Today C-TPAT account holders received the following email:

"In order to comply with Department of Homeland Security regulations, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) has implemented a new security policy that will affect users of the C-TPAT Portal.
 
Beginning today, October 1, 2012, any user account that is not accessed for the period of one year (365 days) will be automatically disabled.  Please make sure to sign into the C-TPAT Portal as soon as possible to prevent your account from being disabled, and keep your account active by signing in at least once a year.  
 
If your account is disabled, please contact the C-TPAT Technology Help Desk at (866) 530-4172, or send a request to industry.partnership@dhs.gov.   The Help Desk is available Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST (except Federal Holidays).  After hours, please call (800) 927-8729 for assistance."

Make note of the changes and the contact information in case your account needs to be re-activated.

Small Fleet Registration Deadline for Tractor-Trailer Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Regulation Extended

The California Air Resources Board has issued Advisory Mail-Out MSC# 12-17 to notify stakeholders that the registration deadline
for the Small Fleet Compliance Plan has been extended to January 1, 2013.  This extension will provide fleets that have not already registered to use a compliance option under the regulation to participate in the extended phase-in option of the Small Fleet Compliance Plan that begins in 2013 and ends in 2016.

Background

The Tractor-Trailer GHG Regulation (regulation) applies to 53-foot or longer dry van or refrigerated van trailers (box-type trailers) and the tractors that pull them on California highways. The regulation requires tractor-trailers operating in California
to use tractors and box-type trailers that utilize certain aerodynamic equipment and low rolling resistance tires, as verified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay program, to meet specified fuel efficiency improvements.

The regulation establishes specific compliance deadlines for trailers based on fleet size and model year.  Specifically, small
fleets (with 20 or fewer trailers) may either:
•       Bring all their pre-2011 model year trailers into compliance by January 1, 2013, or
•       Phase-in compliance over several years, between 2013 and 2016, if they register by the registration deadline.  That deadline has been extended from September 1, 2012 to January 1, 2013.

For further information about the regulation, Advisory Mail-Out 12-17, training, outreach efforts, compliance tools, or the full text of the Tractor-Trailer GHG Regulation, please visit http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/hdghg/hdghg.htm or call 866 6DIESEL (866
634-3735), or email us at 8666diesel@arb.ca.gov.

The below notice was just received from Kentucky Motorcarriers.  It states that service providers must complete form TC 95-1 to apply for a KYTC number.

"Effective September 01, 2012, FMCSA will no longer issue “Registrant” USDOT numbers.  Kentucky will be implementing a process to issue these carriers a customer number that will enable them to do business in Kentucky.  When you access KYTC’s website to order a web KYU license you will notice new instructions.  You will have to apply for a KYTC number for these carriers and complete the TC 95-1 to apply for a KYU license.
Be sure to check the Service Provider check box regarding mailing address.
 
Thank you,
 

Tom McDaniel - Branch Manager
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Qualifications and Permits
200 Mero Street
Frankfort, KY 40622

Phone: 502-564-1257
Fax: 502-696-5045

Visit our homepage: http://transportation.ky.gov/Motor-Carriers/Pages/default.aspx "

You can download Form TC 95-1 in Word format.

The May results for the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) are out today. "The CGFI tracks changes in freight costs for Canadian Shippers.  The index is published monthly and the results are based on a statistically valid sample of transactions taken from the Nulogx database of more than $750M in annual freight transactions."  Tracking what shippers pay for freight will allow you, the transport company, to optimize and forecast future revenues.

"Results published today by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) indicate that the cost of ground transportation for Canadian Shippers decreased 0.29% in May when compared with April results.

The Base Rate Index, which excludes the impact of Accessorial Charges assessed by carriers, decreased by 0.3% when compared to April 2012.

Average Fuel Surcharges assessed by Carriers have seen a decrease from 22.4% of Base Rates in April 2012 to 22.1% in May 2012.

“We are experiencing a marginal decrease in base rates and a slight increase in accessorials, while fuel remained relatively flat.” said Doug Payne, President & COO, Nulogx. “It appears that marginal base rate gains in the domestic LTL & Truckload markets were offset by marginal decreases in the cross border LTL & Truckload markets.” continued Payne."

Check here additional information.

Service Providers (ETF) Quarterly tax filing REMINDER

I received an email from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet as a reminder to file the Quarterly Taxes.  Some of the links may be useful to you:

As a Service Provider you may have signed up to pay your customers KYU, KIT or IFTA tax on-line. This is your reminder to let you know that you may begin filing your quarterly tax return.  Be sure to use the print function that appears on your screen after you have submitted the return, since this will serve as your copy of the filing.  We have included some key website locations for your convenience.

Information on Electronic Tax Filing:  http://transportation.ky.gov/Motor-Carriers/Pages/Online-Services.aspx

IFTA Tax filing:                               https://apps.transportation.ky.gov/IFTAeFile/

KIT Tax filing:                        https://govnet1.ky.gov/wdt/kitlogin.asp

KYU Tax filing:                        https://apps.transportation.ky.gov/MCIWizard/Default.aspx

KY Division of Motor Carriers Website: http://transportation.ky.gov/Motor-Carriers/Pages/default.aspx

Verify Company Information:            https://apps.transportation.ky.gov/MCI/Home.aspx

Change of Company Information form:    http://transportation.ky.gov/Organizational-Resources/Forms/TC 95-573.pdf      

Invalid or forgotten passwords:        http://transportation.ky.gov/Motor-Carriers/Pages/Invalid-or-Forgotten-Passwords.aspx

I am pleased to announce that the new K-TEX Transport Inc. website is live. As you have noticed there are a lot of changes and I hope that you will find the new site a lot more useful. My team has been working on the site for a long time with the sole goal of providing a quality resource to the Trucking Industry and showcasing the services and products that K-TEX Transport Inc. provides.

There are two new features that I want to highlight:

• the resources page
• the four new features listed under Stay Informed on the main site
• don't forget to explore all of the helpful links we have provided for your convenience

My goal with the new website has been to establish k-textransport.com as a resource for trucking companies and truckers.  In the near future, I will post an in-depth demonstration of the new features.  If you have any comments or suggestions, do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Van