The Future is Closer!

A message from our Chairman and Founder Tom Maciulis.

Newly updated as of 9/8/16.

Cadence Premier Logistics is excited to announce the ground breaking of our new corporate home in Joliet.  Two thoughts went in to the design of our new home, Our People and Our Customers.  The key to our success today and moving into the future is our strong core values and culture.  Our new facility is being designed to give our drivers all the comforts of home, this includes; our new overnight bunk rooms, state of the art drivers lounge, full kitchen and cafeteria, health facility which includes indoor soccer and much more.
 
By listening to our associates and customers our new facility will allow us to expand on our values and culture, providing meaningful opportunities for professional growth and successful experiences, attracting, retaining and developing the great employees that help us provide the high quality services our customers deserve.

Senate Committee Approves 73-Hour Cap on Driver Hours

The US Senate Appropriations Committee voted 30-0 on Thursday to restore a legislative drafting error that put the 34-hour restart at risk. 

However, the amendment from Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) also included a cap of 73 hours for truck drivers in any 7 day period.

Last week, the Illinois Trucking Association met on Capitol Hill with the offices of US Senators Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk.  ITA urged both Senators to ensure the 34-hour restart is retained, but ITA opposes a cap on driver hours.  Instead ITA supports the existing hours of service regulations.  Both Senators Durbin and Kirk sit on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The focus now turns to the House Appropriations Committee. ITA's Rocky Caylor (Cadence Premier), Michele Schafer (Triple G Enterprises) met with Congressman Dan Lipinski, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, last week as part of the ITA Call on Washington (pictured). Points of discussion were ELDs, HOS and the current driver shortages. Caylor, Schafer, Contreras and Bidochka stressed the need to fix the legislative drafting error that has put the 34-hour restart in jeopardy.

From Left to Right: Caylor, Schafer, Lipinski, Contreras, Bidochka

Picture far left is Chariman Congressman Schuster (PA), Congressman Mike Bost (IL), and far right is Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL)

From our Chairman Tom Maciulis and President CEO Rocky Caylor

Cadence Premier Logistics takes pride in being a leader, pioneer, and innovator of safer operations in the transportation and logistics industry.  During this past year we have looked at ways to enhance the values and culture of our family.  One specific component of our Continuous Improvement process has been establishing a solid working relationship with the Department of Labor’s (DOL), Veterans’ Employment and Training Service(VETS) Regional Outreach Team, Employment Manager Eric Asmussen. This all started with the assistance from the American Trucking Association (ATA), specifically Elisabeth Barna at this year’s ATA MCE. As our President, I’ve worked with veterans groups over the past several years. Tom, our Chairman, asked our executive team to elevate working with veterans to the highest level.  Most companies DO NOT go beyond just making that public announcement about how they support and are committed to our veterans, then hoping or assuming that the men and women of our armed forces will just send a resume or pick up the phone and call them.  Well my friends, and as a veteran, that is not the case.  This process is a commitment needed from the whole organization and needs to be planned and executed.  At Cadence we are committed to success in everything we do as a team.
 
During this process with DOL VETS we’ve introduced our driver programs at Cadence and the unique opportunities we provide not just to civilian driver candidates, but to those veterans that want to pursue a career in a growing industry. From our ability to assist a Veteran entrepreneur who wants to buy or lease their own equipment and begin building their own fleet, to training new and existing drivers with our Driver Simulator, and our CVSA trained “Train the Trainer” managers, we back words with quality actions.
 
Today we had the honor and pleasure to take that first step with Reginald “Reggie” Whitley, Illinois Department of Employment and Security (IDES), Veterans Employment Representative, Reggie also served with the US Army as a Ranger.  Starting in January of 2016, Cadence will be working hand in hand with the Illinois Department of Employment as well as local Chicagoland community development groups specifically in the driver training and placement, as well as, workshops to share industry knowledge.
 
In closing, the Cadence Team extends a warm and sincere Thank You to all the associates at the US Department of Labor and Illinois Department of Employment and Security for all your hard work and dedication.
 
Stay tuned for our next news release that will detail our new camera and ELD technologies Cadence and M2M In Motion have developed and tested, taking a motor carriers actionable needs to the next level.

The Annual ATA MCE

Cadence Premier was represented at the annual ATA MCE in Philadelphia by our President/CEO Rocky Caylor. Pictured above is the American Trucking Association sub-committee on HOS, Hours of Service, meeting.   During the meeting many topics, one of which was the new mandate on ELD.  Please see the caption below and FMCSA link as provided by HDT.

FMCSA ANNOUNCES ELECTRONIC MANDATE

By December 2017, an approximately 3 million commercial drivers will have thrown out their paper logbooks. The long-anticipated rule requiring electronic logging devices (ELDs) for truck and bus driver hours of service was announced Thursday morning.  NOTE:  The rule is scheduled for official publication on Frida, Dec. 11.  To read or get a copy of the ELD Final Rule it will be available at: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/electronic-logging-devices-and-hours-service-supporting-documents.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

While attending the recent American Trucking Association Management Conference in Philadelphia, Cadence Premier President/CEO Rocky Caylor, had the honor of attending an private reception for Congressman Bill Schuster, Pennsylvania. Congressman Schuster, is the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as sitting on the House Armed Services Committee.  Also pictured to the left of Congressman Schuster is Barbara Windsor, CEO HAHN Transportation Inc.  Barbara was also the first woman to Chair the ATA, American Trucking Association, 2010 to 2011.

What Resulted from the House-Senate Conference Committee
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act highway bill (dubbed the "FAST Act 2015"). The five - year, $305 billion dollar highway funding bill includes several important trucking regulatory reforms and also represents the longest termed highway bill in decades. The Act mandates a series of long term homework projects for the FMCSA with the goal of clearing the smoke and mirrors effect from certain issues such as CSA scores, driver detention issues, and insurance matters. To save you the trouble of perusing the approximately 1,300 pages of Act (unless you've been eagerly anticipating the read, then consider this a spoiler alert) we've highlighted some important changes that directly impact our industry:

• The infamous CSA scores are no more for the time being. Much of the information contained on the FMCSA website that was previously available and that related to carriers' performance is no longer on display. Carriers' percentile rankings and the seven SMS BASICS are among the bulk of the data that has been temporarily removed. The bill requires the FMCSA to perform in-depth studies on issues like carriers' crash risk and the correlation between CSA scores and the carriers' likelihood of crashes. This study is due to be produced to Congress within 18 months of the bill becoming law. Congress has required that the FMCSA implement a "corrective action plan" before it can allow public view of the carrier information previously contained on its website.
   
• The FMCSA must study and provide Congress with a report on how driver detention at shippers and receivers' facilities impede the efficiency of US freight movement, as well as the impact the detention might have on drivers' schedules or wages.
   
• The FMCSA must also provide a report to Congress concerning carrier liability insurance minimums and whether they should be raised from their current values. Liability for general freight carriers is $750,000.00.
   
• The Act allows carriers to use drivers' hair as a source of material for drug testing, in lieu of urine tests, but only after the Department of Health and Human Services establishes a clear guideline for hair testing. The DHHS is expected to report to Congress with some guidelines within one year.
   
• The rulemaking process for the FMCSA has undergone new regulations, and the FMCSA must include a "regulatory impact analysis" for each new rule it institutes, which must show the effect the rule might have on carriers of various sizes. The Act requires the analysis to utilize data that represents the commercial motor carrier industry that would be impacted by the rule.
   
• The FMCSA must change the rules to allow military veterans with experience driving equipment that is similar to heavy-duty trucks to more easily obtain a CDL and drive a truck as a civilian. Specifically, the FMCSA must allow their military driving experience to count towards driving skills and tests and their medical certifications could be obtained from VA doctors rather than those in the FMCSA's registry.

For as many things as the bill included, there exists a list of things notably absent from the final, signed draft:

• The final version does not contain a measure to permit 18-21 year old CDL holders to drive interstate. The preliminary House and Senate bills included measures to let states enter into a compact to allow 18-21 years olds to cross state lines. The final version, however, sets up a "controlled study" to be performed by the FMCSA to collect data on under-21 year old drivers who are former military members and study the benefits and safety issues.
   
• There is no provision allowing for an increase in federal weight limits. Trucking lobbyist groups pushed for an increase from the current 80,000 pounds to 91,000 pounds and increasing the maximum allowed length of tandem trailers to 33 feet from the current 28 feet. 
   
• The Act provides no "hiring standards" provision (thankfully). The original House highway bill had criteria that encouraged shippers and brokers to hire only carriers with "satisfactory" safety ratings. Critics of the House highway bill balked, stating that the provision would wreak havoc on a majority of small trucking companies who are "unrated" by the FMCSA. 
   
• The Denham Amendment, promulgated by Representative Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), sought to clarify a recent court ruling issued by a federal appellate court. The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAA) prohibits states from enacting laws that interfere with motor carrier prices, routes, or service. However, the federal ruling last year held that a California law mandating meal and rest break for workers in the states superseded FAA. The Denham Amendment would have explicitly provided that states cannot regulate truckers who fall under federal Hours of Service regulations.
   
• The final bill also eliminated the provision in the Senate's original bill that allowed tolling on existing interstate lanes and the use of toll money for use outside of the US interstate system.

Overall, the Act shows promise in paving a way for a better future for those of us in the transportation industry. We are all painfully aware of the FMCSA's need to take the CSA score concept back to the proverbial drawing board. Hopefully the new system will provide a less harsh view of some of the more (relatively speaking) benign issues that blemish some of our reports. Improvements in CSA reporting may also help defend trucking companies sued in litigation, as plaintiffs' attorneys often exaggerate what would otherwise be seen as relatively minor disclosures. Of course the impact of this Act may hit more forcefully once the FMCSA generates the numerous reports it has been assigned to prepare and provide and that concern very important aspects of the transportation industry. The agency has been given a hefty homework assignment and it remains to be seen whether the curve is in its favor.

Information source: Roberts Perryman PC.

Congress Passes 5-Year Highway Bill; What Does It Mean for Trucking?

Earlier this year, our President and CEO, Rocky Caylor accompanied the Illinois Trucking Association contingency to the “ITA Call On Washington”. The trip was essential in supporting the increased funding bill for our nation’s highways and bridges, among other safety and economic issues facing the trucking industry.

The US Senate and Congress both stamped their approval on a new multi-year, federal highway bill this week and sent it to White House where President Obama is expected to sign the bill as early as today.  Noticeably missing from the FAST (Fixing America's Surface Transportation) Act is a meaningful increase to funding for our nation's highways and bridges.
 
The ITA would like to thank our state trucking association affiliates and especially our national affiliate, the American Trucking Associations, who fought hard over the past several months to include many pro-trucking pieces to the final bill while also fighting off anti-trucking amendments that would have made our industry less safe and cost us more in taxes and fees. Click here for the initial analysis of the FAST Act from the ATA.

Cadence Proving that Safety is Priority #1

Cadence continues to lead the charge as a pioneer in the Transportation and Logistics business segment, 
with a primary focus on driver safety.  Cadence works tirelessly to exceed customer and industry expectations which include staying on the cutting edge of safety technology, understanding what keeps our industry moving forward and supporting safe, well educated drivers.
 
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is an international not-for-profit organization composed of local, state and federal motor carrier safety officials and representatives, including those from the United States, Canada and Mexico.  Their mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security. 
 
Recently our Safety Manager, Darius Paszehr and Simulator Manager/ Driver Trainer, Max Fomin (pictured) attended the Illinois TA, CVSA “Operation Safe Driver” Commercial Driver Trainer Train-the-Trainer.  This Train-the-Trainer Course has been developed for motor carrier safety personnel and their drivers with the sole purpose of improving professional commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driving behaviors.  The training has been designed to build on the drivers’ existing knowledge and training, while supplementing this experience by covering many topics not normally covered in common driver training materials.

Cadence Premier Logistics buys land in Joliet for HQ move

Business Ledger news services

Thursday, September 17, 2015 9:49 AM

JOLIET  – NAI Hiffman recently represented buyer Cadence Premier Logistics and seller, a joint venture partnership between Ryan Companies US, Inc. and ASB Real Estate Investments, in a transaction involving 44.54 acres in Joliet's Laraway Crossings.

Cadence Premier Logistics, of Alsip, purchased the site on the northeast corner of Route 53 and Laraway Road and plans to build a 121,000-square-foot building to house its corporate headquarters and warehouse space including light assembly of safety devices and a drop plant. The building will include 380 trailer spaces, a 66,000-square-foot area dedicated to truck maintenance and a diesel and compressed natural gas fueling station. The project is expected to be completed in early 2016.

John Whitehead, vice president with NAI Hiffman's industrial services group, represented Cadence Premier Logistics in the land purchase and subsequent build-to-suit. Eric Tresslar and Steve Connolly, both Executive Vice Presidents also with NAI Hiffman, represented Ryan Companies US, Inc. and ASB Real Estate Investments in the transaction.

http://dhbusinessledger.com/Content/Commercial-Real-Estate/Commercial-Real-Estate/Article/Cadence-Premier-Logistics-buys-land-in-Joliet-for-HQ-move/24/90/16568

Cadence has Created a Program that Focuses on Driver’s Safety

With keeping their drivers first, Cadence Premier Logistics has created a program that focuses on driver’s safety.  By implementing and utilizing the latest technologies, the driver’s tractor is an office they can be proud of.

Cadence Premier Logistics has invested in its drivers by equipping its tractors with the Bose Ride system.  This game-changing seat suspension technology is proven to dramatically reduce driver fatigue and pain.

Bose Ride system represents a technological breakthrough in seat suspension that improves ride quality by intelligently responding to changing conditions in road surfaces. The system utilizes patented Bose® technologies to continuously sense, analyze and counteract unwanted road-induced vibration, before the driver even feels it.

For more information on the Bose Ride system visit: http://www.boseride.com/seat-suspension-system

Cadence Supports The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Chicago

Cadence Premier Logistics supports many organizations in our community.  One of the organizations that is very near and dear to us is The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Chicago.  

On May 20, 2015, Rocky Caylor, president and CEO of Cadence Premier Logistics, attended a fundraiser at the home of World Series winning White Sox head coach Ozzie Guillen, Sr.  The event was held to raise funds and awareness for research and support systems to defeat these awful cancers.  

Of course, we couldn't leave without a photo of Rocky and Ozzie, Sr., Ozzie Guillen, Jr. and Erica Takach from New York Life.

Please consider The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Chicago when making your charitable donations!