Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg: Relaxing trucker regulations under review in supply chain crisis

State DMVs could get help with issuing more commercial truck driver's licenses

As the supply chain crisis grips the nation and inflation surges, the White House is mulling relaxing regulations for truck drivers. 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tells FOX Business the allowable hours for drivers are under review to get more truckers on the road, but he notes safety issues are a part of that review. 

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JBHT J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT SERVICES INC. 189.11 -1.20 -0.63%

A senior administration official says the Transportation Department has reached out to local Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs) to try and expedite the process of getting commercial driver's licenses out faster. 

JPMORGAN'S DIMON SAYS SUPPLY CHAIN WOES 'WILL NOT BE AN ISSUE NEXT YEAR'

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Commercial driver's licenses and merge permits issued each month are already 60% higher than the 2020 numbers.

COSTCO, OTHER RETAILERS IMPACTED BY FEWER CHRISTMAS TREES THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF DROUGHT, SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGE

The White House on Wednesday announced plans to keep the Port of Los Angeles open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help alleviate the bottlenecks causing the massive supply disruptions impacting items such as toilet paper, toys and maybe soon Christmas Trees. 

Companies from Costco, Intel to General Motors are dealing with product shortages. 

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COST COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. 975.00 +3.12 +0.32%
INTC INTEL CORP. 23.93 -0.12 -0.50%
GM GENERAL MOTORS CO. 55.04 -0.55 -0.99%

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WMT WALMART INC. 92.64 +0.14 +0.15%
FDX FEDEX CORP. 296.75 -5.99 -1.98%
UPS UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC. 134.03 -1.82 -1.34%

Walmart, FedEx and UPS have committed to assisting in the mission using their vast logistical systems. The two shippers handled 40% of American packages by volume last year. 

Aerial view of the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports.

As the economy bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have ramped up purchases and factories manufacturing. 

This may not abate until the global pandemic is officially over, the White House said.