Perspective

Trucking fleets work every day to draft, negotiate and execute contracts with suppliers, employees, subcontractors and customers that maximize revenue and produce efficiencies for all involved. But in a heavily regulated industry such as trucking, compliance issues related to federal, state and local laws must be directly reflected in these contracts, and that can get burdensome.

As 2018 hits its midpoint, fleet owners face an expanding obstacle course of challenges to keep their businesses running smoothly.

For decades, America’s roads and bridges were paid for by the users of transportation systems through modest fuel taxes. The system worked well for years, but as vehicles became more fuel efficient and cars that use little or no fuel at all became more prevalent, less revenue from this user fee flowed into the Highway Trust Fund. It's time to forge a new path forward.

Fleet executives want technology that can solve their problems today — and in the future. They want to grow revenue while improving service levels and reducing cost, as doing so will produce better service for customers and generate better results. Anything that threatens these things is bad for business — especially unplanned downtime.

It’s no secret that technology is rapidly changing the business of trucking. Electronic logging devices, automation, electric power and advancements in telematics are or may soon affect the way transportation companies plan, execute, compete and succeed.

Updated lease accounting rules that take effect in December promise to keep finance and accounting executives busy this year.

Should the federal government be measuring your company’s safety culture? The short answer is “no.” Absolutely not.

The trucking industry has hit a few roadblocks in recent times. Driver shortages, increased competition from outside the industry and slow acceptance of technological advances are just a few of the hurdles that have brought stagnancy to our sector.

Despite the immediate benefits to the supply chain, there is still a lack of knowledge about the competitive advantages of real-time freight visibility. As the supply chain becomes exponentially more complicated, the importance of freight visibility increases due to its ability to provide real-time insight into the location and status of freight.

In an effort to combat drowsy driving, Uber announced on Feb. 12 new national rules that restrict drivers to 12-hour shifts with mandatory 6-hour breaks in between. Uber will enforce the rule through a new drive-time function in its driver app, which will first warn drivers and then temporarily cut off their access to the app, which is their only conduit to receive ride requests. The Uber announcement drove a lot of media coverage, almost all of it positive, but it also left open opportunities to do more to improve safety.