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Buttigieg sails through hearing; stresses infrastructure

The former mayor was praised by both Republicans and Democrats during his Senate transportation secretary hearing, paving what appears to be a smooth path to confirmation as the youngest DOT leader in history.

Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., appears one step closer to taking over the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) after sailing through a Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 21. Noting a “bipartisan appetite for a generational opportunity to transform and improve America’s infrastructure,” he said that good transportation policy can make the American Dream possible by “getting people and goods to where they need to be, directly and indirectly creating good-paying jobs.”

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Truckers now in third group of COVID-19 vaccine deployment

The Centers for Disease Control has further defined the essential workers category, breaking it down into specific industries and pushing transportation workers and others to the third round of COVID-19 vaccine deployment.

In December 2020, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) expanded its recommendation regarding who will be the first to receive the novel coronavirus vaccine as well as who will subsequently receive it following Phase 1a.  
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Optimistic outlook for 2021, but trucking not ‘out of the woods yet’

The biggest risk as the industry moves ahead in 2021 is what will happen with the pandemic. Trucking is also staying focused on regulatory initiatives to come from the incoming Biden administration.

As trucking kicks off 2021, there is a lot of reason for optimism, according to Avery Vise, vice president of trucking at FTR Transportation Intelligence. A strong rebound in the consumer economy is expected to continue, with more than 5% growth expected among all truck freight segments, Vise projects.

Although FTR’s outlook for 2021 is bullish, Vise told American Trucker there are still looming risks of concern.

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Why nationwide trucker strikes don’t work

Talk of a nationwide driver shutdown has been echoing nationwide for years. Despite drivers’ service, recent public accolades, and personal sacrifice, they often ask: “What do we have to do to get our voices heard?”

“Shut ’em down!”

Talk of a nationwide driver shutdown has been echoing nationwide for years – most notably and recently on social media sites. But these angry words have done little to coalesce truck drivers into a potent force that can bring about the changes they desire.

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Drug Clearinghouse deadline nears for fleets and owner-operators

Employers of CDL drivers and O/O’s who don’t register with the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse by Jan. 6 will be flagged during roadside inspections and other inquires.

With the new year comes the second full year of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations’ Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, the national database of commercial driver substance violations created to remove loopholes that allowed violators to continue operating trucks. According to data from the first 10 months of its existence, thousands of fleets and owner-operators still need to register with the database or face non-compliance repercussions.

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