Ricketts Introduces VARIANCE Act to Strengthen American Trucking
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced the Vehicle Axle Redistribution Increases Allow New Capacities for Efficiency (VARIANCE) Act. The bill would improve regulations for American truckers by permitting a 10% axle variance for commercial motor vehicles transporting dry bulk goods. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) is a co-lead of this legislation in the Senate. Representatives Rick Crawford (R-AR-1) and Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) are leading companion legislation in the House.
“This is common-sense policymaking,” said Ricketts. “Allowing flexibility for truckers with naturally shifting goods will help improve efficiency and safety in Nebraska’s agriculture industry. American truckers want to carry the same sized load in loose dry bulk that they can for any other freight. This bill is a win for every step along the supply chain.”
“Providing commonsense flexibility to our transportation and agriculture sectors will ensure California consumers don’t face higher costs due to regulations that don’t acknowledge the realities of basic physics,” said Schiff. ”The VARIANCE Act is a bipartisan and bicameral solution that will improve our supply chain, reduce congestion, and help California farmers and producers continue to feed the nation and the world.”
The Variance Act would:
- Grant a 10% axle variance for commercial motor vehicles transporting dry bulk goods and increase the maximum weight on any tandem-axle trailer to 37,400 lbs.
- Leave the maximum laden vehicle weight untouched at 80,000 lbs.
The text of the bill is available here.
“Farmers, manufacturers, miners, and many other industries depend on truckers to get their goods to market. When dry bulk cargo is in transit, however, a simple physics problem arises: routine braking often causes the contents of trailers to shift,” said Henry Hanscom, American Trucking Associations SVP of Legislative Affairs. “ATA applauds Senators Ricketts and Schiff for this bipartisan, commonsense solution that will prevent motor carriers from being unfairly penalized for weight variances, promote the efficient movement of freight, and support hardworking Americans in the trucking industry.”
“The VARIANCE Act is a commonsense solution that helps address transportation bottlenecks in the grain and feed industry,” said Mike Seyfert, National Grain and Feed Association President and CEO. “By allowing modest axle weight variances for dry bulk shipments, this legislation supports more efficient and sustainable supply chains while maintaining safety standards.”
“For 37 years, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition has worked with truck, rail, and ocean carriers in pursuit of greater transport efficiency, in order to keep US agriculture and forest products competitive in the global marketplace,” said Peter Friedmann, Agriculture Transportation Coalition Executive Director. “Domestic trucking is an important component of the international supply chain. Thus the AgTC supports the VARIANCE Act to allow for variance in axle weight distribution, which will increase efficiency, safety, cost-effectiveness in transport of grains, feeds of our members.”
“This expanded partnership in the Senate showcases the broad support and practical impact of the VARIANCE Act. Thank you to Senator Ricketts and Senator Schiff for their commitment to improve the safe and efficient movement of dry bulk commodities across our country,” said Ryan Streblow, National Tank Truck Carriers President & CEO. “By enhancing weight distribution for dry bulk trailers, we can increase payload efficiency, reduce highway congestion, and boost safety, all without additional infrastructure wear. Today, many carriers’ underload, and this flexibility will enable them to hit gross vehicle weight limits and reduce truckloads on our roads.”
“The Agricultural Retailers Association strongly supports the proposal to authorize a ten percent axle weight variance for commercial motor vehicles transporting dry bulk goods like fertilizer on the Interstate Highway System,” said Richard Gupton, Agricultural Retailers Association SVP of Public Policy & Counsel. “This common-sense solution addresses the unique challenges posed by the natural shifting of dry bulk cargo during transport, ensuring that trucks can operate safely and efficiently without exceeding the maximum gross vehicle weight limit. By granting this variance, Congress will not only improve the efficiency of transporting essential commodities like fertilizer and grain but also enhance the overall cost-effectiveness and safety of our nation’s infrastructure. Agricultural retailers, farmers, and other supply chain stakeholders rely on policies like this to maintain the steady flow of critical goods that drive the U.S. economy. We urge lawmakers to include this vital measure in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.”
“All fertilizer touches a truck at least once it its journey to the field. Any delay in delivery can negatively impact crop yields and contribute to increased food prices for consumers,” said Corey Rosenbush, Fertilizer Institute President and CEO. “The Fertilizer Institute thanks Senators Ricketts and Schiff, as well as Representatives Crawford and Carbajal, for their bipartisan leadership in introducing this important legislation to help ensure that fertilizer reaches farmers precisely when and where it is needed.”
BACKGROUND:
Corn, soybeans, and other dry bulk are key to Nebraska’s $9.9 billion in agricultural exports. Nebraska has over 1,600 dry bulk trucking companies, with nearly 18,000 dry bulk drivers.
Present law limits the maximum laden weight of a commercial truck to 80,000 lbs., including the weight of the cargo. Most trailers transporting dry bulk goods are tandem axle, limiting the weight for each axle to 34,000 lbs. Dry bulk goods include plastic pellets, flour, aggregates, and other solid substances with individual particles that easily separate. Bulk loads of dry goods regularly shift during transport and cause the front trailer axle to exceed its maximum 34,000 lbs. The force generated when braking compacts the cargo at the front end of the trailer, but the relatively weaker forces from acceleration and forward movement fail to evenly redistribute the weight across axles. So, even when the cargo was properly loaded, the truck’s natural motion causes the load to become improperly distributed. This bill would maintain maximum laden vehicle weight limits but allow for cargo to become unevenly distributed during the course of transportation.