Before the December 18th electronic logging mandate I wrote a blog on how rising tides will make all ships rise ... well except ships with holes in their hull. Now that the April 1st enforcement deadline has passed and the slow winter freight season is over the "high tide" is coming in . Rates are rising , the freight index has been positive and most of the news seems positive since the ELD mandate .
The interesting part is all of this could have happened much sooner had everyone followed OOIDA's lead on this subject with the "Run Compliant" campaign . There are even stories such as this piece in Overdrive magazine that makes reference to the ELD mandate and this earlier effort from OOIDA . Make sure to click on the highlighted areas to see the stories and how close it mirrors what is happening in the trucking industry today .
Below is a earlier blog that I wrote as we moved towards the ELD mandate on which ships would float higher when the "tide" came in . We all had time to make whatever changes were needed to make sure our "ships" were ready for when the "tide" began to rise with the force of a tsunami . How has your preparation served you well during this time of change ? Would you have done anything different in preparation for the ELD mandate if you knew what you know today ? Was there anything that caught you by surprise post ELD mandate ? Is there items your are still addressing since the mandate ? Finally did anyone have everything so well put in place in preparation that the ELD mandate that it did not effect on their operation ? The last question could be positive or negative effect . I look forward to hearing the answers as a few things caught me by surprise .
I happened to be reading some major trade publications on the upcoming Electronic Logging Device mandate coming this December. Some of the articles were indicating that there would be little change in freight rates while others anticipate a larger impact on transportation capacity.
At this point in time, a major portion of our industry currently is not utilizing the ELD and therefore, its impact is not realized as of yet. In one particular article, there was a picture of a large container ship which sparked a thought for me. There is an aphorism which states “a rising tide lifts all boats.” This is often used for describing economic policies which would “raise” the tide for everyone. This is a true statement unless your vessel is sitting upon the bottom of the harbor at low tide. This would make it appear as though your craft is floating as well as any other within the body of water. If your ship has a leaky hull, when the tide comes in, your vessel will not rise with the tide. In fact, it could completely submerge.
In my view, judging by the commentary of many people within our industry on many forums, it appears that there may be more than simply the tide coming in but instead a tsunami this December. I think it is ironic that the ELD mandate will take place at low tide. Over my time in this industry, it has always been my experience that the middle of December thru March is a slow time of the year for freight. When this event hits, it will be fortunate for shippers as it’s not peak demand and unfortunate for us in the transportation industry. If this mandate were to take effect during peak freight demand, the impact on the rate structure would be more significant.
The question becomes… Do you have your “boat” ready and prepared for the rapidly rising tide coming in December? Have you put yourself in a position to take advantage of this mandate? Will you thrive, survive or sink? Preparation is the key to your boat staying afloat.