Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, unveiled his trucking policy at Iowa 80 on Thursday. He also shared his opinions on the current state of America’s $875 billion trucking industry.
“Each of us deserves to live in a country where we’re each allowed to achieve that maximum of our potential,” said Ramaswamy, speaking about the American dream. “I don’t think that’s the case today for the way we’re treating truckers in this country, who are the backbone of our economy, are the invisible glue that holds the supply chain together.”
The livestream from Iowa 80, the largest truck stop in America, started with Ramaswamy arriving in a semi-truck. He greeted several drivers and posed for a picture in front of the truck with those drivers and his son, Karthik.
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy poses in front of a truck with his son and truck drivers. (Credit: Ramaswamy campaign livestream)
Truck driver Lee Schmitt of the CDL Drivers Unlimited, a new membership alliance for truck drivers, asked questions submitted by truck drivers after Ramaswamy delivered a brief introduction.
The conversation touched upon a slew of trucker issues, including the risks of increased technology, mental health, speed limiters and reforms to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
“The ideas I’m sharing with you, these aren’t Black ideas or white ideas,” Ramaswamy said. “These aren’t even Democrat ideas or Republican ideas. They shouldn’t be. … This is common-sense, American ideas to say that every person should be free from regulatory overreach, that every person should be free to achieve the maximum of their potential without anybody standing in their way. [T]he truckers of this country should not be an exception to that standard.”
There are more than 2 million tractor-trailer truck drivers in the United States, per federal data. However, presidential candidates rarely speak with truck drivers about their concerns. Ramaswamy’s policies appear friendlier to truck drivers than to large trucking companies or the mega-retailers and manufacturers they serve.
“We will say no to the World Economic Forum and standards of 2030 zero-emissions standards for truckers,” Ramaswamy said. “‘Zero emissions by 2030,’ says the World Economic Forum. Truck no!”
The Republican primary calendar officially begins on Jan. 15, 2024, when Republicans in Iowa will caucus to vote for their preferred candidate.
Several candidates are vying for the Republican nomination for president, including Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. However, former President Donald Trump has captured by far the largest chunk of votes among likely voters, according to recent polls.
Given Trump’s dominance in those polls, some are already speculating who might be the former president’s pick for vice president. Trump previously stated in an interview that Ramaswamy would be a “great” running mate.
The policy relies on three key points:
Ramaswamy says DOT needs to study driver retention over driver recruitment
One chunk of Ramaswamy’s policy urges the DOT how to retain drivers.
“We don’t have a trucker shortage as we’re taught to believe,” Ramaswamy said Thursday. “What we really have is a retention problem. And what we have right now, especially post-COVID, is an environment where, in that short window where there was a sharp demand, a lot of people were able to get a truck [and] use debt potentially to do it. But now, we’re burned on the opposite side when we have a glut of supply.”
The trucking industry, especially employers in the large truckload space, has unusually high turnover rates. Large truckload fleets saw an annual turnover rate of around 94% from 1995 to 2017. Rather than boost retention, many fleets instead try to find ways to increase the number of potential truck drivers. Researchers concluded in a 2023 study that higher turnover is more profitable for trucking companies than paying drivers more.
Vivek Ramaswamy greets truck driver Lee Schmitt of the CDL Drivers Unlimited. (Credit: Ramaswamy campaign livestream)
However, Ramaswamy pointed out that reduced driver turnover means reduced administrative costs and better safety. That’s backed up by research, too; one federal study from 2017 indicated that less experienced truck drivers were more likely to cause a serious accident on the road. The analysis found that a trucker with fewer than three years of experience, for example, was 47% more likely to cause an accident than one with more than three years on the road.
Trucker policy advocates for ‘common-sense’ safety regulations
Ramaswamy’s policy drills down on hours-of-service regulations, a topic that’s hotly debated among truck drivers. Some drivers say these rules undercut safety, as they’re unable to dictate their own working hours, while a federal study found that enforcing these rules could prevent up to 24 deaths annually.
Ramaswamy’s policy states he believes better parking availability would be a larger boon to driver safety. A 2016 study from the American Transportation Research Institute found that the average truck driver spends 56 minutes per day looking for parking. That translates to $4,600 in lost wages every year.
In recent years, lawmakers have repeatedly introduced bills to direct federal funding for more parking, but these efforts haven’t yet succeeded.
Ramaswamy says it’s time to crack down on broker fraud, not owner-operators
Ramaswamy’s trucking policy turns away from California’s AB5 law, which curtailed the owner-operator trucking model in that state.
Ramaswamy said AB5’s test to determine whether an independent contractor is an employee could undermine good practices that integrate those contractors into a given company. He said compliance monitoring, educational programs and the like may be used to prove that a contractor is an employee. The IRS’ more open-ended checklist would be a better way to tackle employee misclassification.
Instead, Ramaswamy’s policy says this investigatory might should be used to investigate broker fraud and increase broker transparency. Brokers are the intermediaries that contract truck drivers and companies seeking to move freight.
The FMCSA recently passed regulations that would curtail broker fraud by adjusting broker financial backing requirements. The compliance date for that rule is in 2026.
The Transportation Intermediaries Association, which represents freight brokers, told FreightWaves’ John Gallagher that these rules are overdue but “a huge step towards addressing potential financial fraud and making sure that funding is available to protect motor carriers and brokers.”
What do you think of Ramaswamy’s trucking policy? Email rpremack@freightwaves.com.
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