Shipping and Logistics

May 6, 2014
Hours-of-Service Regulations Head Truck Industry Concerns
Written by Sandy Williams
Truck transportation, the price and availability of it, has been a concern of the steel industry of late, especially after the delays that occurred during the unusually severe winter season. To determine what is affecting truck shipping, we looked at the issues currently facing the truck transportation industry.
Hours of service is the issue ranked most important in a survey released by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) in October 2013. Changes in federal rules governing commercial driver Hours-of-Service (HOS) went into effect July 1, 2013. The new rules limit the maximum allowable hours of work per week from 82 hours to 70 hours and require a rest from driving between 1 am and 5 am. Drivers are not allowed to begin a new work week until they have completed a mandatory 34 hours of down time and require a 30 minute break before driving following 8 hours on duty.


