Since January 1, 2013, the California Air Resources Board, pursuant to Cal. Code Regs., tit. 13, § 2477.8, have required that brokers and freight forwarders hire, or contract with, only compliant TRU carriers for the transport of loads of perishable goods that are hauled into, out of, or through California on reefer-equipped trucks, tractor-trailers, shipping containers, or railcars.
This Regulation states that brokers or freight forwarders (including those based outside of California) must:
(1) require the carriers they hire or contract with for (the) transport of perishable goods, to only dispatch TRU-equipped trucks, trailers, shipping containers, and railcars or TRU gen sets that comply with section 2477.5(a) if they travel on California highways or railways (and)
(2) provide the following information to the carrier for their dispatched driver who will be traveling on a California highway or railway:
a. the freight broker's or freight forwarder's business name;
b. the freight broker's or freight forwarder's street address, state, zip code;
c. the freight broker's or freight forwarder's contact person's name; and
d. the freight broker or freight forwarder contact person's business phone number.
The Regulations further declare that carriers, under Cal. Code Regs., tit. 13, § 2477.9, must provide this information to its drivers, who, under Cal. Code Regs., tit. 13, § 2477.87, must provide this information to authorized enforcement personnel upon request.
Given that a citation may be issued to a broker or freight forwarder found to be in violation of Section 2477.8, one of the considerations in hiring a carrier should be to require it to provide proof of its compliance with the Regulations.
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