An organization representing major trucking companies and national business organizations renewed its call for longer trailers. But, itâs not a change all of the industry supports.
Americans for Modern Transportation earlier this month sent a letter to leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure asking the standard length of double trailers be increased from 28 feet to 33 feet. In its letter to Congressmen Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) and Sam Graves (R-Missouri) the association claims the addition of a combined 10 feet of trailer space will:
The AMT is a coalition of major trucking companies and private fleets including Estes, FedEx, UPS, XPO Logistics, YRC, and Reddaway. Members also include business organizations such as the National Association of Manufacturers and major shippers like Amazon.
There have been several attempts in the past to approve twin 33s, none of which has been successful. Last June a group of leading truckload carriers sent a similar letter to the then leaders of the same committee asking for the trailer length increase.
Yet not everyone in the trucking market is in favor of growing 28-ft. pups to 33 ft.
The Truckload Carriers Association today renewed its objection to any changes in the length of trailers.
âTCA will continue to support a position of no changes to truck size or weight,â said TCA Vice President of Government Affairs David Heller in a statement to Successful Dealer sister site Truckers News. âAdvocating for a vehicle configuration that only benefits a small segment of the trucking industry would only exacerbate current industry problems such as truck parking, the driver shortage, and overall vehicle safety.
