Arlington, VA – The National Grocers Association (NGA) today applauded the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) extension and modification of their Hours of Service emergency declaration. The updated waiver allows for commercial drivers transporting “food, paper products and other groceries for emergency restocking of distribution centers or stores” to be eligible for hours of service relief. The current emergency declaration was set to expire this Friday, August 14, but the extension will provide regulatory relief until September 14.
Since March 2020, FMCSA has provided hours of service flexibility for commercial drivers transporting certain categories of eligible items to help aid critical supply chain pressures and help facilitate the COVID-19 pandemic response. The agency’s June waiver extension excluded food and grocery, so NGA and its member wholesalers sent a letter to FCMSA in July highlighting how continued grocery supply chain challenges merit regulatory relief. NGA and its member wholesalers also participated on a call with the agency last week to provide perspective on many of the ongoing supply chain pressures and made the case for further waiver flexibility.
“NGA has advocated on behalf of our retail and wholesale members to make sure that FMCSA understands that some obstacles remain due to COVID-19 impacts on the grocery supply chain,” said NGA President & CEO Greg Ferrara. “Independents across the country are working night and day to keep their stores restocked, and we appreciate FMCSA heeding our concerns and providing some relief.”
“Independent grocery wholesalers are the backbone of our supply chain, and their truckers are doing yeoman’s work making sure food is delivered to retail stores,” said Robert Yeakel, NGA Director of Government Relations. “We thank FMCSA for responding to the issues that we’ve raised and providing our wholesalers and independent grocers everywhere with more flexibility to get food onto store shelves.”
