In The News
Expeditors anticipate growth when ELD mandate hits
Will trucking's 'ambulance service' turn into a staple?
The looming ELD mandate that requires every commercial truck over 10,000 lbs to be equipped with an electronic logging device starting next month is one of the biggest trucking stories of 2017. There has been a huge range of reactions, from livestock shippers who say that the stricter hours-of-service will harm their animals to smaller owner-operators who are worried about how they will get their miles in.
Expedited carriers, though, are looking forward to increased demand in the post-ELD world. The primary reason is the widespread expectation that overall trucking capacity will shrink by 6-7% percent as small carriers unable to comply with the ELD mandate leave the market. In the current trucking market, where capacity is tight, expeditors have already dealt with plenty of shippers who are willing to pay expedited rates for shipments that are not time sensitive, simply because they cannot find the capacity anywhere else. This trend will gradually gain momentum as more capacity leaves the market post-ELD.
I sat down with Bob Poulos, CEO of V3 Transportation, the 5th largest expedited fleet in the country, to hear what he and his team had to say about what the ELD mandate means for expedited shipping.
“It’s not going to be like the flip of a light switch,” Poulos told me.