Minnesota Shippers and State Truck Size/Weight Regulations: A Report Submitted to the Minnesota Department of Transportation

Motor carriers face a number of regulations in carrying on their business. Trucks are typically regulated as to their length, width, height, load (in terms of gross vehicle weight), and axle weight. The purpose of these regulations is to promote public safety and protect the quality of road surfaces. Highway regulations affecting motor carriers are primarily a state-level responsibility in the United States. Minnesota has its own set of truck size and weight regulations as do neighboring states and Canadian provinces. Because states set their own regulations on truck size and weight, the commercial trucking industry measures the appropriateness of Minnesota regulations to a large extent based on their congruence with those in adjacent states. The object of this study is to determine the extent to which major shippers, the clients of commercial motor carriers, feel constrained by truck size and weight regulations in Minnesota and whether their needs are being met.