The date that Changed Shipping forever! Where will you be on 12/18/17?

On 12/18/17 The ELD Mandate will be in effect and it will change the shipping industry forever! Don’t worry we are all going to be paying for it one way or another! You will see rate increase coming in 2018 from anywhere to 5 to 20% because of this and other factors that are beyond our control here in the Ports of NJ/NY and around the world that are driving everyone’s cost up. These factors include the ELD Mandate, driver shortages, equipment shortages (Chassis),Higher taxes, insurance cost, congestion issues on the piers and surrounding infrastructure (major highways and bridges) that will lead to the rate increases for 2018!

Remember 1999 and the Y2K scare and how the world was ending? Well the date that is changing the shipping world forever is on 12/18/17! The ELD Mandate is coming to a carrier near you and there is nothing you can do to stop it! The ELD (electronic logging device) basically eliminates paper logs for truckers and forces them to be complaint with the DOTs rules and hours of operations. What happens when you go over hours? Your truck shuts down and you are out of service on the side of the road. This is a good thing for the industry and it will weed out the bad driver/companies and what will be left are the professional compliant drivers/companies. The days of pushing the envelope and cutting corners are over. The professional complaint drive/companies will write their own ticket and they will be in high demand for their services. Being so they will get what they are asking for because we all need them and they deserve to be pay accordingly for their compliancy and safety .

The pool of pier drivers shrinks every week and the doors of trucking companies aren’t being knocked down by applicants looking for driver jobs. Let’s face it the youth of today is not looking to drive trucks they are looking at developing appts. As a driver you can make a darn good living but is a tough living and not the most glamorous. To be a pier driver today you have to have thick skin and have the patience of a saint. The congestion issues on the roadways and piers within the Tri-state area are the worst I have seen in over 35 years in this business. A commute that use to take an hour can now take up to two plus hours. The never ending expansion into the suburbs within the tristate is pushing more and more people onto the congested roadways and rails.

We all see the traffic reports in the mornings of the backups at the GWB, the tunnels and rail system ect. Our infrastructure is falling apart around us because of the decades of neglect and it wasn’t designed to handle the volume of traffic we are seeing on it now. Let’s face it the congestion and tolls (aka road taxes) aren’t going away and don’t be surprised to see tolls go up as well as the gas tax. The number one contributor to congestion, pollution and accidents here in the NJ/NY is not trucks it’s the tolls on the NJ turnpike leading to all the major crossing into NYC and New England. These tolls back up traffic for miles every day on all the major roads leading to and on the turnpike causing unnecessary delays, pollution, accidents and lost work time.

NJ has to do something about this and should go with the same system in place that NY is operating now on all its bridges called cashless tolling. How Does it Work? If you have E-ZPass, your toll is collected using the same process that you are already familiar with. If you don't have E-ZPass, cameras photograph your vehicle's license plate as it passes under the overhead equipment. A bill is then automatically sent to the registered owner by mail. This will clear up these delays and keep the flow of traffic moving over the roadways. The congestion issue aren’t going away but this will help.

Chassis shortages are the norm and with the increase projected volume in business for 2018 the demand is going to be even higher. The larger drayage companies own their chassis to combat this but there is still the need to lease them as the volumes increase. Not owning your own chassis means you are at the mercy of the pools and you get what you get. Being asset based give you greater control over the quality of your equipment. Ownership also reduces waiting time and cost because the drivers aren’t waiting around for equipment at chassis pools wasting time they are at the piers picking up your cargo! The chassis providers have announced upcoming increases for 2018 and they will have to be passed down the line. 

Of course Insurance and Taxes never go down and they will be going up again in 2018. NJ recently elected a new governor that has promises to raise taxes in NJ. All of the piers in the Ports of NJ/NY are located in NJ with the exception of Red Hook and NYCT. The drivers that work the ports live for the most part within a twenty miles radius of the ports and their personal taxes and insurance rates will be going up under the new governors proposed taxes for 2018. NJ recently increased the gas tax and don’t be surprised to hear it will be going up again to cover the short comings of the purpose tax increases. This and everything else mentioned above is making it harder and harder to make a living as a trucker working the Ports of NJ/NY and around the world. These increases in cost will have to be passed along to us the consumer to ensure your goods are on the shelf when you want them and need them. These additional cost will just become a part of doing business here in the Ports of NJ/NY and around the world for 2018!

12/18/17 is coming and nothing is going to stop it! Are you ready for the date that changed the shipping industry. We are ready for the change and have already expanded our fleet to meet the upcoming demands for DOT compliant, and safe drayman. We are here to help and please contact me to find out more how we can take the headache out of your supply chain for 2018!!  Let the day of the Mega vessel begin!!! 

John D. Costine