Dead of winter – here we are again already a month into 2015 – how did that happen? Time flies quicker and quicker these days. There clearly is not enough time to get everything done. We will continue to keep it short and to the point as we know your time is valuable. This month we report:
CAB FINANCIAL RATINGS – The breakdown of the percentages of the financial rating assigned to carriers in 2014, along with prior years it available here. While the percentage of carriers rated SATISFACTORY or FAIR increased, so did the percentage of carriers rated POOR or UNSATISFACTORY. Expected continued economic growth and lower fuel prices are considered likely to make 2015 a good year for the trucking industry but as our ratings distribution shows even in a good year a large percentage of trucking companies have financial weaknesses so it is always important to monitor the financial condition of insureds and prospective insureds.
CRASH INDICATOR REPORT – The FMCSA released a study on crash indicators this month. The study examined (1) whether Police Accident Reports provide sufficient, consistent, and reliable information to support crash weighting determinations, (2) whether a crash weighting determination process would offer an even stronger predictor of carrier crash risk than the current assessment method, and (3) how the agency might reasonably manage and support a process for making crash weighting determinations, including the acceptance of public input. Independent research has demonstrated that a motor carrier’s involvement in a crash, regardless of their role in the crash, is a strong indicator of their future crash risk. According to the FMCSA changing the crash weights based on a motor carrier’s role in the crash did not appear to improve the ability to predict future crash rates when all crashes are considered. There also was concern about the reliability of using Police Accident Reports to make this determination. The study pointed out that implementing a crash weighting effort on a national scale would require a method for uniformly acquiring final Police Accident Reports, a process and system for uniform analysis, and a method for receiving and analyzing public input. The report to Congress can be viewed here.
