Late last year, the Congressional mandate for usage of electronic logging devices went into effect. In response to industry concerns about the implementation process and the impacts it would have on the agriculture industry the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) granted a 90-day waiver from the ELD mandate for carriers hauling agricultural commodities. This waiver was set to end on March 18, but FMCSA has granted an additional 90-day temporary waiver for “agricultural related transportation.” Additionally, during this time period FCMSA stated they “will publish final guidance on both the agricultural 150 air-mile hours-of-service exemption and personal conveyance.” The full release can be seen here. On February 20, United Fresh joined 25 of our industry colleagues in submitting comments to FMCSA requesting an extension to the ELD waiver for agricultural transporters, among other areas of concern. United Fresh will keep you abreast of any developments on this issues.
In the meantime, FMCSA has provided this guidance on ELD usage for agriculture carriers.
For questions or comment, contact Robert Guenther, Senior Vice President, Policy at 202-303-3409.