Posts Tagged ‘new york’
Wednesday, November 14th, 2012
The 4th quarter proves beneficial to retailers nationwide, accounting for nearly 40% of their yearly profits. But this year, profits may decrease as businesses attempt to recover from the damaging affects of Hurricane Sandy.
Before Hurricane Sandy touched down on the east coast last month, sales were down 10% this year but with closures, damaged goods, and outages resulting from the storm, sales are now down 15%. 1
In addition, with the northeast accounting for around 20% of the nation’s GDP (an estimated $3 trillion), nearly 0.5% of the 4th quarter’s growth is expected to be lost, a significant consequence being this year’s annual GDP was expected to reach 1-2%. 2
Over 8 million people lost power from the storm, along with significant flooding which led to the total destruction of several warehouses as well as closing of New York and New Jersey ports, resulting in delays, cancellations, and insurance claims for damaged/lost freight. 2
As one online retailer (Wayfair.com) noted, between “1,300 of its 4,000 suppliers were hit by everything from loss of power to flooding,” closing their doors for several days, even weeks. 2
And with Black Friday (the busiest shopping day of the year) less than two weeks away, retailers are now facing a shortage of orders as the ports are expected to have delayed shipments by several weeks as well as capacity becoming even tighter. As Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers’ president Jeff Bader states, he had “heard of numerous small trucking companies that are ‘totally destroyed,’ when the water got into their trucks, and are no longer able to operate as a business. That is a reduction that could create a shortage in vehicles to carry the goods.”3
In addition to the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, the trucking industry faces a 3.4% increase in tonnage in October compared to last year, which the American Trucking Associations notes as “the smallest year-over-year increase since December 2009.” 4
A change in consumer spending accounts for this small increase as more people turn towards gift cards for the holiday season rather than the hassle of choosing gifts. This change provokes a greater retail spending post-Christmas rather than prior as gift cards are traded in to capture the after holiday sales.
As the ATA’s Bob Costello notes, “Retailers used to stock up stores and we would be hauling it now and even earlier. Instead, they’ll ramp up and put in a last-minute push — pushes that can throw the supply chain in for some havoc,” which then turns into higher costs as trucking companies charge for premium service that often lead to higher prices for consumers. 4
Are you experiencing carrier issues since the storm? Road Scholar Transport has van and reefer capacity along with fully operational terminals in affected areas such as New York and New Jersey. Learn more at http://www.roadscholar.com/.
1http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/money/could-hurricane-sandy-affect-toy-sales
2http://www.cnbc.com/id/49698652
3http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/177418711_Ports_scramble_to_get_back.html
4http://www.omaha.com/article/20121111/MONEY/711119939/1697
Tags: Black Friday, capacity, freight quote, holiday shopping, Hurricane Sandy, new jersey, new york, reefer service, retailers, road scholar transport, trucking company, trucking industry, trucking news, van service
Posted in Freight Quotes, LTL Freight Quotes, LTL freight, Northeast Regional Freight Quotes, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Monday, November 5th, 2012
Hurricane Sandy blew its way through 10 states last week, sending forceful winds and rain whose damaging effects killed over 110 people. Among those most devastated were New York (48 fatalities), New Jersey (24 fatalities) and Pennsylvania (14 fatalities). Some people lost everything, winding up homeless, as family, friends, and shelters took them in.
In desperate need of the little things we take for granted everyday-electricity, water, pajamas, food-people across the nation joined together to help in the relief effort. Road Scholar Transport was one of them.
With the cancellation of the 3rd annual Ryan’s Run, a marathon occurring in New York City raising funds for individuals with disabilities being treated at Allied Services in Northeastern Pennsylvania, due to the storm, “Ryan’s Run 3” became “Ryan’s Recovery.”
Ryan’s Recovery took place on Sunday at Allied Services in Scranton and Allied Heinz Rehab Hospital in Wilkes-Barre, collecting relief supplies to be distributed to Hurricane Sandy victims in New York and New Jersey.
Supplies that included flashlights, batteries, games, blankets, cleaning supplies, towels, T-shirts, and more, were loaded onto Road Scholar’s trucks, which will then be sorted and delivered during the week to New York and New Jersey churches and community drop off points.
Road Scholar Transport will be transporting over 80,000 lbs. of supplies. 
One of Road Scholar’s trucks taking part in the effort is our Red Cross Awareness Truck, which picked up one of these truckloads at Allied Heinz Rehab Hospital and will be delivering it into Staten Island.
To help donate to the Red Cross’ Hurricane Sandy efforts, visit http://www.redcross.org/hurricane-sandy.
Tags: Allied Heinz Rehab Hospital, Allied Services, awareness trucks, Hurricane Sandy, new jersey, new york, pennsylvania, Red Cross, road scholar transport, Ryan’s Recovery, Ryan’s Run, trucking company
Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles, Freight Quotes, LTL Freight Quotes, LTL freight, Northeast Regional Freight Quotes | Comments Off
Friday, September 30th, 2011
Last Tuesday, over 2 million AAA members announced their decision to sue the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in response to a recent hike in toll costs, calling the Port’s action illegal.
AAA New York and North Jersey groups urged the Port Authority to revert back to prior tolls, which increased on September 18th from $40 to $65 for 5-axle trucks paying in cash and $50 for E-Z pass users.
According to AAA, the “toll increases are being illegally used to subsidize the rebuilding of the World Trade Center” (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-27/aaa-sues-port-authority-to-reverse-new-york-toll-increase.html). For that reason, AAA explains that the Port Authority is in violation of the Federal Highway Act of 1987 and the Commerce Clause which state that the tolls must be “just and reasonable and invested in transportation,” an article in Business Week states.
On top of that, the Port Authority has ignored AAA’s request for a plan that explains what the money from the increased toll rates would be used for, NorthJersey.com notes.
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, however, considers AAA’s argument to be “without merit.”
Even before the increase, New York was known to have high tolls and with 90% of NYC inbound freight relying on trucks as its means of transport, the price of goods and service is expected to get costly.
For example, APL Limited, which is responsible for 37% of the New York Container Terminal’s business, has decided not to renew its lease, stating toll hikes as a reason (http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/new_york_container_terminal_lo.html).
Likewise, higher tolls will affect trucking companies as well, as many will not be able to compete with increasing tolls, causing some of them to go out of business or cut back on their service areas, leading to tighter capacity issues.
Shippers delivering into or out of these areas will, in return, experience higher transportation costs to account for these toll increases.
Road Scholar Transport has the ability to move your LTL and Truckload freight 24/7 and at competitive rates. Visit www.roadscholar.com to view our primary and extended service area map and to get an instant rate on your van and refrigerated freight today!
What do think of the AAA’s decision to sue the Port Authority? Do you feel that what the Port Authority is doing is illegal or do you agree that the AAA’s argument is “without merit?” List your comments below!
Tags: 5-axle, AAA, APL Limited, Commerce Clause, Federal Highway Act of 1987, lawsuit, LTL freight, new jersey, new york, New York Container Terminal, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, refrigerated freight, road scholar transport, toll increase, tractor-trailer, trucking company, trucking news, truckload freight, van, World Trade Center
Posted in Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
When I first sat down with Road Scholar driver Joe Ruggerio, I thought it would be a typical interview about the places he liked to visit on the road (Arizona is his favorite by the way) or an accident that he had witnessed. But what he had to say took me by surprise.
One of Joe’s favorite things to do is auto haul, in which he has been given the opportunity of meeting some very famous people along the way.
“I hauled a car for Jay Leno from California to an auction in Arizona. He was selling a couple of cars there. I also hauled Hulk Hogan’s 68 Hemie Road Runner to California to be restored.”
I asked him what it was like meeting the Hulk and Joe responded, “I told him to sit down because he was too tall!”
Hulk Hogan is not the only wrestler Joe has hauled cars for. He’s also hauled several cars for ex-wrestler Ted Vernon.
And as I sat listening to Joe’s stories, they just kept getting better.
“I’ve also hauled two of Elvis’s cars from his mansion to Florida.” (Yes, one of them was Elvis’ well-known pink Cadillac and the other a white one).
“I was nervous about meeting them. I pulled into Graceland and Priscilla Presley came out and asked if I could wait a while because the museum was still open and she wanted it to be closed first. Afterwards, she took me through a tour of the house.”
As Joe explained, everyone he met were really nice people. He did not ask for any autographs…it was all business-related.
Before Joe left, he gave me one more story…his favorite of all.
“I hauled both batmobiles…the original (at a body shop in New York and back to the owner in Virginia) and the new one. I used to watch batman as a kid so that was the best one to pick up. I even got to sit in it. It was cool. Behind the seat you turn a valve and flames shoot out of the back. There were a lot of gadgets in it but I didn’t touch any because I was afraid of being ejected out of the car!”
Tags: Arizona, batmobile, Cadillac, california, Elvis, Florida, Graceland, Hemie Road Runner, Hulk Hogan, Jay Leno, Joe Ruggerio, new york, Priscilla Presley, road scholar transport, Ted Vernon, truck driver, trucking news, Virginia
Posted in Company News, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Monday, August 22nd, 2011
Last Friday, authorities approved a proposal that would double bridge and tunnel toll costs for New York and New Jersey ports, causing many trucking companies to become irate.
According to the NY Post, 5-axle trucks paying with cash will be charged $65 instead of $40, with this number hitting $105 in a 5-year time frame. As truckinginfo.com explains, these trucks will owe $3 per axle, paying “a total of $40 during peak hours, $35 during off-peak hours and $27.50 during overnight hours on weekdays.”
Those trucks employing an E-Z pass will have a small cost break, paying $2 per axle, with that number increasing by $2 every December from 2012 to 2015, equaling a grand total of $50 for a five-axle truck, the site states.
With port authorities unable to receive tax revenue, and with costs due to the recession, authorities will use the money from the tolls for aiding projects including, “George Washington Bridge suspender ropes, Lincoln Tunnel Helix rehabilitation, Bayonne Bridge roadway raising, New Goethals Bridge with both Port Authority and private investment, PATH Car, signal, and station modernizations, airport runway and taxiway modernizations, security enhancements at all facilities, port infrastructure improvements to rail and roads in the port, and completion of the World Trade Center,” which is said to be a great expense, so much as preventing PA from repairing its own roads (http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=74487). Authorities predict $15 billion to go towards theses projects by 2015.
New York is already known to have the highest tolls in the state and with 90% of NYC inbound freight relying on trucks as its means of transport, the price of goods and service is expected to get costly.
Higher tolls result in higher rates from trucking companies, who are already charging delivery fees as a result of the tolls. Shippers, in return, will up the prices of their products to account for higher transportation costs, affecting consumers.
Not all trucking companies will be able to compete with the higher tolls however, causing some of them to go out of business or cut back on their service areas, leading to tighter capacity issues.
Road Scholar Transport, however, has the ability to move your LTL and Truckload freight 24/7. Visit www.roadscholar.com to view our primary and extended service area map and to get an instant rate on your van and refrigerated freight today!
What do think of the Port Authorities decision to double tolls in order to support projects such as the World Trade Center? List your comments below!
Tags: 5-axle truck, Bayonne Bridge, consumer, E-Z pass, George Washington Bridge, instant rate, Lincoln Tunnel Helix, LTL freight, New Goethals Bridge, new jersey, new york, NJ, NY, pa, PATH Car, port authorities, reefer, road scholar transport, shipper, toll rate increase, tolls, trucking company, trucking news, truckload freight, van, World Trade Center
Posted in LTL freight, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Friday, July 15th, 2011
The following are a few facts provided by http://www.afb.org:
About The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB):
-Founded on June 28, 1921
-Nonprofit organization based in New York providing resources nationwide for the visually impaired
-In 1928, the AFB provided visually impaired people with radios, granting them access to the news
-In 1932, the AFB created talking books and machines, which they also distributed to the National Library Service for the Blind
-Had a hand in the passing of the Wagner O’Day Act in 1938, which required blind-made products to be purchased to improve employment opportunities
-In 1983, the AFB advertised a device that “spoke” the currency of U.S. paper money
-Had an aid in the 1996 legislation that required telephones to be fully accessible for the blind
-Last year, the AFB helped the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act get passed, which required all major communications, including television programs, to be accessible
Helen Keller
-Was deaf and blind from infancy
-Worked with the AFB beginning in 1924 for 44 years, seeking to find ways to improve the lives of those who were visually impaired
-Traveled to 35 countries while working with the AFB
Statistics (Provided by http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/)
-284 million people in the world are visually impaired
-39 million are blind
-80% of those visually impaired can be cured or their impairment could have been avoided
Four levels of Vision (Provided by http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/)
-Normal
-Moderate visual impairment
-Severe visual impairment
-Blindness
Road Scholar Transport Awareness Program
Road Scholar created an awareness trailer displaying its purpose of being “On the ROAD to expanding possibilities for children with vision loss.” This purple tractor trailer features a young visually impaired girl and displays one of Helen Keller’s famous quotes, “Every child has a right to be well-born, well-nurtured and well-taught…”
Visit www.roadscholarawareness.org to learn more about our awareness campaign.
Tags: 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, AFB, American Foundation for the Blind, awareness trailer, awareness trucks, blind, charity, Helen Keller, National Library Service for the Blind, new york, road scholar transport, tractor-trailer, Wagner O’Day Act
Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles | Comments Off
Friday, March 25th, 2011
If you’ve had cantaloupe or bologna in the past two months, then you may want to read this.
Two recalls have been issued for Del Monte Fresh Produce and Lebanon bologna by the companies themselves after several cases have been reported of disease outbreaks.
Salamonella Panama infections have been linked to Del Monte cantaloupe grown in Asuncion Mita, Guatemala and bought at Costco stores, resulting in 12 babies and adults from the states of Oregon, Washington, California, and Maryland becoming affected between Feb. 5 and Feb. 23 (http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/fs/food-disease/news/mar2411illnesses.html).
Nearly 5,000 cartons of these cantaloupes were sold from warehouses between March 10 and 21st to stores, the site notes.
On a similar note, E coli infections were reported in over 23,000 pounds of Seltzer’s Beef Lebanon Bologna and distributed to California, Colorado, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania (http://www.allheadlinenews.com/briefs/articles/90042053?23%2C000%20pounds%20of%20bologna%20recalled%20on%20E.coli%20fear).
14 cases of infections caused by the bologna have been reported, the majority of them in Pennsylvania.
The bright side of this story? You can be assured that your food products will not be contaminated during transport when shipping with Road Scholar Transport. With temperature protect services and a 0.0005% damage and loss rate, your products will be safe and fresh. Visit www.roadscholar.com to learn more.
On a scale of 1-5, how important is it for you to ship your food products via a safe carrier?
Tags: bologna, california, cantaloupe, Colorado, Del Monte Fresh Produce, E coli, food recall, infection, Maryland, new york, Oregon, pennsylvania, road scholar transport, Salamonella Panama, seltzer’s Beef Lebanon Bologna, temperature protect service, Washington
Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles, Services | Comments Off
Friday, March 11th, 2011
Senators from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Florida, Minnesota, and West Virginia proposed a new bill earlier this week that would enforce stricter punishments on pharmaceutical thieves.
The bill, which was introduced last Tuesday, “would formally criminalize the acts of storing, transporting or changing labels on stolen medical products” (http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2011/03/10/senate_bill_aims_to_combat_pharmaceutical_theft/).
The proposal would also help police track down thieves by providing them with additional tools such as wiretaps, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, an article on boston.com notes. You can compare this to a company like Road Scholar Transport who has the ability to trace and track all of our tractor trailers via satellite. It wouldn’t take long for Road Scholar to pinpoint exactly where our truck and your cargo are at any moment.
Don’t think it is necessary to pay more for a better quality carrier? You may rethink your answer. According to the site, $184 million worth the pharmaceuticals were stolen last year in the United States, with $75 million of the amount being stolen at one warehouse in Connecticut that was storing Eli Lilly drugs.
Where exactly did these drugs end up? You may have guessed that they would be dealed in alleys and on streets, in which you would be correct, but did you know that most of the time pharmaceuticals are resold to medical locations such as hospitals and pharmacies?
So you save a few dollars by shipping with a carrier that has a poor safety rating, high damage and loss rate, and little, if any, security features. You may see a small rate, but is that the whole price you are paying by shipping with a bottomfeeder carrier?
Let’s look at a case that happened two years ago in North Carolina when a carrier was transporting almost $11 million dollars worth the insulin. The insulin, which needs to be refrigerated, was being transported via reefer. The reefer was stolen and the thieves were not caught, whereas they would have immediately been captured using Road Scholar’s “SkyBitz.”
The insulin, which was not properly refrigerated, was resold to medical stores, and diabetics who purchased this medication became really sick and rushed to the hospital.
Now imagine if this was your product. Not only did you lose thousands/millions of dollars when your shipment was stolen but now face health issues, recalls, and brand equity, all because you did not choose a safe, quality driven carrier.
Road Scholar not only offers vans, but temperature protect services. With ReeferTrak, you will be given access to data including every time the trailer door was opened/closed to guarantee that no one was tampering with your freight during transport, as well as the temperature inside the trailer at any given time to ensure that your pharmaceuticals are transported under the right conditions so you don’t have to worry about recalls and health issues due to improper transport.
On a scale of 1 to 5, how much would you value being able to view the exact location and temperature of your shipment at any place and time?
Tags: bill, cargo, carrier, Connecticut, Eli Lilly, Florida, insulin, medical products, new york, Ohio, pennsylvania, pharmaceutical theft, proposal, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, reefer, ReeferTrak, road scholar transport, satellite tracking, senator, Skybitz, temperature protect services, thieves, tractor-trailer, van, west virginia, wiretaps
Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles, LTL freight, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
It has happened to us all at one time or another. You are running late for work, an appointment, or just meeting a friend, and to make matters worse, you get stuck in a traffic jam.
Although traffic congestion may seem to take longer when you are in a rush, if you add up all the time you spend waiting for the car in front of you to move each year, you would be shocked at how much time you have actually wasted.
Here’s a question for you. How much time does the average driver spend in traffic jams per year? Is it one day? One week?
Try one month!
That’s right, according to INRIX’s national traffic statistics, those traveling in the nation’s worst traffic corridors spend 1/12 of their year sitting in their car behind slow moving or stopped traffic.
The report, released today and available at http://inrix.com/scorecard/, notes drastic changes in the amount of congestion in our nation’s metro areas and traffic corridors.
According to thetrucker.com, “drivers are experiencing an average 10 percent increase in travel times” and “if unemployment drops to 7 percent by 2012 as economists’ predict, 9 million more daily work trips will jam our nation’s road network.”
In looking at the nation’s top 100 metro areas, INRIX found 70 of them to obtain higher congestion levels than the previous years.
The graph below (provided by http://inrix.com/scorecard/) marks the Los Angeles area to have the highest congested area with New York ranking second.
2010 Top Congested Metros
For those of you who complain about Mondays, here’s a reassuring fact that may make you slightly fonder of the day. According to INRIX, Mondays are actually the best day of the week when it comes to traffic, with Thursday being the worse.
INRIX also examined the nation’s worst traffic corridors last year, finding that a typical driver traveling in these areas can “experience up to 80 hours of delay annually on the afternoon commute alone” (http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2011/3/8/StudyDriversinbottlenecksspendmorethanamonthyearlyintraffic.aspx). New York’s I-95 SB ranks in the number one spot.
Not only are you wasting a month of your life sitting in traffic when traveling in these areas but put that with the new hours of service proposal (which is striving to reduce the number of driving time for truck drivers from 11 hours to 10 hours) combined with rising fuel prices and now you don’t only have time wasted, but money as well.
Just think, a few hours stuck in traffic can cause a driver’s allowed time to run out, a shipment to be late and therefore, all other shipments in that trailer to be late as well, possibly resulting in lost customers.
All the more reason to choose a carrier you can trust such as Road Scholar Transport. With satellite tracking, you can see exactly where your freight is at all times, so you know whether a driver is stuck in traffic and how far away they are, along with 24 hour expedited services to ensure that your freight is delivered on time. Visit http://www.roadscholar.com/additionalservices.php to learn more.
On a scale of 1 to 5, how important is on-time delivery to your business?
Tags: Boston, carrier, Chicago, commuter, Dallas, expedited shipping, Fort Worth, freight, Houston, I-95 SB, INRIX, Los Angeles, metro area, new york, on-time delivery, Philadelphia, road scholar transport, San Francisco, satellite tracking, Seattle, Tacoma, traffic congestion, traffic corridor, traffic jam, traffic statistics, unemployment rate, Washington D.C.
Posted in LTL freight, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
I’ve been with Road Scholar for 16 years. During this time, several things stand out that I can remember…things I think about from time to time.
My first week here I stopped at a phone booth, in which I found a wallet. It was full of money and several credit cards. I contacted the owner but he was not at home. He finally contacted me about a week later and recalled leaving it there but didn’t realize it until the next evening when he tried to check into a motel. He was very grateful that I found it and told me that he mentioned to his wife that he knew he probably wouldn’t get it back. He was so grateful in fact, that he told me to keep the money in the wallet as a reward.
There was another time I can remember where I left Fitchburg, MA going to Bennington, NH to pick up a load of paper. 
It was raining that day and I knew that on the way back it would probably be icy. Well the last hill before I got back was about a mile long and at the bottom you had to turn left or right. When I approached the hill it was all ice and when I started down the hill, my truck started to jackknife. All the way down I was turning the wheel hard to the left and right trying to straighten out. Finally when I got to the bottom, the truck and the trailer straightened out and I was able to stop. I got out of the truck and fell because the road was still all ice. All the way down the hill I was praying and I believe that the Lord stopped that truck for me.
One other event happened when I was coming south on 95 in Connecticut into New York. As I approached the cross expressway, the road split. I-95 goes to the right and I-278 goes to the left. I stayed to the right onto I-95 but when I did, the traffic was stopped and so I hit my brakes. The road was all ice and my truck and trailer went around in a circle one and a half times.
When my vehicle came to a stop, I was in the southbound lanes facing the wrong direction. I looked to my rear and there was a car in the right lane totaled from an accident and so I called 911. They were there in less than a minute and the officer told me that she was there to investigate the wrecked car. Soon after, the fire department arrived with a truck and an ambulance.
I started to turn my truck around when a car came around the corner and didn’t see me. All I could do was sit there and watch the car hit me head on. The car was totaled. The girl driving it
got out and asked me if I was all right. From the looks of her car I thought she was badly injured but she didn’t have a scratch on her.
Overall, I enjoy working at Road Scholar. I especially enjoy working with my fellow employees. No company is perfect but I’m glad to have been employed here and enjoy most of the work that I do.
Tags: Bennington, Charlie Boshinski, Connecticut, Fitchburg, I-278, I-95, ICE, jackknife, MA, new york, NH, road scholar transport, stories from the road, tractor-trailer, truck, winter
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