Federal Laws on Trucking

Logistics Management Because the Constitution provides Congress with the authorization to govern interstate commerce, most of the important transportation laws are at the federal level, in particular for a retailer seeking to move goods from port through their logistics system to their retail outlets (HG.org, 2016). There are two major modes of transportation for moving retail goods in this way -- railroad and highways. The latter is governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Among of the codes that governs the movement of goods is Part 395, Hours of Service of Drivers. This law is relevant to many retailers, in light of particular incidents where drivers have worked extended hours, and in the process of doing so reduced their competency, leading to accidents and death. Studies of sleep deprivation in long-haul truck drivers found that many drivers in the business average less than five hours of a sleep per night, and over half will have incidents of drowsiness while on the road (Mitler et al., 1997).

Some of these incidents have brought companies like Wal-Mart under fire from the National Transportation Safety Board (Levin & Plungis, 2015) Retailers are affected by regulations governing the amount of hours their truck drivers can work. Retailers have incentive to have their drivers work long hours, as this shortens the amount of time it takes to move inventory through the system, and having predictable delivery times can have an significant impact on profitability through having an efficient logistics system.

There are specific regulations governing drivers who work within a 100-mile radius (short-haul), a 150-mile radius and long-haul drivers. For retailers that have delivery drivers to take goods to customers, there are regulations for those drivers as well (DoT, 2016). While hours of service are perhaps the most important area where government policy affects retailers and their logistics chains, there are other ways as well. There are regulations that govern the handling of dangerous goods, for example.

Thus, the definition of a dangerous good matters to retailers, and the steps that they must take to ensure safety of moving those goods in transportation may also be relevant. There are many hazardous materials that may be sold by a retailer, including certain types of batteries, alcoholic beverages (especially spirits),other high alcohol products like perfumes, paints, dyes, ammunition, various flammable goods, propane tanks, bleach, stains, solvents, and many more.

Retailers need to understand the different rules with respect to the handling of these types of items, and how that might affect the movement of such goods from the port to the retail location (U.S. Transcom, 2013). Ultimately, there are not that many strict regulations that would be considered onerous to business with respect to the transportation of retail goods from port to store. Most goods are not classed as hazardous, but even those that are can be handled fairly easily.

There are few items that are sold in a retail store that might require their own vehicle. It is necessary, however, to do things like separate flammable items from combustible (so keeping high alcohols away from things like lighter fluid or matches. Such tactics fall within basic safety guidelines. Drivers have to be trained in handling hazardous materials in order to handle them. Retailers more commonly get into trouble with the hours that their drivers work. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First, these companies are aiming for a high level of efficiency. This means keeping trucks on the road as much as possible, to maximize the economic value of that infrastructure. Second, in many parts of the country there is a shortage of drivers willing to tackle the long and often lonely hours associated with trucking. A shortage of truckers plus a need to move a lot of goods long distances in a short amount of time puts pressure on stores to maximize their drivers' hours.

This can often run afoul of the law, especially when drivers need the money and are willing to attempt extra-long shifts. There are other policies as well, but these are less likely to be an issue. Occasionally, there are state policies more stringent than federal ones, for example on truck driver hours. Additionally, all vehicles need to be licensed by the Department of Transportation. This is a basic thing, but companies must cover the basics as well as the more challenging issues.

Overall, however, scheduling drivers, avoiding too much overtime for drivers and ensuring that hazardous materials are handled properly will allow most retailers to conduct trucking as usual in the movement of goods from port to their different retail locations. For retailers, it is therefore important to ensure that there are enough available drivers, especially if the retailer is growing quickly, or in remote areas where drivers would end up classified not as 100-mile short haul drivers.

There needs to be an effective system in place to track the hours that a driver works, so that he/she can be pulled out of service before being in violation of any laws. Retailers need to ensure that their inventory management systems take into account the availability of drivers. For example, in most stores a reorder will be placed when a good crosses.