The American Transportation Research Institute has put cabotage on its list of research priorities this year, along with the safety impacts of in-cab monitoring and other critical issues.

ATRI is a 501c3 not-for-profit research organization tied to the American Trucking Associations.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) permits limited cross-border freight transportation between the U.S. and its trading partners in Mexico and Canada, provided that non-U.S. domiciled truck drivers limit their operations to dedicated deliveries of Mexican/Canadian goods to a U.S. shipper.

Cabotage violations occur when non-domiciled carriers engage in multiple point-to-point deliveries within the U.S. 

These cabotage violations can result in unfair competition by undercutting pricing and taking jobs away from U.S.-based trucking companies, according to ATRI. This research will seek to quantify the frequency, scale and impact of these cabotage violations.

Cabotage: 'Ongoing Issue'

In addition to ATRI research, the American Trucking Associations has reached out to the Trump administration to ask it to address the issue.

In an April 10 letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said drivers entering the U.S. from Mexico and overstaying to deliver domestic loads was among issues needing immediate attention.

“While we recognize this is not within FMCSA’s immediate purview, we urge you to work with the Homeland Security Investigations Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to better patrol violations of international drivers operating domestically with a B-1 visa,” it said in that letter.

“This is an ongoing issue that we have raised with various law enforcement organizations over the last several years.

“While ATA fully supports the legal use of B-1 drivers to transport international freight from Canada and Mexico into and out of the United States as part of an international trip, we believe that some U.S. trucking companies unlawfully employ these drivers to perform cabotage, ie, to move domestic freight within the borders of the United States.

“Not only is cabotage illegal, but it can also have significant economic and labor impacts on law-abiding motor carriers operating in the United States.”

Other research priorities identified by ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee at its annual meeting last month included rising insurance costs, entry-level driver training, in-cab monitoring, and capitalizing on telematics data.

Rising Trucking Insurance Costs and Self-Insurance Motivations

How Trucking Fleets Can Escape the Insurance Squeeze

Prior ATRI research identified the impact of rising insurance costs on motor carriers, which included carriers lowering coverage levels, raising deductibles, and increasing safety technology deployment. 

This new research will expand on that to document current commercial auto insurance trends and investigate the growing role of insurance captives and self-insurance retentions. 

Are Entry-Level Driver Training Standards Working?

FMCSA’s 2022 Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) mandate requires that new entrant truck drivers complete a structured program of theory and behind-the-wheel instruction before taking the Commercial Driver’s License skills test. 

While the ELDT was designed to improve safety outcomes, concerns persist about the effectiveness of training programs in preparing drivers for real-world challenges, according to the research organization.

Prior ATRI research examined the relationship between driver training curricula and safety outcomes. This new research will build on that work by expanding the use of safety data and statistical models to determine the safety impacts of the mandated ELDT regimen.

Safety Impacts of In-Cab Cameras

With continued advances in technology focused on in-cab monitoring, more fleets are turning to these systems to better understand driver behaviors in the cab. 

Prior ATRI research focused on driver perspectives of these systems, specifically driver-facing cameras. 

This new research will collect confidential in-cab technology data to identify any statistical relationship between in-cab monitoring systems and improvements in safety outcomes. 

The research will also map specific carrier and driver strategies for managing in-cab data that improve safety outcomes.

Capitalizing on Telematics Data

Telematics technologies have been available to the trucking industry for several decades for asset tracking and driver communications, but today’s telematics deliver expanded functionalities, including vehicle performance and maintenance, and safety and compliance monitoring. 

However, not all carriers are equipped to fully leverage evolving telematics data to improve operations. 

This research will create a compendium of data tools and applications for carriers of all sizes to better utilize telematics to improve operational performance.

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