A group representing livestock haulers and a large intermodal fleet are the latest trucking interests to ask the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption from the impending electronic logging device mandate.
The National Pork Producers Council has requested an exemption from the mandate on behalf of several livestock-hauling groups. It claims there is “an incompatibility” between federal hours rules and how the livestock industry operates. It also says livestock haulers are not and will not be prepared to meet the Dec. 18 compliance date because, in part, the current ELD marketplace doesn’t meet the needs of livestock haulers.
The group’s exemption request was made on behalf of itself and the American Beekeeping Foundation, American Farm Bureau Federation, Livestock Marketing Association, National Aquaculture Association, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, North American Meat Institute and the U.S. Cattleman’s Association.
FMCSA is seeking public comment on the exemption request and can be made at www.regulations.gov by searching Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0297 for 30 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
Hub Group Trucking is also requesting an exemption from a portion of the ELD mandate regarding the grandfather period of AOBRDs. Hub Group Trucking’s request asks FMCSA to allow it to install an AOBRD in any new truck added to its fleet after the ELD compliance date until a full fleet transition to ELDs can be completed.
The company says it plans to add at least 160 new trucks and drivers to its fleet in 2018, and the exemption, if granted, would cover these trucks and drivers. HGT says its entire fleet has been using AOBRDs since 2010.
The ELD mandate states fleets using AOBRDs have until Dec. 16, 2019, as long as they were already installed in trucks before the Dec. 18, 2017, compliance date. FMCSA, in a FAQ section on its website, says fleets that purchase new trucks after the Dec. 18, 2017, deadline can install an AOBRD in the new truck only if that truck replaces an old truck. New AOBRDs cannot be installed in new trucks that don’t replace old tractors.
FMCSA is seeking public comment on the exemption request, which can be made at www.regulations.gov by searching Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0277 for 30 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
