US (CA): Truckers dealing with effects of new regulations
New rules from California's Air Resource Board regarding the Transportation Refrigeration Unit Regulation went into effect this year which require engines in refrigerated trucks to be no older than seven years. Not only will operators of trucks in violation of the new rules be cited and fined, but so will brokers, shippers and receivers of goods transported in vehicles found to be in violation.
“The biggest effect of this has been a lack of truckers,” said Travis Lee of Dawn Transportation, Inc. Lee handles dispatch and sales for Dawn, which is a broker in the State of California that handles many produce shipments, and he thinks the immediate impact of the new rules has been an increase in shipping rates due to fewer trucks that are able to operate in the State of California.
“The biggest thing is that there are a lot fewer trucks in California,” said Lee. “A lot of carriers we had before will no longer come into the state because they can't.” It's also meant brokers like Dawn have to perform more due diligence on who they work with, as anybody involved with a shipment that's transported in a non-compliant vehicle can be cited and fined.
“They're going to fine everyone involved with a non-compliant unit,” said Joe Carlon, owner of Joe Carlon and Associates. “It's going to force everyone to swap out engines every seven years, and that's not a problem for most major shippers because they do that anyway, but the old units will just be sold in another state.” While a fleet of more efficient units in California might help with air pollution in the state, Carlon noted that those older units will likely still be on the road somewhere.
In addition to California's rules regarding refrigerated trucks, regulations on the amount of hours rest drivers must have are slated to go into effect across the nation next month. Drivers who are on the road 60 hours over seven consecutive days will still have to wait 34 consecutive hours before continuing their journey, but now those rest hours will have to include two periods between 1-5 a.m. That new stipulation could pose problems for drivers who begin their rest period in the morning, as their mandatory time off the road could stretch out to over two days.
“Those new regulations are going to cost us a day on arrival,” predicted Carlon. “We've got so many rules now, and we've always complied with them, but it will just cost us more in the long run to deliver our loads on time.” While he's not sure what the extent of the new rules will be, he knows it could very well lead to higher shipping costs and, consequently, higher food prices.
“It's not something you can put a dollar figure on right now,” said Carlon, “but it's just going to tie up the truck another day.”