“It’s a whole bunch of little things that help move things along faster,” said CEO of the Ohio Trucking Association.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has eased weight restrictions for semi trucks in an attempt to address the current slowed supply chain.
The order, which was originally put in place during the pandemic, was reinstated on Tuesday, November 23rd, and allows trucks to haul an additional 10,000 pounds of freight over the typical 80,000 pound limit without needing a permit.
Under the order, truckers are allowed to haul up to 90,000 without seeking pre-approval from the Ohio Department of Transportation, just so long as they report the route they traveled to state officials within 24 hours of completing the trip. The order is an attempt to reduce wait times and increase drive times for truckers that would have otherwise needed to take time to seek out a permit.
“It’s kind of hard to quantify the potential impact,” said ODOT spokesman Matt Bruning. “But certainly it’s a relatively small investment to ensure that supplies can move as quickly as possible to and through Ohio.”
The order will currently remain in effect ‘indefinitely,’ reported Cleveland News.
“[It’s a] fairly simple, low-hanging-fruit [move] that can be done to ease supply-chain pressures that are affecting all of us,” said DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney.
DeWine was one of the 15 Governors who submitted a letter to Biden this week announcing the launch of “Operation Open Roads,” which is intended to ease supply chain woes by easing trucking restrictions.
“None of it’s going to be the silver bullet that fixes all the ills,” said Thomas Balzer, the president and CEO of the Ohio Trucking Association. “It’s a whole bunch of little things that help move things along faster.”