Truckers Shutdown A reality                                

Is it plausible that we will have a shut down on a massive scale in December?

Considering the burdens that the FMCSA are imposing on small independent carriers it's very feasible that many will be closing their doors on December 18, 2017.

"Smaller fleets, which make up 90 percent of the truck driving industry, do not have the operating capital to keep running while making these huge changes to their fleets. For a trucking company with 250 trucks, which is considered a small fleet, the cost for implementing ELDs could average a quarter of a million bucks. That is no small change, and for these companies this kind of expenditure can cause massive waves."


"However, what would these small fleets do if they went ahead and purchased ELD equipment and then the mandate was removed from the books? It would be a huge financial crisis and one that would put plenty of smaller trucking companies out to pasture. Instead of letting this happen smaller fleets may simply be waiting to see if anything changes within the next six months. As everyone already knows, anything is possible with the Trump administration and he could pull a deregulation move out of his bag of tricks at any time."
https://www.careersingear.com/blog/small-large-trucking-companies-eld-compliance-11195

Large trucking companies (Mega Carriers) have lobbied hard to make certain that the ELD mandate goes into effect in December, even though groups of independent carriers and truck drivers have attempted to create awareness to the fact that these unrealistic regulations are creating a hardship for them.The ELD mandate has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with expanding profit for the mega carriers in the sums of billions of dollars annually. The trucking industry is a 700 billion dollar a year business, and once the ELD mandate goes into effect the industry stands to gain a 5-15% increase in revenue. That's 35 to 105 billion dollars a year in increased revenue., and that is hinged on the aspect of small independent carriers going out of business or succumbing to a dependency of leasing their fleets onto the mega carriers.

"When the electronic logging device mandate finally takes effect in December, freight hauling capacity will tighten and spot market rates are likely to rise, according to trucking industry analysts."

"The mandate could result in a 7% loss of capacity in the for-hire carrier sector, with a 3.7% loss for the industry overall as some drivers no longer will be able to fudge their paper logbooks and therefore spend less time on the road, according to ACT Research President Kenny Vieth."

"As a result, he expects a 5-15% increase in spot rates, and “really a re-benchmarking of the industry.”

"a load board operator that primarily serves owner-operators and small carriers, have shown a 2-4% capacity reduction, but “doomsday” predictions are much higher"
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/analysts-predict-spot-rates-could-soar-once-eld-mandate-goes-effect

Don't be fooled. Many Congressional members stated that they didn't know that the ELD mandate was in the MAP 21 Act when they signed it, but yet, so many of them introduced the ELD mandate into the MAP 21 Act when they made their own amendments to it. The ATA, Congress, and the FMCSA have taken part in promulgating the growth of big business at the expense of small businesses, independent trucking companies, owner operators, and company truck drivers. Let us not forget the American people, because they will have to suffer the burden of the cost of inflation due to their heinous actions. This is something that will impact our economy and ability to prosper as a nation.

In closing, the shutdown is imminent due to the fact that it is the grand design of the mega carriers. It may not be an overnight event, but it will be a slow decline as small companies trickle out of business.


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