Page 14 - ATR 6 2013 digital

News iN brief, railroads sEE BEttEr it’s a BraziliaN…hair drUg
Continued from page 13 NUMBErs, too tEstiNg, that is
However, Bob Costello, chief econ- U.S. carloads in November rose As the U.S. Congress prepares to
omist and vice president for American 1.3 percent to 1,145,353 units and consider hair testing as an acceptable
Trucking Associations, cautioned intermodal loads climbed 7.8 percent method to test commercial truck driver
against viewing this news too positively to 1,007,549 units compared with applicants, Brazil has announced new
pointing out the revision was due to November 2012 data, according to guidelines that mandate professional
higher inventories built up by busi- the Association of American Railroads drivers to pass a hair drug test when
nesses. (AAR). obtaining or renewing their driver’s
“These higher inventories aren’t The weekly average of 251,887 license. Currently, Brazilian professional
good because shippers will work off any intermodal loads was the highest for driver licenses are valid for five years
excess inventories before ordering more any November in history, AAR said. and must be renewed. This guideline
products,” Costello said. “And that Eleven of 20 commodity categories reg- became effective January 1, 2014, with
hurts truck-freight volumes. It is likely istered gains in November, led by grain the first testing to begin July 1, 2014.
one of the reasons why October freight (20.6 percent), petroleum and petro- Hair testing for drugs of abuse is
was off, once adjusted for typical sea- leum products (20 percent) and motor able to detect whether someone has
sonality.” vehicle and parts (10.8 percent), while used drugs over an approximate 90-day
Costello said inventories did not metallic ores volume fell 10.1 percent period; as compared to a significantly
pile up “on purpose,” but said the situa- and coal traffic dipped 4.3 percent. shorter time frame in urine and saliva
tion was “most likely caused by weaker Excluding coal, U.S. carloads increased drug testing—a day or two for most
sales than expected. I suspect the draw- 5.3 percent. drugs with a little longer period for
down has already started as October “Carload traffic continues to be marijuana. Because of this wider win-
truck freight was weaker than antici- consistent with an economy that’s dow of detection, a hair test provides
pated (seasonally adjusted).” growing at a moderate pace,” said AAR superior detection rate and with that, a
Senior Vice President John Gray. powerful up-front deterrent.

Speed limitS.

weight limitS.

fuel coStS.

more numberS are the laSt thingS a
trucking company needS to worry about.

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14 arkaNsas TruckiNg reporT | issue 6 2013