FMCSA has granted an hours-of-service waiver letting drivers hauling gasoline and diesel drive up to 16 hours in any 24-hour period, instead of the usual 11-hour limit. The waiver runs from 12:00 a.m. Sept. 16 through 11:59 p.m. Dec. 16, and covers interstate carriers and drivers moving either fuel.
A motor carrier hauling fuel now decides whether to schedule drivers for the extra five hours the waiver allows, or hold to the old 11-hour limit.
The waiver replaces the standard limit under 49 CFR 395.3, which caps driving at 11 hours inside a 14-hour window. No state may enforce a rule that conflicts with it while it runs. FMCSA is calling it a regulatory waiver, not an emergency declaration. Carriers with a conditional safety rating are not eligible for the extra hours.
Diesel averaged a record $6.285 a gallon for the week, EIA data show, as crude oil trades above $100 a barrel amid the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz. US diesel inventories are running at a record low for this time of year.
About a third of US diesel production was exported in May, close to the record set in July 2017, according to EIA data.
FMCSA cited global supply disruptions and an anticipated rise in fuel demand through the fall, from both harvest season and the traveling public, as its reason for the waiver.
“Short-term supply chain disruptions can delay gasoline and diesel shipments, which in turn can impact freight delivery shipments,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
Diesel is now running 68% above the same week last year, per EIA data.
