OLD TOWN – The Maine Department of Transportation is posting new weight limits for the Stillwater Avenue Bridge #2 in Old Town. This bridge is the northerly span of the two bridges, named the Llewellin Estes Bridge, that carry Stillwater Avenue over the Stillwater River. Beginning on July 25th, vehicles that weight 30 tons or more will be prohibited from using this bridge. The length of the bypass detour is two miles. The length of the abutment-to-abutment detour is approximately eight miles. This posting does not affect a wide range of larger vehicles like fire engines, school buses, oil delivery trucks, and most local delivery vehicles. It does affect loaded logging trucks, concrete trucks, and other vehicles exceeding 60,000 pounds. MaineDOT is communicating with affected trucking interests to minimize impacts.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Thursday decision to limit the federal government’s ability to regulate pollution will hamper Maine’s ambitious long-term climate goals.

In a 6-3 vote on Thursday, the court’s conservative majority ruled for West Virginia in a case against the Environmental Protection Agency, finding the Clean Air Act that was championed by the late Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie does not allow broad ability to regulate power-plant emissions from power plants.

In an effort to further improve professionalism in the trucking industry, the MMTA is working with NATMI to offer CSS & CDS Fleet Safety Certification courses for transportation safety professionals. The courses are applicable toward NATMI’s nationally recognized, university accredited certification programs.

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The Supreme Court has denied the California Trucking Association’s petition for certiorari in the case regarding California’s AB 5 independent contractor law, putting an end to a years-long legal battle and, likely, the traditional leased owner-operator model in the state.

The law, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2020, has not applied to trucking due to an injunction issued just before the law took effect. With SCOTUS denying CTA’s request to review the case, the injunction will be lifted, and the law will apply to the trucking industry.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a challenge to a controversial California law aimed at reclassifying owner-operators as motor carrier employees, carriers and independent contractors could soon be thrust into an uncertain business environment.

By remaining silent on a challenge to California’s AB 5 law, the high court on June 30 sent a clear message to the trucking industry, but the fallout could be unsettling for some on both sides of the issue.

Few industries came under as much pressure and made as many adjustments during the COVID-19 pandemic as trucking.

Looking back over the more than two years since the pandemic first hit, executives in the trucking, freight and logistics space see permanent changes resulting from how this historic event altered the economy, consumer behavior and business interactions.

U.S.-based supply chains are out of sync, according to the 2022 State of Logistics Report, which notes that freight movement here is adjusting to short-term changes and perhaps uncovering long-term solutions.

Just as U.S. motor carrier demand spiked in 2021, trucking capacity saw several disruptions as global supply systems halted and restarted: consumer demand surged from COVID-19 pandemic-related stimulus payments; carriers who reduced headcount and equipment in early pandemic days were left scrambling to keep up with consumers.

The entire U.S. and Canadian market of hundreds of thousands of simple medium-duty box trucks will come to embrace electrification, leading the way for other more complex medium-duty applications over the next decade as the industry pursues zero emissions, according to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency.

On Monday, July 25, 2022, at 1 – 3 pm EDT, FMCSA will hold a Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program (SDAP) webinar for companies interested in participating in or learning more about the program. Created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program acknowledges that safety is the highest priority for truck drivers. SDAP will help individuals between 18 – 20 explore interstate trucking careers and assist trucking companies in hiring and training new drivers through rigorous training standards – pairing each young driver with an experienced mentor. The webinar will address training qualifications, participation requirements, and instructions about the application process.

There will be no more delays in enforcement of Canada’s electronic logging device (ELD) mandate for Canadian motor carriers and for U.S. carriers that operate across the northern border.

Canada’s ELD mandate was originally scheduled to go into effect in June of 2021. However, the Canadian government announced just months before that date that it would phase in full enforcement over 12 months, given the lack of ELDs that had been certified to Canada’s ELD standards at the time. Full enforcement was scheduled to start June 12 of this year, but earlier this year, Canadian officials announced that they had moved the ELD enforcement date again, to Jan. 1, 2023.

Federal Highway Administration officials and emergency responders foresee a need to prepare for large fires in crashes and incidents from lithium-ion battery-powered heavy trucks.

Windshield-mounted video cameras will remain compliant with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules for mounting placement, courtesy of an exemption the agency recently made permanent.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced Aug. 21-27 as the dates for this year’s Brake Safety Week. Brake Safety Week is an annual commercial motor vehicle brake-safety inspection, enforcement and education initiative conducted by law enforcement jurisdictions in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. During Brake Safety Week, inspectors will conduct their usual North American Standard Level I and V Inspections and capture and report brake-related data to CVSA. The results will be released in the fall.

The American Transportation Research Institute found the majority of young truck drivers are motivated by factors besides pay when choosing a carrier.

ATRI surveyed drivers ages 21 to 30 who are currently enrolled in, or recently completed, an apprenticeship program. It found 40% view pay as the top factor when it comes to joining or remaining with a carrier. But the majority — 60% — consider other factors equally or even more important.

July 24, 2022

8:30am - MMTA Office

July 29, 2022

8:30am - MMTA Office

September 12-16, 2022

MMTA Office