U.S. motor carrier hours of service regulations: Their impact on carrier profitability and productivity

Abstract

This paper discusses the history of hours of service regulations for U.S. motor carriers and investigates the changes to individual carrier profitability and productivity from the last major change to those regulations in 2003. The results of the analysis indicate that operating ratio worsened and sales per employee improved, and return on assets and return on equity were unchanged due to hours of service changes. The implications of these results given the recent changes to hours of service regulations in 2011 are also discussed.