Tank trucking is a vital part of the chemical industry. NACD members rely heavily on trucks, including tank trucks, to deliver critical products to their customers. As such, understanding how truckers operate and the challenges they face can help provide key insights into the chemical distribution industry.
NACD was pleased to recently sit down with Dan Furth, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development & Communications at Heniff Transportation Systems, to discuss the partnership between the chemical distribution and tank trucking industries and the challenges both face.
“Tank trucking and chemical distribution are two very interconnected industries,” said Furth. Heniff is one of the largest chemical haulers in North America, with thousands of tractors and trailers that provide valuable transportation and logistics support for chemical distributors across the country.
As an integrated bulk logistics solutions provider, Heniff is uniquely positioned to see the issues impacting the trucking industry. “Even before the pandemic, our industry faced increased operating challenges, but over the last three years, it’s clear that some of these issues have become even more complex. The tank truck industry has experienced issues with driver and technician shortages, inflationary pressures, and changing regulatory landscapes,” said Furth. “These problems continue to impact not only our business at Heniff but the timely shipment of critical chemicals across the industry each and every day.”
In the face of these challenges, transportation solutions companies, like Heniff, have been working hard to adapt to this new environment. Some of these changes include the implementation of electronic logging devices, which have helped with safety and reduced problems with driver pay. Additionally, the installation of improved tracking technology has allowed for real-time load visibility for customers, better communications between all stakeholders, and greater efficiencies throughout the supply chain.
With the nature of chemical distribution, chemical haulers deal with significantly more regulations than other typical fleets because of the more stringent hazardous material regulations. “As with all hazardous material transporters, we face way more regulations than other truckers in the truckload and less-than-truckload segments. Add onto that an ever-evolving regulatory environment and it can make it difficult to stay up to date. Luckily, NACD resources help members navigate these changes and ensure they have a framework to keep them compliant and safe.”
Despite Heniff’s adaptations to their new regulatory and economic environment, Furth says that “The future of the trucking industry landscape remains uncertain right now.” However, he knows that despite whatever new challenges emerge, Heniff will be ready. “Constant innovation is one of the keys to success in the tank truck industry. Our Founder and CEO Bob Heniff is a true visionary on the future of tank trucking and as a company we are always looking at ways to evolve our services through adoption of technologies that offer improvements and greater efficiencies for our customers.”
As part of this evolution, on August 16, Furth will travel to The Woodlands, Texas to give a presentation at NACD’s ChemEdge Tradeshow and Conference 2023. He will lead a regulatory workshop session entitled, “The Race for Clean Fleets – Are the New Targets Realistic and How Will They Impact Trucking Capacity?” Furth will discuss the potential for alternative fuel vehicles, the regulations surrounding them, and the headwinds of this new technology for the chemical industry.
To find out more information on Dan’s regulatory workshop session and ChemEdge 2023, click here.
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