future of this country.” Recent actions by Republicans in


“POLITICAL CHANGE IS


UNDER WAY, AND MANY OF THE TRADITIONAL ALLEGIANCES THE


BUSINESS COMMUNITY HAS HAD WITH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ARE NECESSARILY


GOING TO NEED TO BE RE-EVALUATED.”


—BILL GRAVES,


PRESIDENT & CEO, AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIAITONS


Republican Party are necessarily going to need to be re-evaluated,” he said. A former Republican Kansas gover-


nor, Graves said trucking continues to play a central role in the U.S. economy, despite the myriad of challenges fac- ing the industry and called on truck- ing to embrace looming changes. Specifically, he pointed to challenges from Washington, the rail industry and economic pressures as being threats to the industry, taking direct aim at cur- rent dysfunction within the Republican Party. “Political change is under way,


and many of the traditional allegiances the business community has had with the Republican Party are necessarily going to need to be re-evaluated,” said Graves, pointing a finger at Tea Party sympathizers. “While it’s appropriate, and there is certainly merit in advocat- ing for reduced government spending, smaller government, reducing our debt, limiting regulations and controlling the reach and intrusive nature of the federal government—insisting on having things their way, without a hint of will- ingness to compromise and threatening to ‘burn the house down’ otherwise, is a combination of foolish, ill-advised, reckless and detrimental actions to the


ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 6 2013


Washington, Graves said, will serve to hurt Republicans nationally and boost Democrats.


JIMMY HASLAM, CEO, PILOT FLYING J


An FBI raid in


April of the Pilot Flying J headquarter in Knoxville, Tenn. trig- gered an ongoing fed- eral investigation into discrepancies involving


the amount of fuel rebates promised to carriers and launched owner, Jimmy Haslam, into the spotlight. Haslam, owner of the Cleveland


Browns and brother to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, said that a 25-member internal audit team had been working, along with other regional accounting firms, to determine the extent of the money owed. The fraudu- lent activities were an “extremely small percentage of the total discounts and rebates paid out, and a fractional amount of Pilot Flying J’s sales dur- ing that eight-and-a-half year period,” he said. The company wrote checks to companies it believed were due money after completing its initial audit and is continuing to pay what it discovers it owes.


Following the raid, a lawsuit was


filed by National Trucking Financial Reclamation Services, an assignment company created by Arkansas Trucking Association President Lane Kidd. On July 16, Judge Moody assigned the case class action status, allowing all affected parties to participate. On November 25 in a Little Rock, Ark. courtroom, U.S. District Judge James M. Moody approved an $84.9 million settle- ment declaring it fair, reasonable and adequate. Carriers are entitled to unpaid


rebates and discounts plus an annual simple interest rate of six percent for each year the principal was unpaid for fuel purchased for Class 7-8 vehicles between Jan. 1, 2005, and July 15,


2013. Pilot Flying J is paying custom- ers’ administrative costs and legal fees as well as the costs of an independent accounting firm. According to Forbes, Pilot Flying J is


the country’s sixth largest private com- pany, with $31 billion in sales. It was founded in 1958 by Haslam’s father, Jim Haslam. Pilot merged with bankrupt Flying J in 2010. The company has 600 locations in 43 states and Canada.


SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION ANTHONY FOXX


On April 29,


President Obama nominated Anthony R. Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., for the position of secre- tary of transportation,


replacing Republican Ray LaHood, a for- mer Republican congressman who led the Transportation Department for four years and said in January that he would step down as soon as his successor was confirmed. Foxx was unanimously con- firmed by the Senate for the position in June.


Foxx, 42, served as mayor for nearly


four years earned a law degree from New York University. He worked as a lawyer for a private firm as well as for the House Judiciary Committee and the Justice Department before returning to Charlotte to begin his political career. While Foxx does not have a trans-


portation background, he did work as mayor to extend a light-rail line, open another runway at the airport, complete a major highway widening, improve a major bridge and bring streetcars back to Charlotte. “Ensuring that our transportation


system is the safest in the world will be my top priority,” he told the Senate Commerce Committee. He also vowed to continue his predecessor’s campaign against distracted driving, look for cre- ative ways to fund the nation’s highway and transit programs, and encourage the use of innovative technologies.


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