Advancing technology and changing regulations have affected every government entity, industry, and individual. Few feel these struggles more than trucking.
Every company with a truck, every commercial truck driver, and every truck used must meet stringent government safety regulations, taxes, and fees that go beyond most consumers’ and suppliers’ imaginations. The struggle to manage compliance has taken drivers out of trucks and added back-office personnel to meet these demands.
Voters often view trucking as something to avoid, allowing regulators to increase associated fees with relative ease. A truck is often required to pay those fees in every state they pass through. The fee to use Oregon roads for a large semi-truck increased last year by 25 percent per mile traveled, with a 35 percent increase scheduled over the next five years.
A recent federal mandate forced trucking to purchase electronic driver hours-of-service equipment to help enforce driving time regulations, and emission regulation has added $60,000-plus to the purchase price of a single large truck.
