Changes to hours of service rules for truck drivers are coming July 1st. If your domestic shipments take more than 11 hours to get from point A to point B, chances are your supply chain may be impacted once these rules go into effect.
Take a look at the details below, as published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
Hours of Service Regulations, Effective July 1
Limitations on minimum 34-hour restarts
CURRENT RULE:
None
NEW RULE:
(1) Must include two periods from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., home terminal time.
(2) May only be used once per week, 168 hours, measured from the beginning of the previous restart.
Rest breaks
CURRENT RULE:
None
NEW RULE:
May drive only if 8 hours or less have passed since end of driver’s last off-duty or sleeper berth period of at least 30 minutes [49 CFR 397.5 mandatory “in attendance” time for hazardous materials may be included in break if no other duties performed].
Detailed Summary of Regulations
These new rules will impact some carriers’ productivity, which could translate into longer transit times and increased shipping costs for you. In other words, new hours of service could affect your inbound and outbound shipments in a couple of ways, and thus, your bottom line.
Overall impact on shippers
Citing the potential for losses in productivity and increases in administrative costs, carriers are scrambling to have the rules revoked or postponed by challenging their legality and testifying to Congress.
However, on July 1, if the rule still stands, shippers will have to come to grips with:
- potential rate increases
- capacity reductions
- longer transit times
- reduced carrier availability
If you have not already considered how these things will impact your supply chain, now is the time. Should you need more options outside of the carriers you normally deal with, contact Mohawk Global Logistics. Our domestic transportation specialists will evaluate all the options, and provide you with the best service/cost combo.
Contact us now
domestic@mohawkglobal.com
T: (315) 414-0453
FMSCA Hours of Service Changes
Gerry McDevitt is Vice President, Domestic Services for Mohawk Global Logistics.