Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 1/2/19



In what was praised by the National Pork Producers Council as “a huge win for U.S. livestock producers and haulers,” the Department of Transportation in the last weeks of 2018 permanently suspended the requirement that livestock haulers use electronic logging devices (ELDs).

A brief statement on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration stated simply: “Transporters of livestock and insects are not required to have an ELD. The statutory exemption will remain in place until further notice. Drivers do not need to carry any documentation regarding this exemption.”

As part of the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act mandated that drivers of commercial motor vehicles replace by Dec. 18, 2017, their paper logs with ELDs, which record driving time, engine hours, vehicle movement and speed, miles driven and location information.

NPPC had previously requested a waiver, which was granted, on behalf of the U.S. pork industry and other livestock sectors, but had been awaiting a more permanent solution.

“NPPC applauds the Trump administration’s commitment to U.S. agriculture, marking this as a huge win for U.S. livestock producers and haulers,” the group stated in its Capital Update newsletter.

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