* Arkansas - Trucking Report: Shipping customers losing driver time to inefficiencies
-- As shippers feel the crunch of a truck driver shortage, a report from one of the largest U.S. freight companies says buyers of transportation service could greatly increase capacity if they managed their time better... Titled “660 Minutes,” after the maximum time drivers can be behind the wheel each day under federal regulations, the report from J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. estimates that shippers lose more than 44,000 miles, or 63 loads, annually for each driver to excessive paperwork, long waits at distribution centers and other inefficiencies... Under the federal “hours-of-service” rules, drivers are permitted 11 hours on the road and a total of 14 hours of on duty time, with a required 30-minute break during the period. But the reality, the report says, is that drivers spend only 6.5 hours on the road after spending time on pickup, delivery, safety inspections and other tasks before running out of time—and that’s on their best days... The inefficiency leads to higher freight rates, which will either cut into the margins of retailers and other shipping customers or press them to raise the prices of their products... Several technology companies are competing to help companies get more efficient in how they deliver and receive shipments. That reduces the time needed for dispatchers to find out if specific drivers are waiting in their lots, and calling them to move forward in line... J.B. Hunt believes if shippers and receivers clean up their acts, allowing flexible appointment times and expediting loading and unloading times, each truck driver in the U.S. could travel 44,375 miles further than they do now...
(Photo: The J.B. Hunt report says each driver could carry an average of 63 more loads a year if operations got more efficient) -- Lowell, Arkansas, U.S.A. - Bloomberg/The WSJ, by Loretta Cha - July 23, 2015Labels: HOS debate, trucks efficiency
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