Intermodal freight transport in the United States for long haul freight shipping professionals will be changing in a few days as the Federal Carrier Motor Safety Administration’s roadability rule for intermodal container chassis becomes law on June 30. The heavy haul industry has known about the new rule coming into effect, but the confusion and miscommunication between the various transport modes appears to have delayed compliance with the rules and there could be a few changes made by companies providing roro and ltl freight services in the weeks ahead, due to the incoming rules. The exact changes that will be made will be the interesting part of this affair and we could see a few changes that will raise the eyebrows of a trucking company or two.
How does the new roadability rule for intermodal container chassis change the road ahead for the freight trucking industry of the United States? This is an interesting question because the rule requires the provider of the intermodal chassis to ensure that safety checks are done on the equipment and essential safety components, like the brakes and tires and a report to be reported before the chassis is provided to the freight carrier. In most cases this is going to be the rail or marine company involved in the intermodal transport, but this isn’t always the case and we could see even more firms trying to offload chassis ownership responsibility onto trucking companies, than has already been reported. This of course will spark a controversy and a battle between the different transport modes in the United States that could become very heated, before they get this affair sorted out.
Tags: freight forwarders, freight moving, freight transportation