The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has extended its national emergency exemption for hours of service (HOS) to July 14 but has excluded grocery restocking, fuel, and precursor raw materials from the extension.
The HOS national exemption, initially issued on March 13 and most recently extended on May 13, was scheduled to expire on June 14. However, “FMCSA is continuing the exemption because the presidentially declared emergency remains in place, and because a continued exemption is needed to support direct emergency assistance for some supply chains,” the agency stated in the latest extension notice.
“This extension addresses national emergency conditions that create a need for immediate transportation of essential supplies, and provides necessary relief from [federal regulations] for motor carriers and drivers.”
The latest extension, effective beginning June 15, is limited to three categories of freight moved in support of emergency relief efforts related to COVID-19:
- Livestock and livestock feed
- Medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19
- Supplies and equipment necessary for community safety, sanitation, and prevention of community transmission of COVID-19 such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap and disinfectants.
It does not apply to other categories that had been added since the initial March 13 order, including:
- Food, paper products and other groceries for emergency restocking of distribution centers or stores.
- Fuel.
- Immediate precursor raw materials, such as paper, plastic or alcohol, that are required for the manufacture of medical equipment and other supplies included in the exemption.
- Liquefied gases to be used in refrigeration or cooling systems.
- Equipment, supplies and persons necessary to establish and manage temporary housing, quarantine and isolation facilities related to COVID-19.
- Persons designated by federal, state or local authorities for medical, isolation or quarantine purposes.
- Persons necessary to provide other medical or emergency services, the supply of which may be affected by the COVID-19 response.
“FMCSA has concluded that there is no longer a need for emergency relief with respect to the other categories of supplies, equipment, and persons” covered in the May 13 extension, the agency explained.
As has been the case with previous extensions, FMCSA cautioned that the HOS national exemption does not apply to routine commercial deliveries, “including mixed loads with a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief” that had been added solely to get the benefits of the exemption.
Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.
Supply Chain AI Symposium
Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.
F3: Future of Freight Festival
Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.
Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.
The Old Post • Chicago, IL Register NowIndustry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
Mike Bouwens
It just goes to show that all of these rules of driving are not needed. They seem to only be in place to generate revenue which is wrong. Our commercial driving rules and regulations should be reviewed by us drivers and only approved by us drivers.
Jamieson
Tom you are right!!!!!
KRISTINE J. MCGUIGAN
What about water????