Page 16 - ATR 3 2022 digital

the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs to FMCSA’s credit, they let him do so. Cole Goodeaux graduated from
Act, passed late last year requires the He is really revolutionizing not only just Lakeside High School in Hot Springs,
FMCSA to issue new guidance on the their infrastructure on IT, but also their Ark. For the last two years, he has
definition of by Nov. 15, 2022. internal culture about working to make studied concurrently at the ASU Three
The law also requires the agency things better, not just for law enforce- Rivers Career Center in Malvern, Ark.,
to consider the impact of technology ment, but also for industry.” taking every automotive course the
and the role of dispatch services in the school offers. His junior and senior
freight transportation industry. THREE ARKANSAS SENIORS year, he won the “Golden Wrench”
The rise of load boards, dispatching RECEIVE ATA SCHOLARSHIPS award and placed first at Arkansas’
services and load-matching technology Three graduating seniors have been Skills USA 2021 state championship.
may be leading to confusion, and in selected to receive scholarships from the Will Wade, also from Lakeside
some cases leading to illegal double- Arkansas Trucking Association. Each of High School, is passionate about auto-
brokering and lawsuits regarding who’s the students will receive a $7,500 schol- motive repair and has taken concurrent
responsible in the case of a crash. arship from the Carl Tapp Memorial vocational college courses at National
Another question FMCSA wants Scholarship Fund to support their pur- Park College.
to address is the role of technology. For suit of careers in medium/heavy duty For more information about the
instance, electronic bulletin boards truck technology. The 2022 recipients Scholarship Fund and to see a full list
match shippers and carriers for a fee; are Colton Bell of Harrison, Ark.; Cole of donors, visit arkansastrucking.com/
the fee acts as a membership fee giving Goodeaux of Hot Springs, Ark. and Will tech-scholarship.
them access to the bulletin board infor- Wade of Sherwood, Ark. Bell plans to
mation. FMCSA asks whether those attend Northwest Technical Institute TWELVE ATA MEMBERS MAKE
electronic bulletin boards should be this fall while Goodeaux and Wade will TOP 100
considered brokers and require them to attend ASU-Beebe, Searcy campus. Twelve Arkansas Trucking
register with FMCSA. Association member companies,
including five companies headquar-
FMCSA’S IT MAKEOVER tered in Arkansas, are among the Top
FMCSA’s chief technology offi- 100 freight carriers in North America
cer, Pavan Pidugu, is on a mission to according to the annual ranking com-
revamp the agency’s outdated legacy piled by Transport Topics, an industry
systems by 2028. Pidugu, who joined trade newspaper. Companies on the Top
FMCSA in 2020 after stints at Walmart 100 For-Hire Carriers list are ranked
and Target, candidly said the system is based on overall revenue generated for
cumbersome, not user friendly, invites the most recent 12-month period.
processing errors and is decades behind Wade, Goodeaux and Bell UPS is the nation’s largest carrier,
the fast-moving world of technology. with consolidated revenues of $97.3 bil-
He has already successfully imple- “Americans have come to appreci- lion. FedEx Corporation is the nation’s
mented new user-friendly IT systems ate full shelves and all of our needs and second largest trucking firm on revenue
to streamline roadside inspections, the wants being delivered to our doorsteps. of $91.68 billion.
motor carrier registration process and Skilled technicians keep the trucks run- These carriers have a significant
the agency’s medical examiners registra- ning, the wheels turning, ensuring safe presence in Arkansas and support the
tion website. and timely delivery for all of us,” said association in effort to protect the
Pidugu also expects to revamp the Shannon Newton, Arkansas Trucking interests of the industry as a whole.
Compliance, Safety, Accountability’s Association president. “It’s my honor to ATA members making the list include
Safety Measurement System as well as welcome this year’s scholarship recipi- UPS Inc. (#1), FedEx Corp (#2), XPO
the way the agency collects and ana- ents into our industry. I’m excited about Logistics (#3), J.B. Hunt Transport
lyzes crash data associated with the their opportunity to access training and Services (#4), Old Dominion Freight
30-year old Motor Carrier Management pursue successful careers.” Line (#9), Yellow (#10), ArcBest
Information System. As a student at Harrison High Corporation (#14), AAA Cooper
“I’ve been highly critical of FMCSA School, Colton Bell has been an active Transportation (#54), USA Truck (#57),
data systems before I ever came to the participant of the FFA and team captain PAM Transport (#58), Maverick USA
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance,” said of the Electric CDE program. Since he (#79) and John Christner Trucking
Chris Turner, CVSA’s director of enforce- was 16, he has worked at Distribution (#87). ATR
ment data and judicial outreach. “Pavan Solutions, Inc. as a diesel mechanic
came in and really shook the boat. And assistant.

16 Issue 3 2022 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT