California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

October is here. Work has been opening up just in time for winter. Overlying carriers cannot find enough trucks to supply the demand. Combine a bad economy, high operating costs, and over-regulation with low truck rates, and it’s easy to see how so many carriers have become collateral damage in this new green economy.

Up our way, I’ve heard that Valley Aggregates Trucking (VAT), probably one of the largest pure construction trucking companies in the Sacramento area, closed its doors September 29th. I had heard that low truck rates, over-regulation, including the impending CARB rules, and a bad run-in with a union (Teamsters) organizing effort, all have led to a fish-or-cut-bait moment—and the bait won.

With the supply and demand for trucks changing, you would think the smart truckers would raise their bid prices, but no, they continue to chase each other down the drain and into the treatment plant. With fuel prices still hovering at just over $4.00 per gallon (as oil prices drop), fuel costs amount to about 30% of your costs and labor another 30%. How does one survive today? With these obstacles alone, it is not hard to see why construction trucking has a tough nut to crack to make a profit today. But there’s more: Inflation coming our way in the form of increased costs like tire prices, which have increased 15% as of late and at least 30% in the last year. Then add increased health care costs along with the cash needed to comply with CARB regulations – and it’s easy to believe things may get worse before they get better. And buying new trucks at $120,000 or more a copy—how do we handle that? One just can’t at today’s rates. Get smart, demand more money.

CARB Lawsuit – NRDC Addicted to Interrogatories

Ellison Law Group has been working on our CARB Lawsuit, answering almost 50 discovery questions as CARB and the NRDC tries to muddle the issues with their legal mumbo-jumbo, waste our time, drive the costs up, and delay…delay…delay. Our lawsuit has garnered a lot of interest throughout the country as we move forward against Mary Nichols and the jihadists at CARB, EPA, and the dozens of likeminded NRDC-type lobbying/legal groups.

Also, the governor vetoed a bill we supported which would have required one small-business person on the CARB Board to represent the people of California. Gov. Jerry made a comment on record that he retains the right as governor to fill the board with his groveling enviros. As Hank pointed out a few months ago, the “Moonbeam” has evolved into the “Sun King.”

Clean Air or Fire – Clear Air Wins!
But Doesn’t Fire Create Dirty Air?

The rash of fires caused by diesel exhaust filters (aka diesel particle filters or DPF’s) installed on trucks that operate in California as a result of CARB regulations, are apparently causing troubles in green paradise. One fire burned 30 homes, 80 outbuildings, and 3,600 acres, spewing tons of PM, NOx, SOx, emissions into the air in Washington State. As a result of the fire, CARB has issued a memo to the manufacturer to come up with answers to these safety problems (which they, CARB, have created).

I recently read a story that said Environment Canada studies estimate that for every acre of primarily coniferous forest burned, approximately 4.81 metric tons of carbon is released into the atmosphere—between 80 and 90% in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2), with the rest as carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4). Particulate matter with diameter of 10 microns (PM10) or less (PM2.5) was also calculated. The estimate for PM10 emission factor was about 370 pounds per acre; for PM2.5, it was slightly lower at about 350 lbs. So multiply 3,600 acres times 4.81, and it equals about 2,886 metric tons of CO2, 666 tons of PM 10, and 630 tons of PM2.5.

I wonder if CARB has any cap-and-trade credits to provide Al Gore for this disaster – oh, I mean, catastrophe.

After quickly analyzing this fire and its contribution to our (Washington’s) air pollution, it occurred to me just how much fires, natural and manmade, contribute to all the bad air we breathe today, but you never hear about it. Nature gets a pass, but truckers (who don’t build the engines or refine the special diesel fuels) don’t—this is the new American at least California way, apparently. It’s like all those American manufacturing jobs in China creating pollution and then it all blowing back at us across the Pacific.

Factor all this in with a likely memo from forestry officials concerning these diesel exhaust filters operating in the forests and dry grassland areas of California. There are also federal mine safety concerns and the potential for fires in mining operations because of these devices. In my opinion, CARB should be held responsible for most, if not all, of this. 

Just like the MTBE that now pollutes California’s water systems and even Lake Tahoe and thousands of other fuel tank sites in this state, CARB’s handiwork of killing California is always at work. There is only one solution: its demise! Eliminate CARB and save $1 billion in government costs and $25 billion in costs and lost business opportunities for the rest of us. I suggest that we spend all this instead on vocational educational opportunities for our kids and the unemployed.

Liberal Educators Subvert Vocational Opportunities

Speaking of vocational educations, I recently watched a CBS Sunday Morning show hosted by Mike Rowe of the “Dirty Jobs Show” on the Discovery Channel. He was interviewed about his feelings concerning the real people that work for a living here in America. He voiced his concerns that when he went through school back East, he was fortunate enough to be exposed to the industrial arts and trades (you know, shop classes like welding, woodworking, mechanics, drafting, truck driving, even home-econ and farming, etc.), and now public schools are no longer offering kids technical trade school options for free.

I totally related to his comments because it reminded me of my high schools years and the many things I learned in shop class. Yes, Rowe was absolutely right about vocational trades. Our public school administrators and educators have taken all the funds for vocational training and moved the money to “higher education” and benefits. And then they say, well, you really need to just go to college. Back in my day it was OK to just get an associate’s degree (2-year degree) from a local JC. Then I noticed educators pushing our kids and saying that they minimually need a bachelor’s degree (4-year degree). Now that’s not even good enough; now kids need a master’s or even a doctorate to make the big money. This all seems just too self-serving to me.

We now have an unsustainable society that manufactures or makes less and less here every day. We are becoming a population that can’t fix anything. Just throw it away and buy a new whatever. With fewer and fewer jobs and very little hope of a better life, it’s going to be much tougher on our kids if this continues.

Plus, if the economy ever turns around, we are going to have a tough time finding competent trade workers to fill our needs. We’ll have to import them from Germany, India, or China—how ironic!

I have had a number of overlying carriers and construction business owners call me in the last few months, telling me it has been impossible to find enough drivers and owner-operators to pull their equipment. I have had conversations with manufacturers who cannot find skilled workers, or when they do, the skilled workers are on unemployment or state aid or both and don’t want to go back to work.

The Annual Board Meeting is coming up November 4-5 in San Diego. Come make yourselves heard or at least hear what’s new for our lawsuit against CARB to their new rules. Come and be part of the association that has been fighting for you and your way of life. CDTOA and our staff are there to help the industry and keep you educated.

Remember, the 2012-13 State Officer Election Ballots have been sent out. You need to vote. Get involved and stay involved.

Strength in numbers and CARB needs to be closed.

Rob