Trucking news and briefs for Friday, June 7, 2024:
FMCSA hosting listening session on carrier rating system revamp
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will host a listening session pertaining to the development of an updated methodology to determine when a motor carrier is not fit to operate in interstate commerce later this month at the Texas Trucking Show.
Specifically, FMCSA said it would like to hear from members of the public on concerns relating to the following topics:
- The current Safety Fitness Determination (SFD), including, for example, the three-tiered rating system (Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, Conditional) versus changing to a proposed single rating only when a carrier is found to be Unfit
- Utilizing inspection data and FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS)
- Incorporating driver behavior into SFD ratings
- Revising the list of safety violations used to calculate the rating, and adjusting the weights allocated to particular violations, including increasing the weight for unsafe driving violations
FMCSA last year began the early stages of a potential revamp of its carrier safety rating system. An advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) was published in August, which sought public feedback on the need for a rulemaking to revise the safety rating regulations, feedback on current safety rating regulations, and more. Only 176 comments were filed on that ANPRM.
The public session will be held in-person at the Texas Trucking Show at the NRG Center in Houston on Saturday, June 29, from 1-2:30 p.m. Central.
Registration with the Texas Trucking Show is required to attend FMCSA’s listening session. Registration is free and may be completed online here.
The agency is also planning two virtual-only listening sessions on the same topics to be held in June and July. Specifics of those meetings will be announced in a separate notice yet to be published. Stay tuned to Overdrive for details on those meetings when they are announced.
[Related: FMCSA making a run at revamp to carrier safety rating system]
IMC Logistics, Fenix Marine launch new clean-energy port operation
An IMC Logistics hydrogen fuel cell truck is shown being loaded by a FMS hydrogen top lift with a container from the SmartStack.IMC Logistics
IMC Logistics (CCJ Top 250, No. 53) and Fenix Marine Services (FMS) have joined forces to operate what they companies say is the supply chain industry’s first fully clean energy SmartStack, which launched June 4.
FMS segregated and stacked the containers designated for the IMC SmartStack at their terminal using their hydrogen fuel cell top-pick handler. IMC drivers then picked up and delivered containers using their fleet of zero-emission vehicles. This collaboration highlights the industry’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions while ensuring efficient and sustainable logistics operations, the companies said.
The SmartStack process itself is a clean one. Drivers self-assign the most available container vs. a specific one. This means fewer unproductive lifts for terminal operators and less time waiting for the driver. In addition to achieving environmental objectives, customers also benefit from shorter wait times.
“IMC SmartStacks improve the process for shippers, drivers and the industry,” said Mason George, President of National Accounts at IMC. “With this solution, we’re able to offer our customers a sustainable way to evacuate containers from the terminal, while quickly delivering their containers in just two days or less.”