Notice of Enforcement Discretion Determination concerning certain requirements for The Household Goods Industry in 49 CFR Parts 371 subpart B and 375 [No. 2022-006]

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590

June 24, 2022

NOTICE OF ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION DETERMINATION CONCERNING
CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD GOODS INDUSTRY
IN 49 CFR PARTS 371 SUBPART B AND 375
[No. 2022-006 ]

This document is a temporary Notice of Enforcement Discretion Determination (NEDD). Regulated entities may rely on this notice as a safeguard from enforcement as described herein. This NEDD is to advise the household goods industry, and the individual shippers the industry serves, that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is exercising its discretion not to enforce the revised provisions of 49 CFR Part 375 and Part 371 Subpart B, adopted by the final rule issued in Implementation of Household Goods Working Group Recommendations, 87 FR 24431 (April 26, 2022) until October 31, 2022. The rule is scheduled to go into effect on June 27, 2022. In the final rule, FMCSA made a number of revisions to its household goods consumer protection regulations in response to a workgroup established under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, P.L. 114-94 (Dec. 4, 2015). The regulatory changes in the final rule, all of which are subject to this NEDD, can be found in the Federal Register Notice that is attached.

The American Trucking Associations’ Moving and Storage Conference (ATA) submitted a request for an extension of the final rule’s effective date to December 27, 2022. Its rationale is that the current effective date falls within the peak moving season, which according to ATA runs from May 1 to September 30. According to ATA, during peak moving season, more than 50% of the industry’s household goods moves take place. Atlas Van Lines, Inc. (Atlas) submitted a similar request and indicated that it supports ATA’s request

This NEDD responds to ATA’s and Atlas’ requests, and the Agency’s response is described in more detail in its responses to ATA and Atlas, which will be placed in the rulemaking docket.

This Notice acknowledges that business owners in the household goods industry would likely face serious service disruptions in an effort to be compliant by the final rule’s effective date of June 27, 2022. This notice creates no individual rights of action and establishes no precedent for future determinations.

Issued: June 24, 2022

Robin Hutcheson
Deputy Administrator