The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has granted waivers for 34 states, allowing drivers hauling fertilizer in those states to transport their product for 16 hours in a 24-hour period. The waiver is effective between May 26 and August 26, citing a squeeze on fertilizer supplies as the reason for the action.
The FMCSA noted that there are already loopholes in the Hours of Service regulations for some agricultural transportation, such as the movement of farm supplies within a 150-mile radius from various source locations. However, the waiver announced last week is more sweeping, waiving current HOS regulations with restrictions around the base provision of limiting driving to 11 hours in a 14-hours on-duty window within a 24-hour period.
The states where the waiver will be in place are Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. This means that drivers in these states can drive for 16 hours in a 24-hour period, with the remaining hours spent on a required break.
If the sleeper berth is not available, the driver must take an 8-hour break in some other accommodation within those 24 hours. The waiver also eliminates the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) requirement for drivers without an ELD, though it still requires them to use paper logs.
The Fertilizer Institute, a trade group that supports farmers and agricultural interests, played a key role in pushing for this change. In its statement released alongside the waiver, the institute said that farmers are well into spring planting and need access to fertilizer as soon as possible.
Expanding transportation flexibility can help alleviate strain within the system and avoid potential bottlenecks in the fertilizer supply chain, especially during peak times for planting or harvesting,
The waiver is a temporary measure to alleviate strain on the fertilizer supply chain, particularly during peak planting and harvesting seasons.
