In 2017 some 334,000 trucks rolled through the Nogales, AZ, border crossing, with over a third hauling fresh produce.
Every business within the produce industry has had some degree of difficulty adapting to the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate that went into effect last year.
“Understandably,” said Roberto Franzone, director of Arizona Sky Produce, Inc., “recent transportation regulations have thrown some Mexican drivers for a loop.”
Challenges abounded, not the least of which were delays at loading docks, which severely impacted hours of service. Some companies experimented with team drivers to alleviate hours of service restrictions, but the cost was often prohibitive, for both full and less-than-truckload deliveries.
Some shippers look at scheduling, installing new software programs to set and manage appointments. Others began rerouting, shipping to strategically located distribution centers for shorter runs.
All have the capability to help shippers become more efficient, but there are still plenty of wild card transportation hurdles to overcome, and this includes the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its ramped up oversight.
“Freight is a big issue,” said Rodrigo Diaz, marketing director at Diazteca Company, discussing multiple issues related to the implementation of ELDs. “The new DOT supervision and inspection programs that began in early 2018 have made it a challenge to deliver on a timely basis.
“The eight-hour limit has increased the cost so much that it’s difficult to deliver on less-than-truckload orders; drivers have to stop at multiple warehouses,” Diaz said. “Adding an extra driver adds to the cost. A solution might be if drivers could be off the clock and rest during loading. Net driving time is what the DOT should measure.”
This is an excerpt from the most recent Produce Blueprints quarterly journal. Click here to read the full supplement.
