(Aug. 1, 2012) – Groups of retailers, shippers and manufacturers followed suit with the American Trucking Associations in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals opposing the new federal trucking regulations on drivers’ hours-of-service.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) and its National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) division were two groups among manufacturers, shippers and transportation providers today to file their brief.
The new regulations require new specified truck driver rest periods and changes to the existing 34-hour restart period.
Like the ATA, the NRF and NCCR are calling the regulations ‘arbitrary and caprcious.’
“The retail industry is at the crossroads of the supply chain, interconnecting manufacturers and suppliers with vendors and customers,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “It is the retail industry’s responsibility to get products to market and into consumers’ hands in a safe and timely manner. Any new regulation that impedes that ability increases our transportation costs, increases consumer prices, and jeopardizes the fragile economic recovery.”
FMCSA didn’t take into account the serious economic ramifications faced by the broader supply chain community when drafting these rules,” Shay said.
“NRF and NCCR believe that the new requirements will only drive up costs, make trucking less safe, increase congestion, and ultimately hurt job growth and the economy. Any change in supply chain policy should be based solely on science and fact.”
