Perspective

Vigillo President Steve Bryan reviews each of the four categories in a recent report that outlines recommendations to reform the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

USA Today's June 16, 2017, investigative article, “Rigged.” was, in fact, rigged against the Southern California port trucking community and the thousands of motor carriers and drivers that serve this industry, as well as the many customers that depend on their services.

The trucking industry would not be able to move 70.1% of the nation’s freight tonnage without great equipment, reliable technology and millions of technicians working behind the scenes to make sure every component of the tractor-trailer is in working order.

The demands of delivering heavy equipment or cargo safely and on time requires that drivers, equipment rental agencies and trucking industry managers have the right tie down and cargo control gear on hand to secure the load to the trailer or flatbed.

Asset tracking has always answered the question: “Where’s my truck?” It still does, of course, but some cloud-based, third-party software providers now merge widely scattered tracking resources to provide unparalleled visibility for shippers, brokers, carriers and third-party logistics companies, or 3PLs.

I cannot ignore the impact of my experience, and I concede it may result in a bias in this response to USA Today’s June 16 front-page article, “Rigged.”

Tax reform and spurring economic growth are at the top of the agenda on Capitol Hill. But when it comes to a harmful tax in the commercial truck retail market, there is none greater than the federal excise tax. This year, with the political climate ripe for tax reform and an infrastructure bill, American Truck Dealers, a division of National Automobile Dealers Association, is aggressively pursuing a measure to repeal the FET that is advancing on Capitol Hill.

The trucking landscape is changing. For-hire carriers are increasingly offering dedicated freight management and brokerage services. Corporate pressure to reduce costs is driving private fleets to operate as for-hire carriers. For-hire carriers are acting as third-party logistics providers, or 3PLs, including incorporating brokerage. And, of course, traditional non-asset-based providers are acquiring assets to guarantee service.

Transparency is a valuable and sought-after trait for all of today’s top industry players, especially now that things such as business integrity and proactive problem-solving sometimes are baseline requirements of today’s consumer.

We keep seeing signs that things are looking up for the trucking industry. Most of the relevant economic indicators are favorable for trucking. Commodities are getting stronger, oil rig counts are increasing and the housing recovery is persisting. At the same time, small businesses are feeling a greater sense of optimism, and improvements to the tax code may boost entrepreneurialism. Low unemployment rates ultimately will lead to higher wages, giving consumers more money to spend and putting more goods on trucks.