Trucking Regulation

The U.S. may move ahead with its plan to withdraw from an international rate setting forum if a compromise allowing countries to self declare rates falls through.

10-year old lawsuit is win for contractors but driver classification issue remains largely unsettled.

Training required for a Class A commercial driver’s license (CDL) just became less of a hassle for Class B truck drivers.

Funding plan keeps Charleston and Savannah on course to handle larger container ships.

The entire Boeing 737-MAX fleet is now grounded following an FAA decision that followed similar decisions by China, the U.K. and others.

Martinez emphasized a collaborative approach to regulation and said that removing non-preventable accidents from CSA scorecards is next on the agency’s agenda.

Trump’s budget bodes well for certain freight grants but Democrats take issue with reliance on the private sector.

Infrastructure hearings and a controversial waiver have lawmakers taking sides on the Jones Act debate.

Highway expansion projects that receive private and public funds could be exposed to added risk.

Two days after a report concluded that none of the world’s 20 biggest publicly traded airlines is doing enough to tackle climate change, executives from Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines said the sustainable jet fuel supply chain has a long way to go before airlines could transition away from conventional energy sources.

Minnesota’s Tom Emmer sees blockchain hype giving way to reality and more widespread use of the technology taking hold – as long as Congress helps clear a path.

FMCSA estimates over 11,000 Class B truck drivers will save time and money using the new process.

NTSB will look at the potential for hazmats such as lithium-ion batteries as a contributing factor in last week’s Atlas Air crash.

Flashback Fridays previews the soon-to-open Freight Alley Haul of Fame and showcases four trucking companies that contributed to the history of trucking.

Protecting market share is part of the battle over longer trucks.

Sentiment could be growing for lowering the driver age, but questions linger over safety and wages.

Lawmakers heard how costly fees and equipment shortages along the supply chain are hurting exports.

If IMO 2020 boosts demand for LNG bunkering, the U.S. isn’t ready to take advantage.

At least 40 percent of drivers are still using AOBRDs, and nearly 80 percent of those don’t plan to switch to ELDs until the second half of 2019, just ahead of the deadline.

If confirmed, the new DOJ deputy could bring with him from DOT potential deregulatory influence.

Carrier didn’t give employees 60 days advance notice, suit alleges

Connecticut truckers say tolling proposal unveiled by new governor would hurt business.

Fraudulent medical certifications that can put carriers and drivers at risk of more accidents.are under scrutiny.

Congress is handing out $93 million in federal grants for improvements at the nation’s top 15 container ports.

Positive Train Control isn’t just about safety anymore as the railroads revisit how the technology can generate capacity and save money.

Rails may need to raise rates to comply with new rules from Washington.

A 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods destined for the U.S. may get delayed again, but supply chain uncertainty persists.

California and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have filed petitions with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit challenging the preemption of the state’s meal and rest break rules for interstate truck drivers.

The twin goals are to address rampant oversupply and pave the way for immediate adoption of interstate commerce once marijuana becomes legal at the federal level.

Message from NATSO: Technology trends will force truck stop owners to reevaluate how they serve their customers.

Railroads – like trucking – will be focusing on solving the Highway Trust Fund problem this year. But could a Green New Deal become a competitive selling point?

Plus: Airbnb hires transport chief; Lyft goes green in Seattle; Vancouver chips in for high speed rail

Lots of ideas for federal funding of infrastructure at Capitol Hill hearing, but the “pay-for” question still looms.

The arrest came a little over month after the Farm Bill made hemp and all of its byproducts legal.

Green New Deals are the rage in Washington, with benefits – and costs – for trucking.

LNG shipments to Puerto Rico caught in the middle of latest battle over the Jones Act maritime regulation.

Drivers – not brokers – facing penalties of $5,000-$10,000 for violating new e-manifest filing requirements at the border.

The railroads have delayed installing life-saving automatic braking technology for another two years, and the NTSB is running out of patience.

Upheaval caused by the U.S.-China trade war has some freight interests uneasy about giving Trump more tariff power.

It was only one trade and the comparisons to diesel prices are less than perfect. But there now is an actual transaction that reflects a value for now of what fuel might do under IMO2020.

ELD’s were supposed to make headway into reducing crashes, but that may not be the case so far, according to academic research from supply chain experts.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and opened the door for interstate hemp transportation. Now hemp manufacturers are mobilizing to establish supply chains to move their crops.

Speed limiter regulations sat idling under Bush and Obama, so truck safety groups now look to Congress – and Trump – to put it in gear.

Carriers are asking about the risks of delivering so called “ancillary” shipments that facilitate weed businesses.

The Congressional Budget Office revealed the latest deficits it tracks for the Highway Trust Fund as Congress plans to debate new ways to pay for infrastructure.

Trucking law specialists Scopelitis says that state arbitration laws—and not just the courts—can still be used to settle disputes between trucking companies and employees.

The Congressional Budget Office reveals latest stats on the diminishing Highway Trust Fund as Congress plans to consider new ways to pay for highway infrastructure.

Truckers, not motorists, could be target of VMT, lawmaker says.

A former NTSB executive tells FreightWaves that “perishable information” critical to freight accident investigations is at risk of disappearing.

As a slew of regulatory and tech changes hit the trucking and freight industries, the businesses that succeed will be the ones that are open to innovation — and surveillance.

The biggest hurdle to making an infrastructure plan work is figuring out how to pay for it. A Washington D.C. think tank says Congress is ready to consider mileage-based user fees.

Financial transactions within the U.S. maritime sector – including vessel loans and project eligibility – are on hold waiting for an end to the government shutdown.

FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez wanted to “fast track” the HOS rules changes – but the government shutdown is in the way.

Regulators say a database designed to standardize and simplify training certification for new drivers will be ready on time next year.

The plan has reignited a debate about highway versus transit investment in Portland, a city that 45 years ago famously redirected money intended for a new freeway into the nation’s first light rail project.

The EIA becomes one of the first major forecasters to put a price per gallon estimate on what is going to happen to diesel prices when the new rule kicks in.

New power given to the Federal Maritime Commission to scrutinize the effects of ocean carrier competition has been put on hold by the government shutdown.

Only about 10% of drivers aren’t belted but as a share of fatalities it’s close to 50%.

Truck drivers hauling in the state of New York will not see ELD enforcement until state regulators finish getting the rule on the books.

A current rail attorney who was with the STB for many years wonders whether it has ever broken free of the changes envisioned by the Staggers Act.

Because of the now record-breaking partial government shutdown, the U.S. aviation industry is beginning to feel the consequences of lapsed federal funding.

The government shutdown is forcing the U.S. Coast Guard to work without pay which could begin affecting freight operations.

“You don’t want to start a trade war with China for the same reason you don’t fight a land war with Russia: They will ‘out-suffer’ you.”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce president Tom Donohue threw down $25,000 for ideas on how to pay for infrastructure. And told Washington to open back up.

Hours of sleep are critical to truck driver safety and to driver retention. The “science of sleep’“ in the context of truck drivers is examined in this article.

 “This is the biggest barrier from going where we are today to commercialization.”

The Teamsters Union is relying on the new Congress to help stave off insolvency of its Central States Pension Fund.

Trucking companies could be exposed to increased liability while a challenge to FMCSA’s hours-of-service preemption in California is pending.

Senate confirmation of Patrick Fuchs and Martin Oberman could be catalyst for STB Chairman Ann Begeman to take action on pending shipper proposals.

Freight lobbyists are banking on leadership changes in the 116th Congress to pave the way for infrastructure financing that stalled during the first half of Trump’s administration.

The new fees for 2019 are more than in 2018 but less than they were two years ago.

Political analysts say that the presidential campaign of Washington State Governor Jay Inslee will focus on climate policy in the transportation, manufacturing, and energy sectors, which could affect the way goods move across the country.

ELDs have been required for the majority of the industry for more than a year now, but there are still some that do not have to comply until Dec. 16, 2019. A look back at ELDs, and what the next deadline means.

But President Trump still hopeful a deal can be done; tariffs costing both sides billions, and truckers plan one-day labor action for April.

The regulatory body granted Stoneridge a five year exemption to install its MirrorEye camera monitoring system on trucks in lieu of two rear-view mirrors.

Freight clearance at border crossing at ports could be susceptible to backups and delays if Washington lawmakers are unable to resolve the funding crisis sooner rather than later.

Increased electric vehicle adoption could lead to higher fuel taxes; drone deliveries could be a nuisance to neighborhoods; EU believes that the U.K. might vote in favor of the Brexit agreement this January.

Even the Port’s director agrees something needs to be done; East Coast port notches new record; ATA crows about California victory.

States will soon be able to give would-be drivers more time to get their CDLs at the same time potentially lowering knowledge exam costs.

Non-compliant trucks will be turned away.

Livestock haulers are relying on the fate of the federal budget to determine how long their ELD exemptions will last.

FMSCA Administrator Raymond Martinez comments on his first nine months, and the potential for an early rollout of revised HOS rules.

Will the mailbox monopoly be loosened to let the big boys in?

Record $1.5 billion in U.S. DOT grants “rebalance” investments into rural areas.

Cannabis is now legal in 10 states, but getting pot delivered to your home is not exactly like calling Uber Eats. And for would-be entrepreneurs, securing a license to deliver pot is no easy task.

Glider kit investigations initiated by Democrats and Republicans are expected to be concluded in early 2019.

Preparations by the freight industry to cope with the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) were thrown into more turmoil by Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to delay the Brexit debate indefinitely.

A major port operator in Australia is being sued in the nation’s Federal Court by the national competition watchdog, alleging an anti-competitive deal with a state government.

But container volumes still going strong this quarter as U.S.-China hash out deal; but first quarter likely to see slowdown.

FMCSA has made public the denials of 10 exemption requests from its ELD rule, including OOIDA and nine smaller groups that were formally rejected earlier this year.

If you don’t answer, if you don’t look into their eyes, you lose.” 

The National Academies of Science has identified seven core research areas that it said could help DOT determine possible changes to truck size and weight.

The Canadian government this evening put an end to a Canada Post strike that has disrupted deliveries during the peak holiday season.

Jubitz brings in about $40 million of the company’s $175 million annual revenues as the industry contracts and braces for tech and regulatory headwinds.

Canada is working to finalize an ELD rule for truckers in that country. The rule would closely mirror the U.S. regulation, with a few significant differences.

Also today: going to jail for bogus CDLs; ecommerce driving the Canada Post labor dispute.

There is no timeline for implementation of any new NOx rulemaking, but there are a couple of key questions that must be answered: What will the limits be and how much will this cost?

The original notice failed to include propane. It can become a factor particularly if deliveries go on past 12 hours.

Also in the pickup: vets get a shot at free CDL training; another dispatch from the parking wars

It’s a tricky balance between risk and safety, but in the trucking world, before freight futures, there was no way to protect a company’x exposure.