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MMTA Business & Brews
AN INVITATION FROM MMTA CHAIRWOMAN, CHELSEA DEMMONS
One of the things I intend to focus on during my two-year term as MMTA Chairwoman is to encourage business networking throughout our industry. We have all been through a lot of storms trucking has thrown at us over the years and we need to be prepared to weather future storms to keep the legacy of trucking going strong. Past generations seemed to embrace getting together for formal MMTA functions, meetings and even informal chats just to keep in touch, and these face-to-face interactions seem to have taken a back seat over time for a number of reasons – the pandemic, time constraints, shifting priorities, to name just a few.
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Did you miss the MMTA Zoom meeting about Maine’s brand-new Paid Family and Medical Leave law?
We’ve got you covered. Click on the icon to the right to access the recording of the meeting led by Kevin Kennedy and the Acadia Benefits team who discussed the following:
- Important timelines and deadlines;
- The draft PFML rules and how you can let your voice be heard;
- Private option versus public option plans;
- Next steps to prepare your company.
For more information and to download the presentation slides, visit us at https://www.mmta.com/pfml.
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Road to NTDC Spotlight: Andrew Lewis
Rookie Marks Fourth Generation of Family Competitors in Maine TDC
Transport Topics
The National Truck Driving Championships is an exciting, electrifying test of fundamentals, comprehension and professionalism. And, throughout its nearly nine decades, it also has become a multigenerational family affair in which patriarchs frequently have passed on to their children a sense of pride about every aspect of the industry.
On May 18, when the Maine Motor Transport Association hosted its annual precision-driving championships, 22-year-old Andrew Lewis joined elite drivers at the event.
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Registration is Now Open for the APTA/MMTA Transportation Safety Conference!
(Click on image for more info)
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MMTA Asks Members to Participate in MBUF Simulation
MMTA
The Maine trucking industry knows better than most that our road and bridge network is a critical social and economic lifeline for many parts of our state. MMTA has a strong and consistent record when it comes to making sure our infrastructure is adequately funded and we often partner with the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) on road/bridge investment policy as well as finding ways to improve highway safety. To this end, MaineDOT is working with the Eastern Transportation Coalition on a project exploring future transportation funding options. This project is specifically looking at how a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) could work for Maine.
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FMCSA, NHTSA Delay Posting of Significant Rulemakings
Transport Topics
Federal trucking regulators are delaying until next year a supplemental heavy-duty truck speed limiter proposed rule, an automatic emergency braking final rule and a proposed new truck driver seizure standard, according to new regulatory agenda documents.
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ATA's Spear lays out timeline to tackle FET
CCJ
The federal government started collecting the federal excise tax on commercial vehicles in 1917, when there were fewer than 400,000 trucks registered in the country. It was a way to help pay for World War I. There are now more than 14 million commercial trucks on the road and they’re vastly more complex — and more expensive — than the trucks from the early 20th century. While the FET no longer pays for world wars, it does pay for roads. In 2023, it raised around $5 billion for the Federal Highway Trust Fund.
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Motor Carriers Not Quick to Enroll in Apprenticeship Program
Transport Topics
Back in 2022, some in the trucking industry were hopeful that a safe driver apprenticeship pilot to teach and monitor 18- to 20-year-olds to drive in interstate commerce could lend a hand to the industry’s driver shortage.
Now, nearly two years later, it’s not looking that way.
Although the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had room to enroll up to 1,000 motor carriers in the pilot, at the end of 2023 — the latest numbers available — the agency had received 112 motor carrier applications. Only 34 were approved. Another 36 were pre-qualified, and 38 were outright rejected, according to the agency’s numbers at the time.
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Safe truck parking availability critical to retain women truck drivers
Commercial Carrier Journal
Access to safe parking was ranked as the top issue by focus group participants on a 2024 survey conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute. The survey, which looked at identifying and mitigating challenges faced by women truck drivers, found that more than 41% of women drivers struggle to find parking daily.
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'Fake safety audit' phishing emails keep pouring in
Overdrive
Owner-operator Wayne Bruene, mostly hauling grain today out of a home base of Ankeny, Iowa, alerted the Western States Trucking Association to what's clearly a phishing email making the rounds. It purports to be a follow-up email to a prior phone conversation with a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration auditor about an "Entrant Safety Audit."
One problem with that -- owner-operator Bruene is certainly no new Entrant, anyway. He's been in business for himself since way back in 2013, when WSTA handled his original authority filing and he was living in California.
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Buttigieg: Marijuana Reclassification Should Not Affect DOT Drug Testing Rules
Heavy Duty Trucking
In a June 27 congressional hearing, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his agency believes that a recent Drug Enforcement Agency proposal to reschedule marijuana will not directly affect the trucking industry’s ability to screen drivers and other safety-sensitive workers for marijuana.
During a House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure hearing, Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Arkansas), asked about the proposal to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
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Brake Safety Week dates set with focus on brake linings, pads
Overdrive
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual Brake Safety Week enforcement initiative will be held Aug. 25-31, the organization announced last week.
As with the group’s International Roadcheck enforcement blitz, CVSA also sets a focus area for inspectors during Brake Safety Week. This year, the condition of brake linings and pads is under the microscope as was the case for the 2023 initiative. CVSA pointed out the obvious: Brake lining and pad issues can result in vehicle violations that can affect a motor carrier’s safety rating.
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Shippers don't care about trucking's green transformation
CCJ
Of all the things a shipper has to worry about – procurement, production, end-to-end logistics, labor... everything that is basically not transportation – the emissions of their transportation partner, a company they don't own or have a financial stake in, isn't even on their radar screen.
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Fleets should plan for an emissions pre-buy, experts say, and it may be too late for some
CCJ
With tighter commercial truck greenhouse gas emissions regulations poised to take effect in 2027, most of the industry seems to agree that truck pre-buy activity will be substantial next year and into 2026, said Chris Visser, director of specialty vehicles at J.D. Power.
At a recent media event, Magnus Koeck, vice president of strategy, marketing and brand management for Volvo Trucks North America, said his company is already seeing signs of pre-buy activity, particularly among private fleets. He anticipates a “massive pre-buy effect” in 2026, with orders ramping up through 2025, and advised fleets to get orders in early if they want to assure availability prior to 2027.
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Report Finds Opportunities, Obstacles for Electric Vehicles
Transport Topics
The trucking industry is seeing increasing opportunities to deploy electric vehicles despite obstacles that still must be overcome, according to a report July 9.
The North American Council for Freight Efficiency and RMI documented the commercial operation of 22 battery-electric vehicles for three weeks last September. The vehicles came from several fleets and ranged from Class 2b through Class 8. The “Run on Less — Electric DEPOT: Scaling BEVs in the Real World” report that followed found that electric vans, trucks and heavy-duty tractors are being deployed across many different duty cycles.
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UPCOMING MMTA TRAINING & EVENTS | |
Thank you MMTA Annual Sponsors | |
Zero percent loans for approved CDL school training |
MMTA
Students attending approved CDL schools are eligible to apply for tuition loans to attain their Class A or Class B Commercial Driver’s License at an amazing ZERO percent interest.
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