Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, April 30, 2024:
FMCSA shuts down driver after crash, multiple DUI arrests
A New Jersey-licensed truck driver has been effectively shut down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after an accident in which he rear-ended a passenger vehicle and left the scene of the accident.
According to FMCSA’s Imminent Hazard Order, Gurpreet Singh rear-ended the vehicle on Highway 10 in Hillsboro, Oregon, on March 28. After being located after leaving the scene, an inspection of his truck revealed a bottle marked “vodka” inside the cab. Singh was placed out-of-service and directed not to operate.
Singh proceeded to disregard his out-of-service order and operated his truck later that same day in Clackamas County, Oregon. After attempting to evade a sheriff’s deputy, Singh was apprehended and found to be visibly impaired. Singh was arrested and testing showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.07, well over the .04 threshold for a CMV driver.
Prior to the March 28, 2024, incidents in Oregon, on Aug. 31, 2023, Singh was operating his truck in an erratic fashion in Pinal, Arizona, when he was apprehended. A Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) revealed a quick capture of .111 and Singh was arrested.
Based on these incidents, Singh will be listed as prohibited in FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, and FMCSA is working with the state of New Jersey to disqualify his CDL. He is charged in Arizona with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of operating a CMV while under the influence of alcohol. Singh is also charged in Oregon with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol.
FMCSA’s Imminent Hazard Out-of-Service Order states that Singh’s “blatant disregard for the safety of the motoring public demonstrated by these actions substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death to you and the motoring public if not discontinued immediately.”
Failing to comply with the provisions of the Federal Imminent Hazard Order may result in civil penalties of up to $2,304. Knowing and/or willful violations may result in criminal penalties.
Ryder opens new cross-border facility in Texas
Ryder's new El Paso facility is located less than five miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and less than 15 miles from the airport with easy interstate access in all directions, the company said.Ryder
Ryder System (CCJ Top 250, No. 12) has opened a second multiclient logistics facility at a top U.S.-Mexico port in as many months.
The newest site is in El Paso, Texas, near the Ysleta Port of Entry, the largest commercial port in the El Paso district and a critical trade corridor for northbound goods out of Juarez, Mexico. The facility is designed to support the growth in nearshoring activity, after Mexico’s rise last year to the U.S.’s number one trading partner.
“If you look at the latest numbers, U.S. trade with Mexico is at nearly $800 billion annually, and the Ysleta port processes about nine to 10% of that,” said Frank Bateman, vice president of supply chain operations for Ryder. “It’s second only to the Port of Laredo, Texas, which processes nearly 40% of goods crossing the border – and where we recently opened another new logistics center. The site in El Paso also has the advantage of being strategically located along a popular stopping point for trucks, not only heading north and south across the border, but for domestic loads heading east and west along I-10.”
Ryder’s newly built 50,000-square-foot facility is located less than five miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and less than 15 miles from the airport with easy interstate access in all directions.
It provides cross-dock services, including consolidation and de-consolidation, ambient storage for imports and exports, 24/7 yard operations, and value-added services. The new facility has 20 dock doors and room for 350 trailers with all-access CCTV throughout.
[Related: Ryder expands U.S./Mexico border operation]
Sunset Pacific expands footprint nationwide
Sunset Pacific Transportation announced Monday that it has expanded its nationwide footprint for partial truckload shipping into the Chicago market through a strategic partnership with Partners Warehouse.
Effective immediately, customers can get a freight quote for shipments originating out of Chicago and neighboring markets with destinations to all 48 contiguous states. Shipment execution to the Lower 48 will officially begin on May 6, 2024.
For more than two decades, Sunset Pacific Transportation has specialized in partial truckload shipping, consolidating shipments on the West Coast at their Chino, California, warehouse and delivering them across the country to all 48 states.
With its Chicago market entry made possible through Partners' local footprint, Sunset Pacific will now pick up freight for consolidation in all Chicago lanes, northwest Indiana and the greater Milwaukee area.
Monday’s announcement follows a 60-day pilot operation in which Sunset Pacific and Partners consolidated and shipped from Chicago to various destinations in Texas and the Western U.S.
"Our Partial Truckload pilot in Chicago has been wildly successful," said Josh Craig, Executive President at Sunset Pacific Transportation. "It's exciting to now expand the relationship with Partners, offering customers even more lanes with the same great service and rates we've always had."
