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The Great American Tucking Show opens in Dallas Thursday.

The annual show is being held at the Dallas Convention Center and includes exhibits as well as entertainment. Eric Harley and Gary McNamara, hosts of The Midnight Trucking Radio Network, will be on the red carpet to introduce attendees to entertainers. A Midnight Trucking Radio Network booth located in the lobby will feature live entertainment and daily cash prizes. In keeping with this year's "Rising Star" theme, truckers are invited to stop by the booth and register for the opportunity to win $1,000 cash.

Jasmine Jordan, who recently finished a cross-country run to bring awareness to trucker health issues and the St. Christopher's Truckers Development and Relief Fund, will be a special guest at the event.

Truckers can park their rigs free on a lot near the convention center.

A 5k run will begin at 7:a.m. Friday as well as a 61+ Health Awareness Walk, sponsored by the Healthy Trucking Association of America.

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The United States Department of Transportation announced more than $13.8 million in grants to eight University Transportation Centers located throughout the U.S.

According to officials with the DOT, the grants will go toward research and education programs that address critical transportation challenges facing the nation. The awards were made by the Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

The University Transportation Centers' conduct research that directly supports the DOT's priorities and are a critical part of national transportation strategy. “Sound science and rigorous analysis provide a solid foundation for the development of transportation policy,” RITA Administrator Peter H. Appel said.  “The UTC program plays a key role in supporting collaborative research and transportation workforce development that will help us create a truly 21st century transportation system.”

University Transportation Center colleges and universities trained 32,000 transportation professionals in 2009.

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The Department of Transportation announced a Final Rule Friday for transportation workplace drug and alcohol testing programs.

The Federal Register posting will be published August 16 and the rule will take effect October 1. The new policy includes testing for the drug Ecstacy, as well as lowering the cut-off levels for cocaine and amphetamines. The policy also includes a provision mandating initial testing for heroin in transportation workers.

The DOT also notes that it is required by the Omnibus Transportation Employees Testing Act to follow the United States Department of Health and Human Services requirements for the testing procedures and protocols.

The Final Rule also stipulates specific qualifications and testing for medical review officers.

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Stability control systems for tractor-trailers could prevent nearly 3,500 rollover accidents and save 106 lives a year if they were required on trucks, a federal safety official said Tuesday.

According to Nathaniel Beuse, director of crash avoidance standards at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the estimates were based on tests of the stability systems the agency conducted in conjunction with researchers at the University of Michigan. The study found that the systems could prevent almost 4,400 injuries a year.

All new passenger vehicles are federally required to have stability control systems, but commercial trucks are not, despite representing a disproportionate share of rollover accidents.

The NHTSA hoes to complete studies on the potential benefits of mandatory stability control systems by the end of the year, Beuse said.

If you need help with truck factoring, contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, by calling 800-207-7661.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. introduced the Clean Ports Act of 2010 Thursday.

The new bill would amend the Federal Motor Carrier Act to allow ports to enact and enforce clean truck programs and increase federal requirements for environmental programs. According to a statement on Nadler's website, the amendment to federal law "would confirm that port cities like Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Oakland and Seattle have the authority to set the standards needed to replace diesel trucks with clean diesel and alternative energy vehicles."

Nadler believes that trucking, as a ubiquitous and central part of goods distribution, needs to reduce its environmental footprint as much as possible. The Clean Ports Act will update environmental law and allow port cities to enact clean truck programs.

If you need help with truck factoring, contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, by calling 800-207-7661.

June commercial trailer net orders increase 103 percent from last year, according to the market analyst at ACT Research Co. 

In the latest release of State of the Industry U.S. Trailers, ACT noted that dry van orders had a very strong June. The segment was hit hard in 2009 and June is considered a seasonally slow month for trailer orders.

Year-to-date, dry van net orders rose 164 percent. Reefer van net orders, which stayed rather constant during the recession, are up 5 percent on a year-to-date basis.

"Truckload carrier profitability is the key to improved orders of commercial vehicles," said John Burton, vice president with ACT Research. "Initial reports from publicly traded truckload carriers are confirming the healthy rebound we have been sensing in the trucking sector. With capital expenditures muted the past two years, carriers are beginning to show some profits and are reinvesting in their fleets."

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The Freight Transportation Services Index fell .04 percent in May, according to the United States Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics, reported Wednesday. 

The new report, published by the Research and Innovation Technology Administration shows the Freight TSI has risen 4.4 percent over the last year, beginning in June 2009. The increase came after a decline of 15.3 percent in the previous 10 months. The index increased in nine of the last 12 months, but dropped 1.9 percent. 

The Freight TSI measures the monthly changes in freight shipments in ton-miles. The index tracks the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and is made up of data from the for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight. 

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Inventories held by wholesalers rose for the fifth consecutive month in May but sales fell for the first time in over a year.

According to statistics released by the United States Department of Commerce, wholesale inventories increased 0.5 percent in May while sales dropped 0.3 percent, the first sales decline since March of 2009. The drop in sales is a reflection of the current state of the economic recovery and could discourage businesses from boosting their orders, translating into a slowdown in factory production.

Economists had hoped that a steady rise in demand would cause businesses to increase orders and restock, lifting struggling factories and creating jobs.

If you need help with truck factoring, contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, by calling 800-207-7661.

The American Trucking Associations announced support of the Diesel Idle Reduction Campaign headed by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

The official launch of the campaign is set for 11:00 a.m. on July 13 at the Council of Governments headquarters near Union Station. The ATA said the aims of the campaign, such as reducing discretionary idling, improving public health, and protecting the environment, align with the goals of its Sustainability Initiative.

The ATA launched its six-prong initiative in 2008 with the singular goal of reducing discretionary and non-discreationary idling. Discretionary idling occurs when drivers leave engines running during their rest periods to provide heat or air conditioning for the sleeper compartment. 

ATA Vice President and Environmental Affairs Counsel Glen Kedzie said the initiative is as much a public health issue as a monetary one. "When truck and bus drivers turn off their engines when they're not needed, they do more than avoid fines and cut fuel costs," Kedzie said. "They take an important and easy step toward improving air quality."

If you need help with truck factoring, contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, by calling 800-207-7661.

Tennessee has landed a federal grant aimed at making sure truck drivers have safe places to sleep along Interstate 40.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the Tennessee Department of Transportation part of a $6 million grant for projects to address a shortage of long-term parking for commercial vehicles along interstates. According to Tennessee DOT spokeswoman Nichole Lawrence, the department will receive $800,000 for its SmartPark initiative, which has been in development for five years.

"Our proposal was to incorporate Intelligent Transportation System components to reduce unsafe and illegal overnight truck parking on interstate exit ramps and highway shoulders," Lawrence said. 

The American Trucking Association applauded the grant, which also gave to projects in Utah, Mississippi, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

If you need help with truck factoring, contact TBS Truck Factoring, LLC, by calling 800-207-7661.