Page 12 - ATR 3 2012 web 2

News iN brief, ‘firmed up’ relying on reports from prize at the end of each week of safe
Continued from page 11 motor carriers that freight demand driving.
training. ended May on a strong note after more The catch: Every time the test sub-
“If we want to maintain a first-rate weakness than anticipated earlier in the jects went five to eight miles per hour
military, we need to care for our service month, he said. above the speed limit, they lost 3 cents
members while they’re on active duty “Trucking trends are reflective of from their prize. And every time they
and when they return home,” Pryor an economic environment that is stable, went nine or more miles per hour above
said. “This bill is an easy way for us to not deteriorating,” Hartford said. the speed limit, they lost 6 cents. And
support veterans in the workforce.” Another index that tracks the now they might have found something
movement of goods that works, after researchers
lookINg cloSEr aT THE between manufacturers placed a GPS device inside
NUmbErS and consumers is a “good cars that gives drivers an
barometer” of the economy, incentive not to speed.
said Jonathan Starks, direc- Researchers found that
tor of transportation analy- by placing a small GPS-
sis at FTR Associates. FTR’s based device that constantly
index of U.S. truck loadings measures the speed of a car
increased 3 percent to 115.9 against the posted speed
in April from a year earlier, limit, drivers will slow
the highest since 2008, down, if paired with the
based on data from the right financial incentive.
Nashville, Indiana-based The devices gave drivers real-
transportation-forecasting time feedback — every time
company. drivers turned off the igni-
April’s improvement tion, they were informed
suggests the economy is about the “cost” of that trip.
expanding. “It’s not red-hot, Ian Reagan, a traffic
but it’s not stalling, either,” safety researcher at NHTSA,
Starks said, adding that thinks drivers slowed down
June reports out this month by annual gains above 5 per- because of both the carrot
the American Trucking Associations cent would suggest robust and the stick – the prize at
(ATA) and the Association of American activity. Index growth the end of the week for good
Railroads (AAR) show that freight vol- exceeded 5 percent between driving, and the small pen-
umes are flat, even down slightly, com- July 2010 and March 2011, alties for speeding.
pared to last year. Spokesmen for both the data show, while gross Reagan believes insur-
organizations hinted that the economy domestic product expanded ance companies could utilize
may be slowing down. an average 2.9 percent the tracking devices on driv-
However, truck tonnage volumes year-over-year in the same ers who wish to lower their
are clipping along at a rate that is 4.1 period. premiums. Many companies
percent higher than last year, a respect- currently offer rebates for
able increase. And rail tonnage, while gETTINg paId To good driving behavior.
down 2.8 percent, is largely due to a SloW doWN
decline in coal transport, arguably good Speeding is the primary cause of yoU boyS gET aloNg NoW
news for all but coal miners, since coal the deaths of some 12,000 motorists A federal appeals court has agreed
is being replaced by cheap shale gas. each year. Officials have tried many with Mack Trucks and Volvo Group
Excluding coal, rail volumes were up strategies to get drivers to slow down – North America and ruled that the U.S.
4.2 percent year-on-year. In particular, to no avail. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
there has been a big rise in volumes in But maybe there’s a way after all. cannot allow Navistar to make heavy-
motor vehicles and parts. Pay them. duty diesel engines that don’t meet the
In fact, two measures of trucking That bit of wisdom comes from agency’s 2010 emissions standards.
activity signal the industry remains the National Highway Traffic Safety The EPA had ruled that Navistar
steady. Ben Hartford, an analyst in Administration after a research project could pay fines and continue to sell the
Milwaukee with Robert W. Baird & Co., revealed that drivers slow down dra- noncompliant engines. Mack Trucks
said that the truck tonnage figures have matically when they are promised a $25 

12 aRkansas TRucking RePoRT | issue 3 2012