Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) recently introduced in the Senate the Vehicle Axle Redistribution Increases Allow New Capacities for Efficiency Act, or VARIANCE Act, which would improve regulations for American truckers by permitting a 10% axle variance for commercial motor vehicles transporting dry bulk goods.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is a co-lead of the legislation in the Senate. Reps. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) are spearheading the companion legislation in the House.
“This is common-sense policymaking,” Ricketts said in a news release. “Allowing flexibility for truckers with naturally shifting goods will help improve efficiency and safety in Nebraska’s agriculture industry. American truckers want to carry the same sized load in loose dry bulk that they can for any other freight. This bill is a win for every step along the supply chain.”
The Senate bill also leaves the maximum laden vehicle weight at 80,000 lbs.
“This expanded partnership in the Senate showcases the broad support and practical impact of the VARIANCE Act,” said Ryan Streblow, NTTC president and CEO. “Thank you to Sens. Ricketts and Schiff for their commitment to improve the safe and efficient movement of dry bulk commodities across our country.
“By enhancing weight distribution for dry bulk trailers, we can increase payload efficiency, reduce highway congestion, and boost safety, all without additional infrastructure wear. Today, many carriers’ underload, and this flexibility will enable them to hit gross vehicle weight limits and reduce truckloads on our roads.”
Crawford and Carbajal introduced the House version in April with the approval of NTTC, which has long made the issue a key priority in the association’s legislative agenda, and a central topic during this year’s Call on Washington.
The Senate companion, S.2108, seeks to amend Title 23 of the United States Code.
“Farmers, manufacturers, miners, and many other industries depend on truckers to get their goods to market,” said Henry Hanscom, ATA senior vice president of legislative affairs. “When dry bulk cargo is in transit, however, a simple physics problem arises: routine braking often causes the contents of trailers to shift. ATA applauds Sens. Ricketts and Schiff for this bipartisan, commonsense solution that will prevent motor carriers from being unfairly penalized for weight variances, promote the efficient movement of freight, and support hardworking Americans in the trucking industry.”
Dry bulk haulers are critical to the U.S. supply chain, transporting essential materials such as sand, fly ash, and other aggregates, as well as flour, wheat, granulated fructose, and other agricultural products. The proposed axle variance will allow carriers to better distribute weight, optimizing payloads while maintaining compliance with federal and state regulations, NTTC maintained.
Additionally, corn, soybeans, and other dry bulk are key to Nebraska’s $9.9 billion in agricultural exports. Nebraska has over 1,600 dry bulk trucking companies, with nearly 18,000 dry bulk drivers.
Present law limits the maximum laden weight of a commercial truck to 80,000 lbs., including the weight of the cargo. Most trailers transporting dry bulk goods are tandem axle, limiting the weight for each axle to 34,000 lbs. Bulk loads of dry goods regularly shift during transport and cause the front trailer axle to exceed its maximum 34,000 lbs. The force generated when braking compacts the cargo at the front end of the trailer, but the relatively weaker forces from acceleration and forward movement fail to evenly redistribute the weight across axles.
So, even when the cargo was properly loaded, the truck’s natural motion causes the load to become improperly distributed. This bill would maintain maximum laden vehicle weight limits but allow for cargo to become unevenly distributed during the course of transportation.
“The VARIANCE Act is a commonsense solution that helps address transportation bottlenecks in the grain and feed industry,” said Mike Seyfert, National Grain and Feed Association president and CEO. “By allowing modest axle weight variances for dry bulk shipments, this legislation supports more efficient and sustainable supply chains while maintaining safety standards.”
