ACWI Advance | Volume 3, Issue 19 | October 15, 2015
The struggle to attract and retain drivers in the intermodal industry has gotten so bad that sessions dealing with the issue took up a big chunk of the agenda at this year’s Intermodal Expo.
Part of the problem stems from the same demographic squeeze felt by the rest of the trucking industry. As one speaker put it, the “Good Ol’ Boy” rural population that drivers traditionally are drawn from has been shrinking for for some time now.
Another factor is lack of dignity and respect they feel, particularly lack of respect for their time. Drivers have been refused the use of bathroom facilities and forced to waste inordinate amounts of time in long lines at terminal gates – which seriously erodes the income of these owner-operators who are usually paid per load.
The Intermodal Association of North America, which mounts the Intermodal Expo each year and represents the entire range of intermodal particpants, is taking major steps to address some of the more chronic driver complaints and frustrations.
“The IANA board of directors has identified the driver shortage and driver productivity as the No. 1 priority for the industry,” IANA President Joni Casey told ACWI Advance.
Courts Find CEVA Drivers Contractors
CEVA Logistics chalked up a couple of rare victories upholding the legality of contractor status for owner-operators in two recent cases.
A Kansas Court ruled that a home delivery driver for CEVA was an independent contractor, dismissing a workers’ compensation suit the driver brought after being injured on the job.
The court found he had leased his truck to CEVA, signed an independent contractor agreement, was compensated on the basis of a percentage of the tariff for each load and not by the hour, and received an IRS Form 1099 at the end of the year.
The driver had stressed the everyday routine of his work, noting he was assigned customers, required to deliver within a four-hour window (but in any order he chose); had to put a CEVA logo and decals on his truck; wear a uniform, and adhere to training and other requirements, including a drug test.
APICS Certification For Logistics Offered
APICS, the professional standards organization that merged with the American Society of Transportation and Logistics earlier this year, unveiled a global certification program for logistics.
Called the Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution (CLTD) designation, it is designed to provide transportation and distribution managers with a body of knowledge, best practices, technology know-how and professional standards for those in the logistics, APICS said.
“The APICS CLTD is a direct result of our merger with AST&L and gave us an opportunity to provide our members and customers with more comprehensive content and training programs,” said the organization’s CEO Abe Eshkenazi.