View as Webpage | November 20, 2023

NOTICE TO MMTA MEMBERS WHO HIRE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

MMTA

As of October 25, 2023 the process for the Predetermination of Independent Contractor Status has changed. Now, an individual who wants to create a rebuttable presumption of independent contractor status may file a statement – Independent Contractor Statement (Form WCB-267) – with the Board. The Board will no longer review or approve the old Predetermination Applications (WCB-266).

The Independent Contractor Statement will be effective when it is received by the Board. Information regarding who has filed a statement will be available on the WCB’s webpage starting November 3, 2023 which will help members when it comes payroll audit time. You do not need to file an Independent Contractor Statement until your current predetermination is due to expire.

Click here to read the full article and FMI...

CDL drivers needed around every turn in Maine: What's driving the decline?

Mal Meyer, WGME

They're good paying jobs that don't need a degree.

But a shortage of CDL drivers is impacting everything from school buses to snow plows, grocery deliveries and more.

Click here to watch video and read more...

2024 MMTA Employee Benefits Program Rates/Plans Now Available

MMTA

Are you taking advantage of MMTA’s group employee benefits? MMTA works with some of the most respected insurance carriers in Maine to create a diverse employee benefits program to offer our members. The program includes a variety of plan options, including dental, vision, short-term disability, and life insurance, for all budgets.

By leveraging member purchasing power and creating a larger pool, we have negotiated better prices and rate stability for our plans. Our 2024 rates are competitive, with some plans staying the same and some rates are even lower.

Click here to read the full article...

Clean air and a strong supply chain: Finding common ground in trucking

CCJ

Everyone is familiar with the Chinese proverb “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." The rest of the story, according to a Google search, is that it takes over 2 million steps to complete that thousand-mile journey. There is no avoiding the rest of the steps, although that is exactly what environmental regulators are trying to do right now. Current regulatory proposals and discussions are attempting to ignore time-proven, necessary developmental paths, and jump straight to the final destination: zero emissions vehicles. 

Click here to read the full article...

FMCSA extends comment period for potential carrier rating system revamp

CCJ

Owner-operators and others in trucking are getting more time to comment on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s information-seeking advance notice of proposed rulemaking related to a potential revamp of its carrier rating system.

FMCSA is seeking public comments on how it can develop a new methodology to determine when a motor carrier is not fit to operate in interstate commerce.

Click here to read the full story...

China's new limit on battery metals could haunt the global EV boom

Axios

China will now limit how much battery metal it exports, potentially casting a cloud over the future of the globe's transition toward electric vehicles.

Why it matters: It's difficult to make an EV today without metal from China. Now, that country is using its mineral advantage to protect itself amidst escalating global conflicts.

Click here to read the full article...

Trucking’s Annual Congestion Costs Top $94.6 Billion

ATRI

Washington, D.C. – Traffic congestion on U.S. highways added $94.6 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2021 according to the latest Cost of Congestion study published by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). This is the highest level yet recorded through this ongoing research initiative.

ATRI utilized a variety of data sources including its unique truck GPS database to calculate trucking delay impacts from 2017 through 2021 on major U.S. roadways. While year-over-year congestion costs decreased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they rose sharply in 2021 with a total of 1.27 billion hours of lost productivity. This increase in costs reflects the dramatic post-COVID economic recovery, with high GDP growth and freight demand borne from record levels of consumer spending. This level of delay equates to more than 460,000 commercial truck drivers sitting idle for one work year, and the 2021 figure represents a 27 percent increase from the report’s baseline year of 2016 – an increase that is twice the rate of inflation.

Click here to read the full article and request the report...

Fight for fleet repair technicians heats up

Fleet Owner

Vehicle repair operations are also competing with other trades to lure in the next generation of workers. Some of the most successful shops are using skills competitions to motivate technicians and find their shop stars..

Click here to read the full article...

New FMCSA Rules Target Fraudulent Brokerage Operations

Transport Topics

In an effort to stem financial fraud in the broker industry, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is amending its complex regulation pertaining to financial responsibility requirements for brokers of property and freight forwarders.

In a final rule announced on Nov. 15, the agency said brokers, surety providers and financial institutions must comply with new provisions regarding immediate suspension, financial failure or insolvency, and enforcement authority beginning Jan. 16, 2025.

Click here to read the full article...

ATA takes truck parking fight to Senate subcommittee

Today's Trucking

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) took its fight for truck parking to a U.S. Senate panel on Nov. 7, arguing that a national parking shortage represents a growing safety hazard.

“There is simply not enough truck parking capacity along key freight corridors. The lack of truck parking has a severe impact on the health and wellbeing of truck drivers and even broader safety implications for the motoring public,” Iowa Motor Truck Association president Brenda Neville told a Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing.

Click here to read the full story...

Los Angeles-area ports offer $60M to aid in purchase of zero-emission trucks

Trucking Dive

The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach will offer $60 million in vouchers to help companies acquire zero-emission Class 8 drayage trucks that operate in the San Pedro Bay ports complex.

Vouchers through the ports will fund $100,000 per truck for fleets with 10 or fewer trucks, and $75,000 for fleets with more than 10 trucks. This is in addition to the HVIP drayage voucher amount of $150,000 per truck and any other applicable HVIP voucher enhancements.

Click here to read the full article...

MMTA Membership & Board Meetings

January 11, 2024

2:00pm

Meeting Rooms A&B

Cross Insurance Center, Bangor

MMTA Annual Banquet

January 11, 2024

5:00pm

Cross Insurance Center, Bangor

FMI and Registration