Household Goods Consumer Protection: Application for Exemption; La Rosa Del Monte Express Inc. (LRDM) |
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Topics: La Rosa Del Monte Express
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Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
26 August 2016
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 166 (Friday, August 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59033-59034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20498]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0268]
Household Goods Consumer Protection: Application for Exemption;
La Rosa Del Monte Express Inc. (LRDM)
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that La Rosa Del Monte Express, Inc. (LRDM)
has requested an exemption for its specialized ``Small Residential
Shipments'' (SRS) from the consumer protection regulations for the
transportation of household goods (HHG) in interstate commerce. LRDM
requested that its SRS consisting of fewer than 10 items weighing less
than 1,000 pounds total be exempted from the HHG regulations. LRDM
claims that the need for the exemption is made clear by the statutory
Limited Service Exclusion (LSE) for household goods motor carriers.
LRDM believes that an SRS exemption is consistent with the purpose of
the LSE.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 26, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2016-0268 using any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow
the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number
for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without
change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Room W12-140
on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. The on-line FDMS is available 24 hours each
day, 365 days each year.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.dot.gov/privacy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this
notice, please contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver and Carrier
Operations Division; Telephone: (614) 942-6477; Email: MCPSD@dot.gov.
If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket,
contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and
related materials.
Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA-2016-0268), indicate the specific section of this
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for
suggestions or recommendations. You may submit your comments and
material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only
one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a
mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of
your document so the Agency can contact you if it has questions
regarding your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to www.regulations.gov and put
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2016-0268'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on ``Comment
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box in the following
screen. Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual
or on behalf of a third party and then submit. If you submit your
comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic
filing. If you submit comments by mail and would like to know that they
reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard
or envelope. FMCSA will consider all comments and material received
during the comment period and may grant or not grant this application
based on your comments.
III. Legal Basis
Before operating for hire in interstate commerce, a motor carrier
must obtain commercial registration under 49 U.S.C. 13902 and comply
with the requirements of Sec. 13902(a)(1). To provide transportation
of HHG, a motor carrier must also comply with the requirements of Sec.
13902(a)(2).
However, under 49 U.S.C. 13541(a), the Secretary of Transportation
``shall exempt a person, class of persons, or a transaction or service
from the application, in whole or in part, of a provision of this part
[part B of subtitle IV of title 49, United States Code, i.e., 49 U.S.C.
chapters 131-149], or use this exemption authority to modify the
application of a provision of this part as it applies to such person,
class, transaction, or service, when the Secretary . . . finds that the
application of that provision--(1) is not necessary to carry out the
transportation policy of section 13101; (2) is not needed to protect
shippers from the abuse of market power or that the transaction or
service is of limited scope; and (3) is in the public interest.''
Nonetheless, ``The exemption authority under this section may not
be used to relieve a person from the application of, and compliance
with, any law, rule, regulation, standard, or order pertaining to cargo
loss and damages, insurance, [or] safety fitness . . .'' [49 U.S.C.
13541(e)(1)].
The Secretary's authority to enforce 49 U.S.C. 13902 and 13541 have
been delegated to FMCSA by 49 CFR 1.87(a)(5) and 1.87(a)(3),
respectively. This notice seeks to clarify the
[[Page 59034]]
exemption sought by LRDM, in light of the limitations set forth in
Sec. 13541(e)(1).
IV. Background
A motor carrier engaged in the interstate transportation of
household goods must follow the regulations in 49 CFR part 375. The
term ``household goods motor carrier'' is defined in section 375.103 as
a motor carrier that, in the ordinary course of business of providing
transportation of household goods, offers some or all of the following
additional services: binding and nonbinding estimates; inventorying;
protective packing and unpacking of items at personal residences; and
loading and unloading at personal residences. However, the term HHG
motor carrier excludes any motor carrier providing transportation of
HHGs in containers or trailers that are entirely loaded and unloaded by
an individual (other than an employee or agent of the motor carrier).
This is the LSE provision.
V. Request for Exemption
LRDM (US DOT # 25982) is a minority-owned motor carrier with its
principal place of business located in Bronx, New York. According to
LRDM, for almost 50 years this company has been a leader in providing
interstate household goods moving and storage services for primarily
minority communities from and between New York, Florida, Connecticut,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican
Republic.
According to LRDM, in the past several years there has been a need
in communities served by LRDM for an efficient, low-cost, no-frills
shipment service for SRS consisting primarily of fewer than 10 items
weighing a total of no more than 1,000 pounds. Such items include
bicycles, refrigerators, washer/dryers and other similar goods. In
response to this need, LRDM offers an SRS service that it says combines
the efficiency and economy of freight with the safety and professional
service of a traditional HHG move.
LRDM contends that the HHG regulations hinder its efforts to meet
the needs of the communities it serves. The regulations do not exempt
SRS under the Limited Service Exclusion \1\ (LSE) because LRDM takes
the time and effort to load and unload these small shipments for its
customers. As a result the regulations classify these shipments as
large HHG moves.
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\1\ The LSE is a statutory provision that pertains to the
definition of ``household goods motor carrier.'' Through the LSE,
Congress specifically excluded certain motor carriers from the
definition of household goods motor carriers, and thus exempted
those carriers from household goods regulations when the carrier
``does not load and unload'' the contents of the containers the
carrier is shipping. Carriers falling under the LSE are not subject
to household goods and consumer protection regulations under FMCSA
regulations parts 375 (for household goods, including form
requirements), 365 (for motor carrier registration requirements) and
387 (for insurance requirements). See 49 U.S.C. 13102(12)(C): see
also 49 CFR 375.103, HHG definition, paragraphs (3) and (4); Limited
Service Exclusion for Household Goods Motor Carriers and Related
Registration Requirements for Brokers, 78 Fed. Reg. 19568 (Apr. 1,
2013).
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LRDM seeks the ability to offer its customers an option to ship a
limited number of small items at a flat rate that its customers can
afford, free from extra costs and burdens associated with HHG
regulations. LRDM is requesting that its specialized service be exempt
from the HHG requirements under 49 CFR part 375. LRDM asserts that its
SRS warrant an exemption from the application of part 375 because such
an exemption is in the public interest. It claims that the exemption
would further support DOT's transportation policy goals by promoting
safe, economical, and efficient transportation by allowing a variety of
quality and price options to the public.
To LRDM's knowledge no other carrier/mover, ground, freight, or
otherwise, offers a similar service. These shipments are unique and in
a class of their own; are too large and/or heavy for ground
transportation; and too small to be economical or affordable to be
shipped as freight or through a portable storage container covered
under the LSE.
LRDM explains that its customers cannot turn to traditional ground
carriers because the SRS shipments far exceed those services' 150 pound
maximum weight for any one parcel. Nor can its customers turn to less-
than-truckload (LTL) freight services which are prohibitively expensive
due to mileage and other freight charges. LTL carriers also require
sophisticated packing with items securely fastened to a pallet or skid.
LRDM advises that customers cannot turn to the portable storage
container service options. According to LRDM, those services, although
excluded from HHG moving regulations under the LSE, are not made for
SRS and are prohibitively expensive. For example, the cost of shipping
an average sized refrigerator from New York to Miami would cost between
$600-$1,000 by traditional freight service (not including the cost and
time to properly pack and secure the refrigerator on a pallet) and over
$1,800 by a portable storage container service. However, in comparison,
if LRDM was not required to burden its customers with the ``excessive
costs'' and ``unreasonable forms'' associated with HHG regulations
intended for much larger moves, LRDM would be able to offer shipment of
the same merchandise for a flat fee in the range of $125-$500.
LRDM contends that the intent of the LSE was to give consumers
``access to low-cost transportation services as an alternative to
traditional, full-service, moving companies.'' The intent of its
exemption application is exactly the same; to give consumers access to
an efficient and affordable shipping option for SRS.
LRDM states that the HHG regulations were not meant to regulate
SRS. LRDM believes the HHG regulations, as they are currently applied
to smaller shipments, are unnecessary and unreasonable. Rather than
being a means of protecting the public from carrier abuses, HHG
regulations burden LRDM's customers with excessive costs and
unreasonably lengthy and confusing forms that undermine DOT's
transportation policy goals.
LRDM advises that the forms require LRDM to spend time and
resources assisting its customers traverse the maze of paperwork
required by the HHG regulations no matter how small the shipment. These
resources could be used to make SRS shipments more affordable and more
efficient.
A copy of LRDM's application for the exemption is available for
review in the docket for this notice.
Issued on: August 18, 2016.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-20498 Filed 8-25-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P