FMCSA has seen \u201cencouraging results\u201d from the newly launched Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The new program had been long expected and many were openly wondering how it would be received by the industry and truck drivers at-large. Well, according to the agency overseeing it, things are going quite well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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So far, the clearinghouse has detected and identified almost\n8,000 positive substance abuse tests. Registrants of the program number over\nhalf-a-million. Of course, there are far more truck drivers than that operating\nin the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
FMCSA Acting Administrator Jim Mullen was quoted as saying\nthe agency has \u201cseen encouraging results from the Drug and Alcohol\nClearinghouse, but there\u2019s still work to do to ensure we identify more drivers\nwho should not be behind the wheel. He went on to say that \u201cthe clearinghouse\nis a positive step, and the agency continues to work closely with industry, law\nenforcement, and our state partners to ensure its implementation is effective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Problems Remain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For most industry-watchers, trucking industry stakeholders\nhave so far held a positive view of the program. According to a statement\nreleased by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the fact that there has\nalready been a noticeable bump in detection shows how necessary this program\nis. Making this a part of the employment screening process should not be\nmandatory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, no rollout of a new government program goes\nwithout hiccups. Many trucking operators and truck drivers have reported\nproblems using the clearinghouse website. There have also been some issues with\nhow owner-operators label themselves within the system. The problem arises when\nowner-operators switch fleets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When using the clearinghouse, owner-operators must register\nas \u201cdrivers\u201d in the system when they register. This will allow them to switch\ncarriers. Trucking companies found that when they queried the system for\ninformation, it took several tries. Unfortunately, right now no one knows when\nowner-operators will be able to properly link up to the portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many have also complained that the overall navigation of the\nsite does not provide a good user experience. The initial roll-out was accused\nof being a mess and plagued with bugs and technical issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, it seems the FMCSA has been listening, as they\nhave been continuously making updates to the site as the rollout proceeds.\nWhile the owner-operator registration issue still lingers, many other\nimprovements have been made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, trucking companies point to the overall success of\nthe clearinghouse as a sign that when the trucking industry asks for something\nrelated to safety, the government responds. It represents a tangible example of\nthe partnership between trucking industry stakeholders and government\norganizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FMCSA did say, however, that it does not view the\nclearinghouse as a safety and compliance tool by itself. In their release, the\nagency stated that \u201cthe goal of the clearinghouse is to ensure that such\ndrivers [those who have violated federal drug and alcohol testing program\nrequirements and are prohibited from operating a CMV] receive the required\nevaluation and treatment before they have the opportunity to resume driving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Does Registration Include?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s now look at the clearinghouse itself. Who needs to\nregister? Direct from the FMCSA website: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, there is no cost associated with registering within the program. While some worried the agency may take this as an opportunity to extract money from the industry, this fear did not bear fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n For interested parties looking for resources on the program,\nthe FMCSA has created brochures and instructional aids that can be found at the\nclearinghouse website<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Look at Economic Indicators<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, we want to have a look at the health of our industry\nand the broader economy. What will the 2020 growth rate look like? According to\nmost analysts, barring something completely unexpected, the trucking industry\ncan expect flat to moderate growth demand and rates in 2020. It is also\nexpected most of the demand will come in the second half of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall economic growth continues to expand in 2020.\nManufacturing saw a big rebound from prior quarters when it was reporting\nnegative to flat growth. Overall construction spending has also seen big gains\nsince June. Housing starts in December were the highest they have been since\n2006. All this while mortgage rates are still at all-time lows. Big industries\nare obviously preparing for economic growth to continue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But more than industries, even the consumer seems to be\nfeeling in a good mood about the state of things. Retail sales hit an all-time\nhigh in December and the inventory-to-sales ratio dropped in November. And it\ncould be that this number was significantly impacted by e-commerce. But now the\nquestion is: How is trucking fairing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Look at Trucking Indicators<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to trucking research organization FTR, the overall\nforecast for 2020 truck loadings stands at an increase of 0.4% for the year. We\nappear to be in a negative environment, with most of the expected trucking\ngrowth to come in the spot market segment. This comes as contract rates\ncontinue to decline. One segment that has done particularly well in 2020 is the\nrefrigerated freight segment. Reefer growth is expected to increase by 2.5%\nthis year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, flatbeds and specialized rates may find themselves\nin a mildly negative environment. This would represent a drop in growth of less\nthan one percent. But it is important to remember that demand is just one side\nof the coin. The other side is capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Capacity and trucking industry movement is driven by truck\ndriver supply. And there are several trucking issues that could impact capacity\nin 2020. One such example is rising insurance costs. Many motor carriers have\nlost their operating authority in the past year or so since insurance costs\nbegan rising so much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How Costs Have Risen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The numbers report a sobering statistic. Indicated insurance\npremiums as measured by marginal cost per mile rose 12% in 2018 over 2017.\nInsurance costs were by far the highest operational costs facing trucking companies\ntoday. As numbers come in, it appears 2019 was just as painful as previous\nyears where insurance costs are concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although safety technology usage has been becoming more\nprevalent across the industry, an influx of inexperienced truck drivers has\nnegatively impacted crash numbers. With increased crashes comes higher\ninsurance and litigation costs. Some trucking companies simply cannot cope with\nthem and must shut down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another issue that could impact capacity, as well as several\nother factors like utilization and productivity, includes the final transition\nto the ELD that went into effect December of last year. Even the clearinghouse\nrepresents an unknown factor. If a lot more truck drivers are disqualified,\nthis could impact the overall truck driver pool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Traffic bottlenecks also represent a rising cost across trucking companies. According to one recent estimate, bottlenecks cost the trucking industry more than $74 billion annually. A recently-released report on the top 100 truck bottlenecks<\/a> in the United States was quite sobering. Even more, the report showed that the degradation of our nation\u2019s infrastructure is s leading culprit in the problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The report, based on 2019 data, shows the number of\nlocations with significant congestion has risen 92% in five years, while\ntraffic congestion has increased by 10%. Significant congestion refers to roads\nwith average daily speeds of 45 mph or less. With trucking companies facing\nincreasing costs from so many sources, some wonder what the future will bring.\nLikely, it will all depend on the continued trajectory of economic growth. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"