Old Dominion Freight Line has followed ABF Freight System Inc. in their decision to start charging a surcharge on all loads in and out of California due to what ABF refers to as “significant new burdens.”
A surcharge of $5.95 per shipment will be added as a “California compliance surcharge,” but Old Dominion declined to explain why. It is almost identical however to the $5.92 per shipment surcharge which ABF implemented in California at the beginning of April.
At the time, the Transportation and Logistics Council published an article showing information from ABF on why the compliance surcharge was being added.
“Shipments originating from and/or destined to the state of California will be subject to a charge of $5.92 per shipment due to higher costs, including but not limited to compliance with California state regulations.”
The “regulations” that ABF was referring to are thought to include a bill which went into effect at the beginning of the year. The bill stated that all employees working within the state of California were subject to the state’s labor laws. This meant that carriers would have to compensate their employees for rest breaks, meal breaks, recovery periods and “other nonproductive time.”
It appears that Old Dominion and ABF are the only two carriers who have so far implemented a fee for hauling loads in California, but industry analysts say that other carriers may soon follow suit.
Source: tlcouncil, dcvelocity, overdrive, dcvelocity
If a small fee can be struck down as unconstitutional for obstructing interstate commerce, why can’t CARB demanding trucks install a DPF and trailer aero to travel in the state be ruled unconstitutional for the same reason?
So how much of THE MONEY will drivers get? While the effort by Ca. to humanize trucking work place conditions, and that starts with money, get ready to see SMALL to no increase in overall pay.
The rest issues are not understood by the politicians so don’t go there. When I do my hair hurts.
Maybe someday California will wake up and stop being such a pain in the rear to the trucking industry.
I think all states should follow ca lead. all employees should be paid for their time when under the control of their employer.
Rest and meals go to productivity.
How is it that $5.95 will compensate companies for the claimed burden of paying an employee for rest breaks and other “non productive time” ?
They should charge more for the ridicules 55 mph truck speed law, the terrible traffic, and because California just cucks in general…….as does the general motorist population there.
Or we can do like my self and refuse to go to California all together. No loads in, no loads out. When they hungry enough they will wake up.
We need a like button on this page! Haha
I agree with you California suck if you are to pick up produce it is a joke
with all of the shippers, you have to sign in before 5 pm and if you are lucky you get to be loaded at 11pm or later.
Welcome to the E-log they will be in trouble doing what they are doing daily.
This is California for all of us we should be paid for all that waiting time.
Minimum 20 dollars per hours coming from the shipper.
I believe the article said per shipment. These are LTL carriers. They may have 50 + shipments on one pup trailer. That adds up.
An LTL carrier can make big revenue on that type of surcharge considering how many different shipments are on a single trailer.
Such surcharges are not a new thing as when I was running under my authority from the 80’s to 2003, mainly TL, I had a surcharge for all miles traveled in Calif. and in the late 90’s, I believe it was Stevens Transp. began using a Calif. surcharge as well.
Do not know or remember hearing of any other carriers using Calif surcharges back then.
Honestly though the only real way to get Calif. and others states to make any change would be for ALL trucks to refuse to provide any service in/around or out of Calif..
But that will go like all the so called truck strikes over the last 60 years and be a TOTAL bust because truckers and O/O’s will not stick together!!!!
Let’s not forget that California is a good customer with good freeways and good weather for the most part. Lot’s of volume with largest port of entry. Simply put, take care of your driver. Good driver is worthwhile investment.
You must not be driving on the same interstates in Ca. as the rest of us. Most of Ca. interstates beat the crap out of you and your truck.
The fee is per shipment. ABF and Old Dominion are LTL carriers. Each trailer may have a dozen or more individual shipments. I’m sure you can figure out the math from here.
So Andrew, what you are saying is “that making carriers compensate their employees for rest breaks, meal breaks, recovery periods and “other nonproductive time” is being a pain in the rear? Well Gosh Darn California!
They really should develop large drop yards so OTR drivers, who do not live in the state of CA, don’t have to enter the state. Then the local drivers and OTR located locally can pick up the freight and deliver it inside CA and use the drop yards/freight redistribution centers for out of state carriers to pick up and deliver. I don’t know any driver living outside California who wants to enter the state. Even I refuse CA loads due to the hassles.
Darren …it says 5.95 per shipment. The two companies are LTL they could easy have a hundred pieces per load or more. Now do the the math. When you add that kind of money to a load who the hell wouldnt put up with the crap in calif.
” My California rate surcharge is a million dollars. All I need is one load. “
In LTL 5.95 a shipment makes big bucks. I run into California with 20 bills outta reno. Times that by every truck and you’re making a statement. Good for you guys.
So, that bill applies to California residents who are working in CA or ANY employee, from ANY company that has to work in CA? Also, does it only apply to US citizens?
I don’t have a problem with a driver getting compensated for their time and I don’t have an issue with companies increasing the costs for their services to cover increased costs or burdens put on by regulations. Personally, I believe that independent truckers and trucking companies should increase their cost to astronomical amounts every time the government, local, state, or federal throw out new regulations telling us how our industry should be run. Sorry to the casualties of war; the customer and the consumer, and ultimately the economy. Consumer spending would be down, more jobs would be lost (companies can’t afford to ship goods), less products available to market, and so on. Leave us alone big government and little government as well.
Many of us need to understand, all of the details, before we make our comments.
Less than Truck Load carriers can rack up the dough with the surcharge. This is just business.
When the government adds extra expense to business; the expense must be past on to the consumer. If not; the business will no longer be profitable. Business can’t make a profit; business goes out of business.
The bill requires that ALL employees working in the State of California
be compensated. So if you are going from Vegas /phoenix or wherever as an employee to Cali…. then you are to be compensated…so how much of that goes to the driver?
I think the surcharge isn’t just about the rest break rules, it’s more about having to go shipper-scale-shipper-scale multiple times just to get a load “California legal”! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to go back and forth because my trailer tandems could only be in the 5th hole and no higher to be Cali legal.
If anything, it doesn’t seem high enough!
Also they need one for NYC.
Saia also charges 5.95 California Compliance charge on all shipments to and from California. UPS Freight may be doing this also.