How Truckers Have Been Helping Coronavirus Efforts

Trucking and Coronavirus

Whether you're working from home, reporting to an office, watching the news diligently or avoiding it altogether, the current topic of interest across the country revolves around the novel Coronavirus. With many companies and schools needing to pivot strategies and create distance-based solutions, there's one major industry that's not only still in action but has ramped up productivity — trucking.

The work of truckers to bridge the gap between supply and demand is necessary all year long, but in the wake of household and medical supply shortages across the country, an unprecedented move are being made to make sure that resources are distributed in all of the areas that need them.

Truck Driving Limits Suspended

For the first time, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced on March 14^th that it would issue a nationwide relief of house-of-service regulations for truckers. This announcement was made shortly after President Trump declared a national emergency over the Coronavirus spread.

The FMCSA regulations typically limit truckers to 11 hours of driving in a 14-hour workday with the goal of reducing the number of accidents that are caused by driving fatigue. FMCSA acting administrator Jim Mullen said that the decision "will help America's commercial drivers get these critical goods to impacted areas faster and more efficiently" in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Who Does the Emergency Declaration Apply To?

According to the Wall Street Journal, the regulation exemption currently applies to carriers that provide direct assistance to the pandemic's relief efforts, including the movement of:

• Medical masks
• Gloves
• Hand sanitizer
• Disinfectants

Also covered by the national emergency declaration are drivers who are transporting:

• Food to restock grocery store shelves
• Medical and emergency services providers
• People that are needed to set up and manage temporary housing and quarantine facilities
• People that need to be moved for quarantine, medical, or isolation purposes

It's important to note that the emergency declaration does not extend to routine commercial deliveries or to drivers hauling mixed loads at this time.

What Does Coronavirus Demand Look Like?

While it's routine on a local or state level to lift these driving regulations in the face of hurricanes or other natural disasters, it is unprecedented for the 82-year-old safety law to be waived at a national level for qualifying truck drivers.

To get an idea of the demand that the nation's 1.8 million truck drivers are now facing:

• Cargill, a Minneapolis-based manufacturer of ethanol hand sanitizer, reported to Reuters that their demand has increased by double over the past month
• Respirator and surgical mask producer Prestige Ameritech stated that they currently have requests for 1.5 billion masks and have gotten about 100 phone calls and emails a day since January according to NPR.

To help supply meet the demand, truckers are lining up and making long treks across the country to help transport goods from production factories and help mitigate import delays from overseas.

Key Points: Trucks and Coronavirus

• Coronavirus has had widespread effects around the country, and while many Americans are now working from home, truckers are lining up nationwide to deliver essential supplies.
• For the first time in 82 years, hours of service limitations are being lifted for many drivers who are delivering direct relief to the Coronavirus efforts.
• Demands have risen for hand sanitizer, masks, and toilet paper with many areas experiencing shortages and shipping delays from overseas
• Truck drivers are helping supply meet demand by transporting goods from production factories all over the country

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