It is understandable why people attempt this crime: the payout can be enormous. Accident settlements can bring tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the chance of backfire is even more risky. Faking an insurance claim can bring penalties that far outweigh the reward, with thousands in fines and legal fees with jail time added on top.

Take the following case from Florida that occurred just over a month ago…

Florida Insurance Fraud

In Tallahassee on March 27, 2012, the Florida Department of Financial Services made a decision regarding a fraud investigation from the past two years.

The 15 defendants have been arrested for crimes that include ripping off more than $800,000 in fraudulent property damage and claims for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims. Between 2008 and 2010, the crime ring staged over a dozen incidents.

The scam involved food trucks that recruited people to pose as owners and then stage accidents. They then reported the accident and committed the truck insurance fraud.

Crime Doesn’t Pay

The biggest issue is that it was really easy for the Department of Financial Services to track the criminals down. With so many similar occurrences of food trucks getting wrecked, it was actually a simple case.

Like I mentioned, insurance fraud is attempted on every agent, with very poor results. With years of experience, we can use photos from the accident to determine when the whole scenario has been faked.

Royalty Truck Insurance is a leader in the industry. Call us today for a free quote for your vehicle or to ask what services we offer. Follow us on Twitter @royaltytruckins

Thus far, the terms of the deal remain undisclosed. Negotiations are expected to be closed by the summer.

The deal gives FedEx an estimated $70 million worth of territory and around 12.5 million new shipments. This is incredible news for the company, especially on the heels of UPS’s recent acquisition of Dutch shipper TNT Express. Currently, FedEx and UPS have 3% and 16% market shares of Europe, respectively.

Family-owned trucking business Opek is located in 44 stations throughout Poland, with more than 1,200 employees and 1,300 contracted truck drivers. This will certainly expand FedEx’s reach throughout Europe, which currently has 120 employees working in Poland.

In America, this trucking news will hopefully result in additional revenue for new positions and increased wages. At the very least, expect the stock for FedEx to go up as it experiences profits and expansion.

For more trucking news and articles, like this one about a need for more drivers, visit our blog or follow Royalty Truck Insurance on Twitter @RoyaltyTruckIns

So how is it possible that there are well-paying jobs available without qualified candidates to fill them? And during a recession? Here are a few of the factors that contribute to the industry need for more truckers.

Increased Regulations

The change in laws to hours-of-service by the Department of Transportation’s Fedral Motor Carrier Safety Administration in December 2011 has made trucking paychecks insufficient for covering the expenses of potential employees. New regulations aimed at making the roads safer for truckers and other drivers also changed how many hours a trucking professional could log weekly. They were no longer afforded the ability to drive continuously, making their positions less profitable.

In addition, the changes required that new drivers be hired on to meet the demand created by the reduced work week. These new positions, in many cases, were only part-time or offered less hours than the current drivers were allotted. So instead of filling them, truckers took their talents elsewhere for more money.

Better Paying Jobs

After hitting disastrous lows, the housing industry has been slowly returning to pre-recession values. This means a need for new houses, in addition to existing ones.

The State public works departments are also beginning to rebound, meaning more public projects are being started, such as bridges, tunnels, road improvements, new buildings, etc.

Both of these fields open up positions for people with construction backgrounds, or people able to haul heavy materials. With State funding behind them, many truckers have chosen these well-paying positions over those in the trucking industry.

As an added perk, the employee can remain closer to his/her family, rather than spend weeks on the road, important to young men and women.

Difficult to Attract Newcomers

So why doesn’t the trucking industry target drivers that do not have experience? Well, it is hard to convince them towards the lifestyle and it is more expensive for companies.

Truck drivers work crazy schedules, don’t get to regularly see family and friends, and have to endure grueling drives alone. This is not very attractive to a twenty-something used to the luxuries of cell phones, tablet computers, and big screen, Hi-Def TVs. Selecting a stable, financially beneficial job over one with long hours and sporadic schedules is a no-brainer.

Furthermore, new drivers typically are more expensive to the commercial trucking company. How do you attract a new workforce to a demanding, high risk, career? By offering them enough money that they cannot reject the offer. But then you have to pay the veterans more, which is difficult to budget even without the rising fuel prices that are hurting the industry. Plus, new truck drivers often cost more for truck insurance because they do not have the experience to be granted discounts.

What is the Solution?

Unemployment in America is still hovering around 10% and a double-dip recession is a distinct possibility, especially with European financial troubles and high gas prices skewing the value of items. As long as these conditions remain, there will be people in need of jobs and willing to try out something new. So just keep advertising the job openings and the bait will eventually attract the right fish. Hopefully the recovering economy will grant trucking employers extra capital to properly pay drivers and create desirable positions.

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Luckily, early reports said that the crash isn’t dangerous to local people, but precautions are being taken regardless. Traffic is being diverted until the mess is cleaned up.

Hazardous Materials Insurance

Many truck drivers don’t realize that transporting hazardous materials requires additional protection from your truck insurance company. Because of the added risk to property, human life, and the environment, coupled with the special needs to clean up a spill, you will need to purchase hazardous materials insurance if you plan to drive certain cargoes.

National and State legislations also require certain standards for these types of materials. Oftentimes, insurance coverage exceeding $1 million is needed to fully insure dangerous freights. This may seem excessive, but imagine the damage caused by a tanker full of fuel getting hit and catching on fire.

Some examples of cargoes that could require hazardous materials haulers insurance include fuel, combustible gasses, poisonous chemicals, fertilizers, and other regulated materials. Check the local laws of states you are driving through to ensure that they do not require additional coverage.

Royalty Truck Insurance has been providing policies for over two decades and is well-educated in the specifics of the commercial trucking insurance industry. Feel free to contact us with any questions or inquiries you may have.

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Natural Gas Storage

Like the blooming of flowers, baby animals breathing their first breath, and the start of Baseball season, skyrocketing fuel prices signal the beginning of spring.

Yes, every year around this time, gasoline begins to increase day-by-day, week-by-week, regardless of who is president, what the foreign situation is, and who America is at war with. This trend can be attributed to a few causes, but namely it is believed it is rising to meet the impending summer fuel consumption when family vacations and teenagers out of school create an increased demand for gas.

Unfortunately, this affects truck drivers more than anybody else. They spend most of their waking time behind a wheel, logging miles. 70% of goods in America are transported via the trucking industry, so when fuel prices go up, they get hit hardest.

Foreign fighting in the Middle East and uncertainty with the forex trading market due to Eurozone financial woes has caused the price of crude oil to go up over 40% since October. Without starting another war or finding a miracle solution to world-wide debt, what is the answer to our problems?

Natural Gas

Natural gas is currently a buck and a half less than oil, and America is sitting on an abundance of it. There are estimates that the reserves of natural gas in America could last up to 100 years, while world-wide oil is believed to only have around 30 years left before drying out.

This is clearly the best solution, if not for a few hangups.

There is no automobile on the market, let alone a shipping truck, that efficiently consumes natural gas to justify the conversion. In order for trucking companies to make the switch, they will need to see savings that are sensible and lasting.

In addition, you just can’t go to a pump and click on the natural gas button to fill up. Very few stations carry it, and those that do are not reliably found along the trucking routes.

Commercial Trucking

With these two problems solved, we could slowly see natural gas overtake oil as the main means of fueling a vehicle. And with such a huge investment and necessity from the commercial trucking industry, it could be the semis that lead the charge for change.

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Diesel prices are rising to highs of 4-5 years ago, which is not necessarily covered in the contracts of clients. This comes out of the budget of the trucking company and hurts profit margins.

In addition, new regulations have changed the laws for the number of service hours permitted for truckers to stay on the road. This measure, while intended to reduce accidents, had the side effect of necessitating restructuring of contracts and requiring hiring more employees.

Despite positive signs like lowered unemployment rates, the U.S. economy remains in question. Individuals continue to save money, fearing a double dip recession, which affects the necessity for trucking. Various regions are hit even harder and have to pay increased prices for fuel, which hurt their chances at getting contracts.

There are reasons to be optimistic, but in general, there is no sure way to know what 2012 and beyond will hold for the industry.

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For the fourth quarter last year, TNT reported profits of €4 million, so the sharp decline comes as a huge surprise. It is also indicative of the poor trucking industry worldwide, although America has begun seeing a reversal in trends.

UPS Takeover?

The United Parcel Service tried to buy out TNT with an offer of €9 ($11.87) per share, valuing the entire company at $6.43 billion, but the offer was firmly rejected. Investors apparently agreed as the stock actually rose to €10.18 on Monday, hinting that a better offer could be coming.

FedEx Making a Bid?

Now it appears that FedEx Corp. could step in and outbid the $6.43 billion offer made by UPS. Experts see this as a strong play for FedEx, which could gain it worldwide influence. It is likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to which they must quickly respond. UPS is bigger in Europe, so the chance for major expansion could have booming resonation for FedEx, including European offices and possibly the creation of more American jobs.

Trucking News

Royalty Truck Insurance will be sure to keep you current on this and other trucking news stories as they develop. Along with our Facebook page and Twitter account @RoyaltyTruckIns, you can also check our blog for weekly updates with the trucking world, including news that could help with the creation of U.S. jobs and help the market rebound.

The truck was stopped near the Utah border after it was discovered that one of the automobiles wasn’t registered on the truck’s shipping records. While inspecting the cars, troopers found 139 pounds of grass in one car trunk and 102 pounds in another.

Truck driver Hazem Izzat, was arrested, although it is unclear whether the trucker, the company he works for, or a combination of the two are liable.

Early estimates have the pot valued around $1.7 million. It is believed that the cargo was headed from California to Detroit.

Commercial Truck Insurance

There are a lot of situations that your commercial truck insurance agent can get you out of, but criminal cases are not included. If you choose to haul illegal substances, that risk is on you.

But Royalty can save your rear end in numerous other emergencies. If you are involved in a car accident, we are here to insure your vehicle and your cargo. Likewise, if your truck is the victim of a fire, vandalism, or other unforeseen event, there are commercial truck insurance packages that cover the damages. Check out Royalty Truck Insurance for yourself to find the coverage your business needs.

Follow Royalty on Twitter @RoyaltyTruckIns for more trucking news and like this story about a trucking company falsifying its work logs.

Well, it appears that one particular Pennsylvaniatrucking company is not following the law. InLancasterCounty,PA, D.A. Landis Trucking, Inc. has been caught cooking the books. The company is being charged with having their drivers keep false records in their logbooks from January 2007 through November 2009. They also have additional charges from the U.S. Department of Transportation for making false statements.

The owner, D.A. Landis, continually disregarded safe driving procedures by encouraging his commercial truck drivers to operate on their own preferred shifts, rather than ones within the legal confines of the USDOT. And to cover this crime, drivers were told to prepare two sets of logbooks, one for personal compensation and one to present to the USDOT to conceal the wrongdoings.

If found guilty, the maximum penalty for the company is up to 5 years probation and fines up to $5.5 million, while Landis himself could wind up serving 5 years in prison.

In my Opinion Piece, I mentioned that drivers were upset that the changes to the laws forced them to sometimes maintain strange hours to stay in compliance. But the goal is road safety, for truckers and other drivers, so the government will strictly enforce these laws and penalize them appropriately.

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The American Trucking Association released its index, stating that shipment weights for commercial trucks rose 6.8% in December 2011 for November. This may seem likely due to the holiday season, but numbers are season-adjusted  and accurately reflect an increase.

In addition, the full year of 2011 saw an increase of 5.9% from the previous year. This is the largest such increase since 1998.

Causes of Weight Shipment Increases

So what is causing the weight of shipments to increase? The simple answer: the earth’s gravitational field is increasing, thus making objects weigh more than they once did.

Okay, maybe that solution is not simple, nor is it practical.

The real answer is that the weight increase is the result of a reversal in post-recession spending habits. Stores that were afraid to over-commit to stock-piling merchandise are now more confident to fill their storage rooms with extra products. While this inventory increase is an optimistic sign, it in no way suggests that America is fully recovered from the recession.

The 5.9% weight rise also suggests that manufacturers are more confident to produce and ship more items. They had to cut back their business in 2008 and 2009 out of fears that merchandise would go unsold, but those concerns are subsiding.

Commercial Truck Insurance

With the recession’s effects diminishing (for now), it would appear that the trucking industry has gotten some positive news. This could mean an increase in positions and the necessity for additional vehicles. Of course, this means more commercial truck insurance policies. Check out Royalty for terrific comprehensive commercial truck insurance plans. And visit our blog for more weekly Trucking News.

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