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NEWS IN BRIEF, Continued from page 11


comprised of 15 trucking industry presi- dents and CEOs. As President and CEO of ArcBest


Corporation, Ms. McReynolds is respon- sible for managing the multi-billion dollar freight transportation and logis- tics services company, including over- sight of the operating companies ABF Freight, ABF Logistics, Panther Premium Logistics and FleetNet America. A Certified Public Accountant, Ms. McReynolds holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Oklahoma. “We are excited to see Judy in the


chairman’s role at ATRI and know that her extensive industry experience and strategic leadership will serve ATRI well,” commented Phil Byrd, immedi- ate past chairman of the American Trucking Associations. In acknowledging Steve Williams’


six years of service as ATRI Chairman, ATA President and CEO Bill Graves remarked, “Under Steve’s leadership, ATRI’s research has gained worldwide recognition for its objective analysis of key industry issues on topics ranging from hours-of-service, CSA, conges- tion, highway funding and the envi- ronment. The result is a safer, more productive trucking industry.”


Technology-related discussions


STUDY REVEALS TRUCKING TRENDS IN SOCIAL MEDIA TrueVoice, in alliance with GE


Capital, Transportation Finance, recently performed a year-long study that looked over fleet services trends. According to the report, there were 250 million online areas that were searched, and the researchers found the most topical and debated conversations in the industry. The study discovered more people


in the industry were vocal with their online presence when a government agency made an announcement about the trucking industry. The news would often be passed from blogs to social media sites like Facebook and then dis-


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focus on new products that are being developed in response to regulatory demands, especially those relating to emissions and safety. In general, online conversations about technology were jump-started by company-issued prod- uct announcements. A lot of the activity in the equip-


ment category was related to fleet own- ership. Most of the online activity took place in forums, indicating that fleet company leaders were looking to inter- act with their peers. This is the second-consecutive year


that GE Capital, Transportation Finance has conducted a study of social media usage in the trucking industry. “We launched this project in 2013


cussed in personal forums. “The volume of industry-specific


conversations happening in social media was surprising,” said Dan Clark, president of GE Capital, Transportation Finance, according to the source. “But on the other hand, we know that drivers want to keep in touch with their fami- lies when they’re on the road, and social media is a convenient way to do that.” Over 80 percent of online activity


involved three topics: safety and health; recruitment and employment; and regu- latory issues. The discussions tend to be interrelated, involving several of the issues simultaneously.


for two reasons,” Clark said. “We wanted to understand the challenges and issues that are most important to the industry and to do it in an objective way. And we wanted to see where our customers and prospects were spending time and having conversations online.”


FEW DRIVERS HARASSED WHILE USING ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICES, SURVEY FINDS Responses to a recent survey, con-


ducted by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), found that few truck drivers feel they are harassed by their employers or shippers, and driv- ers who use electronic logs experience no more harassment than those who use paper logs. The agency conducted the sur-


vey to study concerns that harass- ment will increase under the pending electronic logging device mandate- concerns raised during 2011 court ruling that said the agency needed to consider the possibility of harassment under the ELD mandate. “The evidence in this survey


research does not support concluding that harassment occurs due to being in a situation where [hours of service] are logged using ELDs,” the agency said.


The mandate will require most drivers to eventually switch from


paper to electronic logs. It will set stan- dards for the devices and the support- ing documents that regulators need to confirm compliance, as well as protect drivers from harassment. The agency surveyed and inter-


viewed drivers and carriers, asking about the type and frequency of their interactions. The drivers were given a list of 14 kinds of interactions that could be considered harassment, and were asked how they viewed them. Fewer than 30 percent of the driv-


ers considered any of the interactions to be harassment, and 42 percent said none of them were. The interactions most likely to be


considered harassment were interrup- tion during off-duty time (28%), asking


ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 6 2014


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