Will Congress Free Our Trucks?

One of the outstanding issues yet to be settled between the House and Senate Appropriations bills is whether the final Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations will include a much-needed provision to allow Twin 33’s. As detailed here, Twin 33 tandem trailers are slightly longer (5 feet to be exact) than the currently allowed 28 foot tandem trailers, which allows parcel package and freight shippers to more efficiently and quickly deliver the goods we purchase online.

Fortunately, the Twin 33’s update provision is currently included in the House-passed THUD appropriations bill, which has been packaged together with the Interior, Financial Services, and Agriculture Appropriations bills – something called a ‘minibus’ appropriations bill. This funding bill (H.R. 6147) is currently in Conference committee – a meeting between House and Senate members to hash out the differences between each Chamber’s original bill.

Twin 33’s are longer trailers, so they are able to carry more cargo per delivery trip, thus keeping shipping costs lower, reducing strain, wear, and tear on our bridges and roads, reducing highway traffic congestion, and helping to relieve stress on hard-working truck drivers. At a time when there is a widely recognized shortage of truck drivers, it makes tons of common sense to update the 35-year old federal regulations to allow Twin 33’s to help ship America’s goods across the country.

Not only would updating the Twin 33’s regulation be a victory for free markets led by business, not government, but it would also demonstrate the innovative ways private businesses are implementing to address America’s changing transportation and shipping needs.