Insure My Rig

Insurance For All Your Commercial Trucking Needs. www.InsureMyRig.com. Please contact us today for a no pressure and speedy quote. Contact Us Or call today 888-931-1934 Our decades worth of experience will make your purchase of commercial insurance easier on you!

The Roemer Report On-Line, July 2003

STATES STICK TRUCKING WITH MORE TAXES: As cash-strapped states and municipalities face rising deficits and unbalanced budgets, they are looking hard for ways to curb spending, save money, and—collect taxes. Desperate to get out of the red, some states and cities are beginning to enforce little-known tax laws, which could prove costly for small carriers and shippers. New Jersey, for example, has begun collecting a “business tax” on any company doing business within the state. The Garden State recently seized a Canadian truck because the motor carrier hadn’t paid state taxes. Not until the carrier wired $6,000 and posted bond for the driver would the state allow the company to carry on its business. Any motor carrier with a single pickup or delivery in New Jersey has to pay $500 in business tax, up from last year’s $200. Pennsylvania and New York City also are cracking down on business taxes, and many believe it’s just a matter of time before other states and cities also become more aggressive. Business taxes do not affect big interstate carriers since they’ve been paying taxes in all 50 states for decades. The carriers most vulnerable to the taxes are the smaller ones who don’t have an army of tax experts up on the latest laws. “As long as these states have deficits—and I think that’s virtually every state in the Union—the states will be compelled to look under a rock for every penny due them,” said Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association. “My advice is, ‘Truckers, beware.’” Toth said the average carrier should assume a $500 to $1,500 minimum liability for each state it operates in.

CARGO THEFT ON THE RISE: Losses from cargo theft in the United States range from an estimated $30 billion to $50 billion annually. Only a few years ago, those losses were billions less. Erik Hoffer, chairman of education for the National Cargo Security Council (NCSC), said there are several reasons why cargo theft is increasing. First of all, “everybody is radically complacent,” said Hoffer, and secondly, cargo theft pays well for criminals. At an NCSC meeting last month, Hoffer said that most anti-theft technology used on trucks is “archaic” and that companies are often “in denial” about it. He urged shippers to protect their freight, saying that many trucking companies and manufacturers are reluctant to invest money in anti-theft technology, rationalizing that “it’s not my stuff or it’s not my load and I have insurance.” On the other hand, smaller trucking companies and owner-operators are more conscientious about protecting their cargo since losing just one piece of equipment could spell disaster for them. Hoffer said thieves often give the trucker a choice: surrender your load and get $10,000 or get your head blown off. The first time this happens, says Hoffer, it’s not the driver’s fault. But in an alarming number of instances, said Hoffer, drivers actually go looking for that $10,000. Hoffer says drivers should keep quiet about their freight and never leave paperwork detailing their cargo in the cab where it can be stolen.

DETERIORATING ROADS COSLTY: One out of four major urban roads in the United States provides “unacceptable ride quality” and needs resurfacing or reconstruction, according to a new report by The Road Information Program (TRIP), a nonprofit transportation research group. The high amount of pavement deterioration on urban roadways is mainly due to an increase in traffic. Between 1991 and 2001, travel on urban roads increased 30 percent. Travel by large commercial trucks increased 46 percent during that period. By 2020, travel by heavy trucks is expected to increase 49 percent, while overall vehicle travel is projected to increase 42 percent. According to TRIP, a desirable goal for state and local governments is to maintain 75 percent of roads in good condition. However, only three of the nation’s urban areas of one million people or more—Atlanta, Orlando, and Phoenix—achieve this goal. In fact, only 14 major urban areas have at least 50 percent of their major roads in good condition. These major arterial routes carry 78 percent of the more than 1.7 trillion miles driven annually in urban America. Because of poorly maintained roads, motorists in major urban areas pay an extra $396 annually per driver to cover extra vehicle operating costs. “Without additional federal investment, our nation’s roads are going to get worse, and motorists are going to pay a higher ‘hidden tax’ in the form of additional vehicle operating costs,” said William M. Wilkins, TRIP’s executive director.

INTERSTATE TRUCK STOPS IN JEOPARDY: President Bush’s proposal to commercialize rest areas, part of the administration’s six-year transportation reauthorization bill, could force thousands of interstate truck stops, gas stations, and restaurants to close, according to a University of Maryland study. In addition, local governments could lose millions of dollars in property taxes. The reauthorization bill would allow states to participate in pilot projects, offering commercial services at rest areas on interstate right-of-ways. “Half of interstate-based restaurants, trucks stops, gas stations, and hotels would close if rest area commercialization became reality,” according to the University of Maryland study. Truckers who already have difficulties finding parking spaces would be in for more problems if the bill passes. “Rest area commercialization will actually decrease—not increase—the number of available parking spaces,” said William Fay, president of NATSO, the trade association representing U.S. travel plazas and truck stops. “Truck stops and travel plazas at interchanges provide 90 percent of this nation’s truck parking,” said Fay. “Rest area commercialization will close down many of these businesses, which in turn would create a severe truck parking shortage.”

DRIVER SHORTAGE EASES…FOR NOW: The slowed economy has actually helped ease the truck driver shortage and put more women behind the wheel. Displaced workers from other fields sometimes view four-week driver training courses as a quick way to get a good, stable job. But once the economy regains some momentum—with a greater demand for freight and more jobs available in other industries—trucking firms will have to face a return to driver shortages. C.L. Werner, chairman of Werner Enterprises, says his company is bracing itself for a more robust economy and expects driver pay to go up possibly 4 percent or 5 percent as a result. Werner and many other carriers look to training schools to find drivers—and more and more often the students are displaced workers and women. One school says that almost 30 percent of its students are female. “The demand is out of sight for female drivers,” he said, noting that women drivers are especially sought after to pair up with other females on long hauls. Whether students are women, laid-off workers, or others, they often are drawn to the profession, at least in part, because they can expect to make between $32,000 and $34,000 their first year. While some companies reimburse students over a period of time for the cost of driver training, not everyone can afford the up-front expense. One instructor said if the industry provided more funding, it would have an easier time finding good drivers, regardless of the state of the economy.

MANAGING BENEFITS ONLINE: Employers are increasingly turning to the Internet to manage benefits programs only to find their searches leave them with less than what they need. According to a recent survey, 77 percent of the employer coalition directors queried predicted that within three years, the Internet will be a primary vehicle for members to manage their health care benefits. About 40 percent of the coalition members currently conduct enrollment online and 70 percent provide health and wellness information to their employees via the Internet. According to the survey, most employers want Internet-based health administration systems to offer enrollment, administrative support, benefit selection and changes, and eligibility and determination. They also want the systems to track claims and benefits and define plan information. However, benefits managers say few, if any, online vendors currently offer such comprehensive programs. General Motors Corp., for example, said that it searched for an Internet vendor that could provide disease care management to its salaried employees, but found that current providers were too limited in their capabilities. Employers say they are willing to wait, although not much longer, for Internet vendors to meet their online benefits administration needs.

ON BEING A LEADER: Leading a company in today’s business world requires a mix of technical and practical knowledge. Ellen Gordon, president of Tootsie Roll Industries for over 22 years, offers these tips on leading the brigade: (1) It’s hard work. The more successful a company becomes, the harder it must work, leaders in particular. While rest and relaxation are part of the equation, top managers must lead by example, and that example includes hard work. (2) Be ready to change. The minute leaders rest on their laurels is the moment change will undoubtedly occur. Effective leaders must be ready to react to change immediately. (3) Factor in integrity. Today, perhaps more than ever, a company’s success is largely defined by the trust it earns from its customers. To maintain that trust, leaders must deal honestly with everyone, from suppliers, to colleagues, to subordinates. (4) The buck stops here. Successful leadership involves successful decisions. While those decisions are often based on the advice of colleagues and consultants, the responsibility for those decisions rests on the leader’s shoulders. (5) Always think ahead. Leaders must use long-term strategies to guide them in day-to-day decisions. Those strategies should include elements such as reinvesting in your own company, creating a philosophy that attracts and retains the best people, matching incentives to corporate objectives, and being quality and cost conscious.

It’s a misnomer that our talents make us a success. They help, but it’s what we do wrong and how we correct it that ensures our long-lasting success.—Bernie Marcus, founder of Home Depot