Texas, Louisiana suspend regs as Hurricane Harvey approaches, experts warn about high-dollar inbound loads

ATBS President Todd Amen, presenting Friday as part of the Overdrive‘s Partners in Business seminar at the Great American Trucking Show, relayed an anecdote for those looking at loads in the area around Dallas (and elsewhere) this weekend and through the next several days. A friend saw a good $3/mile haul headed 1,500 miles to the South and East, and lamented his attendance at the show would keep him from it.

Then he saw the news coverage of Hurricane Harvey, making landfall on the Texas coast and expected to hug along the coast north and east of Houston over the next several days. Think twice, Amen said, before jumping on that $6 / mile load that may surface over the next few days headed that direction – it might take you six weeks to get out.

Texas and Louisiana lifted certain trucking regulations before Hurricane Harvey was upgraded to Category 4 storm last night, with expected torrential rain pour and damaging winds across the Texas coast today and into the next week.

What began as a tropical storm quickly grew into a hurricane, which intensified in recent days before making landfall late Friday. Texas and Louisiana suspended regulations for truckers assisting in restoration of essential service or transporting necessary supplies in expectation of the biggest hurricane since 2005. Texas ordered mandatory evacuations of 16 counties, while Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas operators evacuated platforms and rigs. At 5 p.m. Friday, the Lone Star State reported sustained winds of 67 mph with gust of 81 mph at Aransas Pass.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked President Donald Trump to make a disaster declaration on Friday with 40 inches of rain expected in parts of Texas.

More information is available at fmcsa.dot.gov/emergency.