[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: [email protected]. 
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