THE electronic logging device (ELD) mandate that went into effect a year ago in an effort to enforce safety regulations for drivers, as well as make it easier to track, manage and share records of duty status data has had a negative impact on not just trucking but also on air and ocean freight
THE electronic logging device (ELD) mandate that went into effect a year ago in an effort to enforce safety regulations for drivers, as well as make it easier to track, manage and share records of duty status data has had a negative impact on not just trucking but also on air and ocean freight. ELDs synchronise with engines to automatically record vehicle operation record data, with the primary goal of creating accurate hours of service records. This new automated method of obtaining hours of service (HOS) records replaces manual paper logs and the earlier automatic on-board recording devices, reported Philadelphia-area Strategic Sourcerer.
With the rise of intermodal transportation, the new mandate governing the trucking industry has had ripple effects on other stakeholders in the supply chain.
In February, the ELD mandate was blamed for ocean carriers idling in port and waiting for trucks to become available to unload them. While the rise of US port volumes and concurrent trucker shortage were also instrumental in creating the bottlenecks, ELDs were also suspected of being part of the problem.
As shippers seek a way around the regulations, there has also been an increase in air freight volumes.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) data show that US$17.5 billion of goods travel via air freight, representing 35 per cent of all world trade by value, according to Supply Chain Dive. In April 2018, IATA reported a 3.2 per cent expansion in North American airlines' freight volumes compared to the same period a year earlier.
'The front and back end of that intermodal move gets covered by a truck and is affected by ELD, driver shortages, improving economy ?all the factors constraining capacity for shippers,' said consultancy Maine Pointe logistics vice president Michael Notarangeli.
'[The rates] have slowed down, but I do not think they will drop to pre-ELD levels,' Dachser USA Air & Sea Logistics CEO Frank Guenzerodt told Supply Chain Dive. 'The rates we have now will be the new norm moving forward. Many carriers have had to renegotiate agreed upon rates to mitigate their losses.'
WORLD SHIPPING
