One of the great traditions during the Christmas season is the annual U.S Capitol Christmas tree. This year’s tree will have a connection to the trucking industry, and not just along the transportation route.

Remote asset tracking provider SkyBitz will be offering free tracking of the tree’s trip from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in Arizona along a route that will visit cities throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia and Maryland.

The public can log onto a special web site at www.trackthetree.com beginning on Nov. 10 and following it on its journey. SkyBitz’s GLS asset tracking services will provide the software.

“We are excited to provide this unique and interactive experience for everyone, young and old, to get engaged in this event and the activities and history that surround it,” said SkyBitz senior vp of marketing Craig Montgomery.

The tree, which will be cut down Nov. 7, will leave Eagar, AZ, on Nov. 10. It is an 85-ft. blue spruce and will arrive in Washington, D.C., on either Nov. 29 or 30, according to Mike Monfred, DOT & compliance manager of Southwest Industrial Rigging, based in Phoenix. Southwest is handling the transportation of the tree.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Aldo Leopold to the Apache National Forest, so it’s only fitting that the tree is coming from that area and has been named the “The Aldo Leopold Centennial Tree.”

Leopold was considered a pioneer in the conversation of natural resources. So it’s also fitting that this year will mark the first time the tree has been transported in a vehicle running on alternative fuel. Southwest will be using two tractors to deliver the tree, associated “companion trees” and 6,000 ornaments.

The tractor pulling the tree itself is a 1991 Mack with a red, white and blue color scheme. The company will also use a 2001 Peterbilt for the second load. According to Monfred, the tree itself will travel on a Fontaine flat bed stretch trailer with an insertable deck. The trailer will extended to its full 80-ft. length and the total travel length of the vehicle will 102 ft.

The Peterbilt will haul a 53-ft. Utility Trailer van. Both trucks will make stops in Flagstaff, Show Low, Springerville, and Window Rock, AR, and Gallup, NM. Along the stops, 6,000 ornaments and 80 “companion trees,” which will be displayed around the Capitol Tree, will be added to the convoy.

But what really brings this project home is what brought Leopold to the Apache National Forest in the first place – conservation. The two tractors will make the trip running on biodiesel, the first time the Capitol Christmas Tree will be transported with a renewable fuel, according to Monfred.

For all of us who believe that companies want to do right by the environment first and foremost, a lesson was delivered on Friday that being green is still about making money.

Smith Electric Vehicles and its parent company Tanfield Group pulled out of its agreement to supply Ford Motor Co. with battery electric technology to convert the Ford Transit Connect into an all-electric model in the second half of 2010.

The reason: Tanfield doesn’t want the competition. It admitted as much in a press release announcing the move.

In the release, Tanfield stated “it was concerned that the market for electric car-derived vans would become increasingly competitive.” See Tanfield, through Smith Electric Vehicles, recently debuted the electric Smith Newton and according to the release, the company “believes that investing in the existing Smith platforms represents a better use of its financial resources, allowing it to take full advantage of a potentially very sizeable market and to gain market traction more quickly.”

In other words, Smith didn’t want to be supplying a competitor with the technology it was basing its own vehicle on. I don’t necessarily blame them, but sometimes the greater good should prevail.

For Ford’s part, it quickly partnered with Azure Dynamics and delivery of the electric Transit Connect should not be delayed. It was, and still is, slated for a debut in the second half of 2010. That’s the good news.

Let’s not cast a cloud over all companies because there are plenty of businesses willing to share their technological developments with any and all competitors because they believe it is the right thing to do. And it’s certainly not wrong for any company to want to keep its proprietary technology in-house.

In the end, the U.S. and Canadian truck market should still see an electric Transit Connect sometime next year, and perhaps with Smith going it alone, there will be viable competition in the electric van market. Let’s hope.

The American Trucking Association has once again teamed up with Operation Interdependence for the Share the Road program to deliver non-perishable items to make care packages for U.S. soldiers serving overseas.

Share the Road drivers brought donated items to a distribution center in Grand Junction, CO. Local volunteers, including members of the Navy, Marines and Air Force, unloaded the tractor-trailers for inclusion in care packages.

“The trucking industry is proud to give back to our soldiers overseas,” said Elisabeth Barna, ATA’s vp-strategic planning & outreach. “ATA is honored to partner with Operation Interdependence® to deliver these items that will support our troops.”

Operation Interdependence is a non-profit supporting military logistical infrastructure. This is the fourth transport of goods under the program.

While many of us have returned to normalcy in the years since 9/11, it is important to remember that for hundreds of thousands of Americans, the War on Terror still goes on. From the troops still fighting for their lives each day in Iraq and Afghanistan, to their families here at home, it’s important to remember the sacrifices they are making.

If you’re interested in helping out, there are plenty of organizations offering services to our troops and their families. To learn more about Operation Interdependence, visit www.oidelivers.org.

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has signed what may be the first law of its kind in the country, according to the Associated Press. The law, which requires drivers to clear snow and ice off of their vehicles in the winter, goes into effect in one year, in time for the winter of 2010-2011.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. is not happy with the law, as I imagine most trucking entities will not be.

“It amounts to feel-good legislation that is going to lead to the injury of drivers,” Joe Rajkovacz, OOIDA regulatory affairs specialist, told Land Line Magazine.

Drivers would face a fine of $25 to $75 for an infraction of “dangerous accumulations” of snow or ice on their cars or trucks. Enforcement is being delayed, according to the governor’s office, to give truckers time to install snow-removal equipment.

OOIDA says the law is nearly impossible to comply with, and puts drivers’ safety at risk. If snow accumulates during driving, the vehicle would be exempt.

If the state insists on truckers complying with this new law, let’s hope there is financial help coming for carriers to fund the safety equipment purchases necessary so drivers are not put at risk. A better option would be delaying the implemention further until technology makes safely removing snow from trailer roofs not only physically possible, but financially possible.

The last thing trucking needs right now, particularly the smaller carriers who are struggling for survival these days, is another law requiring financial investment, further straining the finances of so many carriers.

I haven’t had a chance to thank the fine people at Fontaine Fifth Wheel for a visit I and other journalists made to their new facility in Trussville, AL, last week. The trip was wonderful and the management of Fontaine could not have been nicer.

The trip served as a bit of an eye opener for me when it comes to fifth wheels. Like so many other people within the industry, I sometimes forget the importance of fifth wheels. It’s almost like fifth wheels are the Rodney Dangerfield of trucking. Everyone knows they are there, so as long as the trailer stays attached to the tractor, no one cares.

But to the employees of Fontaine, that is the furthest from the truth.

“Here’s this 80,000 lb. rig rolling down the road, a 20,000 lb. truck, a 60,000 lb. load potential and it has a 2 inch pin and something’s got to grab that and hold it under all conditions - stopping, slamming, whatever - so we take safety and performance really, really seriously,” one executive said.

To ensure that all their fifth wheel products withstand whatever road conditions are thrown at them, Fontaine created what they said is the largest research and development facility for fifth wheels in the world in the Trussville building.

“Aside from safety, the second most important thing in our entire operation is research and development,” said President Henry Bell, “and I wanted to dedicate a huge space to those guys for whatever they wanted to create. And we’ve had to cut back significantly, just like every business has, but one area that we didn’t decrease a penny was R&D, and we’re real proud of that; that’s our future.”

Fontaine has a number of different testing scenarios, including some that are unique to their operation, just so that drivers of both cars and trucks can be safe on the roads.

So next time you purchase a truck, remember that the fifth wheel is not just a throw-in, but a vital piece of safety equipment. Fontaine certainly believes that.

Massachusetts lawmakers have proposed two new regulations that affect the trucking industry, although neither comes as much surprise.

The first, a proposal by Rep. Paul Kujawski, will limit idling within state borders to no more than five minutes in any given 60-minute timeframe. There are exceptions to this, such as when idling is required to heat or cool a sleeper berth or required to power “work-related mechanical or electrical operations.” Even this provision, though, will disappear should Massachusetts enact a financial assistance program for idle reduction technologies. Under that scenario, fleets would have five years to eliminate all idling.

The second is a weight exemption for auxiliary power units (APUs). This would affect any vehicle equipped with an APU, but the weight exemption would be capped at 400 lbs.

So while the proposed laws take Massachusetts toward becoming a no-idling state, there are plenty of provisions that most fleets need not worry at this point. A copy of the idling law is available here.

Fiat is wasting little time in putting its stamp on the “new” Chrysler. The news yesterday was the split of the Dodge brand into two separate entities focusing on their respective products.

The Dodge Ram Brand will be led by Fred Diaz Jr. as president and CEO. Ralph Gilles will serve as president and CEO of the Dodge Car Brand. The two men will be responsible for the profits and losses of their respective portfolios.

The question, as an outsider, is why the split?

“The brand-focused strategy has been refined further with the unbundling of the Dodge Brand which now consists of the Dodge Ram Brand and the Dodge Car Brand organizations. This reorganization will allow us to protect and develop the unique nature of the product offerings within the Dodge Brand,” Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler Group CEO said.

OK, at least there is a plan. Fiat must feel that having two separate entities can improve the products. I wonder if there is something else behind the move. Only Fiat knows for sure.

The company had previously announced it was no longer going to sell the Dodge Sprinter. Mercedes-Benz USA is taking over the Sprinter brand.

Kudos to four companies within the trucking industry who have been included in Newsweek’s Top 500 Green U.S. Companies. UPS, FedEx, C.H. Robinson and J.B. Hunt Transport Services are all included for their efforts to be greener.

The complete list, available at www.Newsweek.com, includes a number of other companies that have working relationships with trucking, such as Goodyear. Newsweek worked with KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost and CorporateRegister.com to develop the list. According to the magazine, the “500 companies included in the ranking are the largest U.S. companies as measured by revenue, market capitalization and number of employees.”

Each company was assigned an environmental impact score, a green policies score, a green policies and a reputation score from which the list was compiled.

UPS ranked highest of the four, coming in 85th overall with a score of 78.36. FedEx was 93rd with a 77.50 with C.H. Robinson scored 63.05 to place 414th and J.B. Hunt a 63.05 to finish at 429th.

While others in the industry could certainly be included in the list had they met the qualification criteria set by Newsweek, these four should nonetheless be applauded for their efforts.

More than 3.5 million people drive trucks professionally in this country. They are the ones responsible for the food you buy in a grocery store, the TVs you purchase at Wal-Mart, the cars for sale on car lots. In short, truck drivers are the lifeblood of our free market society.

Because of that, each year, drivers are recognized for their hard work and sacrifices – which include days, or even weeks away from their families - with their own week, National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

This year, the American Trucking Assns. is sponsoring a video contest for people to submit 1 to 2 minute videos explaining why truck drivers are essential parts of society. The winning video will be posted to ATA’s web site at www.truckline.com.

Deadline for contest entries is Oct. 15, 2009, so time is running out. According to ATA, videos can be submitted via video camera or cell phone and the organization is placing an emphasis on creativity and message rather than production of the video.

You can visit the organization’s web site to see some sample videos already posted. Full rules are also posted. So good or bad, tell your story.

Entries can be sent to ntdaw@trucking.org or American Trucking Associations, ATA Image and Outreach, 950 N. Glebe Rd, Suite 210, Arlington, VA 22203. Or, submissions can be posted to YouTube, tagged with “ATATrucksBringIt” and the URL emailed to ntdaw@trucking.org.

In this tight economy, it’s always a pleasure to see positive stories about trucking. I saw just that last week when I received a press release about a new company forming in Indiana.

Rapid Freight Solutions, a full-service transportation services company providing truckload, dedicated, less than truckload, expedited freight, specialized automobile transportation and intermodal container drayage service, was founded by sisters Megan Bissmeyer and Jenny Kehrer.

“Jenny and I are anxious and eager for the challenges that lie ahead of us,” said Megan, the company’s CEO. “Despite the recent downturn in the economy, there are endless opportunities in this industry, and although it won’t be easy, we are confident that we have put the right people and resources in place to be successful.”

The two are quickly proving they have the right stuff, sending their first load out on Sept. 18. The company expects to have 15 power units operational by the end of the year with plans to expand to 30 in 2010 and 50 the following year. Rapid Freight Solutions’ fleet will include dry vans, open car haulers, tankers and flatbeds. But more importantly, showcasing their smart business sense, the sisters, who both worked for Carmel, IN-based Performance Marketing Group for the past 14 years, purchased much of their equipment at reduced rates.

“We were able to establish the infrastructure of our company for a fraction of the cost we might have in years past through the selective purchase of our equipment,” said Jenny Kehrer, COO. “That will serve us well over the long run.”

Veteran industry presence Lenny Sales has been hired as operations and sales manager. And with more than 20 years of experience, Sales knows a winner when he sees one.

“Rapid Freight Solutions has a blueprint for success and a detailed plan in place for growth,” he said. “There is something at RFS that has long been missing in the transportation industry. This is a company with a vision of redefining how transportation should be approached - raising the bar in all aspects of the business and changing the entire perception of what a trucking company should look like and act like. It is no longer a race to see who can do the job the cheapest and hope to make a profit. It is building relationships with customers and employees alike and putting integrity back into the equation.”

The goal, Megan said, is to “create one of the finest transportation services in the nation that will emphasize quality, safety and performance.”

Whether the company succeeds in this difficult climate, we’ll have to wait and see. But it is certainly off on the right foot.