CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is moving to grant a five-year extension on an hours-of-service (HOS) exemption for WestRock, specifically covering drivers navigating a 275-foot stretch of public roadway at the company’s paper mill. This administrative decision, currently under public review, would allow the facility’s drivers to bypass standard HOS mandates through April 2029, maintaining a precedent that has existed at this location since 2012.

WestRock relies on this exemption to move trailers between its manufacturing plant and its shipping docks via Compress Street. While the distance covered on public property is negligible, the cargo’s interstate nature classifies these short movements as interstate commerce under federal guidelines. Without this waiver, the company claims it would face a two-hour logistical delay for every loading cycle, severely disrupting the supply chain and hindering the efficiency expected by shippers and receivers.

Under the proposed terms, drivers would be permitted to work up to 16 consecutive hours while bypassing the standard 10-hour off-duty requirement. The FMCSA maintains that the safety profile of these specific, low-speed, short-distance maneuvers remains equivalent to operations conducted under full HOS compliance. WestRock has successfully utilized this waiver structure through multiple renewals in 2014, 2016, and 2019, consistently arguing that standard HOS rules are ill-suited for this hyper-local, high-frequency shuttle operation.

What This Means for Drivers

For any CDL-A driver or yard switcher working in similar high-volume industrial environments, these exemptions highlight the ongoing tension between rigid FMCSA regulations and the practical realities of plant-floor logistics. While this waiver is specific to the Chattanooga site, it serves as a reminder that regulatory agencies are willing to provide flexibility when a carrier can prove that safety is not compromised by a specific operational setup. Owner-operator and fleet professionals should monitor these dockets closely, as the precedent set here could influence how future short-haul or port-adjacent operations are classified.

Industry Reaction

Industry observers often point to these site-specific exemptions as evidence that current federal hours-of-service rules fail to account for the unique demands of localized, non-OTR truck driver roles. While safety advocates generally push for strict adherence to duty limits to prevent fatigue, the logistics sector continues to argue for common-sense relief in scenarios where the vehicle is essentially moving within a private campus. The public comment period remains a critical venue for the trucking industry to voice concerns regarding how these waivers are granted and whether they create an uneven playing field for smaller trucking companies hiring in the same region.

Key Points

• The exemption allows WestRock drivers to work up to 16 hours without the standard 10-hour reset.
• The route involves a 275-foot crossing on Compress Street in Chattanooga.
• FMCSA has permitted these waivers at the facility since May 2012.
• The proposed renewal period runs from April 17, 2024, through April 16, 2029.

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