Livestock haulers urge FMCSA action in wake of JBS cyberattack

From Freight Waves. Livestock shippers are asking the Biden administration to issue an emergency waiver of work-rule restrictions for truckers hauling both livestock and meat products to avoid transportation delays in the wake of the cyberattack on global meat supplier JBS. In a letter sent Wednesday to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the United States…

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From Freight Waves.

Livestock shippers are asking the Biden administration to issue an emergency waiver of work-rule restrictions for truckers hauling both livestock and meat products to avoid transportation delays in the wake of the cyberattack on global meat supplier JBS.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) asked for “emergency regulatory flexibility” from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

“After reviewing reports from our members regarding the impact of the JBS outage, USCA strongly believes this event warrants immediate regulatory action to ensure grocery store shelves stay stocked of fresh meat products,” the letter states. In addition to livestock haulers, USCA represents cow-calf producers and feedlot operators.

The group referenced a statement made by JBS earlier in the week in which the company stated that resolving the cyber incident will take time and may cause delays for customers and suppliers.

“This ‘delay’ will create a major supply chain disruption, impacting both producers of livestock and consumers of meat at a time when the market is still recovering from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic,” USCA stated.

FMCSA and USCA were not immediately available to comment. FMCSA will typically issue emergency exemptions from parts 390 through 399 of federal motor carrier safety regulations – which include hours-of-service restrictions – if the agency determines that an event has the potential for widespread supply chain disruptions in the trucking sector.

See the complete article online at Freight Waves.

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