Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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58 commercial carrier journal | march 2018 A quiet regulatory environment and positive economic conditions give carriers confidence in 2018, but the driver shortage and productivity losses as a result of the ELD mandate threaten future growth. BY JEFF CRISSEY H ours aer being sworn in as President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2017, Donald Trump directed Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to issue a two-page memorandum to the heads of executive depart- ments and agencies to freeze any regulations not yet published in the Federal Register pending further review. Priebus' memo, and subsequent Executive Order 13771 by the Trump administration requiring agencies to eliminate two existing regulations for each new significant regulation, brought the rulemaking process to a grinding halt. e Office of Management and Budget reviewed 666 rule- makings in President Obama's last year in office compared to just 192 in Trump's first year. OMB reviews of U.S. Department of Transportation-issued rulemakings dropped from 48 to 16. e annual number of pages in the Federal Register, a reflection of overall regulatory activity for which the Obama administra- tion set records in six of eight years, dropped from 95,894 pages in 2016 to 61,950 in 2017 during Trump's first year in office — the lowest in 25 years. Aer enduring an unprecedented rate of regulatory pro- posals and final rules by DOT and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, trucking companies have been able to breathe a collective sigh of relief under Trump. But the regu- latory environment remains a concern for fleet executives in 2018, with 12.1 percent of respondents in the 2018 Commercial Carrier Journal Economic Outlook Survey (see "About the sur- vey," page 60) forecasting regulations will be their top challenge this year. But when breaking down that 12.1 percent who list regula- What is your biggest concern? Driver availability remains the top concern for all respondents, for-hire carriers and private fleets. Government fleet respondents are most concerned with rising equipment costs. All respondents For-hire carrier Private fleet Government Driver availability 66.4% 71.3% 51.3% 36.4% Freight pricing 3.5% 3.3% 3.9% 0.0% Fuel costs 3.0% 2.4% 5.3% 0.0% Freight volume 1.6% 1.5% 2.6% 0.0% Maintenance costs 3.7% 1.8% 11.8% 9.1% Regulation 12.1% 12.2% 14.5% 0.0% Political climate in Washington 2.1% 1.8% 3.9% 0.0% Cash flow 0.6% 0.6% 1.4% 0.0% Cost of equipment 2.1% 0.6% 0.0% 54.5% Cost of labor 2.1% 1.8% 2.6% 0.0% Unionization 0.2% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% Cost of credit 0.5% 0.3% 1.4% 0.0% Taxes 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Access to credit 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Other 2.1% 2.1% 1.3% 0.0% #1 concern #2 concern #3 concern #4 concern