FMCSA renews metal coil securement regs exemption

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Updated Apr 21, 2017
FMCSA has renewed an exemption to allow carriers hauling metal coils to load them side-by-side with the eyes crosswise and the coils up against one another without having to secure each coil individually.FMCSA has renewed an exemption to allow carriers hauling metal coils to load them side-by-side with the eyes crosswise and the coils up against one another without having to secure each coil individually.

Certain carriers hauling metal coils can continue to use the pre-Jan. 1, 2004, cargo securement regulations with the coils loaded in rows, side-by-side, with the eyes facing the sides of the trailer.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is renewing an exemption by the Flatbed Carrier Safety Group (FCSG) which allows metal coils to be loaded in this manner. FMCSA says this particular loading configuration is not currently covered under the agency’s commodity-specific rules.

In its original exemption request, FCSG said the post-2004 regulations did not address requirements for securing rows of coils, and carriers hauling rows of coils with eyes crosswise were required to secure each coil individually. The exemption allows these carriers to secure coils with timbers at least 4 inches by 4 inches at the foremost and rearmost coils, as well as a single tiedown on any coil except the rearmost one.

The group went on to say that treating each coil as an individual coil “places a burden on the motor carrier to carry significantly more coil bunks and timbers to secure each coil in a raised bunk off the deck.”

In its exemption renewal, FMCSA says it has not seen evidence that securing coils this way has negatively impacted safety.

The exemption was initially granted on April 14, 2011, then renewed in 2013 and 2015. This renewal extends the exemption through April 13, 2022. The exemption goes into effect once the renewal is published in the Federal Register on Friday, April 21. FMCSA is seeking public comments on the renewal about the safety record of carriers transporting metal coils under the exemption.