White House Orders Temporary Lift in Cargo Weight Capacity for Trucks

President Joe Biden plans to motion an enforcement bid to temporarily assistance value limits truthful trucks tin transportation much cargo, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Oct. 20.

A nationalist shortage of motortruck drivers is worsening shipping bottlenecks that person created waiting lines for freighters astatine backlogged U.S. ports successful caller weeks. The astir caller survey from the American Trucking Association (ATA) says the federation is abbreviated much than 60,000 drivers, and CNN reports ATA president and CEO Chris Spear says that fig has present accrued to 80,000.

The relation estimates 71.4 percent of each U.S. freight tonnage is moved connected the nation’s highways.

Biden’s enforcement bid volition besides nonstop the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency to place grooming partnerships to summation acquisition for method applications, occupation grooming and workforce development, Psaki said.

“One of the challenges—and immoderate of the radical who are penning these reports volition archer you this—is that the measurement is truthful acold up from a twelvemonth ago, and adjacent earlier that, there’s grounds measurement of goods,” Psaki said connected Oct. 20 portion traveling aboard Air Force One.

She added that what was needed was an summation successful capableness and the quality to determination goods “beyond what has happened successful the past.”

“So that’s wherefore we’re moving connected it astatine each measurement successful the process.”

Psaki has besides said the fig of commercialized driver’s licenses issued has accrued from past year.

According to the White House, an mean of 50,000 commercialized driver’s licenses and learner’s permits person been issued each period successful 2021—60 percent higher than the 2020 numbers.

Current motortruck size and value standards are a blend of national and authorities regulations and laws. The national limits that Biden’s bid would assistance are 80,000 pounds gross conveyance weight, 20,000 pounds connected a azygous axle, and 34,000 pounds connected a tandem axle group, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

This latest determination from the Biden medication comes a week aft the Port of Los Angeles announced it would determination to a 24/7 work to code its backlog—a measurement the Port of Long Beach had made respective weeks prior. Those 2 ports determination astir 40 percent of each U.S. imports and 25 percent of the country’s exports, according to the White House.

The larboard announcement connected Oct. 13 came alongside announcements from a database of businesses, including Walmart, UPS, and FedEx, saying they volition besides beryllium moving to a 24/7 operating schedule.

Union Pacific Railroad announced connected Oct. 19 it would service the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and would besides run 24/7.

Psaki noted “progress” astatine the ports connected Oct. 19, announcing that the larboard of Los Angeles enforcement manager Gene Seroka said the magnitude of cargo that is sitting connected the docks for 13 days oregon longer has been chopped successful half.

Data from the Marine Exchange  shows astir 157 ships were waiting disconnected the 2 ports successful Southern California arsenic of Oct. 18—100 ships were astatine anchor and 57 astatine berths.

Supply-chain shortages and a resulting summation successful ostentation rates are being felt crossed industries. A study from the Department of Labor released connected Oct. 13 recovered that U.S. user prices successful September accelerated astatine their fastest yearly complaint successful 13 years, noting an summation successful outgo for products similar nutrient and gasoline.

Last month, the nutrient scale roseate 0.9 percent, the scale for nutrient astatine location roseate 1.2 percent, vigor jumped 1.3 percent, and the gasoline scale roseate 1.2 percent, according to the report.

The Federal Reserve past period predicted a 2021 ostentation complaint of 4.2 percent, good supra its 2 percent target.