A transportation and logistics expert recently schooled lawmakers regarding America’s failures to maximize truck utilization. David Correll, a research scientist at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, effectively told members of Congress upwards of 40 percent of a truck driver’s day is needlessly being wasted.
“This chronic underutilization problem does not seem to be a function of what the drivers themselves do or don’t do, but rather an unfortunate consequence of our conventions for scheduling and processing the pickup and delivery appointments,” Correll reportedly said at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing.
According to his statistical analysis, a trucker’s workweek is typically bogged down by excessive detention and inefficient pickup and delivery schedules. These systems are generally beyond the control of the people who, perhaps, matter the most in the supply chain — the men and women who transport goods and materials.
“This, of course, implies that 40 percent of America’s trucking capacity is left on the table every day. This is, of course, especially troubling during times of perceived shortage and crisis, like we find ourselves now,” Correll reportedly said.
Lawmakers and their proxies in agencies such as the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have too often reacted to media coverage of truck-involved accidents and fatalities by creating more stringent and complicated regulations. Chief among them has been a desire to limit truckers’ on-duty hours to reduce incidents caused by driver fatigue.
If we are to consider the MIT researcher’s expert analysis valid, then the most recent reduction to hours-of-service had a chilling effect on the supply chain. According to Correll, truckers only spend an average of 6.5 hours each day moving freight even though 11 hours are typically allowable. That woeful lack of drive-time efficiency is coupled with the fact e-commerce has increased fast-mile transportation.
“The big boom in demand really showed where the supply chain holes are. Every single thing in your apartment, your house, whatever, has been in a truck, transported by a truck driver, or multiple drivers,” Justin Raduenz, freight pricing manager at RGL Logistics, reportedly said.
As members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee questioned experts such as Correll, American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear, and Transportation Intermediaries Association CEO Anne Reinke about ways to unshackle supply chain bottlenecks and driver shortages, the solutions offered were stunning in their simplicity.
“It’s a relationship that we have to improve with those who we’re picking up from,” Spear reportedly said. “There’s instances that we’ve had where our drivers aren’t even allowed to park on their property unless it’s within a defined period of time, and if they’re late or in traffic and get there and miss their window — they have to wait longer.”
“We’re only as good as the relationships we have with our shippers, on the one hand, and the motor carriers on the other, so it doesn’t do any good to have the carriers waiting outside,” Reinke reportedly told lawmakers.
Referencing the conventional wisdom that the country needs to add 80,000 truck drivers, Correll suggested a commonsense solution, increasing actual drive-time.
“How do we add 4.5 percent back to our existing (truck driver workforce) instead of bringing in a new headcount,” Correll reportedly said. “It’s only 18 minutes.”
Source: marketwatch.com
Only a gear-jammin’ diesel-dummy begs to work more than 70 hours a week, smart people know to shut that sh*t down at 50 hours
I’m one of those dummies has been out here for 44 years something the Bible says about lazy people being Sluggers I could put you in that category if you can’t handle the heat get out of the kitchen I work 70 to 80 hours every week and I make between 1,000 and $3,000 a week take home when I want to yes Freight is slow because of people like you and because of our government as well as work 50 hours all the driver needs to work wrong we need to be paid for all the hours we work not get less hours how stupid can you be your one of those JB Hunt drivers who claim to make $0.99 a mile like I’ve told people many of times you can make $500 a mile but they only work you one mile a week that’s all your getting duh
More flexibility for the drivers would help correct some of the inefficiency. Make “HOS” driver friendly so we can help manage the situation with shippers and receivers.
All of this has been painfully obvious to me for a long time. Truck drivers time is habitually abused by shippers and receivers. Now the chickens are coming home to roost. Karma can be a ….. And the big players in the industry have the nerve to complain about a driver shortage. It’s a monster they created.