US temporarily eases curb on working hours for fuel truck drivers

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Wednesday the Trump administration is temporarily relaxing rules on hours of service by truck drivers handling gasoline and diesel, citing supply and cost concerns.

The 90-day waiver takes effect on Wednesday, allowing drivers to operate up to 16 hours within a 24-hour window, versus 14 under existing rules, so long as they take required rest breaks.

Duffy said the waiver was because short-term supply chain disruptions could delay gasoline and diesel shipments, which could affect freight deliveries.

The move comes as the US average diesel price hit a record of $6.29 a gallon, up from $3.74 a year ago, according to the Energy Information Administration, as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries squeeze supply.

The department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it took the action “in anticipation of the need for greater hours-of-service flexibility.”

It aimed to “respond to global supply disruptions, anticipated increases in the demand for gasoline and diesel fuels in the late summer and fall,” the department added.

The move also sought to mitigate impacts on the costs and availability of fuel for transport providers, agricultural harvesting, and the public as demand grows, it said.  

Global diesel supplies are expected to remain tight due to a lack of spare refining capacity, Russia’s ban ​on exports and the approach of peak winter demand.

Motor carriers with conditional safety ratings are excluded from the waiver, however, and a driver needing immediate rest is allowed 10 consecutive hours off-duty before resuming work, the agency said.

Such orders have routinely been issued previously to tackle natural disasters or emergencies such as wildfires, hurricanes or winter storms.

In March 2020, a national emergency order waived service requirements for commercial vehicle drivers transporting emergency coronavirus relief, food for emergency restocks, and supplies and equipment, ranging from masks to disinfectant.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Clarence Fernandez)