“The cat has too much spirit to have no heart.” –Ernest Menaul

For years, I’d always thought dogs were a trucker’s best friend – a view borne out by the many different canines I’ve met over the years riding shotgun with drivers. Yet this year at the Mid America Trucking Show, I got an eye-opener of sorts as I stumbled upon quite a few trucks that were homes away from home for plenty of cats.

(Pee Wee, perched high in the cab for a great view of the road.)

Shaun Flowers, a driver for Roady Trucking of Marysville, Kansas, introduced me to his feline highway companion, sporting the handle “Pee Wee” and resting comfortably on the dashboard. “He’s been with me for three years and goes everywhere I go,” Shaun told me. “Best thing is, I don’t have to stop and take him for a walk.”

(Pee Wee is ALWAYS ready for a close up.)

But it’s more than that, of course. Cats are very different from dogs psychologically as well as physically, content to seek out affection from humans when they need it, then quick to saunter off for a nap or ritual fur cleaning without so much as a backward glance. I know this for a fact, having spent the last 12 years in the company Woody, our resident grey tabby feline.

(The indefatigable Woodrow Wilson Kilcarr the First.)

This isn’t to denigrate the stalwart canine companion in any way, shape or form, I stress! In all honesty, I was a dog person my whole life, growing up with a wide variety of breeds, from cocker spaniels and a Collie-German Shepard mix to outright mutts. (We had three dogs at one point – meaning I probably qualify as a “Redneck” according to some of the rules laid down by the great Jeff Foxworthy). I spent countless hours in their fine company and at some point still plan to bring a Chocolate Labrador into my home

Yet cats – especially those that like to display their social skills – are more than great companions at home and on the road. They provide to us humans comfort, unquestioning friendship, and probably best of all a calming influence. After many a long day, I can tell you, there’s nothing like sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate and Sir Woody by my side, his rhythmic purrs leaching away the stress in large chunks.

(A whole gaggle of cats finds this trucker’s dashboard a fine place to keep warm.)

That soothing presence is a great boon to me, as well as to truckers plying the long highways day after countless day.

“Continuous improvement is the name of the game.” –Gary Petty, president and CEO, National Private Truck Council

We all know it’s a challenging time for the trucking industry, whether you operate 10 or 1,000 trucks, whether you are a for-hire or private carrier. That reality got serious acknowledgement at the National Private Truck Council (NPTC) annual conference in Cincinnati, OH, this week.

(The show floor at NPTC’s annual convention, held in Cincinnati this year.)

The 900 or so attendees all worried about the impact of sky-high diesel fuel prices on their businesses – then expressed further concern about finding and keeping drivers, getting more productivity out of their existing assets, managing equipment costs better, and on and on.

“Many of you are also going through fleet justifications – a ‘re-evaluation’ of the private fleet within your company’s business,” noted Gary Petty, NPTC’s president and CEO, during his keynote speech. “That’s why events like these, where you can share ideas and network with your peers, is so critical. For you never know when an idea may be found to help solve a problem your company faces.”

(Gary Petty, NPTC’s president and CEO, is on the right. That’s Dan Baker on the left, trucking consultant and motivational speaker.)

A lot of ideas and information-gathering projects are getting up a head of steam at NPTC, ones geared to help the industry as a whole improve across a range of areas. First, the group is looking to add a dozen or so carriers to the 125 fleets already participating in its benchmarking study, so private fleets can compare themselves against the industry leaders to see where they can make improvements.

Petty mentioned that NPTC is also going to take a fresh look at the size and weight issue ahead of the next highway funding reauthorization bill, funding a study with the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) to see if larger trucks carrying 97,000 lbs. versus today’s 80,000-lb. limit can reduce the number of trucks on the road and thus reduce energy consumption. NPTC is looking for six carriers to participate in this study, Petty added.

“We’re going to try and scientifically establish gains in productivity plus more effective use of highways and bridges via this study, which should start this may and end in September,” he said. “We believe it will be an important contribution to public policy.”

NPTC is also going to redouble its focus on the truck driver community as it looks to expand current driver recognition efforts. That includes the creation of an “All-Stars” program in Sept. 2009 (based on safety data compiled this year) where drivers will be nominated based on customer service, personal appearance, cleanliness of equipment, on-time delivery rates, as well as safety. “These non-driving functions are so critical to the private fleet’s function today and deserve recognition,” Petty said.

(Robert Boyich of CPC Logistics took home an award from FleetOwner for being the top gradutate in NPTC’s Certified Transportation Professional program for 2008.)

Finally, NPTC is forging a new relationship with third-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson, to provide NPTC member fleets with access to pools of backhaul freight nationwide. Called “Fleet Optimizer,” Petty said the program seeks to reduce the average 28% of deadhead miles private carriers log every year by giving them access to consistent freight volume in lanes they already cover.

(Many suppliers at NPTC’s convention used tricked out trucks as part of their exhibit displays.)

“We already work with private fleets – this program formalizes and expands that effort,” Eric Jax, branch manager for C.H. Robinson’s national carrier group, told me at the show. “Private carriers not only have consistent capacity on dedicated routes, they have the kinds of drivers and focus on safety and professionalism we look for. We are always looking to build more consistent capacity and we plan to begin ramping up this program over the next several months.”

So despite the challenges now engulfing the trucking industry as a whole, private fleets and the association that represents them, aren’t standing still – their mapping new courses to help improve their business models.

“We need to let the world know our value,” said Petty. “They need to know how we help our nation keep rolling.”

“West Virginia spends more than $1 million annually to remove litter from state highways.” –West Virginia Department of Transportation annual report

So another Earth Day has come and gone, with lots of opinion pieces in newspapers about the threat of Global Warming, increasing vehicle fuel economy standards, and the inevitable plethora of rock and roll concerts designed to “raise the consciousness” about the many environmental issues facing our little planet.

Pardon me if I sound so very cynical about all this. We go on, and on, AND ON about how to solve any number of issues – reducing energy consumption, decreasing pollution, etc. – that usually involve billions of dollars and decades to realize. But here’s a simple one we can do right now — in fact, this instant:

PICK UP THE $#&*! TRASH THAT’S ALL OVER THE PLACE!

I mean, come on people! We spend about $115 million a YEAR in this country just picking up all the litter dumped on the side of our highways! According to the good folks at the West Virginia Department of Transportation, an average two-mile stretch of highway contains 32,000 pieces of trash! And all this stuff ends of choking creeks, streams and rivers, plus killing all sorts of wildlife, from fish to birds.

(Courtesy of the Sierra Club)

Here’s another factoid: During a one-time sweep of Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, Adopt-a-Highway volunteers picked up 192 tons of trash in one day. The quantity filled 16 Minnesota Department of Transportation tandem trucks, representing approximately 6,000 filled trash bags.

I mean, you’d think that all those “green-niks” in Hollywood could get off their high horse about buying “carbon offsets” and actually DO something PRODUCTIVE, like maybe pick up and recycle the trash from all the swag they get at award shows every year.

Look, municipalities in the U.S. generate some 251 million tons of trash (before recycling) per year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or about 4.6 pounds per person per day. Compare that to the 88.1 million ton generated in the U.S. back in 1960 – roughly 2.7 pounds per person per day – and you can quickly see why trash is a big issue.

(I am also still waiting for a legislature or governor somewhere to step up and claim the cigarette butt as its state flower. There’s just so many of the freaking things all over the place – and here I thought smoking was on the way out!)

One reason we still have so much trash around is that we aren’t recycling a whole lot of it. In 2006, the recycling rate was 32.5%, with 81.8 million tons of materials recycled, according to the EPA’s numbers. That’s better than the 6.4% rate back in 1960, but still not great. Chief among materials recycled today are automotive batteries (99%), steel cans (62.9%), yard trimmings (62%) paper and paperboard (51.6%), plus aluminum beer and aoft drink cans (45.1%). At the bottom are tires (34.9%), plastic soft drink bottles (30.9%), HDPE milk and water bottles (31%), and glass containers (25.3%).

(Local volunteers conducting highway clean up in Missouri.)

Reducing trash production is also not only an easy thing to do – requiring very little beaurecratic mumbo jumbo (one hopes and prays) – it also generates an immediate environmental return. For example, each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, three cubic yards of landfill space and 4,000 kilowatts of energy.

(By the way, more on how trucking companies are reducing their use of paper in all sorts of creative ways – saving big bucks while being green – in a future blog post.)

(Where the trash SHOULD go. Kudos to companies like American Waste for the job they do every day.)

So how about we put the carbon offset boondoggle, free rock concerts, and op-eds on the shelf for a while and get down to just cleaning up our neck of the woods in the good old U.S.A. Just cleaning up the trash would really improve the environment quickly without all that much effort on our part.

“Unprecedented high diesel fuel prices, continued softness of freight demand, weaker demand in the used equipment sales market, and worse than normal winter weather conditions created the most challenging quarterly period in many years for Werner and the truckload industry in first quarter 2008.” –From Werner Enterprises’ first quarter earnings report.

Every trucker worth his salt knows it’s tough out there. Now, we’ve got the data to prove it, as first quarter earnings reports roll in from some of the biggest publicly traded carriers in the industry.

According to truckload carrier Werner Enterprises it’s been one of the toughest quarters in many years (as the quote above duly notes) and that’s saying something for a company that’s been around since 1956.

Werner noted in its first quarter earnings release that revenues, excluding trucking fuel surcharges, declined 6% to $417 million in first quarter of 2008 compared to $443.5 million in first quarter of 2007. Earnings per share decreased 43% to12 cents a share, compared to 21 cents per share in first quarter last year.

It’s interesting to note, though, that if you include fuel surcharges, Werner’s revenue stream actually increased 2% to $512.8 million in first quarter of 2008 compared to $503.9 million in first quarter 2007. Yet despite that gain, fuel costs are still eating a hole in Werner’s pockets.

Compared to the same months in 2007, Werner said diesel fuel costs were 88 cents per gallon higher in January 2008, 92 cents per gallon higher in February 2008, and 117 cents per gallon higher in March 2008. “Due to the rapid increase in diesel fuel prices during first quarter of 2008, there was a lag between the timing of the fuel cost increase and the delayed recovery of fuel surcharge revenues that caused the company’s fuel surcharge recovery percentage to fall below the typical recovery rate,” the carrier noted. “For the first 16 days of April 2008 compared to the same period in 2007, average fuel prices increased 110 cents per gallon.”

Then of course there’s the continuing softness in freight demand, most noticeable in Werner’s medium-to-long haul dry van business segment.

“The continuing softness in the housing and automotive sectors that are not large markets for Werner caused carriers that serve these markets to compete more aggressively in the consumer non-durable markets principally served by Werner,” the company noted. “In addition, slowing economic growth and retail inventory tightening also contributed to lower freight demand. These factors and the significant increase in truck supply caused by the industry truck pre-buy prior to the 2007 engine regulation change led to a very competitive market in first quarter of 2008.”

Other carriers are noting similar conditions. Describing the business climate as “lackluster at best,” Douglas Stotlar, president and CEO of Con-Way Inc., said, “We’re operating in a challenging and uncertain economic environment, which continues to restrain demand and place pressure on pricing and margins. Based on current economic data and feedback from our customers, there appear to be few catalysts to accelerate demand in the freight markets, at least in the short term.”

Some metrics that Con-way noted show the impact higher fuel prices are having on the bottom line of many carriers. For Con-way, the impact on its trucking freight business looks like this:

– Operating income of $36.1 million, a decrease of 24.3% from the $47.7 million earned in the first quarter of 2007. The decrease reflected the effect of unprecedented fuel costs, the influence of pricing pressures on cost recovery, and higher operating expense. Income in the first quarter of 2008 also was lower in part due to $5.2 million in expenses for completion of Con-way Freight’s business transformation.

– Revenues of $743.3 million, a 9.4% increase over last year’s first-quarter revenues of $679.7 million.

– Tonnage per day handled by Con-way Freight increased 3.1% over the first quarter of 2007.

– Yield for Con-way Freight improved 7.8% from the first quarter of 2007 … however, if you exclude the carrier’s fuel surcharge, yield improved only 2.1%.

– Finally, there’s the operating ratio – and in this case the higher the number, the worse the ratio. Con-way Freight said it recorded an operating ratio of 95.2 in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 93.2 in first-quarter last year, reflecting the extraordinary escalation in fuel costs, pricing pressures and higher operating costs. Excluding the previously noted business transformation costs, the operating ratio reached 94.4 for the first quarter this year.

Not pretty, by any stretch of the imagination, but then again all things considered things could be worse.

Nevertheless, Con-way is lowering its earnings outlook for 2008, now expecting diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be between $3 and $3.40 per share, down from its previous estimates of $3.40 and $3.80 a share.

“Given the weak demand environment and the inflationary effect of unprecedented energy costs, we believe pricing will remain under pressure for some time,” said Stotlar. “Until such time as we have tangible evidence of improving economic conditions we believe a cautious, measured approach to the outlook for earnings is warranted.”

“The trucking industry is experiencing the highest prolonged fuel prices in history.” –Bill Graves, president and CEO, American Trucking Associations

It’s been a grim first quarter for 2008, to say the least, as we wait for publicly traded trucking companies to start releasing their earnings reports so we can see what tales the numbers tell.

The indications are it could be a rocky first quarter for most. United Parcel Service, for example, indicated that it lowered its first quarter earnings expectations to around 86 or 87 cents per diluted share from a previously anticipated range of 94 to 98 cents a share.

(Fuel prices and low package volume are hurting UPS.)

At UPS’s investor conference on March 12, Kurt Kuehn, the company’s chief financial officer, said high fuel prices and lower volume trends experienced in February through March are the chief culprits. “The U.S. economy has continued to weaken, causing a reduction in domestic package volume and a shift away from premium products,” he said. “Significantly increased fuel costs in the quarter also contributed to the lower-than-expected results.”

“Significantly increased fuel prices,” by the way, is the polite way of saying we are in the sort of record-setting territory no one ever wants to be in. According to the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), retail and wholesale fuel prices shattered all previous records last month, and products used in the transportation sector began April with numbers up as much as 238% from five years ago.

(Fuel has long been ultra-pricey for truckers.)

The wallet-killing fallout from OPIS’ Transportation Fuel Index (TFI) includes some traumatic statistics:

· Americans spent about $247.7-million more each day on gasoline in March 2008 than they did in March 2007 – and OPIS estimates that the increase from five years ago is now $626-million per diem.

· Wholesale diesel prices ended March at an all time high of $3.288 a gallon, with the average retail diesel price at $4.019 per gallon. The largest increases – nearly 50 cents per gallon – occurred in northeastern states, but every region saw price advances of at least 41.8 cents per gallon.

· The average nationwide price for wholesale jet fuel in March 2008 was $3.172 per gallon, up 42.4 cents a gallon from February 2008 and up an incredible $2.235 a gallon from March 2003 – an increase of 238.7%. (Is it any wonder Aloha and ATA Airlines disappeared in the blink of an eye?)

Regional retail gasoline increases on a month-to-month basis ranged from 13.6% in New England to 26.4% in western states. Wholesale gasoline prices were up some 33.1% in the month, suggesting that the up-trend in pump prices will persist into early April.

The longer term view produces some eye-opening comparisons, according to OPIS: wholesale gasoline prices are up $1.691 gallon from March 2003; and wholesale diesel prices have advanced by well over $2.00 a gallon in every region in the country.

(Truckers large and small alike are feeling the pain at the pump.)

“For some motor carriers, however, fuel is beginning to surpass labor as their largest expense,” said Bill Graves, president and CEO of industry trade group American trucking Associations late last month. “This ultimately will increase the cost of everything delivered by truck.”

The ATA wants the federal government to help bring down the price of diesel fuel in a number of ways, including:

· Release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

· Establish a national diesel fuel standard

· Allow environmentally responsible exploration of oil-rich areas in the U.S. that are now off-limits

· Require speed limiters set for 68 mph or lower on all new trucks

· Set a national maximum speed limit of 65 mph

· Suspend the collection of the 12% federal excise tax on motor carriers’ purchase of auxiliary power units (APUs), which cut the consumption of fuels in idling truck engines

· Require states to grant a weight exemption for APUs

“The signs are troubling. We are concerned about fuel’s direct impact on our industry and also its effects on the nation’s economy,” said Graves. “The industry is doing its part to conserve fuel, but we need help.”

(Sadly, we may see a lot more of these unfortunate signs before the year is out.)

He noted that the trucking industry is on pace to spend $135 billion on diesel fuel this year, $22 billion more than in 2007 and up $83 billion in annual expenditures compared to 2003.

Those are some pretty grim numbers indeed. Now we must wait and see how they’ve impacted trucking’s bottom line over the course of the first quarter.

“You tell me who will win the election this year and I will tell you what further emission rules might occur past 2010.” –Jim Kelly, president, Cummins Engine Group

One of the best things about attending the Mid America Trucking Show every year is that you get both some high-level perspective from the executives at major manufacturers and suppliers about what’s going on, along with the view from the trenches, from fleets and drivers on the front lines of the freight business.

(A view of the show floor at Mid America.)

For example, Jim Kelly’s quote above gets right to the heart of any and all future discussions about emission regulations at the national level. Will there be more after 2010? What will such regulations address in trucking – retrofits for older equipment? Will the stricter rules being promulgated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and various California ports be extended to the rest of the country? That all depends on who wins the Presidential election in November. Needless to say, trucking’s got a lot at stake where emissions are concerned in this increasingly bitter race for the White House.

(The lovely Ali Hall highlighted all the new safety technologies and other features available on Freightliner’s trucks.)

Fuel prices, however, proved to be topic number one at the show. Fleets, drivers, and suppliers alike all expressed tremendous frustration and concern about the high cost of diesel fuel these days – up over $4 a gallon in 17 states now.

“The price of fuel is killing me,” Sean McEndree told me; a driver I’m very lucky to know. Invited to Mid America to show off his “Fallen Heroes 2” tractor – a one-of-a-kind truck designed to honor all the servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan – McEndree rued an opportunity to sell his truck earlier this year for a cool $175,000. “I wish I’d done it now, but I didn’t – I didn’t want to go through building another one, which I would have,” he said.

(The special mosaic for “Fallen Heroes 2″ was created by none other than Ryan “Ryno” Templeton, the artist-in-residence for the Chrome Shop Mafia.)

One good thing about McEndree – a severely wounded veteran of the Iraq campaign – is that he looks good and healthy and that his family is doing well. Needless to say, I hope he survives the rough patch the trucking industry finds itself in right now.

Despite the woes trucking faces from high fuel process and sluggish freight, everyone wasn’t completely in the dumps. I visited with Dale Corum, general manager at truckload carrier Mercer Transportation, and he says they’re starting to see capacity tighten up a bit: to the point where some shippers are willingly paying higher fuel surcharges to get their freight moved. (More on that in a posting later this week – Mercer’s got a lot of interesting tales to tell).

(Even FleetOwner’s hardy staffers needed to sit down for a spell and rest their weary feet at Mid America.)

Though there wasn’t a lot of truly “new” stuff revealed at the show – regardless of what the various PR machines told us – two new truck models did make an appearance. Though International had already revealed its new and very unique “LoneStar” class 8 tractor model at the Chicago Auto Show in February, the truck got a full-fledged rock star roll out at Mid America, as it’s a truck aimed squarely at the owner-operator segment.

(Drivers either loved or loathed International’s new “LoneStar” tractor — a truck that many thought resembled the famous car used in ZZ Top’s ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ music video from the 1980s.)

Mack got into the act, too, with its new Titan class 8 tractor for the heavy-haul segment: unveiled by the dude who does all the announcing for the Ultimate Fighting Championship program on cable TV (talk about an over the top event).

And, of course, it wouldn’t be Mid America without the “state fair” atmosphere. Western Star, for example, hired a team of ice sculptures to work in full view of the gathered public. International’s hospitality tent out behind the show truck parking lot included a real tattoo artist’s booth (and business proved brisk for them).

(Ice sculpture making proved a hit with the Mid America crowd.)

Mid America 2008 proved to an interesting and fast paced show as usual. Now I just need to catch up on my sleep.

Well, it’s been raining here in Louisville — and that doesn’t do wonders for the photo-taking opportunities, let me tell you. But the “liquid sunshine” pouring from the sky didn’t damper the festive spirit of the show, I can tell you. Here’s a few moments captured (so far) from the truck show — including the winners of the 2007 “Fleet of the Year” awards, who receive their awards at a special (and very tasty) dinner here in Louisville.

FleetOwner’s 2007 Fleet of the Year awards dinner in Louisville, KY, is always a special treat for everyone.

The ‘Megasaurus’ car-killing ‘transformer’ truck — a favorite guest at tractor-pulls — gets hauled around by it’s very own tractor-trailer — which sports an appropriate logo.

I think this motto — courtesy of G-2000 Inc. out of Toledo, OH — says it all.

Sharp trucks abound at Mid America — and ‘The Gambler’ is one of the sharpest of them all.

And it goes without saying that it’s not just the trucks that are beautiful at Mid America …

“Our fourth quarter earnings outlook has been impacted by higher than anticipated fuel prices and a weak U.S. economy. Looking ahead to our fiscal 2009, we are expecting … limited earnings growth. We are scrutinizing all expenses and investments to realign them with the current environment.” –Alan B. Graf, Jr., executive VP and CFO, FedEx Corp.

It’s not a pleasant time to be in the trucking business, to say the least. With fuel prices way, way out of sight and freight still sluggish due to the U.S.’s rocky economy, it’s been a tough road to travel for independent truckers and fleets, plus truck manufacturers and related suppliers alike.

Just look at the escalating cost of fuel. In 17 states now, diesel costs over $4 a gallon. The industry trade group American Trucking Association (ATA) is projecting that if diesel fuel costs stay that high, the trucking industry will spend $135 billion on fuel this year – a $22 billion increase over the $112.6 billion spent by trucking in 2007 and an $85 BILLION increase over the industry’s fuel tab of $52 billion back in 2003. That means, according to ATA’s data, the cost to fill the fuel tanks on a typical tractor-trailer has increased 116%, or $615, in just five years.

“Fuel represents the second-highest operating expense for motor carriers, accounting for as much as 25% of total operating costs,” said Bill Graves, ATA’s president and CEO. “For some motor carriers, however, fuel is beginning to surpass labor as their largest expense. An affordable supply of diesel fuel is imperative to keep our trucks moving, [yet] there is little to suggest that fuel prices will decline any time soon.”

The high price of diesel is also sparking talk of a nationwide trucker strike on April 1, this time being organized online by Dan Little, an owner/operator of a livestock hauling company in Carrollton, MO. According to an interview Little gave to The Quad-City Times, he estimates at least 1,000 other truckers from across the U.S. have committed so far to joining him in a strike on April 1.

“Call it a strike, a shutdown or just flat-ass going broke,” he told the Iowa newspaper. “What I would personally like to see is our federal and state governments, until our economy recovers, suspend federal and state fuel taxes. The second thing I’d like to see is an oversight committee for truck insurance, which is part of what’s taking us down.”

Little told the paper that the average owner/operator is paying $600 to $800 a month for truck insurance – an amount based on personal credit, which means the monthly cost is going up for a lot of truckers because their credit is going down, he stressed.

Truck makers are having a hard go of things, too, not in the least because of the “EPA recession” in trucks sales this year – a termed coined by Jim Meil, Eaton Corp.’s chief economist – that’s been aggravated further by the slump in freight due to the weakening U.S. economy.

“The commercial truck market is beginning to improve slowly but clearly it is still tough going,” said Daniel Ustian, chairman, president and CEO of Navistar, the holding company for International Truck & Engine Corp.

“To help offset cyclical downturns, our strategy has been to build successful and sustainable businesses in military and export markets,” he noted. “That strategy is paying off in the success of these expansionary businesses. And we are well positioned in our truck and engine businesses with strong products to respond to demand when the market does recover.”

(Sales of Navistar’s new MRAP vehicles to the U.S. military are helping it weather the downturn.)

Ustian said “expansionary shipments” of 40,000 to 45,000 vehicles this year will account for a third of Navistar’s total worldwide vehicle shipments and help to mitigate the current weakness in its core markets, with defense business is expected to consistently generate $1.5 billion to $2 billion in annual revenue going forward, Ustian said.

Still, he noted Navistar’s worldwide shipments of school buses, Class 6-7 medium trucks and Class 8 heavy trucks remain soft, with sales for the three months ending January 31 totaling 18,720 units, down 37% from 29,680 units shipped in the same period a year earlier when totals benefited from what he termed a “historic pre-buy” in advance of 2007 emissions standards.

(Sales of Navistar’s new ProStar tractors have suffered due to the new emission rules combined with the falloff in freight.)

Yet Ustian said the next pre-buy cycle – expected to begin in 2009 in advance of 2010 diesel emission requirements – should provide the necessary support for Navistar’s operating and capital needs going forward. Funny, isn’t it – the same cycle that’s hurting the OEMs bottom lines right now is what’s going to pull them out of the pits next year. But the key thing is surviving the ongoing downturn today to profit from the upswing predicted for tomorrow. That’s a challenge owner-operators, fleets, and truck manufactures are all going to share in the months ahead.

So, what should be the over-arching goal of our transportation efforts in this country? Reducing vehicle crashes? Reducing traffic congestion? In terms of dollars, which effort offers the best return on investment (ROI) calculation?

From a new report out by AAA (a group formerly known as the American Automobile Association … now its name is just an acronym) from a monetary perspective, we should be focus on crash reduction efforts – period.

AAA found in its research that cost to society from vehicle crashes is a staggering $164.2 billion per YEAR in the U.S. – nearly two and a half times greater than the $67.6 billion price tag for congestion. In its report – “Crashes vs. Congestion: What’s the Cost to Society?” – the group said the dollar figures demonstrate that traffic safety issues warrant increased attention from the public and policymakers, particularly as Congress prepares to reauthorize federal transportation programs in 2009.

“Great work has been done by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) to quantify the costs of congestion, raise awareness for the problem and offer solutions,” said AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet, in terms of why his group went forward with is crashes vs. congestion report. “We feel safety deserves a similar focus.”

According to the study conducted by Cambridge Systematics for AAA, the $164.2 billion cost for crashes equates to an annual per person cost of $1,051, compared to $430 per person annually for congestion. These safety costs include medical, emergency and police services, property damage, lost productivity, and quality of life, among other things.

The report calculates the costs of crashes for the same metropolitan areas covered by the annual Urban Mobility Report conducted by TTI. In every metropolitan area studied, from very large to small, the results showed crash costs exceeded congestion, said AAA. For very large urban areas (more than 3 million), crash costs are nearly double those of congestion. Those costs rise to more than seven times congestion costs in small urban areas (less than 500,000) where congestion is less of a challenge.

“Nearly 43,000 people die on the nation’s roadways each year,” said Darbelnet. “Yet, the annual tally of motor vehicle-related fatalities barely registers as a blip in most people’s minds. It’s time for motor vehicle crashes to be viewed as the public health threat they are. If there were two jumbo jets crashing every week, the government would ground all planes until we fixed the problem. Yet, we’ve come to accept this sort of death toll with car crashes.”

Darbelnet’s comments I think strike a particularly important note here – heck, I’ve harped on the same theme myself. It just seems the general public in this country is totally blasé about the consequences of vehicle crashes – it seems to be a routine part of the landscape, just background noise. Truck drivers I talk to constantly tell me of their near misses caused by simply sloppy driving on the part of motorists – lane changes without proper signals or distance between vehicles, distracted driving as people talk on the phone, read, and otherwise reduce the attention paid to the road they hurdle down at 60, 70, even 80 miles an hour.

“This report states what we in the highway safety field have known all along - traffic crashes are not only a leading cause of death and life-changing injuries, they’re also a serious drain on the economy nationwide,” said Cathy Gillen, managing director of the Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF).

Maybe the dollar amounts quoted in AAA’s study will finally get the publics’ – and Congress’ – attention. Then again, maybe not – this is a problem, after all, that’s lagged in attention for decades now. One thing is for certain: we must address the cost of vehicle crashes sooner, not later. It’s an unnecessary human tragedy and fiscal burden we can’t afford to keep ignoring.

Now HERE’S something that looks like fun!

That’s Meredith Ochs, Sirius radio DJ, in the middle of the photograph below, between Bryan “The Don” Martin on the left and Ryan “Rhino” Templeton on the right – just two of the famous “Chrome Shop Mafia” staffers that’ll be giving Meredith a ride in style to the Mid-America Trucking Show this year.

Meredith – co-host with the esteemed “Chris T.” of the Freewheelin’ satellite radio show broadcast on Sirius Road Dog Trucking Radio channel 147 – is riding shotgun with the Mafia from Joplin, Missouri to the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, broadcasting all the way.

The Chrome Shop Mafia (as if you didn’t know) is one of the biggest and baddest trucking reality cable TV shows and they do a weekly guest segment on Freewheelin’ Thursdays from 12 noon to 1 pm eastern standard time.

Now, to call Meredith and Chris T.’s live three-hour talk show on Sirius 147 “high energy” is kinda like calling a tornado a strong gust of wind. It definitely wakes you up (far more than my own appearance on the same channel from 6 am to 7 am every Monday morning, let me tell you). They cover the news and pop culture topics, along with celebrity guests, every weekdays from 11 am to 3 pm eastern.

So if you’re coming west to east for Mid America, you might just see Meredith, the Mafia, and probably a lot of other fans rolling along in one big convoy. Tell them I said “hi” if you do.