Dive Brief:
- With less than six weeks left until the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate enters into force, 60% of small fleets have yet to adopt the devices, Commercial Carrier Journal reports.
- The report is based on a survey of 1,926 carriers conducted by Carrier Lists, which considers small fleet owners to be those who operate up to 100 trucks.
- The figures were more stark when only considering respondents who owned one to five trucks, as 93% had yet to adopt a device. On the plus side, the rate of adoption is accelerating when compared to previous surveys, according to Carrier Lists.
Dive Insight:
The ELD mandate is somewhat of a bogeyman for the trucking industry: An ever-lingering threat, capable of driving an industry-wide capacity crunch, unless individual truckers and companies take their precautions.
Yet, the latest data reveals the scare tactics are not working. With more than half of small fleet owners, and 93% of what are likely owner-operators without an ELD, the industry may actually be imperiled in the short-run.
A closer look at the source data reveals only 40% of the 1,926 carriers called were compliant. Fleet size or geography alone do not determine compliance, either. The largest ELD-compliant carrier called owns 738 tractors, while the largest non-compliant carrier is based in Wisconsin, and owns 255 tractors.
In fairness, many carriers still have time to comply. In August, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), which represents the country's state and local motor safety agencies, announced it would phase-in some aspects ELD-mandate enforcement through April 2018. Non-compliant carriers will face citations starting December 18, 2017, but they will not be considered out-of-service until that date.
As equipment, ELD's may be easy to purchase and implement. But, with less than 30 business days to the deadline, many are playing it close. The question is, are these small carriers going to choose to comply, pay the fines, or exit the market altogether to avoid the new regulation?
It is the last scenario that should frighten supply chain managers in an industry already wrought with a trucker and capacity shortage.
