KRTS offering train-the-trainer course next month

CALEDONIA, Ont. -- Kim Richardson Transportation Specialists (KRTS) will be hosting a two-day course in mid-September for those wanting to become Certified Driver Trainers. The “Essential Instructional Skills For Professional Driver Trainers,” the only required course for the Certified Driver Trainer (CDT) designation, will be co-hosted by the North American Transportation Management Institute, and Old Republic Insurance Company of Canada.

The train-the-trainer course is for professionals responsible for the development and implementation of professional driver training programs. Officials say students will learn teaching skills and their practical application, and produce lesson plans.

The two-day session will take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 19-20 at KRTS’s Caledonia, Ont. location. The $975+HST cost includes lunch each day. For more information or to register, call 800-771-8171 ext. 205.

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MTA hitting links next month for charity golf tournament

WINNIPEG, Man. -- The Manitoba Trucking Association’s annual Vehicle Maintenance Council Golf Tournament is set to tee-off Sept. 12 at the Kingswood Golf and Country Club. Proceeds raised from the event will go towards the MTA Scholarship Fund.

"The Vehicle Maintenance Council (VMC) believes strongly in supporting up-and-coming members of our trucking industry. Funds from this tournament go directly to scholarships for Transport Trailer Technician apprentices and Truck Technician apprentices. Our industry is in serious need of technicians, and this is one way we can encourage young people to come to our industry," says VMC chair Mike Murphy of Kal Tire.

"The costs associated with post-secondary education are high, so we hope to help offset some of that cost with these scholarships. Plus, it's a way of saying thanks to those who choose to come into the industry, because technicians are truly appreciated by everyone in this industry."

The VMC Golf Tournament is one of two golf tournaments hosted by the MTA throughout the year. The other, sponsored by the Associated Trades Division (ATD), is held in the spring. Proceeds from that event are contributed to the ATD scholarships. A poker tournament and snowmobile derby also contribute the organizations support of the MTA scholarship fund. In total, the MTA sponsors $10,000 each year in scholarships for deserving young Manitobans, according to officials.

The MTA says registration for the event is already half-full. For more information or to register, visit www.trucking.mb.ca/VMC_Golf.htm.

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ISM Manufacturing Index Contracts for Second Month

U.S. manufacturing activity improved slightly in July but showed contraction for a second straight month, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday.

ISM’s monthly service index reading was 49.8, up from 49.7 in June. Figures lower than 50 indicate contraction.

June’s contraction had been the first since July 2009.

Economists had forecast the index would rise to 50.2, Bloomberg reported.

New orders registered a 48 reading up 0.2% from June. Both the production ad employment indexes remained in growth territory, registering 51.3 and 52 readings, respectively, ISM said.

ISM’s factory index measures manufacturing components of the economy.

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Diesel Jumps a Dime to $3.987 a Gallon; Gasoline Gains for First Time in a Month

Stephen Goldstein for TT

Diesel jumped a dime to its highest level in almost six months —  a national average price of $3.987 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday.

Gasoline, meanwhile, rose for the first time in four weeks, gaining 1.2 cents to $3.436 a gallon, DOE said.

The diesel hike — its biggest since a 10.2-cent leap on April 11 — left trucking’s main fuel at its highest level since May 23.

Diesel, which took its first dip in a month last week with a half-cent decline, is now 80.3 cents over the same week last year, while gas is 54.4 cents over a year ago.

The diesel average now tops $4 a gallon in two of five DOE regions, the West Coast and Rocky Mountains, while it also tops that level in the East Coast’s New England and Mid-Atlantic sub-regions.

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N.Y. Manufacturing Index Contracts for Fifth Month

Manufacturing activity in the New York region contracted in October for a fifth straight month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.

The regional Fed’s “Empire State Index,” generally the first economic indicator in a given month, improved to a reading of negative 8.5, from minus 8.8 in September.

Readings above zero indicate expansion, while below that show contraction.

Economists had projected that the index would improve to minus 4, Bloomberg reported.

The Empire State index also covers northern New Jersey and Southern Connecticut. Manufacturing is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.

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Industrial Production Rises for Fifth Month

Chris Van Houten/Trans Pixs

Industrial production rose for a fifth straight month in September, led by a gain in automobile output, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

The 0.2% gain in output from factories, mines and utilities followed an unchanged reading in August that had originally been reported as a 0.2% increase.

The September reading was in line with economists’ estimates, Bloomberg reported.

Factory production, which makes up three-quarters of the total, rose for a third straight month, gaining 0.4%.

Production of automobiles and parts increased 0.7%, while factory production excluding autos rose 0.3%.

Capacity utilization, which measures plant output, rose to 77.4%, from a revised 77.3% in August.

Manufacturing accounts for about an eighth of the U.S. economy and the factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.

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