TEAMSTERS HAIL DELAY OF MEXICAN TRUCK OPERATING PERMIT

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa issued the following statement today regarding the U.S. Transportation Department’s delay of the first permit for a Mexican trucking company to start traveling freely throughout the United States. The delay was based on safety concerns raised by the Teamsters Union and its allies.

“The U.S. Transportation Department was right in heeding our safety concerns and delaying the first permit to operate trucks from Mexico freely throughout the United States. We are glad that transportation officials are now taking our concerns seriously.

“We will continue our fight to keep our borders closed to unsafe Mexican trucks. After years of litigation, intense congressional oversight, overwhelming public opposition and an intense drug war raging in Mexico, it is a reckless move to allow Mexico unfettered access to our highways.

"The fly-by-night Tijuana operator passed a preliminary inspection last month -- a colossal bungling by transportation officials. The carrier has one unsafe, 20-year-old semi-tractor trailer that our government designated a ‘gross polluter.’ If this is the cream of the crop of Mexican operators, we can only imagine what will be crossing our border in the future.

"The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration clearly ignored Congress in conducting inspections that didn't meet the legal requirements. The Teamsters Union and our allies have filed a lawsuit to stop this illegal and dangerous cross-border trucking program before people get hurt.

"This delay proves what we've been saying all along: Opening the border to dangerous Mexican trucks is not in the interest of Americans. It will cost thousands of truck and warehouse jobs that we so desperately need, it will undermine border security, it will pollute our air and it will harm the driving public.”

OOIDA comments prompt second look at cross-border applicant

In spite of having passed a Pre-Authority Safety Audit by the Federal Motor Carrier SafetyAdministration, the agency has decided to deny Grupo Behr access to the long-haul program in response to issues raised by OOIDA and two other groups.

FMCSA announced on Aug. 25 in the Federal Register that Mexico-domiciled motor carrier Grupo Behr had passed its Pre-Authority Safety Audit, or PASA, and requested comments from the public.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association was one of four groups that filed comments protesting the agency’s proposal to grant authority to Grupo Behr. Also protesting were Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Teamsters and Knight Transportation. Full Story....

The No. 6 UPS Freight Ford Takes On A New Look

The last time this season the UPS Freight Ford hit the track David Ragan earned his first Sprint Cup pole starting position and went on to earn a seventh-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway. The UPS Freight Ford will take to the track for the second time this season this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but will take on a whole new design that was chosen by UPS employees. The No. 6 might look a little different, but it is the same chassis that sat on the pole in Texas and also crossed the finish line second in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte back in May.

“I really like the look of our new UPS Freight paint scheme,” said Ragan. “It’s always fun to have some different looking cars and this is one of my favorites. I think it’s going to look great under the lights Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.”

YRC Worldwide Schedules Third Quarter 2011 Conference Call

YRC Worldwide Inc. will hold a conference call with the investment community on Friday, November 4, 2011, beginning at 9:30am ET, 8:30am CT. Chief Executive Officer James Welch and Interim Chief Financial Officer Jamie Pierson will host the call. Third quarter earnings will be released the same day, Friday, November 4, 2011, prior to the opening of the market.

The call will be webcast and can be accessed live or as a replay via the YRC Worldwide website yrcw.com

David McAllister Earns Platinum Driving Award for Accident-Free Driving

David McAllister, an ABF city driver domiciled in Salisbury, Mass., has earned an ABF Platinum Safe Driving Award, becoming just the sixth driver to earn this distinction. The Platinum Award recognizes city drivers who have driven accident-free for more than 60,000 consecutive hours.

"David McAllister has earned the highest safety award available to an ABF city driver, previously attained by just five other ABF city drivers," said ABF President and CEO Wes Kemp. "We are proud to honor him for his professionalism behind the wheel and his outstanding safety record. Everyone at ABF greatly appreciates David's hard work and dedication and we're proud of the way he represents ABF and the trucking industry."

McAllister has driven for ABF for 29 years. In each of those years, he has earned an annual safe driving award. "This is truly an amazing and impressive accomplishment," said Sam Cates, ABF safety and security director. "David has safely maneuvered his equipment in busy urban settings for almost 30-years without a preventable accident. ABF is extremely proud of David for achieving this milestone in his career and for reaffirming that ABF has the safest and best drivers in the industry."

McAllister joins an elite group of ABF Platinum Safe Driving Award winners that includes retiree Robert McCormick of Macon, Ga., David Miller of Charleston, W.V., retiree Robert Mutz of San Antonio, Kenneth Scott of Wilkes Barre, Penn., and James Tranchita of Chicago. The road driver equivalent of the Platinum Safe Driving Award is the Four Million Mile Safe Driving Award, which also recognizes accident-free driving. Only three ABF road drivers have achieved this milestone: David Arrowsmith and James Lovell of Little Rock, Ark., and Darrell Gruenefeld of Kansas City, Mo.