History Proves the Trucking Industry Adapts to Regulatory Hurdles

When the federal mandate requiring electronic logging devices (ELDs) to digitally track driving hours took effect, some truckers threatened to quit the industry. But the history of regulatory change tells a different story: most stayed, and the industry adapted.

Truckers voiced similar threats during previous regulatory shifts, including new hours-of-service rules and sweeping diesel emissions regulations dating back to the 1980s. They kept driving. "In none of these cases was there a major effect on transportation," said Noel Perry, a transportation analyst.

Concerns About Capacity

Some in the industry believed the ELD mandate would shrink the number of available drivers and trucks. One analyst report projected that hauling capacity could tighten by almost 4 percent, though the full impact would take months to play out.

Yet earlier regulatory hurdles did not trigger a driver exodus. The hours-of-service rule sets a 14-hour on-duty maximum. It allows 11 hours of daily driving followed by a 10-hour break, and truckers can only drive eight consecutive hours before a mandatory 30-minute break. Delays at shippers and receivers count against a driver's 14 hours of on-duty time.

Federal labor data showed the number of heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers actually grew over the years following the hours-of-service change. "There is no evidence whatsoever that truckers have left the industry because of regulations," Perry said.

"I know exactly what time I will be shutting down," said one driver, summing up how operators adapt to new rules.

Adapting to Emissions Rules

The industry also adjusted to increasingly strict environmental requirements. "Complying with EPA regulations has caused the cost of maintaining a motor to go up," said Brian West, a trucking company president, who noted engines were being rebuilt sooner than expected. But there were benefits, too: "Now people are buying new engines and getting 8 mpg and they are happy," Perry said.

Planning Around the Mandate

In preparation for the ELD mandate, West's company anticipated that monitoring would reduce the miles its truckers could drive — so it planned ahead. The company created teams of two drivers in a cab to keep the wheels moving and set up relay points on roughly 500-mile runs that let a second driver carry the load to its final destination. It also tested several ELD systems before settling on one for its fleet.

A Hidden Upside for Drivers

Having a device that records all data could actually benefit truckers, Perry said. "A computerized record of productivity of every move could prove profitable," he noted. Drivers gain a record of delays at docks or unprofitable freight lanes.

That data gives drivers leverage. They can take their ELD logs back to a shipper and request that dock delays be eliminated or ask for detention pay. "They can pull up their ELD logs and march into their customers and say, 'I can't survive this,'" Perry said.

There may be an adjustment period whenever a major rule takes effect, with rates moving as the market recalibrates. But the long-run pattern is consistent: drivers who leave are quickly replaced, and the industry adjusts. "There is no evidence whatsoever that the industry has ever, or will, hit some absolute limit that causes things to fall apart because of a change in regulation," Perry said. "It's never happened."

Source: Trucks.com