Trucking issues will dominate the conversation at the annual meeting of the Carolina Loggers Association (CLA), set for February 26-27 at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside, Wilmington, NC.
Perhaps the most significant presentation will be that of Jimmie Locklear of Forestry Mutual Insurance. Locklear will dwell on multiple challenges facing the transportation segment, including driver shortages/training, insurance concerns, legal ramifications and public perception. He will demonstrate “how we are all in this together” and point out how logging and trucking companies with poor safety records have a negative impact on the industry. “Ultimately, the driver is the most important element and training drivers is job one,” he maintains. “In order to change course we must work together on a national level to improve the industry’s sustainability and profitability.”
Forestry Mutual is spearheading the TEAM Log/Chip Truck Initiative, a consortium designed to heighten awareness of these collective issues and to help identify and implement solutions. (Locklear can be reached at 910-733-3300 or [email protected]).
Other speakers will address truck accidents in North Carolina, trucking liability, and equipment financing.
For more information, visit ncloggers.com or phone Jack Swanner at 828-421-8444.