National Industrial Transportation League

Fight over truck broker contracts awaits Trump’s next move

WASHINGTON — In May 2020, President Donald Trump sided with owner-operators lining the National Mall with their rigs protesting alleged price gouging by truck brokers.

“All they want is to be treated fairly, and we’re going to treat them fairly,” Trump told hosts of the morning show “Fox & Friends” at the time. “They’re great people, and they’re successful. They have these big, beautiful trucks. … They’re not asking for much, so we’re going to take care of them.”

Truckers demonstrating in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fight-over-truck-broker-contracts-awaits-trumps-next-move

Are drayage truckers getting off easy under FMC’s new billing rule?

Federal regulators have relieved drayage truckers from late-fee bills associated with picking up and returning cargo containers, while inadvertently — and unfairly — shifting the burden onto shippers, a major shipper group contends.

The Federal Maritime Commission’s rule on demurrage and detention, issued last week, imposed new billing standards on ocean carriers and terminal operators in an effort to crack down on abusive container late fees, often to truckers as well as shippers.

But a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/are-drayage-truckers-getting-off-easy-under-fmcs-new-billing-rule

Feds told to start rating ‘unrated’ trucking companies for safety

WASHINGTON — Major trucking companies and brokers who book their freight are pressuring the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to attach a safety rating to carriers operating without such a rating — a situation that exists for over 90% of the freight market.

The concern comes as FMCSA looks at developing a new way to verify when a motor carrier is fit to operate trucks in interstate commerce, known as a safety fitness determination (SFD). The agency issued a preliminary advance notice...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/feds-told-to-start-rating-unrated-trucking-companies-for-safety

Reciprocal switching proposal gets mixed reactions from rail shippers

Rail shippers are still digesting the Surface Transportation Board’s proposed rule for reciprocal switching, but initial reactions are mixed. Shippers back efforts to make the collection of first- and last-mile data permanent and standardize metrics for sufficient rail service, but some also wish the rule would do more to incentivize rail competition.

“All five board members said yes. That’s huge, right? There were no dissenting votes. So, we as the shipper community and the railroad community...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/reciprocal-switching-proposal-gets-mixed-reactions-from-rail-shippers

Ocean carriers: Keep rail storage fee disputes at STB

WASHINGTON — Confusion over which federal agency has the power to resolve disputes over fees charged by railroads to store ocean containers will only get worse if Congress follows the advice of the shippers getting hit by the fees, ocean carriers contend.

A coalition of 75 shipper groups — led by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, the National Industrial Transportation League, and the National Retail Federation — appealed this week to lawmakers to clarify that...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ocean-carriers-keep-rail-storage-fee-disputes-at-stb

Washington state agrees to dismiss meal/rest break appeal

trucks and truck stop

The state of Washington agreed last week to dismiss an appeal of a decision that found the state’s truck driver meal and rest break (MRB) rules are preempted by federal hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.

The appeal was filed in December 2020 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a month after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration decided in support of a petition filed by the Washington Trucking Associations (WTA) that FMCSA’s driver work rules preempt Washington...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/washington-state-agrees-to-dismiss-mealrest-break-appeal

Maritime official wants more control over ocean carrier contracting

Container ships docked at the Port of Oakland

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has had unprecedented support from Congress and the White House for holding the container shipping industry accountable to its customers, but the agency’s top official says more oversight is needed.

Speaking at the National Industrial Transportation League’s (NITL) Transportation Summit on Thursday, FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei acknowledged he may have been too optimistic about the ocean carriers’ ability to self-regulate, particularly as it relates to late...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maritime-official-wants-more-control-over-ocean-carrier-contracting

Shippers ready to fight driver overtime pay bill in Congress

Truck with depiction of cash following on the road.

Legislation aimed at ensuring overtime pay for truckers is getting close scrutiny from a major shipper group that plans to fight hard against it if the bill starts to gain steam.

The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act, introduced in April by Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., would repeal the motor carrier exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an exemption that excludes many drivers from overtime pay protections.

“Truck drivers across the country face brutal working conditions marked by...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shippers-ready-to-fight-driver-overtime-pay-bill-in-congress

Stakeholders spar over scope of Surface Transportation Board’s authority

As Congress considers funding the Surface Transportation Board over the next several years, freight rail stakeholders are divided on whether the agency should maintain its current ability to address freight rail service and rate issues or if it is time to expand that authority.

That dispute was on display at a recent hearing on STB’s reauthorization in front of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) largely seeks to maintain the status...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stakeholders-spar-over-scope-of-surface-transportation-boards-authority

Shippers: CP-KCS merger could reduce competition at interchanges

Contrary to assertions by Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, shipper groups’ filings with the Surface Transportation Board say that the railroads’ proposed merger could harm competition in a number of ways, according to filings submitted to the Surface Transportation Board.

CP is seeking approval from federal regulators of its $31 billion merger with KCS. As the process plays out, shippers, other Class I railroads, local communities and other stakeholders are asking that CP meet certain...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shippers-cp-kcs-merger-could-reduce-competition-at-interchanges

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