FMCSA Deputy Administrator Gets a Glimpse of Life on the Road
When Daphne Jefferson was appointed as Deputy Administrator at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), she had never been inside the cab of a truck. The Women In Trucking (WIT) Association arranged for her to take a two-day trip with female drivers so she could learn about their jobs as professional truck drivers.
The ride-along began at an inspection station in Virginia where Ms. Jefferson met her first driver, Angela Jordan, a 19 year employee at U.S. Xpress Enterprises. They chatted en route to a Petro Stopping Center, where they had lunch and took a tour of the facility. The day ended with a delivery of the load of batteries to a customer in eastern Maryland.
Day two began with an introduction to April Young, who drives for J.B. Hunt’s Intermodal services. Lunch included a visit to a Pilot Travel Center in Maryland.
“My ride-along helps illustrate that barriers are rapidly falling for women in the field of commercial driving,” said Jefferson, “and I'm proud to see the commercial motor vehicle sector welcoming women into rewarding careers that also help strengthen our nation’s economy.”
“Our goal in providing ride-along opportunities to regulators and legislators is to help them get a first hand look at a driver’s challenges on the road,” said WIT President/CEO, Ellen Voie. “We are so pleased that Ms. Jefferson took time out of her busy schedule to spend two days riding with these highly qualified female professional drivers so she could better understand their experience on the road,” Voie added.
You can read Deputy Administrator Jefferson’s Blog on the DOT website at http://www.dot.gov/fastlane/women-big-rig-drivers-seat.
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Trucking Revenues Top $700 Billion for the First Time According to New Report
Data in Latest American Trucking Trends Demonstrates Industry’s Dominance
Last year, the trucking industry generated $700.4 billion, according to the latest edition of American Trucking Trends, making 2014 the first year in history the industry topped $700 billion in total revenue.
“Last year, we saw freight volumes grow significantly,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Increases in freight, combined with continued tight capacity helped drive revenues and coupled with lower fuel prices, we saw motor carriers go on a buying spree for new trucks as they replaced older equipment.”
Trends, which is available for purchase now at atabusinesssolutions.com, is ATA’s annual compendium of data on the trucking industry’s size and performance. Among the findings in this year’s edition are:
- In 2014, trucks moved 9.96 billion tons, or 68.8%, of all domestic freight.
- The $700.4 billion in revenue accounted for 80.3% of all freight transportation spending.
- Trucking employed more than 7 million people, including 3.4 million drivers.·
- Combination trucks logged 168.4 billion miles in 2013, or an average of 69,000 per truck.
- Since Deregulation, the number of registered motor carriers has grown by 68 times to more than 1.3 million carriers.
- Commercial trucks paid $16.5 billion in federal highway user fees in 2013.
“Trends is a valuable resource for showing just how critical, how essential, our industry is,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “It is one thing to say trucking is our economy’s lifeblood, but it is quite another to show it. And Trends shows it clearly: trucking is, and will continue to be, the dominant way to move goods in this country.”
For more on Trends, watch Costello discuss the report here
View infographics based on the data here
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