Page 10 - ATR 3 2022 digital

NEWS IN BRIEF

ATA, STATE POLICE ADDRESS
CDL TESTING BACKLOG
A collaboration between the
Arkansas State Police and Arkansas
trucking industry is helping address a
backlog of trained, professional truck “We commend the Arkansas State THERE 'ISN'T VERY MUCH MORE
drivers that are urgently needed to fill Police for implementing swift and deci- TO BE DONE' ON GAS PRICES,
a deficit of some 80,000 truck driving sive resolutions to address the backlog SAYS COMMERCE SECRETARY
jobs nationwide. of CDL skills tests,” Newton said. “Our On June 7, Commerce Secretary
As with non-commercial driver’s economy needs people to go to work Gina Raimondo admitted that there is
license testing, professional truck driv- and these drivers are ready and will- not much more the White House can
ers must pass both a written and a skills ing to do so, with the support of the do to lower record high gas prices for
test to obtain their CDL. Staffing issues Arkansas CDL examiners.” Americans, casting blame on Russia's
and a limited number of test sites have invasion of Ukraine.
sidelined CDL candidates who have INFLATION HIGHEST SINCE 1981 "Unfortunately, that is the brutal
been forced to wait weeks to complete The consumer price index rose reality," Raimondo said.
the skills test. 8.6% in May from a year ago, the high- The bleak assessment comes as the
“Our industry desperately needs est increase since December 1981. national average price for regular gaso-
more safe and qualified drivers to be Surging food, gas and energy prices all line has risen steadily over the past sev-
able to stock grocery shelves and deliver contributed to the gain, with fuel oil up eral weeks, reaching an all-time high of
all of life’s essentials,” said Arkansas 106.7% over the past year. $5 per gallon, according to AAA. Prices
Trucking Association President Shannon The Bureau of Labor Statistics won't go down, the commerce secretary
Newton. “With ongoing supply chain reported that energy prices broadly rose said, until the war in Ukraine is over.
and workforce issues, delaying the certi- 3.9% from the previous month, bring- However, on June 22, President Biden
fication of fully-trained drivers impacts ing the annual gain to 34.6%; shelter called on Congress to enact a three-
everyone — not just trucking.” costs rose 0.6% for the month, the fast- month gas tax holiday to provide relief
After being notified of drivers est one-month gain since March 2004; at the pump for consumers.
facing weeks-long delays between and finally, food costs climbed another
completing their CDL training and 1.2% in May, bringing the year-over- GROUND RULES FOR EV
being able to take the CDL skills year gain to 10.1%. GROUNDWORK
test, Arkansas Trucking Association Those escalating prices meant The U.S. Department of
President Shannon Newton approached workers took another pay cut during the Transportation’s Federal Highway
the Arkansas State Police to find a month. Real wages when accounting for Administration has proposed mini-
solution. Together, the ASP and ATA inflation fell 0.6% in April, even though mum standards and requirements for
came up with a multi-prong approach average hourly earnings rose 0.3%, projects funded under the National
to streamline the backlog, including according to a separate BLS release. On Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula
temporary overflow testing in Saline a 12-month basis, real average hourly Program, which provides nearly $5 bil-
County, approved overtime for CDL earnings were down 3%. lion over the next five years.
examiners, examiners dedicated to CDL The latest report dashed hopes that Transportation Secretary Pete
testing and aggressively working to inflation may have peaked and added Buttigieg said these ground rules will
fill examiner vacancies with qualified to fears that the U.S. economy may be help create a network of EV chargers
personnel. nearing a recession. 

10 Issue 3 2022 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT