Articles
Fine Print: Supply Chain Legal Issues
Driver Coercion Rule: What Shippers And Carriers Need to Know
As a new truck driver coercion rule goes into effect, the need for communication with drivers is greater than ever. Motor carriers, shippers, receivers, and transportation intermediaries need to train drivers on the updated policies and procedures. In November 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) adopted regulations that prohibit drivers from being coerced […]
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How “Chain of Responsibility” Affects the Supply Chain
Public concern over highway safety has never been more in the spotlight than it is today. In particular, increased scrutiny came about after the June 2014 traffic accident involving the vehicle of well-known actor Tracy Morgan and a Walmart tractor-trailer. Walmart agreed to provide generous civil settlements to the damaged parties, even though its driver […]
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Alleviating Gridlock: A Chicago Case Study
To improve the flow of rail operations in the Chicago area, Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman tasked Amtrak’s Gateway Blue Ribbon panel with examining rail congestion in Chicago and offering recommendations to improve traffic flow and alleviate gridlock. The panel derived its recommendations from extensive interviews with freight and passenger rails; federal, state, and local government […]
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Positive Train Control: Negative Impact On Railroads?
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) mandates that Positive Train Control (PTC), a set of advanced technologies designed to stop or slow a train before accidents occur, be implemented across approximately 60,000 miles of the nation’s rail lines by Dec. 31, 2015. Class I railroad main lines that handle any poisonous, inhalation, or […]
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Rise of the Machines: How Self-Driving Trucks Will Alter the Supply Chain
If you drive through Nevada on your family vacation this summer, you may glimpse what many believe is the future of trucking in this country. Daimler’s Freightliner division unveiled its first self-driving truck licensed for commercial use in Nevada, one of the first states to permit autonomous passenger vehicles and the only one to license […]
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How Amtrak’s Supreme Court Case Affects Freight Shippers
Track-sharing among railroads has long been a complicated issue. The U.S. Supreme Court recently reviewed a case determining whether Amtrak has the authority to regulate privately owned freight railroads with which it shares rail. The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 was supposed to reinvigorate a national passenger rail system. The legislation created Amtrak to […]
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Negligent Hiring: Not Just a Broker/3PL Problem
It may come as a great surprise to shippers that, according to a recent ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court, they may be held liable for "negligent hiring" of truckers. Since the Schramm v. Foster case—a Maryland court ruling that found a 3PL guilty for hiring a carrier that caused an accident injuring two […]
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Proving Material Deviation
One question shippers frequently ask is, "How do we avoid carriers’ liability limits when they are negligent?" Generally speaking, carriers’ limitations apply if they are lawfully incorporated into a contract of carriage. If a shipper agrees to contract a low liability limit to obtain a lower rate, carrier negligence does not overcome that limit. In […]
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Freight Transport Free-for-all
How can shippers tell whether they are contracting with a legitimate carrier when carriers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) offer so many different deals? What exactly constitutes a 3PL? And who monitors transportation entities today? These questions, and others, plague shippers in today’s deregulated transportation environment. It is not always easy to tell whether a […]
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2005: Happy or Unhappy Anniversary?
Last year marked the anniversary of several laws and events that revolutionized transportation regulation in the United States: The 10th anniversary of the Interstate Commerce Commission’s (ICC) demise. The 25th anniversary of deregulation in the railroad industry. The 25th anniversary of partial deregulation in the motor carrier industry. The 28th anniversary of deregulation in the […]
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