New Mexico
Trucking Association
4809 Jefferson St. N.E.
Albuquerque, NM 87109
505 884-5575
505 884-3661 (fax)
Click on ITH to link
April 11 , 2008
In This Issue:
FMCSA Proposes CDL Testing & Commercial Learner's Permit
EPA Announces Federal Clean Diesel Program
ATA Chairman Ray Kuntz to Speak at NMTA Banquet
Participation Needed - Survey on Owner-Operators
NMTA Sponsors List for Annual Meeting
Golf Tournament
New Restrictions Approved for Washburn Tunnel in Houston
NM DOT Website Tracks Road Status
Unsure
of State road conditions or closures?
Want to check the weather forecast. Then check out the New
Mexico Department of Transportation's website for compressive to State
traffic information. Click
here to visit the NM DOT website.
On the NM DOT site, you'll find a wide array of State maps, photo galleries, video galleries and much more.
You will also find State-wide and city specific details on:
Road Conditions
Accidents & Incidents
Road Closures
Road Construction
Commercial Vehicle Permits
Weather Alerts
Weather Forecasts
Mortgage Crisis Cools Market for Road Privatization
Wall Street’s sub prime mortgage crisis has chilled the market for private infrastructure funding by making it more expensive for investors to get financing, according to Transport Topics interviews with several executives. Read about it in Transport Topics.
New DOT Drug & Alcohol Publication
– Available Online
The DOT’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance Office has released an on-line publication "What Employers Need to Know About DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing". The publication offers some best practices and clearer instructions for conducting a program. To download a version of the documents click here
Two Provinces Bar Driving & Cell Phone Use
As of April 1 this year, it became illegal to drive in either Nova Scotia and Quebec while using a handheld cell phone. Text messaging while driving is also banned in Nova Scotia, as is smoking in a vehicle that’s carrying anyone under the age of 19. To this time, Newfoundland has been the only Canadian province to bar cell phone use while driving. An official representing Nova Scotia said it had taken the province ten years to make the move. Courtesy ATA State Newsletter
CDL Learner's Permits
Rulemaking Proposed by DOT
On April 9, 2008, FMCSA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to set new minimum standards for States to issue Commercial Learner’s Permits (CLPs); revise the CDL knowledge and skills testing standards; and improve anti-fraud measures within the CDL program. In response to ATA requests, the proposal attempts to address the issue of domicile requirements for students who train and take their CDL skills test at out-of-state training institutions. There are also several other new provisions and proposed changes including:
• The knowledge test must be completed prior to issuance of a CLP.
• CDL applicants must have a CLP for 30 days before applying for a CDL.
• CLP applicants must be at least 18 years old before applying for a CLP.
A summary of the proposal is attached and the Federal Register notice is available here. FMCSA is accepting comments until June 9, 2008. Courtesy ATA.
Diesel Fuel is Becoming the Industry's Largest Cost
With dramatic increases in the price of diesel, the trucking industry is looking at a $22 billion increase in fuel cost in one year, according to the American Trucking Associations. ATA estimates industry-wide fuel costs as follows based on current fuel price forecasts:
NATIONWIDE TRUCKING DIESEL COSTS
2007 - $112.6 billion, Nationwide
2008 - $135 billion, Nationwide
Faced with the highest prolonged fuel price increases in history, fuel is beginning to exceed labor as the industry's largest expense, said ATA president and CEO Bill Graves.
Fuel Data Source: eia.doe.gov
Diesel Cost Now Exceeds $4.00/gallon
in Rocky Mountain Region
Con-Way Freight Reduces Its National Fleet Speed to 62
With more than 8,400 tractors in its Nationwide fleet, Con-way Freight has turned back engine speed governors from 65 mph to 62 mph to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
Con-Way says this will result in saving nearly 3.2 million gallons of
diesel annually and eliminating some 72 million pounds of carbon emissions.
“Fuel conservation and cost savings aside, this speed reduction initiative will have the single largest impact on carbon footprint reduction of any operational or business practice change available to us,” said John Labrie, Con-way Freight's president.
Con-way
is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay Transport
program. SmartWay is a voluntary partnership between the EPA and
freight companies and is aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other emissions
as well as saving oil.
Con-Way also reports a number of inititives and technologies it is using to reduce fuel consumption and lower emissions. These include:
- Use of aerodynamic fairings on trucks to reduce wind resistance.
- Specifying engine and drive-train combinations that maximize fuel mileage.
- Using special engine and transmission lubricants to improve operating efficiency.
- Using auto shut-off controls on engines to minimize idle time while parked.
SpacePort America to Launch Construction Jobs in N. M.
The Nation's first "purpose-built" commercial spaceport is coming to New Mexico near Las Cruces. The Spaceport authority recently released detailed design plans for construction of the Spaceport terminal. The first design contracts were issued in 2006 and spaceport construction is expected to be a big employer when things get rolling. A New Mexico State University study indicated that over 2,300 people will be employed at the port by its fifth year of operation.
Virgin Galactic is expected to be the first "space line" at the port, but others have committed to facilities and operations.
With most of the initial terminal building, infrastructure and runway design complete, construction bid projects are expected by summer 2008. On-site construction projects are estimated at $112 million and will require about 500 construction workers. Just the construction phase is expected to provide Sierra County with approximately $1.5 to $2 million in increased GRT revenue.
Initial operations of the spaceport are expected around 2010 and could create $1 billion in economic activity within the first five years. For more information, visit the SpacePort website.