NMTA  Board Meeting Set for July 18th. in Albuquerque

The next Board meeting is scheduled for July 18th, in Albuquerque.
The Board of Directors is comprised of the elected chairperson of industry conferences as called for in NMTA  current by-laws follows:

Ex-Officio Board (Past Sec/Treas):Doug Regnier, FedEx Freight, Albuquerque, NM
Allied Industry: Scott Klinkhammer, Rush Truck Center, Albuquerque, NM
Bus Operators: Vacant
Truckload Carrier: Danny Crawford, Wild West Express, Las Cruces, NM
Petroleum Carriers: Sam Bagby, Groendyke Transport, Albuquerque, NM
Heavy Haul & Housemovers: Henry Pacheco, Pacheco Trucking, Albuquerque, NM
Warehouse & Transfermen: Vacant
Oilfield Haulers – North: Butch Mathews, M&R Trucking, Farmington, NM
Oilfield Haulers – South: Robin Goodrich, Remuda Energy Trans, Artesia, NM
LTL: Todd Kellerstrass, Con-way Freight, Albuquerque, NM
Bulk Haulers: Vacant
Beverage Distributors: Scott Long, Premier Distributing, Albuquerque, NM
Dump Truck Operators: Vacant
Wrecker & Recovery: Anthony VanderVossen, Holmes Wrecker, Espanola, NM
Private Carriers: Vacant
Maintenance: Vacant
Safety Management Council: Lori Harris, Hub International, Albuquerque, NM

If you have recommendations for any of the vacant conferences, please contact your -- NMTA Managing Director, Gail Peters at gail@nmtrucking.org or 505-884-5575.

The by-laws allow a vacancy to be filled by a majority vote of the conference members or a recommendation by the NMTA President to the Board. All NMTA members are welcome at Board meetings.

Former FMCSA Chief Tells Trucking to Expect More Regulations

LAS VEGAS — The freight hauling industry will be busy finding ways to comply with 27 new congressionally mandated regulations expected over the next two years, according to Annette Sandberg, former head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Speaking at the Transportation Intermediaries Association annual convention here Friday, Sandberg said the rulemaking onslaught will begin as soon as June, when FMCSA is expected to issue a proposed drug and alcohol clearinghouse rule.
That measure will allow carriers to view truck driver alcohol and drug test failures, as well as refusals to take the tests.
She said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to issue a proposed truck speed-limiters rule in June, and that FMCSA is scheduled to issue a proposed rule for supplemental electronic logging devices in September.
A final ELD rule is not expected until the summer of 2014, said Sandberg, who was FMCSA Administrator from November 2002 to April 2006. She is now CEO of TranSafe Consulting LLC and is a Spokane, Wash.-based attorney.
A new hours-of-service rule also is set to become effective on July 1, unless an appeals court rejects the rule in response to a federal lawsuit filed by American Trucking Associations and several other groups attempting to block some provisions of the rule.
Also this summer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is due to issue a “fall-protection” rule that could require dock-leveling systems to prevent workers from falling when loading and unloading trucks, Sandberg said.  Courtesy Transport Topics.

Pilot Flying J Accused of Withholding Motor Carrier Rebates

Pilot Flying J has been defrauding customers out of tens of millions of dollars in rebates over nearly a decade-long period, according to a federal document released Thursday, April 18. The affidavit — used by the court to grant search warrants to the FBI and IRS — was released late Thursday and also accuses Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam of knowing about the alleged scheme and sitting in meetings in which it was discussed by Pilot salespersons. The document alleges that Pilot Flying J salespeople would essentially take advantage of carriers who were “too unsophisticated to catch” the errors. Some carriers were not receiving nearly $100,000 a month in owed rebates, the affidavit says, and salespeople were withholding them in order to earn bigger commissions and boost company profits, according to the document.

Haslam is majority owner of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, and his brother, Bill, is the governor of Tennessee. Pilot Flying J’s headquarters in Knoxville were raided Monday and placed on lockdown by FBI and IRS agents while they retrieved paper and electronic documents. Haslam issued a statement Thursday evening in which he says he “maintain(s) that the foundation of this company is built on its integrity and that any willful wrongdoing by any employee of this company at any time is intolerable.” Haslam also made a statement to the media Friday, April 19, in which he said that the FBI and IRS investigation is focused on “a very narrow band of a very large company.” Courtesy of CCJ Online