Your June 28 Pre-Trip: Trucking, a ‘whipping boy’ in Brexit market?
Here are five things worth knowing today:
1. Is trucking a ‘whipping boy’ in the Brexit-influenced market?
According to a Real Money report from The Street, “A slew of downgrades this morning shows that anything to do with trucks, or trucking, is now a whipping boy in this Brexit-influenced market environment.” According to the report, WABCO Holdings has been downgraded a few times since Thursday, and stocks for companies like Meritor and Navistar are down. However, according to the report, new domestic truck builds have been down for the past two years. The Street has more.
2. Volkswagen agrees to $14.7B settlement
Volkswagen’s cheating emissions scandal will cost the company a record $14.7 billion in settlements, CNN Money reports. According to the report, that amount surpasses what any automaker has paid for wrongdoing, and owners of the affected diesel cars will share in up to $10 billion in payments for their cars. CNN notes that car owners will get a cash payment of at least $5,100 to compensate for the lost value of their cars. CNN Money has more.
3. New Ontario truckers to receive mandatory training
New truck drivers in Ontario will be required to take mandatory, entry-level training at provincially licensed schools before attempting to pass written exams and road tests, The Star reports. The new rule goes into effect July 1, 2017. According to the report, a previous Star investigation revealed that anyone could obtain a Class A license without formal or mandatory training. This, according to The Star, resulted in the growth of unregulated training schools known as “licensing mills.” The Star has more.
4. CT DOT explores mileage-based user fees
Connecticut has joined other East Coast states in applying for a $2.1 million federal grant to study mileage-based user fees, The Hartford Courant reports. However, the Department of Transportation, amid criticism from Republican legislators, said “there are no plans to implement a mileage-based tax on motorists, even after the state signed on to a grant application with four other states,” according to the report. Advocates of that model of transportation funding say revenue is needed because gas taxes have remained relatively flat as cars become more efficient. The Courant has more.
5. NJ agrees to gas tax hike
The New Jersey State Assembly approved a plan this week to cut the sales tax by a cent in exchange for raising the gas tax by 23 cents, NewJersey.com reports. The bill would raise the gas tax and “soften the blow by abolishing the estate tax,” the report said. NewJersey.com has more.
