The U.S. Department of Transportation is loosening service hour limits for truck drivers moving gasoline and diesel, claiming this will ease prices that have spiked because of disruptions to oil supplies brought on by the Iran war.
According to a September 16 DoT release, truck drivers transporting fuel can now operate up to 16 hours within a 24 hour window, up from the usual standard of 14 hours under normal conditions. The relaxed standards will only apply to drivers and motor carriers in good standing with the USDOT. Anyone with a conditional safety rating or active out-of-service order is excluded. The waiver will extend through December 16.
The DoT's argument is that "short-term supply chain disruptions can delay gasoline and diesel shipments, which in turn can impact freight delivery shipments." The statement says that giving truckers additional driving hours will help "protect against shortages, lower costs for families at the pump, and reduce strain on America’s agricultural producers." It is not clear how extra driving hours achieves any of these results, aside from a possible small increase in routing efficiency because of the longer shifts, which could slightly lower the costs of transporting gasoline and diesel by truck, which in turn could have a tiny impact on the price at the pump.
SupplyChainBrain has contacted the DoT for clarification.
“Our great American truckers will continue to haul the products that power America and keep our economy moving," said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
As part of the waiver, drivers will still have to take a minimum six hour break in their truck's sleeper berth inside of that 24 hour window. If their truck doesn't have a sleeper berth, then drivers must take an eight hour break. Carriers are also required to report any crashes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration within two business days.
According to GasBuddy, average gas prices in the U.S. now sit at around $4.43 a gallon, up from $4.06 a month ago, and from $3.11 around that same time last year. Diesel prices also crested the $6 mark on September 10 for the first time ever, and have since climbed to a record $6.38 as of September 16.
