There is no question that the transportation industry is the backbone of our economy– as it moves roughly 10.5 billion tons of freight every year. But in recent years this industry has been afflicted with a trucking shortage, which in turn has increased the cost of freight for everything.
A new federal trucking regulation that went into effect this past December has elevated the issue. Truck drivers are now required to use electronic logging devices–or ELDs–to record their hours on the road. While drivers have long been restricted from driving for more than 11 hours a day, the new device will prevent them from fudging their time on paper logs. This will result in more trucks parked on the shoulder of the road because they ran out of time on their clock.
It is estimated that regulations will reduce trucking capacity by 2-5% since the drivers will no longer be able to squeeze in more miles to get to their destination. Previous surveys have suggested that the new regulations will cause many older drivers to leave the industry, exacerbating the shortage. The American Truck Business Services (ATBS) predicts a shortage equivalent of 200,000 to 30,000 trucks.
The ELD regulations and its impact on transportation have ultimately increased the cost of goods across all industries. At Office360, we have firsthand seen a rise in the price of copy paper as well as the increase in cost among most of our product. As we are always striving to act in the best interest of our customers, we are committed to remaining the low-cost provider for all of your office products needs and help you navigate the ever-changing market. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask your Office360 Account Manager.
Sources:
http://www.fcc-inc.com/new-regulations-ease-truck-driver-shortage/
http://fortune.com/2018/04/02/trucker-shortage-eld-log-regulations/
http://www.trucking.org/News_and_Information_Reports_Industry_Data.aspx
