Operations

Your Jan. 12 Pre-Trip: Land Air resumes operations, seeks financing

Jan. 12, 2016

Here are five things worth knowing today.

Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Land Air Express of New England has scaled back operations and is seeking emergency financing in its first days back in business following an FMCSA shutdown. Late last week, the FMCSA told Land Air it could resume operations on a “conditional” basis; however, many customers moved their business elsewhere. Now, the company seeks financing after operating for two weeks with no revenue, WSJ reports. The FMCSA shut the trucking company down for failing to properly test its drivers for drug and alcohol use, among other violations, WSJ said.2. Three subsidiaries of XPO Logistics were sued in California on Monday for allegedly misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors, The Wall Street Journal reports. The lawsuit claims that Pacer Cartage, Harbor Rail Transport and PDS Transportation failed to pay their drivers minimum wage, provide meal breaks and rest breaks, and to reimburse business expenses, according to the report. The Wall Street Journal has more. 3. The Rhode Island Trucking Association released an outside study that raises doubts over the accuracy of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s truck toll proposal, WPRI Eyewitness News 12 reports. The study, conducted by IHS Global Insight, warns that the approach taken in an earlier study funded by the governor’s office “may lead to erroneous or suspect conclusions,” according to the report. IHS suggests that the governor’s toll proposal of $20 to $25 per daily truck trip would not generate the $60 million a year in revenue for the state. It also said the governor’s study did not adequately review non-toll alternatives for funding bridge repairs. WPRI has more. 4. Arkansas Online reports that state police have not authorized new third-party sites to conduct commercial driver’s license tests since October, thus creating a driver training obstacle. The Arkansas Trucking Association became aware of the problem after its president was contacted by the College of the Ouachitas in Malvern. According to the report, state police told the college that its plan to have an approved tester could not go forward because additional sites and testers were not being added at the time. Arkansas Online has more.5. Adequate truck parking isn’t just a problem in the U.S. Canada is dealing with it, too. According to a CBC News Saskatoon report, the Saskatchewan Trucking Association is raising concerns about adequate truck rest stops after the city of Saskatoon issued a warning last week for truckers parking their rigs to make coffee stops. The trucking association maintains that though truckers need to obey the rules, they have limited space to park in the province. CBC has more.

About the Author

Cristina Commendatore

Cristina Commendatore was previously the Editor-in-chief of FleetOwner magazine. She reported on the transportation industry since 2015, covering topics such as business operational challenges, driver and technician shortages, truck safety, and new vehicle technologies. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.