Last week, Governor Mills vetoed LD 1711 - An Act to Enhance Enforcement of Employment Laws – a bill that would have made Maine’s employment landscape more litigious, complicated and adversarial. MMTA appreciates her recognition that employers aren’t indiscriminately terminating the employment of their most valuable resources as the economy struggles to find enough qualified workers to meet business demand.

Next up is an opportunity for the full legislature to override the Governor’s veto of the bill. This prospect looks unlikely given the votes that have already been taken in the House and the Senate, needing 2/3 of each chamber to override the Governor’s veto.

MMTA thanks Governor Mills for her recognition of this being an unnecessary and unwise change to Maine’s employment laws. We would also like to thank the Maine Jobs Council for their tireless efforts to bring this issue to the forefront while working with the Governor’s office to communicate their well-reasoned concerns and the negative impact the issue would have on foundational jobs.

Hauling an oversized building halfway across the country — especially through winding Maine roads choked with summer tourist traffic — is tough.

But a midwestern trucking crew never dreamed that this week’s delivery of a magnetic resonance imaging building to Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor would also be unforgettable.

In a good way, that is.

Even though the big rig and its cargo got hung up on the Penobscot Narrows Bridge in Prospect on Wednesday afternoon and again near the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor on Thursday, Mainers greeted superload driver Mike Saxton with donuts, cheers and appreciation rather than impatience and anger.

The used truck market has seen widespread price appreciation and all signs point toward continued strength in the short and long term.

"Completely nuts," J.D. Power Senior Analyst and Product Manager, Commercial Vehicles Chris Visser said of how he would sum up the last five months for used trucks. "Prices for sleeper tractors are completely through the roof."

Through the first five months of 2021, four to six year-old trucks at auction are 80% ahead of the same period last year, by far the highest pricing in the six years J.D. Power has been tracking it. Tyler Townsend, Ritchie Bros. director of strategic accounts, noted that for the prior three months ending in May, used truck prices are up 23% year-over-year at auction, and with so much volatility surrounding pricing and availability of build materials, this could be the new normal for a while.

In 2018, the ASE Education Foundation surveyed current and former automotive students to learn how many went on to careers in the automotive service industry. Results showed that over 40% of graduates either never went to work in the industry or left within a couple of years. Many of them were employed in other technical trades, but many were either unemployed or working in retail/food service, etc.

Our industry is full of great job opportunities, so how are we failing to attract and keep these students? There is no shortage of students studying auto, truck, and collision repair. A separate survey indicates that there are over 100,000 students nationwide in high school and college programs accredited by ASE. This contradicts a popular belief that the current generation is not willing to work with their hands. The inescapable conclusion is that we have a leaky pipeline, where many students either plan to pursue a career in a different field or go to work in the transportation service industry but leave within a short time.

Federal regulators are anticipating the day when hours-of-service rules may have to be changed to accommodate automated driving systems.

Those changes could emerge in situations where half the team in a long-haul driving operation is not human, according to Jeff Loftus, who heads the technology division in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Office of Analysis, Research and Technology.

“We’re trying to anticipate new business models, where there could be instances with emerging business strategies where you have truck drivers and automated trucking systems perhaps performing as a team, where they switch back and forth,” Loftus said on Wednesday during a panel discussion hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), which supports automated freight systems.

When you change too many variables in an experiment, you can’t tell which one was responsible for the results. And with the current truck driver shortage, too many variables have changed in a short time to reliably single out a cause.

Many blame higher unemployment and stimulus benefits from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic. While that may be part of the problem, it’s not that simple.

What are some of the other variables at play?

As part of MMTA’s continuing efforts to address the Maine trucking industry’s workforce development shortage, we have partnered with Maine Savings Federal Credit Union to develop the ‘MMTA Education Loan Program.’ Students attending approved CDL schools are eligible to apply for tuition loans to attain their Class A or Class B Commercial Driver’s License at an amazing ZERO percent interest.

Basics of the program include:

Maine’s workforce shortage is the most serious issue facing Maine Motor Transport Association members, which is why our association has invested in the Go Your Way campaign to attract the next generation of truckers. The MMTA Education Loan Program was developed as a way to further support those looking at a career in trucking by addressing one of the financial impediments that might be holding some people back from starting a high-paying, in-demand career with minimal debt.

If you, or someone you know, is considering CDL training and they need a ZERO % interest loan to help them achieve their goals, go to www.mmta.com/loan to get them on the road to success!

The 2021 Maine Motor Transport Fleet Safety Award information has been released and can be found at https://www.mmta.com/fsa/. To compete in this safety competition, companies must submit an online application and supporting information by September 3, 2021. Once completed, you will be assigned to a mileage category, where statistics will determine whether you place in the top three within that category or qualify for a Wild Card with no recordable crashes.

We will then verify the information for the carriers who will compete for one of the two coveted Grand Champion Awards (over 4 million miles and under 4 million miles) through an additional submission that is due by October 9, 2021.

The entire purpose of this program is to honor the safest motor carrier members and we hope everyone will participate. For complete rules and eligibility, as well as to access the necessary online forms, please see our website at https://www.mmta.com/fsa/.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations mandate that all drivers required to have a commercial driver’s license be part of an alcohol and drug testing program. Further, that supervisors must be trained to identify the physical, behavioral, speech and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances.

7/30/21 – Augusta – MMTA

11/12/21- Augusta – MMTA

Time: 8:30am to 11:30am