For some truck drivers, every work shift has become a race against the clock. New federal regs decree that their shifts end 14 hours after they begin no exceptions. And private fleets could be particularly hard hit.
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.
The minute a truck driver slides behind the wheel, the race against the clock is on. As the day progresses, each tick of the dashboard clock becomes a relentless reminder that the shift ends exactly 14 hours after it began, no timeouts allowed. It hasn't always been that way. Prior to Jan. 4, when the new hours-of-service (HOS) regulations kicked in, drivers had the flexibility of using mid-day breaks to extend the on-duty period if events weren't unfolding according to schedule. But those days are over.
Nobody's exempt from the new rule. Giant truckload carriers, independent owner-operators, regional LTL haulers, for hire carriers and private fleets … all must comply with the new hours-of-service regulations. Aimed at preventing accidents caused by driver fatigue, the rule represents the first major revision to the hours-ofservice regulations in six decades. Under the new system, drivers are limited to a maximum of 11 hours of driving in a 14- hour shift (in contrast to the former 10 hours of driving within a 15-hour shift). A shift cannot begin unless the driver has taken at least 10 hours off, and each shift must be followed by at least another 10 hours off. Drivers may not drive after being on duty for 60 hours in a seven-consecutive- day period or 70 hours in an eight-consecutive- day period. The on-duty cycle may be restarted once a driver has taken at least 34 consecutive hours off duty.
The regs may apply to all, but their effects on different types of operations vary widely. Hardest hit of all may be some of America's private fleets, the trucking operations that exist primarily to haul freight for their parent companies. Today, private fleet vehicles are a common sight on the nation's highways as they go about their day delivering everything from snack foods to kitchen cabinets to customers and hauling raw materials like flour and vegetable oil to company plants. Certainly they're logging plenty of road time: Private fleets account for approximately 53 percent of all the U.S. miles traveled by medium- and heavy-duty trucks, according to the National Private Truck Council (NPTC).
But they're also logging plenty of time off the road, which is why they sometimes find themselves running up against the new HOS limits. Private fleet drivers typically do much more than just haul goods from point A to point B; many of them carry out a number of non-driving duties as well— loading and unloading, setting up customer displays or even performing installation work. Now, under the new HOS rule, those time-consuming tasks are suddenly on the clock.
That seemingly minor wrinkle has major implications for, say, route drivers who make multiple delivery stops. "My gut tells me that local distribution people have been hardest hit," says Richard P. Schweitzer, general counsel for the NPTC. "They don't get the benefit of the 11-hour rule, but they're hit by the 14-hour daily limitation. That's mitigated by the 34-hour reset. A number of companies have said they had to hire drivers and put on additional equipment. Some large companies have said they have to hire hundreds of additional drivers."
Yet not all fleets are feeling the pain. Garry Petty, president and CEO of the NPTC, emphasizes that the effects of the HOS rule on private fleets vary widely, depending on the nature of the operation. Some fleets, he says, have noticed only a nominal impact. Others have reported that the time limits are putting pressure on fleet capacity, forcing them to reconfigure some of their routes or add equipment. Yet others have found the regs so onerous that they're actually considering outsourcing some of the non-driving functions, he adds.
And a few lucky fleets will find the new regs work to their advantage. Some linehaul operations, for example, are finding the rule can actually improve driver productivity because it allows an additional hour of driving compared to the previous rule (which allowed only 10 hours of driving in a 15-hour shift). "For those over-the-road operations, the 11 hours has been a benefit," says Schweitzer. "For everyone, the 34- hour reset has been a tremendous benefit. It allows you to start a new week after a couple of days off."
almost touched by an angel
The debate over the hours-of-service rule took an ugly turn last October, when postal authorities in Greenville, S.C., discovered a letter addressed to the Department of Transportation that contained a metal vial of the deadly poison ricin. Only days later, postal authorities intercepted a similar letter containing the poison addressed to the White House. That letter threatened to turn Washington, D.C., "into a ghost town" if the new rule went into effect. Neither letter reached its addressee.
The first letter's writer, who claimed to be an owner of a tanker fleet, demanded that the rest time in the hours-of-service rule be reduced to eight hours from 10. The writer claimed to have access to large amounts of castor pulp—the source of ricin—and threatened to start dumping if the rule was not changed. The letter was signed "Fallen Angel." (The Center for Disease Control explains that ricin is part of the waste mash produced when castor beans are processed to make castor oil. It can cause death within 36 to 72 hours of exposure.)
The Postal Service, the FBI and the DOT's inspector general have offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever sent the letter.
Dock around the clock
Some operations may have benefited from the new regs. But many more are chafing under the restrictions, which are forcing them to find ways to reduce the amount of non-driving time logged by drivers. "The biggest effect on both shippers and carriers is that it makes every hour important," says Schweitzer. "You can't waste time sitting around waiting to load or unload, and you can't take time to rest unless it's in a sleeper berth."
For a lot of fleet operators, that raises the delicate question of how to coax their customers to shake their old habits and find ways to get the drivers in and out quickly, regardless of when they show up. "That's one of the issues I hear about a lot," Petty says. "Distribution centers—the customers where many of these trucks are going—have to change and be more accommodating in terms of access.We are in a 24-7 market. We can no longer afford bankers' hours for opening and closing DCs."
But not all fleets are waiting around for their customers to fall into line; they're taking things into their own hands. Schweitzer reports that many companies are already reviewing and altering their loading, unloading and dispatch procedures. "You want to make sure you get your driver out and home again, or at least to a safe place," he says.
Schweitzer also notes that he's seen renewed interest in drop and hook operations, in which the trucker picks up one trailer while leaving another behind at the shipping or receiving dock for the customer to load or unload at its convenience. Trouble is, that requires a lot of equipment. While added demand may be good news for trailer manufacturers or lessors—though one trailer manufacturer says it hasn't shown up in sales numbers yet—it translates into added costs for fleet operations already strapped for cash.
Mission accomplished?
Still, the question remains, have the new regs accomplished their original mission of improving safety? Ironically, though the HOS restrictions were intended to minimize fatigue-related accidents, the push to stop work 14 hours after a shift begins could have the opposite effect. Schweitzer reports that a number of NPTC members who attended the group's safety committee meeting in February voiced concerns that the rule was forcing drivers to rush during the day. "It used to be that if you were up against the rule on the way home, you could rest for an hour or two and then come in after 15 hours." Now, drivers must finish their shift 14 hours after starting and cannot count rest periods as time off. "They see that as a real safety issue," Schweitzer says.
And highway safety isn't the only concern. Some council members whose route drivers are responsible for tasks like setting up displays at customer sites worry that the drivers may be rushing through the job, resulting in injuries and an increase in workers' compensation claims, he adds.
In the end, issues like these will likely be resolved back at fleet headquarters, not in Washington, D.C. With little prospect of legislative relief, managers are reconfiguring routes, reassigning drivers and taking a hard look at their operations. "Maybe it requires going back and correcting dispatch, but that's costly," Schweitzer says.
In the meantime, the NPTC has gone into overdrive with efforts to help its members adjust to the rule, issuing almost weekly notices explaining the rule's particulars and discussing how they'll be enforced. In addition, the council has organized a number of open forums and teleconferences. The regs and their effects on costs and operations will also be a major topic of discussion at the NPTC annual meeting in Atlanta next month.
What might have been
Despite concerns like these, most fleet managers see the final rule as a big improvement over what might have been. Petty says the final regs, which were announced a year ago, revised in the fall and implemented in January, are infinitely preferable to draft regs floated in 2000. Those draft regs, for instance, regulated drivers' hours in five different categories. "That was complete insanity," Petty says.
That doesn't mean that everyone is satisfied. "I'm not saying everyone is happy with the outcome," he says. "That's particularly true for companies that have built quality-of-life features into the work schedule—a shower, a nap. Those companies feel that those perks not only enhanced the drivers' quality of life, but also served to promote safety. Those companies are not particularly happy. The rule is compromising their ability to do those sorts of things."
managers' ed
Anyone who watches late night TV knows that aspiring truck drivers can enroll in driver training school. But where do managers go for training? One option is the Internet. Last fall, the National Private Truck Council (NPTC) launched an online training program for private fleet managers. Courses offered through the Fleet Learning Center, as it's called, provide the background needed to attain the trade group's Certified Transportation Professional designation.
The courses, which allow enrollees to work at their own pace, were developed by NPTC Educational and Training Consultant Tom Moore and an advisory board that included industry experts and professional practitioners, NPTC says. They are divided into five modules: fleet finances; safety, security and compliance; equipment and maintenance; operations; and human resources.
The Fleet Learning Center was funded for NPTC by International Truck & Engine Co. and Idealease of North America.
Registration for the courses is $150 for NPTC members and $250 for non-members. To learn more, visit www.fleetlearningcenter.org.
E-commerce activity remains robust, but a growing number of consumers are reintegrating physical stores into their shopping journeys in 2024, emphasizing the need for retailers to focus on omnichannel business strategies. That’s according to an e-commerce study from Ryder System, Inc., released this week.
Ryder surveyed more than 1,300 consumers for its 2024 E-Commerce Consumer Study and found that 61% of consumers shop in-store “because they enjoy the experience,” a 21% increase compared to results from Ryder’s 2023 survey on the same subject. The current survey also found that 35% shop in-store because they don’t want to wait for online orders in the mail (up 4% from last year), and 15% say they shop in-store to avoid package theft (up 8% from last year).
“Retail and e-commerce continue to evolve,” Jeff Wolpov, Ryder’s senior vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. “The emergence of e-commerce and growth of omnichannel fulfillment, particularly over the past four years, has altered consumer expectations and behavior dramatically and will continue to do so as time and technology allow.
“This latest study demonstrates that, while consumers maintain a robust
appetite for e-commerce, they are simultaneously embracing in-person shopping, presenting an impetus for merchants to refine their omnichannel strategies.”
Other findings include:
• Apparel and cosmetics shoppers show growing attraction to buying in-store. When purchasing apparel and cosmetics, shoppers are more inclined to make purchases in a physical location than they were last year, according to Ryder. Forty-one percent of shoppers who buy cosmetics said they prefer to do so either in a brand’s physical retail location or a department/convenience store (+9%). As for apparel shoppers, 54% said they prefer to buy clothing in those same brick-and-mortar locations (+9%).
• More customers prefer returning online purchases in physical stores. Fifty-five percent of shoppers (+15%) now say they would rather return online purchases in-store–the first time since early 2020 the preference to Buy Online Return In-Store (BORIS) has outweighed returning via mail, according to the survey. Forty percent of shoppers said they often make additional purchases when picking up or returning online purchases in-store (+2%).
• Consumers are extremely reliant on mobile devices when shopping in-store. This year’s survey reveals that 77% of consumers search for items on their mobile devices while in a store, Ryder said. Sixty-nine percent said they compare prices with items in nearby stores, 58% check availability at other stores, 31% want to learn more about a product, and 17% want to see other items frequently purchased with a product they’re considering.
Ryder said the findings also underscore the importance of investing in technology solutions that allow companies to provide customers with flexible purchasing options.
“Omnichannel strength is not a fad; it is a strategic necessity for e-commerce and retail businesses to stay competitive and achieve sustainable success in 2024 and beyond,” Wolpov also said. “The findings from this year’s study underscore what we know our customers are experiencing, which is the positive impact of integrating supply chain technology solutions across their sales channels, enabling them to provide their customers with flexible, convenient options to personalize their experience and heighten customer satisfaction.”
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
National nonprofit Wreaths Across America (WAA) kicked off its 2024 season this week with a call for volunteers. The group, which honors U.S. military veterans through a range of civic outreach programs, is seeking trucking companies and professional drivers to help deliver wreaths to cemeteries across the country for its annual wreath-laying ceremony, December 14.
“Wreaths Across America relies on the transportation industry to move the mission. The Honor Fleet, composed of dedicated carriers, professional drivers, and other transportation partners, guarantees the delivery of millions of sponsored veterans’ wreaths to their destination each year,” Courtney George, WAA’s director of trucking and industry relations, said in a statement Tuesday. “Transportation partners benefit from driver retention and recruitment, employee engagement, positive brand exposure, and the opportunity to give back to their community’s veterans and military families.”
WAA delivers wreaths to more than 4,500 locations nationwide, and as of this week had added more than 20 loads to be delivered this season. The wreaths are donated by sponsors from across the country, delivered by truckers, and laid at the graves of veterans by WAA volunteers.
Wreaths Across America
Transportation companies interested in joining the Honor Fleet can visit the WAA website to find an open lane or contact the WAA transportation team at trucking@wreathsacrossamerica.org for more information.
Krish Nathan is the Americas CEO for SDI Element Logic, a provider of turnkey automation solutions and sortation systems. Nathan joined SDI Industries in 2000 and honed his project management and engineering expertise in developing and delivering complex material handling solutions. In 2014, he was appointed CEO, and in 2022, he led the search for a strategic partner that could expand SDI’s capabilities. This culminated in the acquisition of SDI by Element Logic, with SDI becoming the Americas branch of the company.
A native of the U.K., Nathan received his bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering from Coventry University and has studied executive leadership at Cranfield University.
Q: How would you describe the current state of the supply chain industry?
A: We see the supply chain industry as very dynamic and exciting, both from a growth perspective and from an innovation perspective. The pandemic hangover is still impacting decisions to nearshore, and that has resulted in a spike in business for us in both the USA and Mexico. Adding new technology to our portfolio has been a significant contributor to our continued expansion.
Q: Distributors were making huge tech investments during the pandemic simply to keep up with soaring consumer demand. How have things changed since then?
A: The consumer demand for e-commerce certainly appears to have cooled since the pandemic high, but our clients continue to see steady growth. Growth, combined with low unemployment and high labor costs, continues to make automation a good investment for many companies.
Q: Robotics are still in high demand for material handling applications. What are some of the benefits of these systems?
A: As an organization, we are investing heavily in software that will allow Element Logic to offer solutions for robotic picking that are hardware-agnostic. We have had success deploying unit picking for order fulfillment solutions and unit placing of items onto tray-based sorters.
From a benefit point of view, we’ve seen the consistency of a given operation improve. For example, the placement accuracy of a product onto a tray is far higher from a robotic arm than from a person. In order fulfillment applications, two of the biggest benefits are reliability and hours of operation. The robots don't call in sick, and they are happy to work 22 hours a day!
Q: SDI Element Logic offers a wide range of automated solutions, including automated storage and sortation equipment. What criteria should distributors use to determine what type of system is right for them?
A: There are a significant number of factors to consider when thinking about automation. In my experience, automation pays for itself in three key ways: It saves space, it increases the efficiency of labor, and it improves accuracy. So evaluating which of these will be [most] beneficial and quantifying the associated savings will lead to a “right sized” investment in technology.
Another important factor to consider is product mix. With a small SKU (stock-keeping unit) base, often automation doesn’t make sense. And with a huge SKU base, there will be products that don’t lend themselves to automation.
With any significant investment, you need to partner with an organization that has deep experience with the technologies that are being considered and … in-depth knowledge of the process that is being automated.
Q: How can a goods-to-person system reduce the amount of labor needed to fill orders?
A: In most order picking operations, there is a considerable amount of walking between pick faces to find the SKUs associated with a given order or set of orders. Goods-to-person eliminates the walking and allows the operator to just pick. I have seen studies that [show] that 75% of the time [required] to assemble an order in a manual picking environment is walking or “non-picking” time. So eliminating walking will reduce the amount of labor needed.
The goods-to-person approach also fits perfectly with robotic picking, so even the actual picking aspect of order assembly can be automated in some instances. For these reasons, [automation offers] a significant opportunity to reduce the labor needed to fulfill a customer order.
Q: If you could pick one thing a company should do to improve its distribution center operations, what would it be?
A: Evaluate. Evaluate the opportunities for improving by considering automation. In my experience, the challenge most companies have is recognizing that automation is an alternative. The barrier to entry is far lower than most people think!
Toyota Material Handling and its nationwide network of dealers showcased their commitment to improving their local communities during the company’s annual “Lift the Community Day.” Since 2021, Toyota associates have participated in an annual day-long philanthropic event held near Toyota’s Columbus, Indiana, headquarters. This year, the initiative expanded to include participation from Toyota’s dealers, increasing the impact on communities throughout the U.S. A total of 324 Toyota associates completed 2,300 hours of community service during this year’s event.
The PMMI Foundation, the charitable arm of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, awarded nearly $200,000 in scholarships to students pursuing careers in the packaging and processing industry. Each year, the PMMI Foundation provides academic scholarships to students studying packaging, food processing, and engineering to underscore its commitment to the future of the packaging and processing industry.
Truck leasing and fleet management services provider Fleet Advantage hosted its “Kids Around the Corner Foundation” back-to-school backpack drive in July. During the event, company associates assembled 200 backpacks filled with essential school supplies for high school-age students. The backpacks were then delivered to Henderson Behavioral Health’s Youth & Family Services location in Tamarac, Florida.
For the past seven years, third-party logistics service specialist ODW Logistics has provided logistics support for the Pelotonia Ride Weekend, a campaign to raise funds for cancer research at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. As in the past, ODW provided inventory management services and transportation for the riders’ bicycles at this year’s event. In all, some 7,000 riders and 3,000 volunteers participated in the ride weekend.