-hire market.
This also aligns with ATA’s Truck Tonnage Index for April, which saw a decline of 1.2% month-over-month and 1.5% from April last year. This is the 14th straight year-over-year decline.
“The truck freight market remained soft in April as seasonally-adjusted volumes fell for the second straight month,” said American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello. “With a rebound in freight remaining elusive, it is likely that additional capacity will leave the industry in the face of continued softness in the market.”
Used truck market
For a second straight month in April, pre-owned Class 8 truck retail sales have dropped. ACT’s State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks saw a 1.9% month-over-month drop to $58,900. Year-over-year basis were 17% lower.
ACT Research
The downward pressure on prices has weakened moderately from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, said Steve Tam, vice president at ACT Research. “Prices are expected to remain relatively stable through most of 2024, transitioning to year-over-year growth in late Q3 or early Q4. Sequential growth most likely will take place at the end of 2024.”
Talking about volumes, Tam explained that the 5.6% drop was less than the seasonal decline indicated by history. He added that wholesale activity contracted by a much greater amount, down 30% month-over month.
“Predictably for the first month of the quarter, auction sales paled at -48% month-over-month,” he said. “Combined, the total market same dealer sales volume shrank 30% month-over-month in April.”
A man says he found his “true purpose” in trucking after nearly losing the use of his limbs in a serious car accident.
Sharoko Farley says that he’s always wanted to be a trucker like his cousins and great-uncles were, but took a few wrong turns before eventually reaching that childhood dream.
“I was born to a single mom, who was a junior in high school,” Farley said to 13 WMAZ. “We were forced to leave home because of religious beliefs due to teenage pregnancy…. I remember being at my grandma’s house just standing outside the road, and I’m out there like every child, taking your hands and trying to make the big trucks blow their horns as they come by. That fascinated me!”
Instead of getting into trucking when he was old enough “I was faced with many habits, such as drugs, alcohol and sex,” he explained. Farley went on to have some children, but continued his habits, until one night a tragic accident inspired him to change his ways.
“One Christmas Eve, on the way home from a Christmas party, my car hydroplaned and I was caught in a real bad rainstorm,” Farley said. “I was thrown into an embankment where I crushed both ankles, both legs, I broke my wrist, I bruised all ribs, and I bit my tongue in half, and I landed in a hospital bed, told I would never walk again for 8 months.”
“The only thing I knew was that when my kids walked into that hospital room, and they was looking at me, I realized I had become a man I did not want to be. I realized I had become a man, that if I had died in that car accident, then my kids would not have anything good to say about me. So, I made a promise to God and a promise to myself: If I could be raised up, if I could regain activities of my limbs, then I will find my true purpose.” And that’s when Farley decided to pursue the career he had dreamed of in childhood – trucking.
Farley was able to recover fully and ended up attending CDL School in Sandersville, Georgia at Oconee Fall Line Technical College in 2001. Once there, not only did he earn his CDL, but he even started his own trucking company – S&A Express.
“I started S&A Express, because when I got to Oconee Fall Line, those instructors told me they see better in me, they see greatness in me, they see business in me,” Farley said. “Just out of them speaking those words, I believed them and pursued.”
“You can always put freight on an airplane, you can put freight on a ship, you can put freight on anything– but how you gon’ get it to Walmart?” he said. “I’ve never seen an airplane pull up at Walmart, I’ve never seen a train pull up at Walmart. It’s always a truck.”
In 2017, Farley transitioned to the position of Commercial Driving Instructor at Central Georgia Technical College, where he takes pride in inspiring students like his instructors inspired him.
“I saw people who reminded me of myself, just that little boy who was lost and just needed somebody to be a guiding light to him,” he said. “So, I remain at a technical college system today because my mess has turned into a message.”
This year, Farley was named Instructor of the Year at the technical college where he works, solidifying his pride and success in what he does.
“I wouldn’t say it’s easy,” he said. “People say all the time, trucking is not for the weak.”
A biker gets beamed in the head while riding alongside a flatbed trailer in this surprising video.
In the clip, a biker is recording himself on a motorcycle when he pulls up alongside a flatbed hauling some construction equipment. Everything seems to be going well until you notice the roof of the machine starting to come loose in the background.
The roof eventually blows off in the wind and the biker gets beamed in the head. He manages to keep the bike upright, but it seemed like a pretty serious blow.
“How is motorcycle dude still on that bike??” commented one viewer.
“The roof of that tractor is probably just a glassfiber shell, so it’s very light. Also, the guy is wearing a helmet. This is why they wear helmets. (Among other reasons),” commented another.
Despite difficult freight market conditions, Class 8 preliminary order intake got a boost last month, beating seasonal expectations.
Preliminary Class 8 net orders in May were tallied at 23,200 units, according to ACT Research. This is up 46% month-over-month and 49% year-over-year.
ACT Research
FTR Transportation Intelligence data showed that Class 8 preliminary net orders for May were at 18,900 units, which is up 25% month-over-month and 37% year-over-year. Class 8 orders for the past 12 months total 273,900 units.
According to FTR, this level of order intake is above recent demand trends and 2% above the average for the month of May over the past decade.
FTR
Though market demand typically slows down in the second quarter of the year, Steve Tam, ACT vice president and analyst, said that surprises are always lurking.
“Class 8 preliminary order intake provided May’s drama, effectively zigging when they expected to zag,” Tam said. He said that the availability of open build slots in Q3 and Q4, plus OEM’s efforts to maintain balance in anticipation of an upcoming emissions-driven pre-buy likely influenced May’s order activity.
In February, Magnus Koeck, vice president of strategy, marketing and brand management at Volvo Trucks North America, also forecasted a solid year for Class 8 sales in 2024, and noted that an anticipated pre-buy of new trucks ahead of emissions rules in 2027 would boost market activity in the second half of the year.
“The pre-buy will start earlier. We probably will see that already this year in the back half and into ’25 and, of course, into ’26,” Koeck said at the time. “’27 will be a big dip due to new emissions regulations … with quite a dramatic increase in prices due to the new regulations.”
Tam added, “While we do not have visibility at this point, the strength is presumably driven by private and vocational fleets, supplemented by an ongoing healthy appetite for equipment in Mexico.”
OEMs are also actively filling build slots at a steady pace, said Dan Moyer, senior analyst, commercial vehicles at FTR. Besides the month-over-month increase, with orders significantly higher from May 2023, Moyer said this indicates the market remains on a solid footing despite near-term challenges. While all OEMs saw a rise in orders, vocational markets stood out as particularly strong compared to on-highway.
“Despite the trend of stagnant freight markets, fleets remain willing to invest in new equipment,” said Moyer. “Order levels slightly exceeded historical averages and seasonal expectations, and we still anticipate a replacement level of output by the end of 2024.”
Looking into the medium-duty space, Tam noted, “A picture of stability, North America Classes 5-7 net orders were 18,900 units in May, up 0.2% month-over-month, but down 6.9% year-over-year.”
Pamella De Leon is a senior editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. An avid reader and travel enthusiast, she likes hiking, running, and is always on the look out for a good cup of chai. Reach her at [email protected].
