CHICAGO — Shoppers could see grocery prices rise because of a new federal mandate requiring most long-distance truckers to use electronic logging devices to keep track of their time spent driving.
Some truckers are experiencing difficulties and delays as they switch from paper logbooks to the devices, which plug into a truck’s engine. Proponents argue the devices, which have been required for most truckers since Dec. 18, keep drivers more honest about their driving time and therefore make the highways safer.
But those delays mean truckers aren’t covering as much distance or making the same number of runs as before, driving up the cost of produce coming from California, Arizona and Florida, according to longtime Chicago produce wholesalers like Anthony Marano Co. and Testa Produce. And those price hikes eventually will be passed on to consumers, they say.
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