FMCSA Waives HOS for Shipments of Baby Formula, Formula Ingredient Haulers

To be eligible for relief from 49 CFR § 395.3, the load must be related to the immediate restoration of baby formula supplies.

Baby formula has been in short supply since February when the FDA closed Abbott Nutrition’s plant in Sturgis, Michigan after bacterial infections from formula made in that facility caused four infants to become sick.

On May 23, 2022, FMCSA issued an hours-of-service waiver for haulers of baby formula and related manufacturing ingredients. To be clear, the waiver covers motor carriers hauling formula and its ingredients to either manufacturers, distributors, or stores.

These carriers are granted relief from 49 CFR § 395.3, maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles until the emergency declaration (which was expected to expire on July 30, 2022), but because shortages of formula still exist, FMCSA extended the waiver expiration through July 31.

While already included in the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration (which was just extended through August 31, 2022) for drivers transporting baby formula as a finished product, this new emergency declaration includes carriers transporting both baby formula and the other ingredients used for production, such as:

• corn syrup
• casein
• hydrolyzed protein, and
• whey

However, “direct assistance does not include routine commercial deliveries, including mixed loads with a nominal quantity, of qualifying emergency relief added to obtain the benefits of this emergency declaration.”

To be eligible for relief from 49 CFR § 395.3, the load must be related to the immediate restoration of baby formula supplies.