Industry Debates Hours Rule Costs

EW YORK — Motor carriers said they soon would increase freight rates and more stringently enforce collection of detention fees to offset the expected costs of lost productivity and higher driver wages resulting from new federal work rules.

Some fleet officials also said they planned to buy more trailers next year to maximize driver utilization, while others said they would spend money on trailer-tracking systems to plan loading and unloading more efficiently.

“It doesn’t look like much on paper, but hours of service is going to be a big deal for us,” said Michael Gerdin, vice president for regional operations of Heartland Express. “Customers have to know rate adjustments are coming. If we have customers who abuse our time, it’s going to cost them dearly.”