Trucking Industry Faces a Challenging Regulatory Road Ahead
The industry employs more than
800,000 drivers and more than 3 million other workers are responsible for
generating in excess of $650 billion in annual revenues.
Focus of Governments
The pandemic helped focus a
spotlight on the vital role of truckers and trucking firms. However, local,
state, and federal governments have long given a great deal
of attention to the regulation and control of many aspects of the trucking
industry. That is increasingly the case today.
This regulatory and legal focus
on trucking is driven by the potential source of revenue in taxes and fees, the
issue of road safety, and the huge investment in the nation’s infrastructure of
roads and bridges.
The current economic and
political climate in the United States has intensified this focus and will make
2023 a year of additional legislation and rules. For example, the current
administration has identified roadway safety as a key point of emphasis. The
national watchdog of the industry, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, is itself under scrutiny from both parties. Thus, the FCSMA is
more active in pursuing a growing list of new initiatives and regulations.
We have monitored here how changing
technology, a massive expenditure on road and bridge infrastructure,
concerns over climate change, questions over trucker employment status, and
safety issues are increasingly being addressed at all levels of government. It
now appears the coming year will see movement in virtually all these
areas affecting the trucking industry.
Seeking a Balance
The key to a rational approach
to any new regulations, laws, and oversight initiatives lies in the ability of
the industry and the politicians to weigh the many pros and cons in each area
of concern. As one contentious issue demonstrates, the use of speed limiters in
seeking the goal of safer roads cannot be implemented without considering the
many unintended consequences of such policies.
Trucking industry firms, as
well as independent owner-operators, have always acknowledged the role of these
governments in helping to ensure safe and responsible operations. However, the
political parties and regulatory bodies have frequently struggled to find the
proper balance of regulating while avoiding the strangulation of this vital
national service.
That struggle will heat up this
year with the Republicans in charge of the House and the White House, federal
agencies, and states all seeking to achieve certain key objectives. These
include:
- The way the mandates and funding for the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act are implemented. Tens of billions of dollars are
flowing and will be provided over the coming years to fund the National
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, the Rebuilding American
Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) initiative, and
other aspects of this massive piece of legislation. The impact of the
control of these purse strings is already being felt in a variety of new
rules and requirements.
- New initiatives that focus on electrification and
automation of Class 6, 7, and 8 vehicles, in addition to NEVI.
- Worker classification issues were brought front and
center with the recently enacted AB5 legislation in California. The recent
lifting of an injunction delaying the implementation of that law will
encourage other states to consider this issue of major concern to many
truckers.
- The control of heavy-duty diesel NOx emissions will be
the focus of much debate and controversy this year after the EPA announced
its final rule on that topic just before the end of 2022. Other
initiatives are expected as part of the EPA's much-hyped Clean Trucks
Plan.
Various other proposals and
bills are being introduced nationwide at the state level involving a range of
trucking issues. This year may well be a pivotal time when the ongoing efforts
to modernize and fundamentally change the trucking industry begin to take full
effect.
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