TXTA and SMA Members: It is with a heavy heart that I share with you all that TXTA and SMA member and good friend Chuck Dicker has passed away.    Chuck was very active in the associations and served as vice president of Mondics Insurance Group since 1993. Though some of you may not know that Chuck was also a senior vice president at TXTA in the 1980s and early 1990s.    Chuck was a steadfast member, a fixture at SMA and TXTA gatherings, a pillar of our membership committee and a true friend to all.     Originally hailing from Brady, Texas, Chuck was a veteran of the United States Navy and a graduate of Texas State—as well as active with the Texas State alumni association. Please join me as we send prayers for comfort and peace to his family and loved ones during this time.    We will share more details as they become available.  Chuck will be dearly missed.   Sincerely,

John D. Esparaza President & CEO, TXTA Executive Director, SMA

One category of small business that I am fortunate to work with is trucking. As most are small businesses working as contractors and subcontractors for larger freight and logistics companies, I’ve worked with them for 10+ years before the onset of the pandemic and have helped them through several boom and bust cycles. 

Indeed, truck drivers are the unsung heroes of Covid-19. When airlines cancel flights, truckers keep driving. Through the cycle of lockdowns and re-openings, the public should consider drivers essential workers and frontline responders, delivering medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and ensuring that retail shelves remain stocked with food and essential goods.

However, now, nearly one year into the pandemic, I’ve observed the resiliency of this industry, in addition to some changes—some that might linger for years to come.

Healthcare still a priority

The ability to expedite the movement of crucial medical supplies and equipment, especially into regions of high concentrations of Covid-19 cases, will still be a priority. Trucking companies with experience and existing contracts with medical suppliers will certainly succeed.

Let’s not forget about how the vaccine will get distributed. Pfizer understands the need to consider the logistics of distributing the vaccine and intends to use “strategic transportation partners” to ship the vaccine to dosing centers. As other vaccines become approved for use in the U.S., such as that by Moderna, they will need to be distributed strategically and at scale, and again, those carriers with experience in moving critical supplies will receive priority.

E-commerce isn’t enough

While the pandemic accelerated e-commerce — Amazon’s sales were $96 billion for Q3 2020, representing a 37% year-over-year increase — it is a fallacy to assume that all participants in the freight and logistics industry benefited. 

In fact, with an expected boom in-home deliveries, Amazon flooded the market with thousands more drivers in the form of either DSPs (Delivery Service Partners) or Amazon Flex drivers. While Amazon Flex Drivers tend to be individuals simply looking to make extra money delivering packages, DSPs have given real competition to experienced trucking companies.

Specialization can hurt

As some sectors shut down during the pandemic, those trucking companies that served them might not recover for quite some time.

For example, trucking companies that delivered fixtures and equipment for live, in-person events, such as for sports and concerts, might need to wait years for such contracts to return.

If such trucking companies can pivot easily to another sector, they will hopefully be able to survive the pandemic and replace the revenues they’ve lost.

A heavier reliance on apps

Shipper-driver matching apps, such as Uber Freight, Convoy, and Loadshop, have been around for several years. 

However, with the need to pick up extra routes or loads — and with the shipper’s office employees working from home—the reliance on sourcing work via these introduction apps has proved crucial for survival for trucking companies of all sizes.

Further consolidation in the industry

While trucking companies serving healthcare or essential retailers might consider 2020 as their best year yet, others may have had the opposite experience. Some trucking companies might have been able to pivot and find new customers not affected by the pandemic; others not so much. 

Whether it’s via the apps or more communication between entities, another change in this new normal will be deeper relationships among shippers, carriers and third-party logistics providers to enable all parties to work more efficiently within — and better react to — future disruptions.

When you finally do receive the vaccine, whenever that might be in the future, just know that a trucker helped make that happen.

Trucking employment dips for first time since April
The number of payroll jobs in the for-hire trucking industry fell by 2,900 jobs in January, according to preliminary data released Friday by the Department of Labor in its monthly Employment Situation Summary. That’s the first month since April that trucking industry employment fell from the month prior.

The slowdown in hiring among trucking fleets fits into the U.S. economy’s overall trend. Job gains in the broader economy hit a plateau in recent months, and employers overall added just 49,000 jobs in January on a seasonally adjusted basis. 

Since May, for-hire fleets have added back 47,000 jobs, but total industry employment, some 1.475 million jobs in January, was nearly 50,000 jobs shy of the recent high mark from last February – before the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest in the U.S. 

Likewise, year over year, total employment among for-hire fleets was down 47,300 jobs compared to January 2020 and down nearly 53,000 jobs from the same month in 2019.

Major freight-producing sectors construction and manufacturing also both lost jobs in the month, 3,000 and 10,000, respectively, and the retail trade sector, which has carried much of the economic recovery since last spring, dropped 37,800 jobs. 

The leisure and hospitality sector, one of the hardest hit in the pandemic, lost another 61,000 jobs in January, with more than half coming among restaurants and bars.

The transportation and warehousing sector as a whole dropped 27,800 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, though air transportation did show signs of life, adding back nearly 15,000 jobs in the month.

Goodyear invests in self-driving trucking firm TuSimple
Goodyear Ventures, a segment of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, announced it has invested in TuSimple, a self-driving truck technology company.

TuSimple operates self-driving trucks out of their facilities in Arizona and Texas in the U.S. The company is developing a commercial-ready Level 4 autonomous driving system.

Last year, Goodyear announced a strategic partnership to provide tires and tire management to TuSimple’s Autonomous Freight Network. Goodyear will conduct wear studies to better predict maintenance, understand tire longevity and reduce the carbon impact of fleets.

TA expands telematics offerings with Spireon trailer telematics
TravelCenters of America is partnering with Spireon to bring installation services for FleetLocate trailer telematics devices to TA Truck Service centers. Truckers can now have new trailer telematics systems installed or have existing ones upgraded at TA Truck Service centers.

Prior to this partnership, Spireon arranged for all installations to take place on-site at a carrier’s location. Now, carriers can also service their trailers while they are on the road.

State trucking associations, other trucking groups urge against liability insurance hike
A coalition of more than 60 trucking-related associations penned a letter this week to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to discourage members from voting for an increase in the existing minimum liability insurance coverage required for trucking companies.

The coalition of 62 associations includes more than 20 state trucking associations, several agriculture associations and more.

The coalition of 62 associations includes more than 20 state trucking associations, several agriculture associations and more.

“An increase in insurance requirements is wholly unnecessary, would do nothing to improve highway safety, and would have a severe negative impact on truckers, farmers, and manufacturers by significantly increasing their operational costs,” the letter states.

The letter also notes that federal research has demonstrated that an increase is not necessary, citing a study by the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in 2014, which explained, “The vast majority of CMV-caused crashes have relatively small cost consequences, and the costs are easily covered with the limits of mandatory liability insurance. A small share exceed the mandatory minimum but are often covered by other insurance or assets.”

A liability insurance increase is one of the items some believe could be explored further under the Biden Administration after an exploratory Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule to evaluate the current $750,000 minimum was tabled in 2017.

Labor Dept. proposes delay of independent contractor rule
The Department of Labor is proposing in a Federal Register notice to be published Friday, Feb. 5, to delay the effective date of its final rule to define “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act until May 7. The rule’s original effective date was March 8.

The delay follows a memo from the Biden Administration calling for certain proposed regulations to be frozen pending further review.

According to DOL, the delay would give the department’s Wage and Hour Division more time to review and consider the rule.

The rule uses five economic-reality factors to help businesses determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Two of those factors – the nature and degree of the worker’s control over the work and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss – are the two primary factors for determining a worker’s classification and carry greater weight than the other three factors.

The other factors include: the amount of skill required for the work; the degree of permanence of the working relationship between the worker and the potential employer; and whether the work is part of an integrated unit of production.

Averitt employees donate $1M to St. Jude
Truck drivers and other employees of Averitt Express matched their record for its largest-ever contribution, raising $1,000,001 in 2020 that was recently donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It marked the sixth consecutive year Averitt employees have matched or set a record in their donation to St. Jude.

The milestone was fueled by weekly contributions from Averitt employees as part of Averitt Cares for Kids, the company’s charitable employee-giving program. About 96% of Averitt associates participate, giving $1 per week to help St. Jude and other important causes.

Since Averitt Cares for Kids began in 1987, it has contributed close to $12 million overall to numerous charities, including more than $9 million to St. Jude.