Durable Goods Orders Increase in April (top)

New order for durable goods—those made to last at least three years— increased $3 billion to $161.5 billion in April, according to a U.S. Commerce Department released on May 28. This 1.9 percent increase was the second in the last three months and followed a 2.1 percent March decrease. Inventories of manufactured durable goods in April, down four consecutive months, decreased $2.6 billion to $327.0 billion. This 0.8 percent decrease followed a 1.7 percent March decrease

Federal Highway Trust Fund Could Become Insolvent this Summer (top)

On June 2, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, announced that the Federal Highway Trust Fund will run out of money sometime this summer, and will need between $5 billion and $7 billion to stay solvent. Boxer also said White House officials are estimating that $8 billion to $10 billion will be needed to finance projects already authorized through the end of fiscal year 2010. Her comments came during a nomination hearing for Victor M. Mendez to head the Federal Highway Administration. Congress approved an $8 billion transfer to the Trust Fund in September of 2008. The outlines of a permanent solution will come on June 9, when House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) unveils the broad outlines of a highway and surface transportation re-authorization bill. Oberstar’s draft bill will focus on programs and policy rather than the financing mechanism. That portion of the legislation falls under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). Options for replenishing the Trust Fund include raising the current federal tax on gasoline, which stands at 18.4 cents per gallon.

Appeals Court Upholds DOT Rule on Direct Observation of Drug Tests (top)
On May 15, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a challenge to drug testing regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in June 2008. Unless the ruling is appealed, employers will soon be required to impose tough new procedures for urine collections designed to prevent cheating by workers in "safety-sensitive" positions who have previously refused or failed a drug test, according to analysis of the ruling by Government Relations Services.
The DOT regulations require employers in the aviation, rail, motor carrier, mass transit, maritime, and pipeline industries to "directly observe" employees producing urine samples for return-to-work and follow-up drug tests. Tested employees will be required "to raise their shirts, blouses, or dresses/skirts above the waist, and lower their pants and underpants, to show the observer, by turning around, that they do not have a prosthetic device on their person. After this is done, they may return their clothing to its proper position," and produce a specimen "in such a manner that the observer can see the urine exiting directly from the individual into the collection container."
Challenging the regulation was a coalition of employers and unions that argued it was arbitrary and capricious under Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and an unconstitutional search under the Fourth Amendment. The appeals court concluded that the availability of products designed to subvert drug tests combined with the employees' motivation to cheat sufficiently justified the rules under the APA. The court further determined that the direct observation procedure constituted a reasonable search under the Fourth Amendment, given the "vital importance of transportation safety, the employees' participation in a pervasively regulated industry, their prior violations of the drug regulations, and the ease of obtaining cheating devices capable of defeating standard testing procedures."
Direct observations of urine collections are currently required for transportation workers in safety sensitive positions who have previously been found to substitute or adulterate samples. The new rules expand the requirement to those who have refused or failed drug tests. For now, the current regulations permit, but do not require, employers to conduct observed collections for return-to-work and follow-up tests.

ATA Truck Tonnage Index Fell Another 2.2 Percent in April (top)

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 2.2 percent in April, after plunging 4.5 percent in March. April marked the second sequential decrease. In April, the SA tonnage index equaled just 99.2, which is its lowest level since November 2001. The not seasonally adjusted (NSA) index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, was down 2.9 percent from March. In April, the NSA index equaled 101.6. Compared with April 2008, tonnage contracted 13.2 percent, which was the worst year-over-year decrease of the current cycle and the largest drop in thirteen years. In March 2009, tonnage dropped 12.2 percent from a year earlier. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said truck tonnage is getting hit from both the recession and the massive inventory correction that the supply chain is currently undergoing. "While most key economic indicators are decreasing at a slower rate, the year-over-year contractions in truck tonnage accelerated because businesses are right-sizing their inventories, which means fewer truck shipments," Costello said. "The absolute dollar value of inventories has fallen, but sales have decreased as much or more, which means that inventories are still too high for the current level of sales. Until this correction is complete, freight will be tough for motor carriers." Costello added that truck freight has yet to hit bottom and it could be a few more months before this occurs.

Utah Motor Carrier Division to Increase Fees on July 1 (top)

For the first time in over a decade, the Utah State Legislature has passed legislation increasing the price of all permit fees administered by the Motor Carrier Division (MCD). The new fees go into effect July 1, and the MCD Permit System will automatically provide permits to customers with the correct price when the change occurs. For details, go to the "What's New" section of the SC&RA website, where you will find a copy of Utah House Bill 235, amending and modifying the Protection of Highways Act. The old pricing has a strike out line through it and the new price to go into force is shown in Italics. Also posted at the site is a fee table that deals with vehicles whose weight exceeds 125,000 pounds, enabling users to determine the fee based on the miles to travel and the weight shown.

Alabama Mandates Steel-Coil Securement Training (top)

Since June 1, commercial drivers initiating or terminating loads of steel coil in Alabama must be certified in proper load securement. Drivers failing to comply will be found guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
To be certified in proper coil load securement as required by Alabama, drivers must:
Click here to complete the Securing Metal Coils course.
Obtain a copy of the certificate that notes successful completion of the course and that is generated by the testing Web site upon passage of the exam.
Sign the certificate and also obtain a signature from the motor carrier for which the metal coils are being signed.
Retain the original copy of the fully-signed certificate in the commercial vehicle when hauling metal coils.
Provide each and every motor carrier for which the driver hauls metal coils with a fully signed copy of the certificate.

Truckers Must Have Electronic Registration for Baltimore Ports by June 8 (top)

Effective June 8, trucks and drivers will need to be fully registered with eModal Trucker Check to be able to enter Dundalk and Seagirt Marine Terminals in Baltimore. Registration is free, but you must have a valid e-mail address. Click here and select "Register as a new user."
Follow the prompts for entering in all company information. Allow a maximum of 24 hours for application processing. Approved applicants will immediately receive a username and password via e-mail. If you have questions during the registration process, call (877) 7-eModal and a customer service representative will be happy to assist. For details, you may also visit the "What's New" section of the SC&RA website.