Why the new ELD mandate might prevent your purchases to arrive before Christmas

Shortage of drivers and tucks is raising shipping rates and is making online retailers nervous about promises they made to their customers about delivering their purchases before christmas.
Some major retailers already stopped taking order for delivery before Christmas or put a disclaimers in their ordering systems warning that delivery before the holiday can not be guaranteed. At the same time the rising shipping costs and price competition are putting huge pressure on the retailers bottom lines. The new ELD mandate is making those problems worse.

The ELD mandate taking effect on Monday Dec 18th just before Christmas, takes even more trucks off the road, exacerbating the shortage of trucks. The ELD mandate requires truckers to use approved electronic logging devices to report their hours of service on the job. The use of paper logs before the mandate allowed some truck operators to manipulate their record and thus work longer hours than allowed by DOT rules. The new devices make extending the working hours more difficult and subjects the motor carrier and the driver to steep penalties if caught in violation. The cost of an ELD device varies between $200 to $600 depending on features and usually there is a monthly service fee, making the devices expensive for a lot of small trucking companies and owner operators. The associations of the large trucking companies generally support the rule as it is easier for a large trucking operation to comply.

In spite of the ample warning time allowed by the DOT, many smaller trucking companies delayed their purchases of ELD hoping that the rule will be repealed because of its unpopularity among truckers, multiple challenges from trucking industry associations or a friendly pro business administration in Washington. In spite of appeals from several congressman to DOT and personally to President Trump, the administration allowed the rule to take effect leaving a lot of trucking companies unprepared. A shortage of ELD devices has been reported. Many trucking companies that implemented the mandate at the last moment reported system malfunctions, difficulty training the drivers to use the devices and operational errors.

In response CVSA (an association of commercial vehicle safety officials) said that it will not put commercial vehicles out of service for not having ELD devices until April 1st 2018. At the discretion of the specific states though citations and fines will be issued. That means the drivers and the trucking company can be fined but the truck and driver will not be put out of service for jut not having an ELD device for another four and a half months thus giving some reprieve to the trucking community.

Due to the uncertainty and lack of uniformity in enforcement among the states, the high costs and difficulties in implementation many small trucking companies reported that they decided to just park their fleets for the holidays until there is more clarity, thus creating shortage of trucks at the busiest time of the year and rising shipping rates. The situation is likely to improve after the holidays with more truckers returning on the road and decreased demand for shipping services.

Until then check with your online retailer if your package will be delivered on time.