Comstock Woodlands
Steve Whitcomb 1971 Graduate of the University of Maine H.E.Sargent from 1971 to 1977 H.O.Bouchard from 1977 to the Present I have spent 42 years in transportation. Some of it building roads. And some of it consuming them. Serving the highway construction is still a very significant part of H.O.Bouchard s business.
H.O.Bouchard A 100 truck Contract Carrier based in Hampden. Established by Harold Bouchard in 1958. Harold Bouchard started out with a dump truck building roads in the summer and hauling wood in the winter. The company was built on finding cost-effective transportation solutions.
Here is a quick Cross section of H.O.Bouchard operations.
Comstock Woodlands A company founded by H.O.Bouchard in 1991 to operate the Great Northern Paper Company camps.
Golden Road 1975
Golden Road 1985
On/Off-Highway 2013
The next load may be on highway to Quebec.
Or, the next load may be on highway in Maine.
The original subject was to be the cost of grading woods road.
I do not know the costs of grading woods roads. I can explain to you the costs of NOT grading woods roads! Harold Bouchard and I met in 1971 when I was a grade foreman for H.E.Sargent and he had dump trucks. Herb Sargent would NEVER run his fleet of trucks over a rough haul road! Harold and I both learned under his tutelage that a grader was cheaper to run than trucks. I firmly believe that to this day.
So let s talk! How many people in here will agree that wood hauling is exempt from Hours-of-Service? What authority does Federal Motor Carrier have. Who can regulate our trucks? Why do you think that? Does Maine have an exemption? Did the FMCSA grant it? How many in here have read it?
100 Air-Mile Exemption 16 MAINE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 222 BUREAU OF THE MAINE STATE POLICE Chapter 4: MAINE MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATION (Cite as 16-222 CMR c. 4) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Definitions 2. Applicability 3. Adoption and Incorporation by Reference of Federal Regulations, without State Amendments 4. Adoption and Incorporation by Reference of Federal Regulations, with State Amendments 5. Adoption and Incorporation by Reference of Additional Federal Regulations 6. Qualifications to Enforce this Chapter 7. Source of Federal Regulations 8. Severability
2. APPLICABILITY This regulation applies to any interstate or intrastate common, contract, and private motor carrier that transports passengers or property in Maine. 3. ADOPTION AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, WITHOUT STATE AMENDMENTS Pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. 555, sub- 2, the Bureau of the Maine State Police hereby adopts and incorporates by reference into this Chapter, without State amendments: Title 49 Parts 40, 382, 390, 392, 393, 396, and Appendices to Subchapter B, of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended and as of February 2011.
4. ADOPTION AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, WITH STATE AMENDMENTS Pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. 555, sub- 2, the Bureau of the Maine State Police hereby adopts and incorporates by reference into this Chapter (1) Title 49 Parts 383, 391, and 395, and Appendices to Subchapter B, of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended and as of February 2011, with the following State amendments, and (2) Title 49, Section 391.41(b)(12)(i) as amended and as of February 2012, with the following State amendments: A.Hazardous Materials 1. There are no exemptions for motor carriers, vehicles, or drivers transporting hazardous materials of a type or quantity that requires the vehicle to be marked or placarded in accordance with 49 CFR, Subchapter C, Pt. 172.
D. As to 49 CFR Pt. 395, the following amendments are made: 1. Intrastate motor carriers, vehicles, and drivers to which this Chapter applies that operate less than 100 air miles from their regular place of business are exempt from 49 CFR Pt. 395.
So, what does this mean? Good question. The regulations do not mention wood. They were not designed for being in and out of interstate commerce. The CARRIER is the one exempt. We are an InTERstate carrier.
What has this got to do with grading roads? Time cost money. A modern tractor is now $125,000 +++. A trailer is $40,000. 2 tractor/trailers cost more than one grader. Each one will burn twice the fuel. The trucks/trailers from 1975 were made of cast iron! Our modern ones MUST be very light.
The game is not the same We MUST haul payload and not iron. The competitive truck now must be very light. The driver s time must be respected! 100 gallons of fuel is $400. A good driver will need a minimum of $200 plus benefits. That truck had better be earning $1,000/day and it had better be getting wood to the mill!
What does this have to do with a grader? The approach to every bridge is rough. Every bridge is in the lowest spot (that s where the brooks are!) Every time this huge tonnage slows down, fuel burn and time wasted goes up. The maintenance costs on a woods truck on rough roads is enormous compared to operating on pavement. The Stud Mill road will never be I-95, but it could always stand improvement.
Let s try this another way We are loading wood 100 miles from the mill. The truck can average 40 mph. It takes 5 hours of driving to do the round. It takes an hour to load and 1 to unload. 2 trips take 14 hours (the maximum allowed) The crane moves to a new lot, 10 miles further away. This is 40 miles in 2 trips. What do we do now????????
When there is a defect in road maintenance, logistics or driving! Are we going too fast to make the mill? Did the grader not scarify enough? This is what makes a grader look cheaper all the time.
Questions? Answers? Comments? Discussion?