Trucking Industry History PDF

THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY A Brief History Early 1900s Trucks with gasoline powered internal combustion engines begin replacing horse-drawn wagons to deliver goods from railheads to markets and end users. At this time, trucking had a limite...

THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY A Brief History Early 1900s Trucks with gasoline powered internal combustion engines begin replacing horse-drawn wagons to deliver goods from railheads to markets and end users. At this time, trucking had a limited reach due to the lumitations of the trucks and roads, and thus was concentrated in urban areas. 1919 During World War I, the number of trucks in use in the United States went from 100,000 to over 1,000,000. Trucks became larger and began extending their range as innovations such as pneumatic tires were incorporated into the industry and the road network began to improve. Also in 1919, Lieutenant Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower led one of the first coast-to-coast truck movements. The trip went from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, CA, and involved 282 soldiers and 67 wehicles (21 of which did not complete the trip). Many of the soldiers were engineers who were needed to build and repair roads and bridges along the way. The trip took 62 days (about 2 months) and followed the path known as the Lincoln Highway (later called U.S. 30). The trip highlighted the need for a nationwide road network. 1924 The diesel engine was introduced, improving the power and efficien- cy of trucks. 1935 Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act of 1935. ‘This led to the Interstate Commerce Commission, or [CC, taking oversight over the trucking industry. The [CC regulated rates and the routes carriers were authorized to operate on, oversaw the safety regulations, and put the first hours-of-service regulations into place. 1945 Trucking became a vital mode of freight transportation during World War IT. ‘This was due to a significant increase in the need to transport goods for the war effort and the flexibility provided by the trucking industry. 19536 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal Highway Act establishing the interstate highway network. This road network allowed trucks to travel further, faster, and safer, and increased their share of the nation’s freight movement. 1966 The U. S$. Department of Transportation (DOT) was created and assumed control of all transportation matters, including regulating the safe operation of commercial vehicles. 1980 The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 was signed into law, deregulating the trucking industry. Asa result, carriers were free to openly compete for customers. This was due to elimination of the regulations restrict- ing the rates a carrier could charge, the commodities a carrier could haul, the routes a carrier could travel, and the geographic regions a carrier could operate in. Also in 1980, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) was created. This is the organization that standard- izes the roadside inspection procedures and criteria, and that oversees the North American Out-of-Service Criteria (OOSC). 1982 The US. Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 established funding for state motor carrier enforcement programs. This fund- ing allowed states to dedicate resources and officers to enforcing the motor carrier safety regulations. 1986 The Commercial Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 created nationwide testing and qualification standards for issuance of commercial drivers’ licenses, or CDLs. 1988 Rules requiring drug testing were added to the safety regulations. Rules for alcohol testing were implemented in 1994. 1990 ‘The number of motor carriers authorized by the DOT doubled to more than 40,000 active carriers when compared to 1980. During the 1980's, the flexibility created by deregulation led to the development of the pust-in-tume (JIT) logistics model. Under this model, manu- facturers and retailers were able to lower inventory levels, lowering overhead. Also during the 1980's, trucking increased tts share of U.S. freight movement. Asa result, nearly every good consumed in the U.S. moves on a truck sometime during its life cycle. That has led to trucking hauling over 72 percent of all freight transported in the U.S. 1991 ‘The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA, pronounced “Ice Tea”) did away with “bingo cards” (authority registration cards) and established nationwide standards for truck sizes and weights. 1994 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, Canada, and the United States went into effect, expanding international trade among the three countries. Part of NAFTA involved making it easier to conduct cross-border trucking opera- tions. As a result of this, the NAFTA Trucking Demonstration Project ran from 2007 to 2009. This program allowed Mexico-based carriers to operate in the U.S. In 2011, the program was restarted under a “Concept Document.” The current program was later formalized as part of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and frag Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007. 1995 The [CC was formally abolished, and its remaining responsibilities were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board (STB). 1998 The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) required states to lower the breath-alcohol content level for intoxication to 0.08. This Act also established the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) to better disperse funds for state enforcement of CM’ safety and hazardous materials regulations. In part, MCSAP regulations require states to have motor carrier safety regulations that are compatible with the federal regulations. Finally, TEA-21 estab- lished the procedures used to shut down carriers proven to be unsafe or non-compliant. 1999 The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 moved all motor carrier safety oversight responsibilities from the Office of Motor Carriers within the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to the then-newly created Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an agency within the U. 5. DOT. The FMCSA officially began operation on January 1, 2000. 2015 The Fixing Americas Surface Transportation (FAST) Act required FPMCSA to establish a Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to track drivers that were caught violating the drug and alcohol regulations, implement electronic logging devices (ELDs), and develop new entry-level driver training requirements. 2017 Negotiations began on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was fully implemented in 2020. This updated and 10 replaced NAFTA. Under NAFTA and the USMCA, trucking has dominated cross-border trade. In 2022, 61.9 percent of the value of trade with Canada and 83.5 percent of the value of trade with Mexico was transported by trucks. 2021 The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was passed, and it requires FMCSA to: « Develop automatic emergency braking regulations, Incorporate the rear-impact guard into the annual inspection requirements for trailers, Develop an apprenticeship pilot program for 18- to 20-year-old drivers, and Complete a large-truck crash causation study. 2022 According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, as of April 2023, there were over 750,000 active US motor carriers that own or lease at least one tractor. Trucking: A Mainspring of the U. S. Economy Over time, there have been a number of slogans that have captured the essentiality of trucking; for example: “Trucking Delivers Ameri- ca, “Good Stuff, Trucks Bring It,” and, most recently, “Trucking Moves America Porward.” ‘There is no doubt that the trucking indus- try can be justly called a mainspring of the U.S. economy. After all, practically everything we eat, wear, or use is delivered by truck. Since a nation’s progress is inevitably tied to how efficiently and effectively it transports its goods and people, much of the success of the American way of life is due to motor carriers and their drivers. Trucks of every type are serving Americas farms, homes, and indus- tries, performing a complete door-to-door transportation service entirely on their own or joining with other modes of transportation in hauling nearly everything we need. No American home ts too remote to share in the nation’s production. Li