LKY FIELD INSPECTIONS JUNE AND JULY

On Wednesday, June 17 I will be doing LKY inspections in the CHV office (Chattanooga, TN) all day from 8:00am until 5:30pm.

On Monday, June 22 (all day) and Tuesday, June 23 (1/2 day am) I will be at the WKS office (Wichita, KS) doing LKY inspections.

Due to the current economic conditions, and the closing of our Fontana, CA yard, my California LKY inspections will only be in Stockton this year. I will be at Carl’s Restaurant on Monday, July 20 and Tuesday, July 21 from 7:30am until as late as I need to stay both days.

I will have HM 232 materials with me at all locations and can do hazmat recertifications as needed.

Future field LKY inspections this year will be at MSU in September, HIA and Newberry, SC in October, and TPA in November. Exact dates of these trips has not yet been determined.

Remember that today, tomorrow and Thursday are the CVSA blitz days. We need clean inspections. OOS items hurt Mercer’s safety rating and make it tough on everyone. Our “brand” is safe operation, top quality equipment, and drivers who are the best of the best. That’s who we are. Be safe.

Mexican truckers sue the U.S. for $6 billion

I log in to my computer this morning at about 7:30, and look for some news in the world of trucking.  This is typically just part of my daily routine.  Today, I am outraged, and have decided to go on a little rant.  Click here, and you will see the Wall Street Journal report, about how 4,500 Mexican Trucking companies are suing the U.S. Government for $6 BILLION.

As you know, the Bush administration started a pilot program in 2007, that allowed a limited number of Mexican trucks to cross the border.  Then Obama shut it down shortly after being elected.  Although, Mexico implemented huge tariffs on outgoing products, I still applauded Obama for shutting the program down. 

American truckers argue that Mexican trucks are not safe, and their drivers are not compliant.  That’s a tough argument though, because how do we know?  I know that some of you probably saw these trucks over the road during the period of time that they were allowed to cross.  Did those trucks appear to be maintained well?  Mexican officials claim that the trucks that were allowed to cross the borders caused no significant safety concern to others.  That is probably because they only allowed limited Mexican carriers to cross.  I have no doubt that there are some outstanding Mexican trucking companies out there, that have safe and reliable equipment.  The safest companies, I am sure, were the only companies selected to cross.   Now, however, Mexico is claiming that they will remove the tariffs if we allow all  Mexican trucks to cross the border.  How do we know that their drivers, and equipment are held to the same standards as ours?  Do they have a legitimate drug testing policy?  They say they do, but do we just allow their trucks to cross without proof?

I am greatly concerned about the safety of their trucks, but I am more concerned about allowing more trucks to come into our country, when freight availability is already extremely low.  We see other trucking companies, and drivers go under every day, because they just simply don’t have enough freight to haul.  If we allow these trucks to come into our country, how does that affect an already extremely competitive market? 

Let’s speak hypothetically for a minute.  Say one of these foreign trucks crosses our border and runs over a car full of kids.  How do we hold Mexican drivers, and carriers accountable for their actions?  Obama is planning on combing through our prisons, and finding illegals that we have locked up in our states, and deporting them.  So if one of these guys kill a family, will we just send him back to his country?  Let’s think about the increase in drug traffic.  Do you think that the border patrol will be able to catch all of the Mexican trucks crossing with loads full of drugs.  Do you think that they could even catch half of them?  What about truck loads of people sneaking into our country.  If we open the borders to the trucks, we might as well allow anyone to walk into our country.  How do you know that the drivers driving trucks into the U.S., will ever return to Mexico?  What an easy way to get to the promise land.

I would like to take a stand, and support our President’s decision to stop these trucks from coming into the U.S.  The unfortunate part of it is, you and I can’t make much of a difference.  All of the major corporations that have moved their plants to Mexico are pushing our government to open the borders so they will no longer have to pay the steep tariffs that are being charged to bring their product into the country.  Isn’t it funny that these companies that took jobs from the Americans, and moved their plants to Mexico, are now probably paying just as much to get their product here, as they would be paying if they would have just kept their plants in America?  I think the borders should stay closed, and the big wigs that are, as John Rich says  “Shutting Detroit Down”, should pay the price.  But we all know that money talks in D.C., and these corporations will all get their way.  The borders will open up, and you and I will be paying the price.