ATA has obtained the latest information on the cross-border COVID-19 vaccine requirements. The U.S. is about to impose a vaccine mandate on foreign national drivers (not U.S. drivers) crossing the border into the U.S. at land ports of entry that we have confirmed will become effective on January 22, 2022. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) just released the specifics of the mandate that will apply to those of you that have Canadian or Mexican drivers that haul freight into the U.S. Commercial truck drivers will be subject to the mandate, unless they qualify for a very narrow exception. CBP advised us that very few, if any would qualify for the exceptions. Those of you that partner with fleets in Mexico or Canada that send their drivers into the U.S. should share this information with your partners as well. (As a reminder, the Canadian COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been in effect for nearly a week.) Foreign national drivers will be required to demonstrate proof of being fully vaccinated as outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fully vaccinated means having two doses of an acceptable vaccine two weeks prior to entry into the U.S. or one dose of an acceptable vaccine that only requires a single dose (e.g., Johnson & Johnson) two weeks prior to entry. There is no testing requirement to enter the U.S., however, those who have symptoms may be referred to the CDC for a medical evaluation. CBP has confirmed that the requirements will be implemented in an identical manner as the vaccine requirements for foreign nationals entering the U.S. for non-essential travel that went into effect on November 8, 2021. For more details on the U.S. requirements for foreign nationals, please see the following resources:
Despite our best efforts for a delay, we expect Canada’s vaccine mandate for essential workers crossing the border, including truck drivers, will go into effect as scheduled on January 15, 2022. This requirement will apply to all truck drivers entering Canada, regardless of nationality (e.g. U.S. drivers and Canadian drivers returning to Canada). Please be advised that for entry into Canada, use of the ArriveCAN app is required. In other words, starting this Saturday, any truck drivers trying to enter Canada must be fully vaccinated with two shots of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine in Canada (except for the Johnson & Johnson single does shot) and must use the ArriveCAN app. It is our understanding that if a driver does not meet both requirements, he/she will be turned away starting January 15th. The Biden Administration's mandate on foreign drivers entering the U.S. goes into effect on January 22, 2022. ATA worked with our partners at the Canadian Trucking Alliance to seek relief from these mandates. While we had hoped the U.S. and Canadian governments would heed our concerns on the impact this policy will have on the supply chain, neither government has changed their position on this matter. Starting this weekend, if you are aware of freight delays and supply chain problems specifically due to the border vaccine requirements as these mandates go into effect, please send me the information. This information might be critical as we go forward. For more details on the requirements for entry into Canada, please see the following resources: Canada Vaccine Requirements Canada Travel Requirements ArriveCAN App Requirements Accepted Vaccines in Canada For more details on the U.S. requirements for foreign nationals, please see the following resources: DHS Vaccine Requirements Announcement U.S. Cross Border Vaccine Fact Sheet U.S. Cross Border Vaccine FAQs Bob Costello
American Trucking Associations has taken its legal challenge to the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine-or-test mandate to the U.S. Supreme Court. ATA appealed to the high court for a stay on the mandate immediately after the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay on Friday. “It’s evident that OSHA overstepped its statutory authority with this Emergency Temporary Standard, so make no mistake: ATA will not stop fighting this misguided policy until our members and industry are fully relieved from its harmful impact on our ability to keep America’s supply chain moving,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “That includes the movement of food, fuel, medical supplies, test kits, and the vaccine itself. Our workforce has served on the frontlines of this pandemic since Day One, safely delivering on behalf of the American people,” said Spear. “This mandate threatens to further disrupt our industry and its essential role in the nation’s COVID response efforts, and we will fight it until it’s defeated through any and all means necessary.” On November 10, ATA, joined by the Louisiana Motor Truck Association, Mississippi Trucking Association, Texas Trucking Association and others, filed suit in the Fifth Circuit to overturn the mandate. That lawsuit was then consolidated in the Sixth Circuit along with other similar challenges filed nationwide.
By Dan Horwath, Vice President of Safety Policy - American Trucking Association
New federal Entry-Level Driver Training requirements will go into effect February 7, 2022, establishing a single, national standard for obtaining a commercial driver’s license. The revised ELDT regs apply only to drivers seeking to:
In other words: current CDL holders are not affected by and large.
This has been a long-time coming. The new ELDT was first mandated by Congress back in 2012, before the rulemaking process and IT issues at the state and federal levels caused successive years of delay. We do not anticipate any further delays beyond February 7.
So what’s actually changing? For organizations that have a structured program in place today, the truth is – not much.
Despite false rumors spreading on social media, the process for obtaining a CDL will not markedly differ from what takes place today. Prospective drivers will be required to pass a theory / knowledge test and a road / skills test.
The new ELDT simply means everyone will be using the same curriculum nationwide. In fact, FMCSA estimates that 85% of entry-level drivers already receive training curricula that meet the ELDT requirements.
There are no minimum training hours required nor new exorbitant costs associated with the ELDT. Prospective drivers do not have to go to a truck driver training school and can still receive training from the same places: educational institutions, motor carriers, rural cooperatives, school districts, joint labor-management programs, CMV schools and other venues. Meaning, if a carrier conducts in-house training today, they’ll be able to do so after the new ELDT rule becomes effective.
The ELDT will require training providers to register with the national Training Provider Registry, making it easier for prospective drivers to find training centers.
Visit FMCSA at Training Provider Registry (dot.gov).
Today the American Transportation Research Institute released the results of its analysis examining the differing motivators for why truck drivers choose to be a Company Driver or an Owner-Operator/Independent Contractor (OO/IC). This analysis was prioritized by ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee to better understand the role of OO/IC in the trucking industry, and how legislative attempts to reclassify OO/IC as Company Drivers would impact those individuals and supply chains in general.
ATRI’s research includes respondent data from over 2,000 professional truck drivers, of whom more than 2/3rds are OO/IC. When presented with identical factors that motivated their decision to be a Company Driver or OO/IC, Company Drivers indicated their top three motivators were Job Security/Stability, Income, and Healthcare/Retirement Savings. Among OO/IC, the top three motivating factors were Independence/Ability to Set Hours, Schedule/Flexibility, and Choice of Routes/Length of Haul.
The analysis also examined the various compensation models used with Company Drivers and OO/IC and driver satisfaction levels with each. Both Company Drivers and OO/IC ranked Income as an important motivator and in terms of satisfaction, 68.9 percent of Company Drivers and 80.1 percent of OO/IC indicated being Very Satisfied/Satisfied with their income. Over 50 percent of OO/IC in ATRI’s dataset reported net incomes of over $75,000 in the previous year while nearly 70 percent of Company Drivers indicated their annual wages fell in the $50,000 to $100,000 range. A large percentage of OO/IC expected they would experience significant decreases in their job satisfaction (73.0%) and annual income (68.3%) if they were reclassified as a Company Driver.
“ATRI’s analysis validates what we know to be true with our professional truck drivers – those who choose to be owner/operators are often motivated by the desire to be in charge of their schedule and work environment,” said Eric Fuller, president & CEO of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. “Understanding what motivates our company drivers and owner/operators allows us to better tailor offerings as we continue to focus on recruitment and retention.”
In addition to examining the differences between Company Drivers and OO/IC, ATRI’s analysis also offers insight into the different motivating factors for female truck drivers versus their male counterparts.
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) today released a follow-up analysis to its 2020 hallmark report on The Impact of Nuclear Verdicts on the Trucking Industry. The new report investigates the impact of verdicts and settlements under $1 million on the trucking industry.
During its research on nuclear verdicts, ATRI determined that a different plaintiff litigation model is impacting the industry: small cases. The research used a new ATRI dataset of more than 600 cases resulting in either a settlement or verdict award of less than $1 million. The report provides rich insight into key crash characteristics and litigation factors that contribute to substantial payments to plaintiffs.
This study showed that settlement payments are approximately 37.7 percent larger than verdict awards, and 393 percent more likely to occur in incidents involving a fatality. Additionally, incidents involving a severe injury were 217 percent more likely to settle and 199 percent more likely to result in payments to plaintiffs over $600,000.
The report provides an overview of the small litigation landscape in the trucking industry as well as strategies to assist carriers and attorneys in preventing more costly litigation outcomes.
“This analysis proves a theory that I have always had; there are two markets as to the value of cases – the settlement market and the trial market. There should be one market and that is what a case is objectively worth,” said Doug Marcello, Attorney at Marcello & Kivisto LLC.
NJMTA would like to thank the following businesses who have made donations to the Wreaths Across America Program so far this year. We can not thank you enough for supporting this wonderful program. Every wreath counts.
YOU HAVE HELP US EXCEED OUR GOAL OF 550 WREATHS
CURRENT WREATH ORDERS 750
50 OR MORE WREATHS
TRD Trucking Inc.
TrueNorth Companies
30 OR MORE WREATHS
MJD Trucking & Davy Cold Storage
Wakefern Food Corp.
Campbell's Express
Atlantic Utility Trailer Sales
Simonik Transportation & Warehousing and its Employees
20 OR MORE WREATHS
Bill Westervelt Asphalt Paving
Trans American Trucking
FindaTruckerJob.com
Taylor Oil Company
New Path Transportation
Daybreak Express, Inc.
Transways Motor Express Co., Inc.
Safety Dept. @ 400 - Evans Network of Companies
11 OR MORE WREATHS
The Evans Network of Companies
UP TO 10 WREATHS
Reardon Anderson
Thor Xpress Transport Inc.
Csirip Family
JLD Tax Resolution Group
Berretta & Costigliola LLP
Nabozny Transport LLC
Todd Freedman
Bob's Express and Trucking Inc.
KLK Trucking Co.
Employees of CMF Business Supplies, Inc.
Romark Trucking
C. Winters Supply
ContainerPort Group
Fuelrite
Valley Oils Inc.
John M. Krenzel
Bob Griffen (Honored by Tom Adamski)
Accent Trucking Corp.
PCS Software
Kempton Wood Products
Ho-Ro Trucking
Dameo Trucking
System Freight Inc.
Linden Warehouse & Distribution
Harbor Freight Transport Corp.
Cambria Mack Trucks
Deborah Cannon
Amboy Diesel Service
Riverside Supply
Port Jersey Logistics
All City Leasing & Warehousing Inc.
Select Carriers Inc.
Ball Four Transport LLC
McCollister's Global Services, Inc.
H & H Transportation, Inc.
Daniel Blazovic
Eagle Systems, Inc.
Hassel Transport
Rancocas Valley Trucking
The Farruggio Family
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is launching a new annual three-day Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative (HTAI) early next year in Canada and the U.S., corresponding with each country’s Human Trafficking Awareness Day. In the U.S., the initiative will start on U.S. Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which is Jan. 11, to Jan. 13. In Canada, it will start on Canada’s Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which is Feb. 22, to Feb. 24.
This initiative is an awareness and outreach effort to educate commercial motor vehicle drivers, motor carriers, law enforcement officers and the general public about the crime of human trafficking, the signs to look for and what to do if you suspect someone is being trafficked.
According to the United Nations, human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception with the aim of exploiting them for profit. Men, women and children of all ages and from all backgrounds can become victims of this crime, which occurs in every region of the world, including North America. Human traffickers often use violence or fraudulent employment agencies and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims.
“Human traffickers often use roadways as the mode of transportation for transporting their victims,” said CVSA President Capt. John Broers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol. “Since our roadways are the ‘workplace’ for truck drivers, motorcoach drivers and commercial motor vehicle inspectors, they are in a prime position to make a difference in helping to identify potential victims of human trafficking.”
“Identification, and ultimately prevention, starts with education,” Capt. Broers added. “Through CVSA’s Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative, we aim to equip drivers and inspectors with the tools they need to proactively serve on the frontline in our effort to end human trafficking.”
In preparation for the 2022 Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative, CVSA is offering human trafficking awareness resources to its membership and working with the Truckers Against Trafficking organization to distribute wallet cards and window decals. In addition, during the three-day awareness initiatives, CVSA jurisdictions will note human trafficking awareness and outreach data and submit that data to the Alliance.
To find out what your local jurisdiction is doing to increase human trafficking awareness, contact the agency/department responsible for overseeing commercial motor vehicle safety within your state, province or territory.
The NJMTA is an official sponsor of Wreaths Across America (WAA). Wreaths Across America’s mission is:
This is carried out by laying wreaths on veterans’ grave across the country in December. This year the wreath laying will take place on December 18, 2021.
For years the trucking industry has donated/volunteered to handle the transportation of the wreaths from Maine to their final destination, as well as to sponsor wreaths.
Wreaths sponsored by NJMTA members will be sent to Beverly National Cemetery the final resting place for 49,000 veterans.
Our 2021 Goal is 550 wreaths
You can help us reach our goal by donating towards the purchase of wreaths. They cost is only $15 each.
CLICK HERE for order form.
The American Transportation Research Institute, the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research organization, released its 17th annual Top Industry Issues report, identifying a number of the industry’s key concerns including the driver shortage, driver retention, driver compensation, lawsuit abuse reform, truck parking and for the first time, the shortage of diesel technicians.
“The ATRI list of top industry issues provides a critical snapshot of the challenges impacting our industry at any given moment,” said ATA Chair Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, president and CEO of Garner Trucking, “and this year is no exception as supply chain constraints dominate the nation’s headlines. ATRI’s annual analysis not only captures the industry’s sentiment on the criticality of each of these issues but also maps out a course for addressing each through the stakeholder-ranked strategies.”
For the fifth year in a row, the Driver Shortage topped the list of industry concerns, garnering more than four times as many first-place votes as the number two issue, Driver Retention. Further reflecting the industry’s workforce challenges, Driver Compensation was ranked third overall. Lawsuit Abuse Reform rose three spots this year to take the number four spot and the lack of available Truck Parking rounded out the top five industry concerns. The Diesel Technician Shortage made the top-10 list for the first time this year, as the 10th ranked most critical issue in the industry.
Nearly 25 percent of the survey respondents were professional truck drivers and among driver respondents, Driver Compensation and Truck Parking tied for the number one industry concern. Detention / Delay at Customer Facilities was ranked by drivers as their second most pressing concern.
More than 2,500 trucking industry stakeholders participated in this year’s survey, including motor carriers, drivers, industry suppliers, driver trainers, law enforcement, and others.
“This year’s large response shows just how serious our industry is about identifying the most critical concerns and more importantly, figuring out how we collectively deal with each issue,” said ATRI President and COO Rebecca Brewster.
“It really is no surprise that truck driver-related issues – notably the driver shortage and driver retention – ranked so high on the survey. Coming out of the pandemic, with the increased demand for goods and other pressures on the supply chain, getting and keeping drivers has been a real challenge industrywide,” Brewster said. “We also see the impacts of the current supply chain crunch in how highly issues like driver compensation, truck parking, infrastructure and driver detention ranked on the list.”
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