Archive for category: All News

We had hoped the past two weeks would bring significant relief to inter-modal and truckload operations, however, the compounding affect of several events has slowed the recovery process. For example, despite ongoing cleanup efforts, the Bethlehem and Philadelphia, PA ramps continue to experience delays of 36-72 hours. Additionally, early last week and into this week, there were several incidents which delayed or closed roads and inter-modal routes integral to specific locations.

On Sunday, March 2nd, Winter Storm Titan blew in causing hazardous road conditions in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and up through the mid Atlantic. This prevented crews from reaching the trains. As a result, delays of 24-48 hours are expected for inter-modal traffic to and from the above locations. Titan also had an impact on railroad, dray and truckload operations in areas from Dallas, TX to Norfolk, VA. An example of I-40 gridlock outside of Memphis.

Sunday, February 23rd, marked the beginning of a series of events directly affecting Seattle, Spokane and Portland services. A BNSF non-inter-modal train derailment occurred on the main track at Saco, MT. The track was closed the majority of the day, causing 24-48 hour delays. On Saturday, March 1st, a BNSF non-inter-modal train derailed on the main track at Olney, MT. Service was halted for more than 24 hours, again causing 24-48 hour delays. Lastly, this past Monday, an avalanche in the Glacier Park, MT area blocked both main lines (see photo). The combined impact of the derailments and avalanche could result in continued delays of 24-72 hours in and out of these cities.

We and our transportation partners continue to work through the challenges presented by this winter’s extreme weather as both the number and length of delays have decreased over the past two weeks. With no further interruptions, inter-modal service will improve as locomotive, car, box and crew balance is restored. We anticipate a similar reduction in delays and a return to standard service for truckload, LTL, dedicated and home delivery services over the next one to two weeks.

Customer service is very important at Cassidy Transport and it’s our commitment to keep you informed of significant service information.
Please reach out directly to us at info@cassidytransport.com or call 352-503-2017

Today, manufacturing is poised for a comeback, but for the first time in history, manufacturing in the United States surpassed the $2 trillion mark. Taken alone, the manufacturing sector would rank as the world’s eighth-largest economy. Manufacturing output has soared since the end of the recession, and manufacturing employment surged in the last months of 2013

Manufacturers in America are making more products today and making them better than ever before. Innovation is a big reason. The ability to adapt, innovate and improve shows up in abundance in manufacturing.

The Backbone of the American Economic Growth, who would have thought, for example, that in 2014 the U.S. would be in a position to become energy independent and even export our energy resources? But innovation made it possible, helping to spawn the boom in domestic energy production. New technologies and techniques are allowing us to tap energy reserves that were out of reach not long ago.

Affordable natural gas has made production more cost effective for manufacturers across the board. The result is more jobs for workers and more economic growth in America. The American Chemistry Council reports that $90 billion of new private-sector manufacturing investments are planned, thanks to the shale boom.

From the CEO’s office to the shop floor, manufacturing attracts some of the most dedicated, hardworking, innovative and talented women and men in America.
But we don’t have enough of them. Eighty-two percent of manufacturers report that jobs are going unfilled because they can’t find people with the right skills.

The National Association of Manufacturers is helping to bridge this gap by developing a skills-certification program that enables American workers to receive a portable credential and by reaching out to veterans, many of whom have skill sets that are perfectly aligned with what manufacturers need.
But there’s also a need for public policy reforms that will broaden the pool of skilled workers and address a host of other challenges confronting manufacturers. For the past few years, manufacturers have succeeded in spite of Washington, which has stood still on manufacturers’ priorities or, even worse, enacted policies that make it harder to compete.

Manufacturers have a number of ideas to spur economic growth and job creation, but we’re tired of waiting on Washington.

Common-sense solutions abound. For one, policymakers should let the shale energy revolution continue to blossom. The energy industry is at risk of suffocation by regulation. It seems like all we hear from the administration—particularly the Environmental Protection Agency—and its allies in Congress is that they want to put a stop to the use of oil, gas and coal. President Obama could also score a major victory for economic growth by approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

If Washington stays out of the way, the United States will not only continue to decrease its reliance on energy imports from potentially unstable parts of the globe, but also will become a major exporter of energy.

Exports represent a significant growth opportunity for manufacturers. Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States, so it’s encouraging that we are pursuing two major market-opening agreements: the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. However, to complete these agreements, Congress and the administration need to approve Trade Promotion Authority or risk falling even further behind our competitors in our efforts to reach and expand in new markets abroad.

For America to maintain our mantle of economic leadership, we need policies that harness the innovation and ingenuity that have created world-changing products as well as the incredible strength of people who work in manufacturing. The 12 million men and women who make things in America strive every single day to ensure the strength of our nation’s economy. It’s time for Washington to demonstrate that same commitment to our nation’s future.

Trillium CNG expects to have 77 compressed natural gas stations open by June, representatives said in a meeting with Transport Topics.
The company has 35 stations open across the country and said it will open 11 stations in the first quarter, with the rest expected to come online afterward.
The fueling stations will be built near major interstates as the company continues to develop a coast-to-coast network of CNG stations and has said it is “on the lookout for places where local trucking companies are ready to use CNG.”
The company previously announced it will build 101 stations in 29 states by 2016.

By Transport Topics

Wide-base tires, new and retreaded, are providing an extended-mileage benefit for dry-van carrier Bear Trucking Inc., according to a company manager.
“The mileage is excellent,” said Wayne Jacobi, operations manager for the San Bernardino, Calif.-based company.

The fleet runs three brands of wide tires on about 45 tractors and 140 trailers, he added.
Singling out a recent example in which new wide-base tires on a tractor operated exclusively by one driver lasted more than 200,000 miles, Jacobi said, “When we finally pulled them off, they were still ‘capable’ casings.”

After being recapped, those tires have been running on a trailer and are expected to reach the same mileage. “We have been doing recaps on the wide-base tires since 2010,” he said.
Typically we would get between 150,000 and 160,000 miles on drive tires in a dual configuration, before retreading was needed. Quality retreads have been a staple for the trucking industry. Many retreads, though, use outdated equipment to remove the original tread from wide tires — a process called buffing. Retreads have been steadily replacing their machines with newer, computerized buffers that can be used on all truck tires

This makes the buffing step more precise, in order to remove the appropriate amount of original tread and yet keep a safe distance from the belt package.
David Stevens, managing director of the Tire Retread and Information Bureau in Falls Church, Va., said,“Continued adoption of wide-base tires by fleets that do careful [return-on-investment] analysis and have tire-maintenance programs shows that for the right application, wide-base tires can provide economic benefits — including successful multiple retreads.”

He added: “There really haven’t been changes in the retreading process for wide-base tires,” which he said has been in existence for more than 20 years.
What has changed, Stevens said, is that tire sizes that were predominately used on refuse trucks and saw “very little, if any, use in line-haul trucking” have evolved, and the retread industry “has adapted to take on the challenge of retreading these tires for line-haul use.”As with dual tires, casing is critical to retreading, tire manufacturers said.
Compounds, sipping, tread design, inspection equipment and processes are all areas where great strides [also] have been made,” he added.

Last year, Michelin launched a wide-base retread for the line-haul drive position. And Continental Tire has introduced a retread for its HTL1 wide-single retread.
Additionally, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., based in Akron, Ohio, has wide-base tires with “DuraSeal,” — a feature that “instantly seals punctures of up to a quarter-inch in diameter in the repairable area of a truck tire’s tread,” said Brian Buckham, commercial brand manager, adding that the feature “helps ensure casing integrity” for retreads by not allowing the tire to go flat.
“If the tire continues to roll while losing air, its casing durability will begin to degrade over time — similar to running a tire at a low air pressure,” Buckham said.

Although retread-ability plays an important role in the purchase of wide-base tires, the products offer other benefits that are driving a perceived sales growth — such as weight and fuel savings, tire makers and fleets
“Our sense is that [sales are] growing, slowly, the wide-tire market is described as a niche that can be profitable for manufacturers targeting weight-sensitive carriers.
For such fleets, the product makes sense. “There is no disputing that these tires save fuel, tanker fleets and bulk haulers see an immediate increase in payload capacity due to the weight savings from wide-base tires.

There is a fuel-savings advantage as well, but that can be a bit more difficult to accurately track and document unless the fleet keeps very good records.”
But a problem with wide-base tires and their wheels involves the possibility of a blowout on a truck traveling at highway speed.
“If you’re doing 65 or 70 miles an hour down the road and one of these tires goes down, by the time you realize it and are able to pull over,” the tire and the rim are destroyed in many cases.
“If you have a blowout, you’re guaranteed you’re going to lose a rim,” Bear Trucking’s Jacobi said. “The weight just drops down on the rim, and the rim’s gone.”

He also said such events were infrequent: “We just don’t have very many road calls on them.” the rate of such occurrences — losing tire and rim — was very low in the six years the fleet has been running wide wheels and tires. The fleet consists of 24 tractors and 32 refrigerated trailers, running on two brands of tires.
“I’ve had two situations out of maybe 30 tire issues on the road [where] we ended up needing a rim,” he said.
Overall, the switch to wide-base wheels has been good, saving over a thousand pounds per combination. That’s allowed us to put more product on our trailers

Article in Transport Topics