Tag: trucking industry

What’s Shaping the Trucking Industry’s Future?

Caravan of white trucks on highway
Trucking Industry

The trucking industry in the United States is more than a century old, yet it continues to change along with the times. Here are some of the major trends that will impact the future of transportation in 2017.

1. More Productive Vendor Relationships

As trucking companies continue to deal with labor shortages and other obstacles, they will rely increasingly on trusted vendors for advice and solutions. Thanks to a varied customer base, vendors get a broad view of the industry and you can benefit from their greater perspective.

2. Greater Integration of Technology

Improving efficiency and profitability is a permanent goal of all trucking companies. GPS and other sophisticated technology provide a valuable advantage in cost-effective measures such as mapping the best routes and planning optimum truckloads.

3. Self-Driving Vehicles

Automation took a huge step forward last year as a San Francisco startup owned by Uber made a delivery of beer to Colorado using a self-driving truck. Odds are slim that the trucking industry will become completely automated, but it’s another new technology that you should evaluate for possible benefits to your company.

4. Changing Regulations

The government is also adapting to the ever-shifting landscape of the transportation industry. Regulations are created, changed and discarded in order to cover worker safety, environmental issues and other pressing concerns, and you can’t afford to fall behind.

Trailer Mover to Pull Semi Trailers from DJ Products

Our battery-powered trailer mover to pull semi trailers is safe, eco-friendly and economic, allowing a single employee to move loads of up to 100,000 pounds. Visit our website to learn more.

Eco Friendly Semi Trucks May Be the Future if This Startup Gets Its Way

Could an Eco Friendly Semi Be on the Way?
Could an Eco Friendly Semi Be on the Way?

An eco-friendly semi truck might sound as realistic as a unicorn, but it may be closer than you think. A startup in Utah is banking on being the first company to roll out this game-changing vehicle.

The New Face of Trucking?

Nikola Motor Company, the namesake of legendary engineer Nikola Tesla, has an experimental truck called One on its virtual drawing board. One’s aerodynamic design and hybrid drivetrain show promise as a major step toward a greener trucking industry.

The sophisticated drivetrain consists of electric motors, lithium-ion batteries and an on-board turbine, which kicks in when the batteries run low. Unlike electric cars, these trucks won’t need to be periodically plugged in.

Take Advantage of Multiple Fuel Sources

While the turbine is intended to run primarily on compressed natural gas (CNG), it can also burn diesel fuel or gasoline. Nikola’s initial plan is to build a nationwide network of 50 CNG stations drawing on the company’s own natural gas wells, with more stations to be added if the program takes off.

Currently the One exists only as a computer-generated concept, with no word as to when an actual prototype will debut. However, Nikola has been accepting fully refundable $1,500 deposits, with the first 5,000 orders to include one million miles worth of free fuel.

DJ Products Bridges the Present and the Future

Our battery-powered semi truck trailer caddy will provide an eco-friendly companion to Nikola’s One, just as it does to the trucks in your fleet today. Visit our website to learn more about our semi truck trailer caddy and all the other material handling solutions from DJ Products.

Strong Growth in Trucking Industry Boosts Warehouse Growth

Unloading big container trucks at warehouse building
Growth in Trucking and Warehousing

The 2015 jobs data shows steady growth across every component related to the warehousing industry. Small gains in manufacturing have bred considerable growth in warehouse and trucking employment numbers. As truckers overcome a job shortage and retail regains its strength, warehouses sit in the middle of a very bullish market.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported marked growth in trucking jobs in 2015, including the addition of more than 7,000 jobs in a strong June. Warehouse facilities added thousands more jobs as the overall unemployment numbers continued to fall.

Market Growth and Your Warehouse

Distribution centers have found greater success in recent years thanks in part to improvements in logistics and technology. The Wall Street Journal report on warehouse job growth points to a new giant Nike logistics center in Memphis (now the largest warehouse in the apparel giant’s system) as a symbol of the industry’s growth.

To tap into this growth potential, warehouses are focusing on slimmer, smarter operations. To control costs as labor needs rise, managers must also find safety solutions that keep employees healthy, working, and away from workers compensation claims.

Automated solutions such as our motorized caddy for industrial carts can help streamline warehouse operations and protect workers from injury.

  • Electric and battery-powered industrial carts for hauling equipment and inventory: reduce the neck, back, and lower body injuries associated with heavy loads and repetitive tasks.
  • Waste container movers: improve the waste removal process while avoiding musculoskeletal disorders associated with heavy lifting, throwing, and pushing.

Talk to us at DJ Products about industrial carts and automated solutions for better work environments and more sustainable, profitable growth.

Driver Demographics Affect Musculoskeletal Injury Risk

EHS Today online, a magazine for environment, health and safety leaders, published an interesting April 24, 2009 article comparing truck driver demographics to risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries. As in any job that requires long hours in a single position, long distance truck drivers are at increased risk for musculoskeletal injury on the job. According to a recent study by Atlas Ergonomics, truck drivers lose more workdays per musculoskeletal injury incident than any other group of workers. Fortunately, risk factors can be predicted and workers protected.

The three-year study of 28,301 commercial truck drivers was conducted from 2005 to 2008. Drivers were primarily engaged in driving and delivering loads with less than 10% of drivers’ activities involving the unloading of freight. A direct relationship was found between injury risk and the physical characteristics of the both the worker and truck cab. The driver population studied was predominately men of slightly taller stature and weight than average.

  • The study found that height caused the greatest discomfort while driving. Taller drivers were forced to contort their bodies to fit into cab spaces, while shorter drivers had to stretch to reach controls.
  • Weight, particularly obesity, significantly increased injury risk factors. Obesity increased driving discomfort to severe levels and, in many cases, resulted in sleep apnea and other sleep disorders that impaired alertness.
  • Driver age was spread across all age groups from young, new drivers to near retirees. Discomfort increased with age and length of service, three to five years of seniority producing greater risk. Injuries to workers 65 and older resulted in longer work absences after injury.
  • While women drivers constituted just 8% of the study group, their smaller stature resulted “in elevated levels of discomfort across all body parts,” according to study results. Muscular strength may also have played a role but was not specifically studied.

While operating material handling equipment is significantly different from long-haul trucking, there are important similarities when workers are forced to maintain steady postures for long periods of time or repeatedly perform the same actions over a shift. The findings of the Atlas Ergonomics study has instructive lessons for material handling equipment purchasers who want to decrease the risk of worker injury in their workplace. We’ll talk about that next time.

Ergonomic Design Reduces Equipment Injury Risk

In our last post, we discussed the results of a three-year study of musculoskeletal injury risk factors in the trucking industry. While that study focused on long-haul truckers who are forced to maintain the same postures for hours at a time and the toll such limited activity takes on the body, the study provides an instructive lesson for any business owner who uses material handling equipment to move materials and products in the workplace. Any time workers spend long periods of time performing similar tasks, any time workers repeat the same physical movements during their shift, any time workers must adapt their bodies to “fit” the equipment they operate, any time workers must use their own body muscles to move or maneuver materials, the risk of sustaining damaging musculoskeletal injuries increases significantly. Ergonomics is the solution.

The recent study by Atlas Ergonomics reported in EHS Today online evaluated musculoskeletal injury risk factors for commercial truckers by demographics, height, weight, age and gender. Risk factors significantly increased whenever drivers had to stretch or contort their bodies to reach and operate controls. Injuries also increased with the length of time uncomfortable positions had to be maintained. Atlas found that making ergonomic improvements to truck cab designs, control placement and operator actions, could significantly reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries across all driver populations.

Atlas President James Lansman told EHS Today, “Fortunately, as our historical data and work in transportation have shown, driver risk can be measurably reduced through simple, low-cost adjustments to the cab and the drivers’ routines. The data show that sound ergonomics can have a direct, significant impact on trucking companies’ financial performance — which executives may find particularly encouraging in this difficult economy.”

DJ Products ergonomically-designed material handling equipment provides the same benefits to businesses that utilize material handling equipment to move materials, equipment and products in the workplace. Our motorized carts and battery-powered cart movers are engineered to take the burden off workers’ bodies and allow materials and equipment to be transported and maneuvered without musculoskeletal strain or injury. DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed material handling equipment allows equipment to be adjusted to optimal height for use by workers of any size, age or physical ability, ensuring maximum production during every shift.

Next time: Benefits of ergonomic design