The Department of Transportation's new Hours of Service rules went into effect on January 4th, and almost immediately, many of the large carriers started assessing detention charges. There are also issues about whether or not these detention fees will be discriminatory -- will Home Depot be charged the same as a wholesale distributor? Will the charges be accurate? Who's responsible for the delay? And many more.
Under the new rules, a driver's "on duty" hours now include any time he/she spends waiting to load and unload shipments. As a result, driver "free time" is now eliminated and carriers are charging for this time in addition to freight charges. These new regulations are expected to contribute to a reduction in truck capacity in all markets. Drivers will demand higher wages and carriers will, in turn, increase driver pay to help reduce the driver turnover rate within the trucking industry.