May 19, 2008 -

High fuel, insurance prices and a slumping economy has forced the Delanco, NJ-based carrier Jevic Transportation to shut down operations.

The less-than-truckload carrier has more than 1,100 trucks and more than 1,200 drivers.

In a press release on the company Web site, president David Gorman stated that Jevic stopped accepting shipments on Monday, May 19. The company will deliver anything that’s already in the pipeline before closing down completely.

Employees who had insurance through the company lost their insurance effective Monday, according to a letter to employees.

The former SCS Transportation Inc., which was based in Kansas City, MO, sold Jevic in 2006 to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners Inc., a private investment firm.

Record-high fuel prices have left many truckers wondering when or if they are going to see a drop in fuel price any time soon. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 16.6-cent increase this past week, raising the national average to $4.497 per gallon for diesel on Monday, May 19.

The price for a gallon of diesel has risen more than $1.694 from the same time period last year.

All nine regions are reporting increases of at least 14.7 cents a gallon, with the New England region reporting the lowest increase of all the regions. This still puts the cost per gallon for fuel at $4.610, the third-highest price reported in all of the regions.

California is reporting the highest increase – 19 cents – to put the cost for a gallon of diesel at $4.737, an increase of more than $1.782 from last year’s amount.

The second highest increase of 17.5 cents was reported in the Gulf Coast region, which is averaging around $4.45 a gallon, while the price has gone up 16.6 cents a gallon in the Rocky Mountain region to average $4.446 a gallon for diesel.

The Central Atlantic and the Midwest regions are both showing increases of 16.4 cents a gallon this past week – costing on average $4.685 a gallon in the Central Atlantic and $4.469 in the Midwest regions.

The Lower Atlantic region is reporting an increase of 16.3 cents a gallon to average $4.485. The price for fuel has gone up 15.3 cents in the West Coast region to average $4.620, the second-highest average reported in all nine regions.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 –  A pair of senators have introduced a bill intended to lock in the current weight limit of 80,000 pounds for trucks on U.S. roads.

In addition to keeping the maximum weight at 80,000 pounds, the bill, S3021, introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, also seeks to establish a maximum length of 53 feet for trailers.

The bill was introduced the day after a coalition calling for longer and heavier trucks staged a “fly-in” to Washington, DC, to lobby members of Congress.

The group, Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation, lists as members a number of trucking companies and state affiliate programs of the American Trucking Association.

The group is pushing for a new minimum weight of 97,000 pounds. In the recent lobbying trip, members of the group tried to drum up support for pilot programs allowing the heavier trucks in five states – Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Georgia.

According to its Web site, the group met with “nearly every single congressional office in both the House and Senate” for those five states.

Regardless of whether the lobbying effort gains any support in Congress, it’s apparent that opponents to longer and heavier trucks had their message heard loud and clear. Those opponents did not let the members of the fly-in have sole say on the issue.

A number of groups voiced strong opposition to the group’s proposal. Among those speaking out against longer and heavier trucks was Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

“OOIDA members know from firsthand experience that further increases in sizes and weights of commercial motor vehicles can endanger highway users and hasten the deterioration of our nation’s roads and bridges,” Spencer said in a prepared statement.

“Increasing allowable vehicle weights from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds may be described by some as a minor change, but it could have a dramatic impact on the safety and structural integrity of some federal aid highways.”

Concern about the negative impact on the nation’s infrastructure was echoed in a press release issued by Lautenberg’s office announcing the bill.

“Last year’s tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis demonstrated how fragile our already-deficient bridges and roads are, and we should not be putting even heavier trucks on them. But that is exactly what some trucking company interests are proposing – even bigger and heavier trucks on our roads. If there was ever a recipe for disaster, this is it,” Lautenberg said. “Our bill would protect our infrastructure and improve safety on our roads by helping keep dangerously large and heavy tractor-trailer trucks off of them.”

Spencer went on to explain that stability, mobility and maneuverability are substantially reduced on bigger and heavier trucks. The larger and heavier the vehicle, the more problems it has interacting with other vehicles on the highway, he said.

“Increases to current standards could seriously jeopardize the safety of both automobile and commercial truck drivers,” Spencer said.

Bigger trucks – both heavier and longer ones – present safety risks, including longer stopping distances, bigger risk of rollover and a greater risk of the last trailer swaying into the adjacent lane, according to Lautenberg’s press release. Research shows that a 100,000-pound truck with unadjusted brakes travels 25 percent further after the driver steps on the brakes than an 80,000-pound truck.

“It defies common sense to let big trucks become super-giant trucks. Missouri drivers are already stressed by the presence of so many big trucks,” McCaskill said. “There are safety considerations along with the reality of increased fuel costs that require us to say no to even bigger commercial trucks on our roads.”

The bill seeks to extend the current weight limit and freeze on triple-trailers to the entire 160,000-mile National Highway System, while still allowing exemptions, including for firefighting equipment. It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

– By Jami Jones, senior editor
jami_jones@landlinemag.com