¶ … policies and regulations that govern the transport industry and how the said regulations have affected how stakeholders in the industry do business. Regulations of the Transportation Industry

On the 24th of March in 2014, a draft regulation that mandated all trucks and transport vehicles to have electronic tracking devices was published and stakeholders were expected to submit comments on the rule not later than two months. Many in the trucking industry voiced their opposition to the draft regulation and it was expected that the draft was unlikely to influence how transporters do business. Another controversial regulation in the industry is the broad changes made to CDLs (Commercial Drivers Licenses) and on the definitions of tank trucks (Craig, 2014). The controversy lies in the fact that though some states have already incorporated this federal rule into their legislations, others have not. This has resulted in inconsistent enforcement of the rule across the country.

The biggest controversy, however, lies in the proposals to increase truck weight limits. Whenever individuals want to pass a highway bill, such proposals always resurface. Many motor carriers have consistently proposed to increase truck weight limits to ninety-seven thousand pounds with an additional axle. The proposers are obviously transporters who would like to transport more goods using the same amount of trips so as to increase their profits, while the opponents of such increase (government regulators) would not want to increase the truck weight limits because higher truck weights would damage the roads. However, it is difficult to see how such proposals would be accepted in the near future. In early 2014, the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) published a report that reviewed the current financial and public liability conditions set for all freight transporters. In the future plans released by the FMCSA in the wake of this report, the organization stated that it would be making new rules that will increase the public liability conditions set for transport carriers (Craig, 2014). The current most applied condition is the 750,000 dollars' public liability insurance for most of the freight carriers. Many transport companies are worried that significant increases in insurance premiums will likely run their companies out of business. However, the FMCSA and several safety advocates have argued that the current requirements were set over three decades ago and that they have never been changed to meet the current environment.

The FMCSA is also developing a truck driver rating system, where one's rating will depend not only on his driving record, but also on his physical health. Such a rating system would, however, likely result in a significant cut in the number of people eligible to drive trucks. However, those eligible will also be able to enjoy higher pay. This is because the FMCSA is also reviewing how drivers get paid. The Administration is specifically looking at the wait times at haul-ends. In a typical scenario, a trucker is paid for driving and not for sitting around (CRACKDOWN ON TRANSPORTATION New regulations, other factors could greatly impact trucking industry, 2013). The FMCSA is looking at ways to hold transporting companies responsible for unnecessarily long waiting periods, which stop truckers from earning more while driving. In many cases, truckers are made to wait for long times before they are loaded. What the FMCSA is looking at are the ways to fine transportation companies for making truckers to wait for unreasonable amounts of time.

On January 4, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced two major components to the FSMA called the Preventative Controls rule and the Produce rule. In short, the proposed Preventative Controls rule will require food facilities to have a written food safety plan that identifies and implements preventative controls. The written food safety plan must also identify biological, chemical or physical hazards.On January 4, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced two major components to the FSMA called the Preventative Controls rule and the Produce rule. In short, the proposed Preventative Controls rule will require food facilities to have a written food safety plan that identifies and implements preventative controls. The written food safety plan must also identify biological, chemical or physical hazards.On January 4, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced two major components to the FSMA called the Preventative Controls rule and the Produce rule. In short, the proposed Preventative Controls rule will require food facilities to have a written food safety plan that identifies and implements preventative controls. The written food safety plan must also identify biological, chemical or physical hazards.How Regulations Affect Transportation Industry

The transportation industry, like any other business, is also regulated by government...

In the next year or so, the government will be making wide reforms in the transportation industry. The reforms are expected to have an impact on many stakeholders in the industry, including shippers, carriers, truck drivers and even clients. As more requirements are placed on shipping and carrier companies, it is expected that these companies would in turn increase shipping fees and this would mean that the cost of goods in the market will increase. This is because the majority of new rules or regulations are somewhat counterproductive with regards to efficacy and costs (#BGInvestigates: How Regulations Affect the Transportation Industry -- The Logistics Blog, 2012). One of the laws that has been a source of concern since it was passed in late 2010 is the Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) act. This law was passed by the federal Department of Transportation as a strategy to reduce the number of truck accidents, injuries, and deaths on the roadways. Many in the motor carrier industry have argued that this law has reduced the pool of eligible truck drivers because of safety concerns. Thus, even though the law has reduced the number of accidents, it has led to reduced number of drivers and capacity shortages in quite a number of trucking companies.
According to the Journal of Commerce (January 2013 issue), many transportation companies will likely hire more drivers to do the same amount of work and that the fact that the supply of drivers is less, the few who are eligible would demand more and this would in turn result in an increase in transportation costs. However, the FMCSA has argued that the CSA law and other transport regulations it sponsored were based on research. Further, the administration is also carrying out follow up studies in the field so as to assess the impact of the transport law reforms, for instance, on the effect of the 34-hour restart rule (CRACKDOWN ON TRANSPORTATION New regulations, other factors could greatly impact trucking industry, 2013). The FMCSA and the Department of Transport have both reported that the legislation has helped reduce the number of highway accidents involving commercial vehicles, among other successes.

New emission and efficiency regulations have also been set for long-haul truck manufacturers. However, many have pointed out that the manufacturers will in turn pass the cost of making these new trucks to the trucking companies and that this might run some of these companies out of business (Siciliano, 2015). However, the government has stressed that commercial motor vehicle emissions have contributed greatly to global warming. The emission rules and the President Obama's Climate Action Plan are expected to cut carbon emission levels by a whopping 17% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels. Concerns have also been raised on many other government regulations such as the 'Hours of Service' rules passed in late 2011, which put limits on the number of hours that drivers could work. Some industry analysts have argued that the Hours of Service regulations would likely lengthen transit times as the drivers would not be allowed to travel for long (#BGInvestigates: How Regulations Affect the Transportation Industry -- The Logistics Blog, 2012). The regulation has heavy penalties for trucking companies and or truckers who violate its limits. Many are asking for changes to be done on this regulation because of its heavy penalties and the fact that it has led to increased transit times.

Thus, the situation currently facing transporter is one in which they are not in agreement with many of the new regulations put in place by the government. They are arguing that the new laws have brought about inefficiency and have led to increase in transport costs. The government is, however, arguing that the laws have reduced the number of fatalities and accidents on the highways. This means that we are unlikely to see any changes being made to reverse the situation.