JEVIC Committed to chem shipping

27 March 2006 00:00  [Source: ICB Americas]

DESPITE ONEROUS new Federal regulations that have led to increased costs, Jevic Transportation Inc. continues to ship chemicals and other hazardous materials in the US.

“We are affirming our commitment to handle the materials and will continue to invest in specialized equipment and technology that will allow us to do that,” says Dave Gorman, president and chief executive of Jevic, a wholly owned subsidiary of SCS Transportation.

“We will continue to ship hazardous materials as long as we can continue to recover our costs,” he adds. “If we are continuing to invest in technology, security, training … we need to recover these additional costs, and then we will remain committed. If there is an attempt to drive specialized transportation to the commodity level, then it makes it very difficult to stay in the sector.”

New Regulations

Regulations, such as 49 CFR 1572 and the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, have forced trucking companies to reevaluate their commitment to the hazardous shipping business.

Federal regulation 49 CFR 1572, which requires all drivers to undergo a comprehensive background check and fingerprinting before qualifying for a hazmat endorsement on their commercial driver’s licenses (CDL), has reduced the pool of drivers eligible for certification. “Because of the new regulations, a significant number of drivers are omitted because of security concerns or felony convictions,” says Gorman.

“To attract and retain the drivers that are eligible, you have to pay a premium in the marketplace,” he adds.

Communication is Key

Trucking companies now must also have better communication and tracking ability. The Bioterrorism Act of 2002 requires that carriers be able to track and trace food products that are on a trailer, should a concern arise, according to Jevic.

“This is a pretty substantial undertaking on our part because we ship chemicals as well as some food products,” says Rick Van Gemert, manager of hazardous materials and regulatory compliance for Jevic. “In support of these regulations, we have to maintain a communication system that is both satellite- and microwave-based that allows drivers to communicate with us on a real-time basis, which is very important for purposes of incident reporting and tracking the whereabouts of shipments themselves,” he notes.

Jevic and other hazardous material shippers also face higher insurance costs, as well as new equipment costs to meet increased regulations.

“On the equipment side, our heated trailers, and the way we outfit them for specialty handling with structural bracing as well as the ability to strap, block and brace in the trailer comes at a significant premium,” says Gorman. The heaters are also an added cost. “To run the heaters in winter, there is additional diesel cost of about 30,000 to 40,000 gallons per month, which is not insignificant,” he adds.

As part of its commitment to shipping hazardous materials, Jevic has developed a number of initiatives to smooth transition of hazardous cargo from shipping points to delivery.

Jevic’s PreSys is a system used internally at the company to identify shipments that are behind or off-schedule. If a delivery begins to fall behind schedule, an internal alert is triggered and Jevic is able to take recovery actions. “This gives us an opportunity to correct a problem before it arises,” says Gorman.

JEVIC WEB PROVIDES SECURE CREDENTIALS

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Customers began requesting 24-hour notice of delivery and were asking to photocopy the drivers’ licenses. However, drivers were understandably uncomfortable handing over their credentials.

With that in mind, the company developed Jevic Security Web and now issues every driver a scanable card that has a photo and credentials of the driver that can be sourced on a secure website. “This has been a well-received solution,” notes Gorman.

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