NPTC said it frequently has advised FMCSA officials that the agency’s primary registration system, the Motor Carrier Management Information System, is out of date and contains far too many entities that have long since ceased operating. “The URS is a new opportunity to ensure that the FMCSA captures all of the existing carriers and intermediaries in a useable database and also purges those entries that are no longer relevant,” NPTC said in its comments.

NPTC supported inclusion of both private and for-hire motor carriers in the new URS database. “Both private and for-hire carriers are subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to the same extent, and there is no policy reason for separating entries for private truck fleets,” NPTC said. “Moreover, many private fleets also have for-hire operating authority to supplement their private carrier operations, which further blurs the regulatory distinction between private and for-hire carriers for safety purposes.”

IN BRIEF 2/12

Donald J. Schneider, chairman emeritus and former president and CEO of Green Bay, Wis.-based Schneider National, died Jan. 13 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease; he was 76. Schneider retired from day-to-day responsibilities in 2002, selecting then-chief operating officer Chris Lofgren to succeed him as president and CEO. Schneider retired in 2007.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced nearly $1.6 billion to states and territories across the nation to help cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by natural disasters.

James H. Wood, 45, former supervisor of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s office in Buffalo, N.Y., was sentenced in federal court to 18 months in prison for accepting bribes from third parties working for Canadian trucking companies.

J.J. Keller and Associates Inc. announced that James J. Keller, president and chief operating officer, succeeded his brother, Robert L. Keller, as president and chief executive officer effective Jan. 1. Robert Keller will remain as chairman.

The finalists for the 2011 Company Driver of the Year award are James Coles of MacKinnon Transport, John Moeller of Roehl Transport and Ronald Round of Pottle’s Transportation. The finalists for the 2011 Owner-Operator of the Year award are Kirby Killgore of O & S Trucking, Larry Severson of Dart Transit and Bryan Smith of Art Pape Transfer. The winners of the contests – sponsored by the Truckload Carriers Association and Randall-Reilly Business Media & Information Co. – will be announced at TCA’s annual convention March 4-7 at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Fla.

The 2012 Charlotte Diesel Super Show will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5-6, at the zMax Dragway/Charlotte Motor Speedway Complex in Concord, N.C. Tickets will go on sale in March. For more information, contact the Randall-Reilly Events Group at info@truckshow.com or go to www.dieselsupershow.com.

NBB backs EPA’s renewable fuels requirements

The National Biodiesel Board expressed support for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule establishing U.S. renewable fuel requirements for 2012 and called on the Obama administration to act quickly in completing a 2013 rule that maintains EPA’s recommended volume increases for biomass-based diesel.

The 2012 rule raises the biomass-based diesel program to 1 billion gallons, up from 800 million gallons this year. According to EPA, the biodiesel industry had produced some 908 million gallons through the end of November 2011, exceeding the annual requirement with one month of production remaining.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule establishing U.S. renewable fuel requirements raises the biomass-based diesel program to 1 billion gallons, up from 800 million gallons this year.

“This industry has shown without a doubt that it can meet and exceed the goals of this program in a sustainable way with a diverse mix of feedstocks,” said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs at NBB, the trade association for the U.S. biodiesel industry. “Our industry has plants in nearly every state in the country that are hiring new employees and ramping up production, in part because of the demand that this policy creates.”