🌟 Editor's Note
After a week off because I was offline, (I texted using my iPhone’s “iMessage via Satellite” feature!), and because the newsletter is still very small, (I am the only subscriber!), we’re back with another week of my takes on the news of the week.
📰News Articles that Caught my Interest This Week.
✈ Unexpected consequences of a Flight Attendant Strike
Not trucking, but TIL that Air Canada Flight Attendants are important to cargo operations. Most AC cargo flies in the belly of passenger flights, so if the passenger flights stop, most of the cargo stops. With the flight attendants scheduled to go on strike this weekend, most of those passenger flights will stop, leaving only a few point-to-point cargo-only flights flying.
🌎Pushbacks & Walk-Backs of Environmental Regulations
(Note: I realize this is the second issue in a row I’ve complained about trucking & the environment, I’ll try to take some time off of this complaint going forward).
As someone with kids who wants them to thrive in the future, and who just spent several days living with a heat warning, it saddens me to see the continued pushback and weakening of environmental regulations.
I get it, environmental regulations can be a PITA to comply with, especially when it’s something like a faulty sensor stopping a truck, not an actual environmental problem.
It’s also true that pushback is part of the rule-making process, and trucks are much cleaner than they once were, but let’s continue to strive for better, please!
This week’s flurry of environmental walk-backs and push-backs include:
The EPA updating guidelines for what happens when a truck thinks there’s a DEF problem
US Trucking organizations asking the EPA to delay the next set of NOx rules
Major truck manufacturers are suing California over it’s truck emissions enforcement.
⚖️Can a shipper sue a broker if a carrier crashes?
There’s legal confusion in the USA over who can sue who in trucking. The question is: can a broker be sued for choosing a carrier that goes on to crash? Currently there are 4 cases that have been decided in high-ish courts, but 2 say yes and 2 say no. A 5th case is set to be decided soon.
The arguments are good on both sides, and the (strangely-named if it applies to trucking), Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, (the FAAAA), throws some confusion into the mix while trying to clear things up.
Freight Caviar has a great overview of all of the cases and arguments. Where’s LegalEagle when we need him?
🧠 Interesting Deep-Dive
🪝The Life of a Heavy-Duty Towing Operator
A look into the life, and five-way struggle between tow operators, truck owners, and 3 insurance companies for every incident, of Clifton & Joyce Parsley, owner-operators of CTS Towing in Kentucky, (yes, towing can be OOs to).
If you thought your truck was expensive, wait until you hear what CTS paid for its latest truck! It’ll make you realize that there’s a legitimate reason that recovery bills can be high, even if some operators abuse the system.
That’s all for this week! Go ahead and reply to this email to let me know if there’s something you want to hear more, (or less), about!
-John
