Truck size and weight

Lawmakers look to bolster ranks of young truck-driver program

WASHINGTON — A proposal aimed at lowering barriers to the Biden administration’s under-21 truck driver apprenticeship pilot program has strong support from the nation’s big-carrier lobby.

The DRIVE Safe Integrity Act, introduced Wednesday by Reps. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., and Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, would potentially remove a requirement in the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot (SDAP) program for drivers ages 18-20 that participating carriers also join the U.S. Department of Labor’s registered...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lawmakers-look-to-bolster-ranks-in-young-truck-driver-program

Exporters raise concerns about ocean carrier market power

WASHINGTON — U.S. exporters called on Congress to introduce more economic reforms in ocean transportation and increase the pressure on carriers that abuse their market power.

Representing those exporters in front of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, Agriculture Transportation Coalition Executive Director Peter Friedmann acknowledged cargo volume surges and supply chain disruptions have dissipated and that there’s currently “plenty of competition” among container ship operators for...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/exporters-raise-concerns-about-ocean-carrier-market-power

Broker oversight, truck speed limiters among 2023 policy action items

The Biden administration began 2022 by rolling out its National Roadway Safety Strategy, a U.S. Department of Transportation-wide initiative aimed at addressing rising injuries and deaths involving cars and trucks.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — and Congress — is expected to advance regulatory and legislative policy that either directly or indirectly attempts to tackle the problem.

Truck parking

With Republicans taking control of the House, a divided government will make it more...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/action-on-broker-oversight-truck-speed-limiters-expected-in-2023

DeSantis lifts Florida’s trucking restrictions as Hurricane Ian approaches

trucks and FEMA traffic sign

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is waiving hours-of-service, size and weight restrictions for trucks delivering emergency supplies and equipment as the state prepares for Hurricane Ian.

Florida statute allows semitrucks to weigh up to 80,000 pounds.

The emergency order will be in effect for at least the next 60 days and applies to 24 counties: Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/desantis-lifts-floridas-trucking-restrictions-as-ian-approaches

California truck weight exemption unlikely to ease ports logjam

California Gov. Gavin Newsom flanked by officials and longshoremen at the Port of Long Beach during a press conference.

The California Department of Transportation said Wednesday it will begin issuing temporary permits allowing trucks carrying heavier loads of up to 88,000 pounds for import loads on the state highway system, but the change is unlikely to produce intended reductions in huge container backlogs at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The increased truck weight limit will apply to the entire state highway system, including interstate routes, for moves between ports and distribution centers in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/california-truck-weight-exemption-unlikely-to-ease-ports-logjam

How does Congress want to make trucking safe in 2022?

Lawmakers responsible for funding agencies within the executive branch publish documents – called congressional reports – that accompany the funding legislation to give agencies a sense of where some in Congress stand on issues that do not make it into the bill.

In the case of the fiscal year 2022 budget for the Department of Transportation, the House Appropriations Committee recently provided its list of recommendations that it wants DOT to tackle next year. While DOT and its modal agencies are...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-does-congress-want-to-make-trucking-safe-in-2022

Packaged goods shippers want transport regulators to deal with rising costs

Trucking and maritime regulators should take immediate action to help ease cost burdens on packaged goods shippers concerned about potential shortages amid signs of inflation, according to a manufacturing lobby group.

In a letter sent on Thursday to the National Economic Council, an office within the White House, the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), which represents shippers of consumer packaged goods (CPG), warned that the CPG industry “is experiencing the perfect storm: Costs associated with...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/packaged-goods-shippers-want-transport-regulators-to-deal-with-rising-costs

Bigger trucks would divert intermodal and railcar traffic

A photograph of a truck with a trailer and an intermodal train behind the truck.

A study commissioned by the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) asserts that allowing heavier and longer trucks on U.S. roads could divert intermodal and railcar traffic from rail to truck by as much as 25% and even by as much as 60% under certain scenarios.

The study, “Estimating the Rail-to-Truck Traffic Diversions Attributable to Increased Truck Size and Weight,” sought to quantify how much intermodal and railcar traffic could be taken off the railroads should trucking companies be allowed...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/bigger-trucks-would-divert-intermodal-and-railcar-traffic

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