North East Expedite Logistics Acquired by Action Products

Holding company Action Products International Inc. on Wednesday announced its acquisition of North East Expedite Logistics, a provider of transportation and logistics services on the East Coast.

NEEL will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of APII and the existing staff at NEEL will be retained, Action Products CEO Gary Polistena said in a statement.

He also said the company’s “first order of business” will be to move away from the traditional terminal and paper tracking system to fully cloud-based supply chain technology.

Even though APII is not focused directly on logistics, NEEL adds cash flow and improves APII’s balance sheet and financial position, Polistena said.

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Got truck parking? Truckers called to action

There is no doubt that truck parking is an issue for anyone who spends their life on the road, be it truckers, travelers or commuters — trucks are everywhere. It is estimated that 2 million tractor trailer trucks operate in the U.S. with over 3.5 million truck drivers. Further estimates indicate that over the next 9 years another 2 million trucks will be on the road. Already a big problem, the places to park are shrinking rather than increasing as rest areas are being closed due to budget cuts. Where are all the big-rigs going to park when their hours of service are expired and mandatory hours of rest are required by law?

I often say I am glad to be driving team because often we just cannot find a place to park. All the truck stops and rest areas fill up early, most of the time we park at Walmart. Last night we couldn’t get into any rest areas in Illinois and just had to keep driving. What is the answer? And who is going to fix this problem?

It does seem logical that if the government DOT regulates how long you can drive and how many hours drivers must “rest” that they should also be responsible for providing an accessible place for that said “rest.” Even team drivers who drive in tandem shifts need to rest from the constant bouncing of the nation’s always-under-construction roads and for 34-hr restarts.

One solution on the horizon is “Jason’s Law,” named after Jason Rivenburg, the New York truck driver who was killed in South Carolina, focusing on the issue of safe parking. The law was not passed last year due to funding issues but was reintroduced again this year. The language enables what is known as public-private partnerships where truck stops will be jointly funded.

Maybe you have heard of it but don’t really know what it says. Drivers should review this and other related legislation at The Library of Congress web-site, it is suprisingly user friendly. Jason’s Law in the U.S. House of Representatives is bill H.R. 1803. (The companion bill in the U.S. Senate is S. 1187.)

The only actions to this bill so far:

5/10/2011- Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

5/11/2011- Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

For more information: truckinginfo.com gives a summary of the bill. The American Trucking Association and OOIDA support the bill.

As with all issues, there is an opposing side to the bill which points out these relevant concerns: “Consider the higher taxes. Consider the surrender of more of your liberties. When Jason’s Law has been implemented, what’s to prevent government from setting up CSA2010 checkpoints at “their” truck stops and randomly check EOBRs for compliance? What if they decided to do a truck inspection on your rig while you slept?”

“What needs to happen is that government needs to reduce or eliminate the regulations and prohibitions that prevent private business from building commercial truck stops in the places where they are most needed. That is the solution to more safe parking for large trucks, not government involvement.” quote from truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/jasons-law

This issue deserves attention from ALL those who spend time on this nation’s highways but especially by everyone in and related to the trucking industry. Despite concerns, it has been a long road to get “Jason’s Law” to this stage and it will take an effort by truckers if it is goint to get funding for the parking problems. You owe it to yourself, your health and safely, to take a look at the issues and take action; get behind the bill or at least the ideas behind it by writing your representatives. If there isn’t enough time or energy to do that after driving your 70 hours a week and looking for places to park, at least get involved and support a travel or trucking association that you trust to represent your interests.

Remember, these famous words. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” And “Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little” – Quotes by Edmund Burke

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Short Track and Drag Strip Action This Weekend

The Fourth of July weekend is soon upon us and that means the Daytona night race. I’ll get into that later but today I want to give you a heads up on some short track racing around the country. Many racetracks across this country plan special shows for the fourth of July weekend and this year is no different. I am going to concentrate on certain racing sanctions rather than specific tracks; you will get the track information in the process though. Short track racing is the root where Nascar grew from, the dirt tracks across this country produced many of the early drivers in the sport. Not all drivers who have had a racing career in Nascar started out running moonshine. There are many sanctioning bodies in the motor racing but sprint cars are my favorite. As a matter of fact the truck driver that taught me to drive a truck way back when was a modified driver who later moved up to sprint cars. In the world of sprint cars the World of Outlaws is at the top of the genre, it really is the greatest show on dirt!

            Some big names have been in the World of Outlaws sprint car series including Tony Stewart, Donny Shatz, Craig Dollansky, Steve Kinser, Joey Saldana and Sammy Swindell. I have seen this touring series many times when they would come to the Talladega Short Track on Nascar race weekends. 130 MPH qualifying times are not out of the question when these guys get on the dirt. They do run pavement during their season but dirt is where the real action is. My philosophy has always been “ If you don’t have dirt in your beer, your at the wrong track! I used to have a t-shirt that had a sprint car on the front and back and said “Asphalt is for getting to the track”!  This weekend the World of Outlaws is at The Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City Kansas. This track is located on US highway 56 on the south side of town where 14th and US 56 cross. I have been to this track before but it was a pavement track at the time. This is a 3/8 mile dirt track that normally races on Saturday nights. This weekend they will host the World of Outlaws July 1st and 2nd. Tickets are still on sale and unless something has changed you should have no trouble parking your rig there. Just remember the rule of thumb that I use, “ First In, Last Out.” This is a special event so expect to pay a higher than normal ticket price but trust me, it is worth every dollar that you spend. If you are going to be rolling on I70 in west central Kansas this Friday or Saturday Just get off at exit 127 which is US 283 south, go 93 miles south to Dodge City. I know that is a long way off of I70 but it is worth the trip.

            Ok so you say you don’t want to drive that far to see the best sprint car racing in the world? How about some late model action up on I-80 in Nebraska? The Mid-West Late Model Racing Association will be at the I-80 speedway in Greenwood Nebraska on July 1st. I haven’t seen this racing series in action but I’m sure they put on a great show if you like late model racing. I have not been to this track but it is on my list of places to get to. They have a show this Friday called The Midwest Tri-Fecta Challenge. There will be a Late Model $3000 to win race, a Sprint Car $3000 to win race and an A-Modified 2000 to win race. These purses are a lot higher than your weekly series purses so this event is sure to draw a lot of cars this holiday weekend. I-80 Speedway is located off Interstate 80 at exit 420, halfway between Omaha and Lincoln. The 4/10-mile dirt track is home to the NASCAR Whelen All American Series (NWAAS) on Sunday nights, and host several specials featuring regional touring late model and sprint car series. For more information, visit I-80 Speedway.com. That should cover the mid west for this weekend; you have World of Outlaw Sprint Cars, and Super Late Models to make you happy this weekend.

            So you don’t want to go see drivers go fast and turn left? How about a little straight-line action? There is one whale of a drag race going on this weekend near Evansville Indiana at the Chandler Motorsports Park in Chandler Indiana. They are hosting the NHRA Summit Racing Series this weekend with a National Dragster Challenge program. This is a single day event on Friday and Friday night. Gates open there at 11 A.M. with test and tune from 12 noon till 2:30 P.M. Time trials start at 3 P.M. and eliminations start at 3 P.M. I have been to this drag strip and it is a very nice facility. Chandler is an 1/8th mile drag strip and on the weekend that I was there they were hosting an old time dragster series. I forget the name of the series but there were a lot of muscle cars from the sixties and seventies there. It was a great show. So yes I admit that I am not all go fast and turn left, I do like the straight-line action as well.  Take I 164 south from I 64 to state route 62 east. Turn left on Inderrieden road and the track should be on your left. There is room for your truck but apply my rule of thumb there as well.

I hope you have a great time if you choose to attend one of these events this weekend.

Stay safe

TW

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