HOS

The trucking industry would like to see greater use of longer combination vehicles, specifically 33-foot twin trailers instead of the currently legal 28-foot “pups” that dot the major interstates right now.

In the first comprehensive scientific study on the subject involving real-world truck drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has posted details of its $4 million plan for the congressionally mandated naturalistic study of the operational, safety, health, and fatigue impacts of the hours-of-service restart provisions.

FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) for January rose to a positive 2.6 reading, reflecting a one month reaction to fuel price reductions and adjustment for reversal of the 2013 Hours of Service changes.

Trucking interests are asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to make important changes to its CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) carrier rating system following criticisms from a key U.S senator and the Government Accountability Office.

Trucking sector warmly endorses move to suspend two consecutive 1 a.m.-5 a.m.rest periods during 34-hour restart period.

Late last week, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) said it has called on members of Congress in an effort to cast off what it described as “misinformation” over truck safety while asking Congress to sign off on an appropriations bill that would provide regulatory relief for the trucking sector, specifically focusing on truck driver hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.

The grim reality is that since the new HOS rule became effective, trucking stakeholders are experiencing losses between 3 percent and 9 percent, with many more shippers anticipating that the deficit to be in the upper end of that range.

Varying estimates from positive to pragmatic existed before the new rule became effective in July 2013. However, the grim reality is that trucking stakeholders are now experiencing substantial losses in productivity due to the change—and in many cases it’s much worse than was predicted.

Since the new motor carrier driver Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations took effect in July 2013, there has been more than a little bit of subsequent criticism aimed at these revised regulations, specifically its restart provision.

Nearly a year after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) new motor carrier Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations took effect, one thing remains clear: the rules are not being embraced by the trucking industry, even just a little bit.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently caught up with Doug Waggoner, CEO of Echo Global Logistics, a non-asset based freight brokerage company and a provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services on various topics impacting freight transportation and logistics.

High-ranking leadership for the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee is calling on the U.S. Government Accountability Office to evaluate two studies that were used to justify changes for the motor carrier Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that went into effect last July.

In a recent speech to shippers and carriers, Anne Ferro, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), said: “We need a real change in our transportation culture to recognize that safety means more than complying with safety rules. It means changing work/rest schedules that contribute to fatigue.”

Since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) formally rolled out its new trucking Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations, and in advance of their debut really, there has been and remains a large amount of differing opinions about why these rules were needed, if they really took into account the day-to-day travails of trucking, and, of course, the safety reasons that came with these new rules.

Keeping an eye on over-the-road capacity at its current levels and speculating on what its future levels may be has become more than a passing interest for freight transportation and supply chain stakeholders.