NTTC Scores Advocacy Win: House Panel Passes 10% Axle Variance

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a series of bills intended to improve America’s supply chain this week, including a 10 percent axle weight variance for dry bulk commodities. NTTC applauds the hard work of the committee and its leadership for their successful passage.

H.R. 3318, also known as the Dry Bulk Weight Tolerance Act, is a bipartisan effort that addresses an NTTC tier 1 priority. The bill, recognizing that dry commodities like grains and plastics can shift while being transported, authorizes an axle to become up to 10 percent heavier to account for unintended weight distribution without increasing federal gross weight vehicle limitations. H.R. 3318 passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee without objections.

NTTC congratulates Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) and Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) for their success as bill sponsors. NTTC also thanks its members, who initiated and responded quickly to a grassroots outreach effort to their Congressmen, for communicating the benefits of a 10 percent axle variance including lower consumer costs, higher operational efficiency, lower emissions, and improved infrastructure preservation – all without compromising safety.

NTTC staff will continue to monitor this legislation’s progress towards becoming law, and will provide updates when available.