There is a solid strategic partnership between NASSTRAC and the American Logistics Aid Network. ALAN’s web portal serves as a clearinghouse for essential supplies, goods, and services during times of crisis, including disasters like the tornado disaster in Oklahoma this last week. ALAN’s solution to emergency relief brings together the unique capabilities of business (members of NASSTRAC) and voluntary organizations plus relief agencies – forming strong partnerships between public, private, and non-profit organizations.

> More at FreightTalk, NASSTRAC’s Blog

In an effort to provide learning and networking opportunities to college-level students coming into the industry, NASSTRAC launched its annual Transportation & Supply Chain Scholarship Program this year. Through this program, NASSTRAC provided financial resources that enabled three individuals in transportation/supply chain academic programs to attend this year’s conference. Scholarship recipients (pictured, left to right) are Jason Klanac, student from Georgia Southern; Edward Mraz, student from University of West Florida; and Bradley Addison, student at Auburn University. The program was implemented under the leadership of Marc Feeser, Sr. Manager, America’s Fulfillment & Logistics, at Dell Inc.; and Brian Gibson, Ph.D, Wilson Family Professor of Supply Chain Management, Auburn University.

> Read Jason Klanac’s perspectives at FreightTalk

NASSTRAC announces that Gregg Sayers has been recently named to its Executive Committee, the trade association’s primary governing and leadership team. Sayers is Director Supply Chain/Transportation at Stein Mart, a fashion retailer offering a distinctive assortment of apparel, acces¬sories and shoes for women and men and home fashions. Sayers provides strategic and tactical direction and leadership for international and domestic transporta¬tion activities supporting Stein Mart’s overall supply chain strategies. Previously, he served as director with Performance Team Freight Systems, a leading third-party logistics company based in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. He also was in a number of transportation leadership and distribution center operations roles at Limited Brands. Sayers holds a degree from Hobart College, Geneva, N.Y. Sayers has been an active NASSTRAC member since 2011, and was Stein Mart’s primary representative in accepting NASSTRAC’s Shipper of the Year award on behalf of the retailer that year.

According to NASSTRAC President Doug Easley, Sayers will work strategically with the Executive Committee to ensure the association achieves its mission in providing quality education, advocacy, and provider relations opportunities to shippers and other stakeholders in North American transportation. "Sayers brings considerable leadership and industry expertise to the table,” he says, "and we look forward to his contribution to our association and to the transportation industry at large.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced it won’t delay the July 1 start date for enforcing the latest changes to its HOS rule for truck drivers. In January, American Trucking Associations asked FMCSA not to enforce parts of the rule until three months after pending litigation ends. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is scheduled March 15 to hear oral arguments in the case.

FMCSA responded in a Feb. 22 letter to ATA, according to Transport Topics, with this statement: "Mere uncertainty over the possible outcome of the litigation, which you recognize is a matter over which the parties differ, does not create likelihood that the industry or the enforcement community will suffer harm due to wasted training resources or confusion.” However, FMCSA said it believes the rule is valid and not likely to be delayed if ATA asked a federal court to impose a stay, or court-ordered delay.

ATA opposes a provision of the rule that restricts use of the 34-hour restart. It allows truck drivers to reset their weekly driving limits of 60 hours in seven days, or 70 hours in eight days, if they rest for 34 hours. Truck drivers will now be able to use the restart only once every seven days, and the restart will have to include two periods from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

NASSTRAC joined ATA and other shipper and carrier interests in filing a brief Oct. 1 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is considering challenges to FMCSA’s latest rules. This brief supports the FMCSA decision to retain the 11th hour of daily driving time, based upon findings that the benefits of that decision outweigh costs. NASSTRAC also supports ATA’s goal of more flexibility as to restarts between workweeks. Visit www.FreightAdvocacy.org for more information on NASSTRAC’s advocacy initiatives.