Insights - January/February 2018 - 25

early days of the mandate. Definitive statistics about how many
violations are issued for lack of an ELD won't be available for a
month or more, Mooney said.

'Not a Good Approach'
"Going on the assumption that
'soft' enforcement will keep them out
of trouble is not a good/safe approach," said Erin Cave, vice president
of product management, compliance
& navigation for Telogis.
Without exception, device suppliers who responded to Insights'
request for comment on the market
Cave
noted a last-minute order effect.
"With many in the industry falsely
anticipating a delay or the overturning of the mandate, applying
for exemptions or just waiting until the last minute to see what
happened, we did indeed see an influx in demand towards the
end of 2017," said Fred Fakkema, vice president of compliance
at device supplier Zonar Systems. "While there are those that are
still holding out hope for an exemption or reversal to the mandate, those who are compliance-minded and understand that the
mandate isn't going anywhere anytime soon are running AOBRDs,
have installed ELDs or are in the process of doing so."
Cave characterized last-minute demand as "extremely strong"
and said that volume continued in early January. "I think the
smaller folks are more likely to delay, but while the [Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration] is talking about 'soft' enforcement,
we have heard of examples where officers are giving citations
for having an AOBRD vs. ELD, even when customers are correctly
grandfathered for AOBRD."
Neal Katz, CEO of device supplier Simple Truck ELD, said
the company was "very busy" in the weeks before the deadline.
"There is probably a pretty good percentage [of fleets] out there

that decided to hang on and wait to see what happened. I don't
know what they are going to do," he said.
Continental Automotive System's VDO RoadLog saw a huge
increase in demand starting in late November that is expected to
continue, spokeswoman Alexis Capelle said.
For many large fleets, the deadline wasn't an issue.
"XPO is already fully compliant with the government-mandated ELD regulation with respect to its carrier operations," said
XPO Logistics Chief Operating Officer Troy Cooper. "We're proud
to have one of the most modern and safety-equipped fleets in the
less than truckload industry."

More Education Needed
Even though the ELD mandate has been an industry issue for
several years, there still needs to be more education about the
mandate in the upcoming months, in part because of some inaccurate reports about the enforcement process, Mooney said.

A user checks a Telogis device.

The mandate spurred late orders to providers, including
Continental VDO Road Log.

"To this day many small carriers and owner-operators believe
that they will not be fined until April 1st if they do not have an
ELD," Capelle said. "While this is not what was communicated by
CVSA and FMCSA, we think that the soft launch probably added
to the confusion whether the mandate as a whole would be delayed. Conversations with small carriers show that there is a lack
of understanding of what the soft launch really is."
"Some people waited too long and can't find equipment or
will take their chances without it," Ellis said. "There is going to be
some attrition. Some people will say 'I won't do it anymore' and
go drive a dump truck."
Another certainty is that the incidence of non-compliance is
uncertain, at least for now.
Like others, Mooney said CVSA has struggled to accurately
determine how many fleets - and drivers - are lagging behind.
"Many small carriers and owner-operators have not yet
installed or even chosen an ELD," Capelle said. "Estimates vary
between 25 percent to 50 percent."
January/February 2018 | Intermodal Insights

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - January/February 2018