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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)  is small by government standards for an agency. The FMCSA’s staff of 1,100 has jurisdiction in all 50 states for more than 500,000 carriers and motor coach companies, and for more than 4.7 million active CDL holders.

Given the scale of its operations, the agency has to find ways to be more efficient. Removing uncertainty is the best place to start. If carriers do not fully understand how to comply with a regulation, the same confusion is taking place on the enforcement side.  “I don’t think that uncertainly helps either the industry or the enforcement side. It makes us less efficient. It creates more problems,” said Ray Martinez, FMCSA Administrator, during a recent conference speech.

Seven years after MAP-21 issued the requirement, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is upping the standards for new drivers with a new regulation. The Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) final rule may help answer an important question: How can the industry bring in and retain new, quality drivers to tackle the driver shortage?

One of the hardest parts about running a business is hiring and retaining qualified employees. In the transportation industry, that means hiring employees who drive the trucks and others who manage those drivers. It’s especially important to find the right people because the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scores affect how the business operates.

California. Great place for movie stars, techies and wine lovers. But not such a great place if you’re an owner-operator or motor carrier that relies on them, thanks to the California Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc., case.

Essentially, in what is being labeled a landmark decision, it classifies all independent contractors (ICs) as employees unless companies can demonstrate otherwise based on the so-called ABC test. Unfortunately, this won’t be an easy test to pass for most of California’s 70,000+ owner-operators. That puts drivers and motor carriers in the Golden State in the dark about what to do—or if they should do anything at all.

Summer might be a time of backyard barbecues and trips to the beach, but participants at every level of the food supply chain – including freight brokers and 3PLs – most likely have other things on their minds thanks to the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (STF) rule, a central component of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

ELD--the initials can drive up blood pressure and strike anxiety in transportation providers across the country...especially if a decision has not been made on the type, scope and vendor to use. The key to low stress is knowing how to choose the right Electronic Logging Device for your business.

There’s no doubt that regulatory compliance can be costly, but are you making the most of your required investment in technology?

December 18th, the day the ELD (Electronic Logging Device) Mandate goes into effect, is right around the corner. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued technical specifications and certification standards for ELD manufacturers, but there’s no official vetting of manufacturers for carriers nor guidance on how to make the best choice of a compliance solution. Since the mandate will impact an estimated 1.8 to 2 million vehicles, there is great interest on the part of opportunistic and inexperienced entrepreneurs as well as for the more established industry providers. But the ELD Mandate also creates opportunities for carriers, whether they’re moving from paper records or already utilizing e-log technology in their fleets, as the more established providers offer more than just compliance for their ELD solutions, but applications that also reduce paperwork, improve safety, and increase the bottom line.

Federal regulators have dished out plenty of lemons over the years, burdening trucking companies with time-consuming and expensive regulations. With the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (STF) rule taking effect last month, carriers have yet another opportunity to merely comply with the regulations or to make lemonade.