Supply chain report tackles truck parking, overtime exemption

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday, Feb. 24 released a report on the supply chain that includes actions needed to expedite the movement of goods.

Of special note to truck drivers are recommendations to address the nation’s truck parking crisis and the lack of overtime pay to truckers.

The expansion of truck parking availability and the urging of Congress to eliminate the motor carrier overtime exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act are among the 62 policy recommendations to improve the supply chain.

“It’s encouraging that the Department of Transportation appears to be listening to truckers’ concerns,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “We certainly appreciate their support for Congress to eliminate the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime exemption for motor carriers. This is a legislative change OOIDA has been pursuing on Capitol Hill for years. We are hopeful DOT’s support will encourage lawmakers to finally reverse this outdated policy. However, when it comes to parking, we don’t need more studies that produce the same results proving what we have known for decades, that there is a critical shortage of parking. The time has come to invest hard dollars into hard concrete pavement.”

Truck parking

The U.S. DOT report makes the recommendation to “support state DOTs and the private sector to develop and implement strategies that expand truck parking availability consistent with local land use considerations and address safety of rest areas.” The impact of the recommendation is listed as “high,” while the complexity and cost are considered “medium.” Also good news, the action is marked as something that can be completed in the “near-term.” Addressing the lack of truck parking is one of the Department of Transportation’s solutions to ease supply chain bottlenecks.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has made no secret about the need for safe and easily accessible parking for truck drivers. OOIDA worked with Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., to craft the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, HR2187, and requested Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to dedicated $1 billion in discretionary funds for truck parking. Just last week, OOIDA and the American Trucking Associations asked Buttigieg to educate state and local partners about the infrastructure bill providing significant increases in accounts where truck parking is an eligible expenditure.

Motor carrier exemption

Another example of OOIDA’s message being heard, the supply chain report urges Congress to eliminate the motor carrier overtime exemption as a way to speed up the disaster recovery response.

The U.S. DOT considers the impact moderate, the complexity medium and the cost low. The timing of the action is listed as near-term.

Through letters, stakeholder meetings and public forums, OOIDA repeatedly voiced to the administration that the nation’s supply chain woes start with unfair compensation for truck drivers.

In October, OOIDA told the U.S. DOT that exempting drivers from guaranteed overtime pay increases problems with detention time because shippers, receivers have no financial incentive to load and unload trucks quickly.

Other report highlights

Out of the 62 policy recommendations, 52 involve trucking in some capacity.

In addition to suggestions on truck parking and the Fair Labor Standards Act, other policy recommendations worth noting for trucking include:

• Invest in intelligent transportation systems infrastructure to enhance port and trucking operations.
  Coordinate with states, local governments and port authorities, as well as federal partners, to identify temporary solutions to ease congestion, such as “pop-up” intermodal yards.
• Invest in battery-electric, hybrid equipment, and zero-emission fueling infrastructure to combat climate change and further reduce emissions of dangerous pollutants.
• Invest in and facilitate the use of communication systems to provide visibility into the location of products or next loads for truckers, terminal managers and/or beneficial cargo owners.
• Support deployment of technology to track containers and chassis and coordinate with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on data collection efforts.
• Work with Congress to grant the Federal Highway Administration additional emergency response special permitting and regulatory relief for supply chain emergencies.
• Promote, incentivize and facilitate alignment of operational hours at warehousing facilities, seaports, rail facilities and intermodal transfer facilities and other stakeholders to help mitigate congestion.
• Investigate ways to expedite the Transportation Security Administration’s Transportation Worker Identification approval process.
• Collaborate with partners on the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee’s Driver Subcommittee when implementing any proposals that will impact the nation’s professional driver fleet.
• Encourage reciprocity among states related to obtaining truck driver credentialing and provide aid to state departments of motor vehicles to hire more commercial driver’s license test examiners.

The recommendation to collaborate with the driver subcommittee is another example of the administration’s willingness to listen to truck drivers. The subcommittee, which is chaired by OOIDA President Todd Spencer, was launched in 2020. At the first meeting in July, the more than 20 commercial drivers on the panel pointed at pay and working conditions as ways to improve retention.

‘Critically important steps’

Buttigieg said that all 62 of the recommendations are important steps needed to improve the supply chain.

“Decades of underinvestment in our infrastructure, unprecedented consumer demand amid our strong economic recovery, and continued pressure from the pandemic have all put immense strain on our supply chains,” Buttigieg said in a news release. “This report lays out critically important steps we can take – both right now, and in the years ahead – to help strengthen our supply chains, create good-paying jobs, and ensure that Americans can affordably and efficiently access the goods they rely on.”

The administration also is working on its Trucking Action Plan, which was announced in December.

Actions slated over the first 90 days of the initiative included launching a task force to promote the recruitment, inclusion and advancement of women in trucking, as well as the creation of a task force to investigate predatory leasing arrangements “that dissuade drivers from entering or staying in the industry.”

At the end of the 90 days, the White House said the U.S. DOT and Department of Labor “will deliver a comprehensive action plan, informed by its series of listening sessions, outlining any further administrative and regulatory actions the Administration can take to support quality trucking jobs.”

The 90-day mark will be reached in mid-March. LL