Chronic underutilization of American truck drivers — not a truck driver shortage — was the central theme of testimony by David Correll, a research scientist and lecturer on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Nov. 17, 2021.
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Correll told lawmakers that based on his research team’s evaluation of trucker ELDs, he estimated that American long-haul, full-truckload drivers spend a median of 6.5 hours of their maximum 11-hour federally regulated working day driving their trucks.
“This means that 40% of America’s trucking capability is left on the table each day,” he said on the time. “My research leads me to see the present situation not a lot as a head count shortage of drivers, but reasonably an endemic undervaluing of our American truck drivers’ time.”
FreightWaves asked Correll for his progress assessment of the Biden administration and lawmakers in coping with truck driver issues.
FREIGHTWAVES: On the House hearing over 18 months ago, you testified that you simply didn’t think the country could afford ‘to let a crisis go to waste, especially not this one,’ referring to your research that exposed chronic underutilization of truck drivers. So, are we letting this crisis go to waste?
CORRELL: I wouldn’t call it a waste. I used to be quite encouraged in that testimony to see how policymakers were focused on the trucking issues that I and others on the panel talked about.
Following that hearing, there have been actions taken by the administration to assist improve training for truck drivers, and there have been a few policy statements from the White House regarding the work conditions for truck drivers.
FREIGHTWAVES: But isn’t it one thing to place out a policy statement and one other to really take motion?
CORRELL: That’s a good assessment. When my research comes up in numerous venues, I’ve never had anyone say, “That’s old news, the whole lot’s fixed.”
But I’ll say it was sort of a miracle moment, sitting with my kids and watching the president’s press conference where he mentioned my research — that’s more progress than a man like me can expect. My only pause is, they didn’t jump on a few of my prescriptions for fixing the issue.
FREIGHTWAVES: Resembling?
CORRELL: Considered one of the things I feel the federal government could do that will really help could be to arrange details about all of the nodes in American supply chains — starting with pickup and delivery points — and provides them an A to D health rating just like what the department of sanitation does with sanitation grades to restaurants. People who got drivers out and in quickly would get the very best grades. It could also include things like basic amenities for drivers — is there a rest room, a breakroom?
The virtue of that solution is that when those grades are on the market, they will influence the costs that carriers charge to serve those facilities. I feel when people see those prices go up, that gives incentive to take respect for drivers’ time and their dignity more seriously.
FREIGHTWAVES: Speaking of knowledge and transportation efficiency, 4 months after your testimony the Biden administration launched its Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) data exchange, a government effort to pool details about incoming ocean containers and intermodal equipment from various transportation modes, including trucks. Does FLOW help address the driving force detention time issue you present in your research?
CORRELL: I feel the FLOW project does endeavor to handle among the same supply chain issues. I’m not involved within the project so I can’t say how much progress it’s making; I talked to someone a couple of weeks ago who’s; they said they’re getting big corporations to partner on it. But my read on it’s, it’s a tough thing to say to an organization, ‘Give us your operational data which reveals how your organization is working, warts and all, simply because we wish it.’ As a researcher I actually have that very same challenge. But FLOW is unquestionably a step in the appropriate direction.
FREIGHTWAVES: I desired to ask about other regulatory and legislative efforts since your testimony. For instance, how do you view the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s pilot program for 18-to-20-year-old drivers, which could eventually result in changing the law to permit young people under 21 to haul freight interstate?
CORRELL: That just isn’t the prescription I’d offer to handle this [driver inefficiency] problem. What we present in our evaluation of the ELD data is that the present community of truck drivers’ time is being squandered. So to me, lowering the driving force age says, let’s find more people and similarly squander their time. To me that actually misses the chance to practice supply chain management more effectively.
Now, there are debates over whether 18-year-olds should drive a long-haul truck — I don’t have unique insight into that query. But I do have insight into the incontrovertible fact that there’s already low-hanging fruit where we will do higher by America’s truck drivers and run the country’s supply chain more efficiently at the identical time.
FREIGHTWAVES: What in regards to the Biden administration’s registered apprenticeship program under the Department of Labor?
CORRELL: One thing I’ve found with conversations I’ve had with experienced drivers is that newer drivers are usually not getting the training they need. Opening up that on-the-job training experience could make drivers more comfortable as they learn from others arrange their life and their workweek after they enter employment. So I feel these apprenticeship and mentorship programs is perhaps the missing link of communication and knowledge that may also help keep these newer drivers within the occupation by learning achieve success early on from experienced drivers.
FREIGHTWAVES: Owner-operator-backed laws would repeal the time beyond regulation exemption currently provided to trucking corporations, which might open the door to required time beyond regulation pay. Are you in favor?
CORRELL: I’m very much in support of that effort. There are two things in regards to the way truck drivers are managed which can be outdated: one, they don’t qualify for time beyond regulation pay, and two, that they’re paid by the mile. These have at all times struck me as anachronistic and a part of the issue, so efforts to correct this notion that time beyond regulation pay doesn’t apply to truck drivers I actually think would help.
I also very much support the hassle to require shippers and receivers to offer restroom facilities. I really like researching drivers, and the toughest part in talking with them is whenever you hear grown men and girls speak about how they’re treated, particularly with regard to rest room facilities. It’s unsettling. It seems an odd thing for people to must tackle and fight for, but it surely really is required.